wonderful town. while I wouldn't recommend it in the 2 spot behind Amsterdam, I would absolutely recommend getting out of Amsterdam for a big chunk of any trip to the Netherlands.
I didn't even realize it was there until I saw Bela Fleck mention it on IG about 2 days before. We didn't want to pay $200-$300 for that single set, especially since I've seen him + his wife before. Technically we didn't go. The venue is in my picture, and we could hear it faintly from afar. We timed the start/end of one our hikes to go by the venue during their set. The venue was tiny and many people just set up lawn chairs beyond the gates, but for the right artists I would have no problem coming back. Sounds like covid interrupted normal operations/pricing.
I went in 2018 - it’s an incredible time. This year they announced it about 2 weeks ahead of time so I imagine that with the limited crowds made it much smaller than usual.
We used it to launch, interestingly enough, a border crossing into Belgium for a family cemetery. I would consult a more thorough resource than my visits, but 1.Outskirts of Amsterdam 2. Rotterdam 3. The Hague 4. Maastricht 5. cluster***** of Ams city center. Fire away if you have any specific questions. Maastricht is a college town so we dealt with some english from uni students, but the town (e.g. bus drivers) was hit/miss. If I recall, the car rental was conducted in dutch by my brother.
probably belongs in the latest purchase thread but for those keeping score I ended up grabbing this for $50ish off an amazon seller I like the orange interior for finding stuff (also incidentally, this means it matches my primary duffle bag - not that that matters) and the thoughtful organization as well as the hanging form-factor. Also came with a coupon for 25% off at the k25 site, which, I guess I'll buy a travel blanket or smth? lol
seeing Rotterdam/The Hague were so close by train made me think doing them as day trips potentially but i'm open to being sold on Rotterdam for 3 nights with Hague as a day trip. basically trying to fill 3nights that we were going to spend in Paris.
100% we shorted Rotterdam by only staying 24 hours there, IYAM, so you are on to something with that skeleton plan.
week 1 of 4 in mexico: isla holbox is paradise. Met some fellow backpackers, danced in a sunset drum circle, ate great food, hit the beach and did some morning yoga Spoiler
Travel friends, I’m looking for your best food recs in the following cities: Bend Eugene Portland Seattle
Oh man, literally everything. Thai, Indian, American, Italian, Fine. My love of food knows no bounds.
For sure check out the Hague with your avatar. Utrecht is cool. Think Antwerp is worth checking out. Could do one of the beach towns like Domburg or Bergen aan Zee; Belgian beach town called Knokke-Heist. Not gonna lie, 3 nights in Rotterdam would be a lot. Have you already done Brussels/Bruges?
have not done brussels/bruges, we're avoiding border crossings this trip just to not have any hiccups think with running to the Hague one day 3 nights won't be overwhelming, we're not crazy about the changing cities/hotels every night or two type trips to begin with, if one day is more casual and relaxed we'll take it
hope my post 200 some pages back is still helpful. That Es Pati place was so damn good. Can confirm the Park Hyatt is a great place to stay as well
I finally pulled the trigger on an Amsterdam trip. Sad thing it isn't until next May. Any ideas on places to please share. I'm going to Anne Frank's home for sure.
Totally missed that Mallorca post until today. My time there was quite memorable between torrential downpours and hordes of German holidayers overrunning my sizable beachfront hotel in Alcúdia. From Palma at one point we rode a bus to and from a pretty dope little beach. Incredible waters damn.
Somebody else can give you Portland but honestly it's hard to throw a rock and not eat something pretty good there. Eugene: I could write notes about each of the following but instead just consider this "these are the ones I would look up if I were you" and you can ask away if any questions arise. Rye, Marché, Party Bar/Downtown, Black Wolf Supper Club, Cafe Soriah, Bar Purlieu, Izakaya Meiji, Sheild Bistro, Bari Trattoria, The Davis, Krob Krua, Sabai, Da Nang (cart at a wine bar), Pizzeria DOP (cart that bounces around), Tavern on Main (spfld), Beppe & Gianni's (Italian mainstay) and Hey Neighbor (quite decent pizza operation right across the street) I don't have a good read anymore on the Japanese/sushi situation, but Sushi Pure and Sushi Domo are probably the best "higher end" bets. I wouldn't suggest doing Mexican in Eugene but if you are absolutely needing some tacos or maybe some sort of vaguely Oaxacan thing check for El Buen Sabor or MBOSQ. The street tacos from Nelson's are satisfying in a pinch. (All of these are carts). Also if you want to play with the notion of tacos/mexican and are prepared to enjoy drinks more than food you could hit Tacovore or Pandita. (The food is decent to good, just don't expect "mexican")
Bend: Off the top of my head places that I enjoy Bos Taurus Zydeco Ariana 900 Wall Blacksmith Drake Spork Noi Thai
I am heading to the northern part of Michigan for work in late July. Since I have never been I am planning to go on a Friday and spend the weekend exploring before work hits on Monday. Anyone have any suggestions on things to do/see, etc...? Also, I will provide a little write-up on my St Martin, St. Barths, and Saba trip later today.
I can honestly manage mostly anywhere. I fly into Detroit on Thursday and was planning on driving up to Grand Rapids and/or Traverse City on Friday morning. I am pretty open to whatever. Haven't started doing any research yet but you guys tend to be my first stop on my research since there is so much info here.
Book that well in advance. I was going to tell you a few good restaurants but all of them we liked closed for good because of Covid. Haesje Clause was the best so if you can walk by it if you want to see what could have been.
Going to be visiting family in Vienna for Christmas and have yet to book return flights home. Anyone have thoughts on best place to spend NYE in Europe? For reference, wife and I are mid-30s, gravitate more towards food and bev over clubs, and are looking somewhere besides Vienna and Paris. I've been around Europe plenty, but I guess part of me wonders whether some cities/countries will be more closed down the week between Xmas and NYE than others? Anyway, thank you to all who chime in.
Only place I know to recommend in Seattle is Addo. In Portland, the best meals I had were at Canard and Nostrana.
Budapest was a blast and not too far from Vienna. Went when we were late 20's and looked for the same type of thing. Just like any major city you can find whatever you're looking for. I would guess they'd have few, if any, restrictions given the government there.
Going to Europe with the gf in late August and she wants to do something coastal. She had been looking along the west coast of Italy. Just looked up the Park Hyatt you stayed at on Mallorca and apparently it's no longer a Hyatt property. Bummer.
Berlin, Prague, and Barcelona all seem like big party/club/bar cities. Wasn't impressed with food in Croatia. Although Barcelona is so big you can find anything. What about somewhere in Italy or Lisbon? Most of my time spent in Europe was partying and eating kebabs, so I'm not the best resource for this.
Yea it left the Hyatt portfolio only a year or so after I stayed there- apparently it wasn’t attracting the quantity they’d expected.
Yeah Barcelona is definitely one of those cities where you find whatever you're looking for. My first thought was Rome, followed by Madrid, but I haven't been to either outside of summer time so not sure the vibe. Good call on Lisbon, plus lots of award flights through TAP at cheap rates.
Seattle Nirmal's - high end Indian restaurant, very good (in Pioneer Square, which is a pretty sketchy part of town, FYI) Sisters and Brothers - Nashville hot chicken joint that just opened a new location in Interbay, incredible Kamoneji - incredible Soba noodles. Is also in Fremont, my favorite neighborhood in Seattle - walking distance from Fremont Brewery, there is: Pacific Inn Pub (famous dive bar with great fish-n-chips), Joule (Korean steakhouse), The Masonry (pizza with top-tier beer selection) Tons of restaurants in Ballard, basically anything you want. Fun to spend a night and barhop around here. I dunno I've eaten at like less than 10 restaurants in a year and a lot of shit closed. Eater's Seattle section is pretty awesome: https://seattle.eater.com/ Copenhagen could be cool. It'll be shitty weather, but world class food and incredible city. Could maybe get out of the city and try to see Northern Lights. I did NYE Berlin - Prague a few years ago, but just partied my face off.
If you want city life head to Grand Rapids, but this time of year I would head north. Where are you staying for work and what are you looking for on the wknd before? Plenty of wine country and great golf up there, but here is a broad view, Cant go wrong with any of the following: Sleeping Bear dunes for a hike Arcadia Bluffs for a beautiful view at dusk for cocktails, bag pipes, and sunsets. Traverse city. Busy beach town, but with more going on than anywhere else up there if you want more bar/restaurant vibe Charlevoix Harbor Springs Bay Harbor
i haven't been to barcelona/san sebastian yet but copenhagen the GOAT relaxation food/drink city that isn't quite as overrun with tourists as other cities would look into the history of closures though, they're a bunch of god damn communists who take long holiday breaks in general
UCFartz if you're staying near there, we ate a Mamnoon at Pike and Melrose a couple of weeks ago - very good Lebanese. We also enjoyed La Cocina Oaxaquena near there as well.
Wife and I considered Prague and Berlin for NYE but settled on Paris because we convinced some friends to meet us there. Prague is supposed to have a great NYE experience, but we wondered if it might be too much like Vienna for Christmas (cold). Berlin seemed to be a good idea, celebrate at the Brandenburg Gate with Ode to Joy blaring, but then we looked at videos of what they actually do there and it was too pop-commercialized and other Berlin districts seem to degenerate into explosive war zones. Hanging out on the north bank of the Seine with friends in the not too cold while watching fireworks over the Eiffel Tower in the distance suddenly seemed not so bad
we took a very minor honeymoon 5 years ago while we were pregnant, inbetween jobs, and saving for a house. we saved for a while to make this trip happen and celebrate 5 years together. expensive as hell but I think it'll be worth it.
Frites and bitterballen, fresh stroopwafels. There's a little stand right across the river from the central downtown area that we got fries with curry sauce every day, so good. There's a swing on the top of a building that overlooks main downtown area, Europe's highest swing, that was pretty fun. Riding bikes in Vondelpark was a memorable experience. Also some sort of ferry tour
Nostrana reservations booked. Looks amazing, and I feel we’ll be oyster’d and sushi’d out at this point so this will be perfect.