Category: Travel

Italy – A Winter Weekend in Piedmont

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Living in a tiny country has gotten me used to frequent traveling, so after my ACL reconstruction, I felt like I was grounded in Luxembourg.  Although I did a fair bit around the city, I didn’t go anywhere else for over 2 months.  I had actually booked my flight to Turin the day after my surgery in anticipation.  However, I always equated Italy with warm weather (yes, I know the Alps are there, but that’s in a high elevation right?), so I wasn’t happy when I checked the forecast and it was colder than Luxembourg…  The good food more than made up for it though 🙂

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Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi

Day 1 – Torino

Working in an international environment really has its perks.  Nico and I got several recommendations for where to eat and what to do from people who are either from Turin or had lived there before.  First up was to get some bicerin.  It’s a drink from Turin that is basically thick hot chocolate with espresso and milk.  We went to the popular Cafe Al Bicerin, est. 1763, where the decor is reminiscent of an old timey candy or coffee shop.  We had to wait in line outside because the space only fits about 15 people cozily.  If you’re in the mood for anything savory, you’re out of luck, but damn was the bicerin a perfect start for a cold day.

Cafe Al Bicerin
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Turino Advent Calendar

After we finished filling ourselves up with sugar, we took a stroll around the centro and then ducked into some indoor sites when it started raining.  We visited the Turin Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, where the Shroud of Turin is stored.  It sits in a closed off area in a box, behind a curtain, behind glass.  Super exclusive.  They pull back the curtains once a day (?), and I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the box.  Afterwards, we checked out the Royal Library, Sabauda Art Gallery, and the Armory Museum.

Turin Cathedral
Royal Library of Turin
Royal Library of Turin
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Sabauda Gallery
Royal Armory of Turin

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Ireland – Doolin, Limerick, Galway, & Whiskey

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In September, Nico and I went to Newport, RI for his cousin’s wedding.  We were there for barely 48 hours, but it was my first time back in the US in 6 months, and this is what I realized that I missed the most (besides my friends and family, of course!): the ease and incredible selection when shopping for anything, the way restaurants give you a huge, free glass of water filled with ice without you even having to ask for it, and how friendly and chatty strangers are.

We flew from Dublin to Providence with Norwegian Air, which usually has really great deals between Europe and North America (I paid around $250 round trip, which was cheaper than my flight from Lux to Dublin lol).  As neither of us had been to Ireland before, of course we made a holiday out of it.

Day 1 – Doolin

We landed in Dublin jet lagged at 8am, picked up our rental car, and made it about 15 minutes before we had to stop at the nearest coffee shop to gather our wits.  Our ambitious plan was to drive 3 hours to a hostel in Doolin and then check out the Cliffs of Moher.  I’m lucky enough to be able to sleep on flights relatively easily, so I drove while tried to catch some Zs.

From our hotel in Doolin, we headed off on the Cliffs of Moher Walking Trail, but there is also a Hop On Hop Off bus that takes you straight to the visitor center and popular view points.

Cliffs of Moher Walking Trail
Cliffs of Moher Walking Trail
Can you see the water spray rising up above the cliffs?
So greeeeen
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So windy

Holy crap, it was so windy.  It’s a beautiful little hike, a bit muddy, and the waves crashing into the cliffs are awesome.  That day, it was so windy that the mist from the waves down below were being blown straight up.  The wind also literally blew me off my feet, and I tweaked my injured knee and didn’t get to finish the hike.

Cliffs of Moher Walking Trail
My hiking face
Cliffs of Moher Walking Trail
Cliffs of Moher Visitor Center
❤
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Cliffs of Moher

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Slovakia – Banská Štiavnica, High Tatra Mountains, Gerlachovský štít

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I’m alive!  I suppose this is what happens when I work too much…  It’s been 3 months since my last post, so let’s get on with it, continuing from this post on my trip in the Czech Republic.

Day 6 – Banská Štiavnica

This whole trip involved a lot of driving and exploring and hiking, which are all things that I love.  Banská Štiavnica is a cute little medieval mining town about a 2.5 hour drive from Bratislava, with a population of about 10,000 people.  We even had lunch at a restaurant with an old mining shaft in it.  The town crest is decorated with a gold and a silver lizard, referring to the legend that says these lizards first led a shepherd to discover gold and silver ores.

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Banská Štiavnica
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Štôlňa Glanzenberg mining tunnel

We were hoping to get a massage to recover from our Sněžka hike, but were a bit deterred by this sign…

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ouch

Day 7 – High Tatras

The goal of this trip was to climb the highest point in Slovakia, which is located in the High Tatras Mountains.  We had driven in the night before to Štrbské Pleso, a little ski resort at the foot of the mountain range, where we spent the day relaxing and finally getting that massage.  For some reason, we opted for a “local special” as part of the massage, which involved getting strapped into a contraption and being flipped upside down and just hanging out for 15 minutes upside down.  Did not like.  Do not recommend.  Will never willingly do that again.

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Czech Republic – Prague, Bohemian Switzerland, Krkonoše National Park

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Since my surgery, I’ve pretty much been grounded: limited walking, no running, no flights.  However, there were a few trips that I went on beforehand that I haven’t written about yet, so enjoy 🙂

N and I went on a long trip in August while he had some time off, and we did it in an N kind of fashion.  I usually like to do a little research before I go anywhere, and I almost always book my lodging ahead of time because as a woman traveling in a foreign place, I at least want to know where I will be sleeping.  N is way more chill and enjoys having the flexibility of staying longer in a place that he likes.  I tried his method of traveling this time, and it was pretty cool.  We did see a lot of places I knew nothing about, however, it does require decent internet access to look things up or book lodging on the fly (as we had difficulty with while driving through the land without cell towers, otherwise known as Slovakia).

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Vltava River

Day 1 & 2 – Prague

We got to our Praha 8 AirBnb late in the afternoon, visited the very educational Museum of Communism, took a nice stroll through the Old Town Square, and had a nice hearty dinner.  Prague is a gorgeous and lively city, separated into districts with the beautiful old town in Praha 1.  It’s very busy, filled with tourists and families during the day and party goers at night.  Our AirBnb was in a much quieter, more residential district that had several hipster restaurants and cafes.  We went to Můj šálek kávy for breakfast both mornings we were there.  Don’t ask me to pronounce it; I spent nearly the whole trip trying to get “thank you” (Děkuji) down…  During the day, we walked across the Charles Bridge (Karlův most), up to the Prague Castle (Pražský hrad), and then to the modern art Museum Kampa.

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Pretty Praha

Day 3 – Bohemian Switzerland

We rented a car from Prague in the morning and drove 2 hours north to the České Švýcarsko National Park in Bohemian Switzerland for a short hike.  The forest is full of boulders, like Fontainebleau in France or Mullerthal in Luxembourg, and the occasional large rock formation jutting out above the trees.  There’s an iconic formation, Pravčická brána, the largest sandstone arch in Europe.  We hiked to the touristy spot, but holy crap the spot smells like sewage due to the inn located there, and the guy running the ticket booth was so rude and the least helpful person ever.  My recommendation is to view the arch from the hiking trail and don’t bother going up to it.

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Smelly inn and the Pravčická brána arch
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České Švýcarsko National Park

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Stockholm & Helsinki

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A very accomplished friend and former Dell colleague of mine, Ang, was spending 7 weeks traveling around Europe before starting business school at Harvard, and she let me tag along for a stint.

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Hotel Diplomat Stockholm
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Boulebar Rålambshov

Stockholm

We stayed at the City Backpackers Hostel near to the central train station.  It was a great space where we met a bunch of cool people, and the hostel offers a few different types of tours as well.  The first night we were there, we went to the Ice Bar with some random people from the hostel.  It was cold but a bit kitschy for me.  Can’t say I need to do that again.

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Stockholm Public Library

Day 1:  We went to the Stockholm Public Library (I know, I guess have a thing for libraries).  Then Ang and I rented a kayak from Rålis Kayak and even though I still do not know how to kayak properly, we paddled for 2 hours around the Kungsholmen island.  The guys running Rålis Kayak were really chill and nice, but this was the only place we encountered the whole time in Stockholm where we couldn’t pay with our credit cards.

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Strandvägen, Stockholm

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Vienna, Bratislava, Feldkirch, Liechtenstein

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and Zurich too!  Yea, it was a lot for one week.  My main purpose for this trip was to visit family and check out some spots along the way.  My favorite aunt and uncle (who is Austrian), were spending a few weeks in Austria, and I wanted to see them since I was so close.  The last time I saw them was 9 years ago in Beijing, right after I graduated high school.  My uncle currently works for the Austrian embassy in Lima, Peru.  In the past, they have lived in Beijing, Vietnam, Slovenia, New York, and other places, with a home base in Vienna.

My aunt and uncle live in the 21st district of Vienna called Floridsdorf, in the northernmost part of the city limits.  They are for sure an interesting pair!  My uncle started learning Mandarin at university, and he went to Shanghai in the early 80s to continue studying Chinese.  Back then, he was probably the only Western looking guy for miles around, much less one that could speak the language.  He found a job at the Austrian embassy in Beijing, and then met my aunt shortly after.  My mom (her sister) had moved to the US with my dad around that time.  After marrying him, my aunt moved to Austria without knowing a lick of German, and now she and my uncle speak a combination of Mandarin and German with some English and Spanish thrown in for good measure.  It’s quite confusing at times!

So this was my rough and rushed itinerary:  Vienna > Bratislava > Vienna > Feldkirch > Liechtenstein > Feldkirch > Zurich > Luxembourg.  Given how quick each stop was, I’ll just share pics with a few notes.

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Michaelerplatz

Vienna / Wien

  • Food
    • I did a free walking tour and then ate schnitzel at the 3rd gen Figlmüller because the OG and 2nd gen locations were full or closed (respectively).  Was delicious but slightly touristy.
    • I waited in line to have the Sachertorte at the Sacher Hotel Cafe.  Was very delicious, but very touristy and not worth the wait in the hot sun.
  • Sightseeing
    • St Stephen’s Cathedral: lovely square, beautiful roof, crowded
    • St Peter’s Church: gilded and ornate interior, not as crowded as St Stephen’s
    • Austrian National Library: pretty interesting Free Mason exhibit, beautiful old globes, statues, and painted ceilings
    • Belvedere Palace and museum: looove Gustav Klimt, paid €15 for just the Upper Belvedere, then took a stroll around the palace grounds for free
St Stephen’s Cathedral
St Stephen’s Cathedral
St Peter’s Church
St Peter’s Church
Austrian National Library
Austrian National Library
Austrian National Library
Austrian National Library

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48 Hours in Malta

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Contrary to popular belief, or at least my belief, Malta is not full of Maltese dogs running around everywhere.  I didn’t see a single one… 😦

Sand colored buildings, rocky cliffs, and blooming desert shrubs.  Malta is part of the EU and is made up of three main inhabited islands: Malta, Gozo, and Comino.  It used to be part of the British Empire, so people drive on the left and English is an official language (Maltese is the national language).  N doesn’t like driving on the left, so I finally got to pull my weight with some of the driving.

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Qrendi coast next to the Ħaġar Qim Temples

Straight from the airport, we tried to go to the megalithic Ħaġar Qim Temples not too far from the airport.  Unfortunately, we got there just before closing time, and they wouldn’t allow us in.  We were still able to walk around the outside of the UNESCO site and check out the amazing blue ocean.

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Qrendi
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Qrendi

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Italy – Sicily

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Day 1:  After exploring Milan and Venice by myself, I met up with N in Florence for one night, then we flew to Catania in Sicily.  We rented a car and stayed at this lovely little Airbnb with a family of kittens in the courtyard, and spent our first evening walking around the center.

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Catania
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Catania

We got dinner at Trattoria Vecchi Sapori, and at one point, a parade of horses came trotting down the street in front of us.  Accompanied by music, each horse was dressed differently and trotted differently.  Before I could figure out what was going on, it was over.

Day 2:  Woke up to crying kittens and mama cat.  The kittens had fallen from their perch into our patio.  N saved the day and helped the kittens back into their nest.

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Cat Neighbors

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Italy – 48 Hours in Venice

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Question, why are so many Italian city names anglicized?  Milan (Milano), Venice (Venezia), Florence (Firenze), Rome (Roma), but other city names around the world have been de-anglicized.  Beijing (Peking), Mumbai (Bombay), Sri Lanka (Ceylon).  I know there are many examples of other anglicized names besides in Italy such as Munich (München), but why is it so prevalent in Italy?

Venezia

The whole city of Venice and the surrounding lagoon is a UNESCO World Heritage site, so they are not allowed to construct any new buildings.  Interiors are updated and maintained, but facades remain largely unchanged.  The big beautiful doors of buildings that face the canals were actually the “front” doors back when everyone used boats to get around.  The city was founded in the 5th century, and I kept thinking, who had the bright idea to build a city on a bunch of teeny tiny islands??

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Gondolas err’where
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San Marco, Venezia

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Italy – 48 Hours in Milan

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I have been quite lazy and have been putting off writing about my Italy trip.  I’ve got plenty of excuses (adopted a cat, started French classes, interviewed for a job, etc.).  But it also just seemed so daunting, so I’ll be breaking it up into bite sized pieces.

Milano

First impressions, it’s a big city with some very modern and beautiful areas and some slummy areas as well.  The drivers are always in a rush, and can be quite rude (seems like this is kind of just an overall Italian thing).

I stayed in Ostello Bello Grande, and it is probably the best hostel I have stayed at to date.  Honestly the only downside my entire stay there was that my dorm-mates the first night smelled like sweaty feet… but that’s a risk you take at any hostel.  The staff is incredibly friendly and welcoming, the location is right next to the main train station (and a cat cafe), and they offer free breakfast and aperitivo!

Aperitivos are a sort of happy hour with free appetizers (read, delicious Italian food) offered by restaurants and bars throughout the city.  If you want to go out, Deus Café, has an aperitivo with good cocktails.  It’s crowded, even on a Tuesday, and seems to be a trendy place frequented by locals.

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Compero Libri

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Luxembourg – 60 Days In

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Moien!  So it’s been 60 days since I moved to Luxembourg.  It’s flown by so quickly!  Here’s the lowdown of what it’s been like so far.

Luxembourg Fast Facts

  • Official languages are French, German, and Luxemourgish, but most people speak English, as they learn all four in schools
  • Luxembourg is one of the founding members of the EU and the world’s only Grand Duchy, but wait, what is that?  According to Wikipedia, “a grand duchy is a country or territory whose official head of state or ruler is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess.”  So there you go.  Meet Henri.
  • Yes, Luxembourg has an airport AND its own airline.  Luxair flies to 64 destinations across Europe, North Africa, the Mediterranean and Middle East with a fleet size of just 17.  That’s efficiency.
  • Things aren’t as expensive as I thought it would be, what with Lux having the highest GDP per capita in the world.  I think it’s quite comparable to Austin, except that on every corner, there are Ferraris, Maseratis, and other fancy cars that I don’t know the names of.

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