This page is organized with categorical best features from various segments of my trip. Everything is highly subjective, and as much a function of my own experience with people and weather and a number of variables as with whatever it is I’ve ranked as the Best. It’s also affected by memory – what I’ve remained fonder of after the fact is more likely to get a nod, with only some regard to my experience and emotions at the time. Additionally, I had great experiences all over the world, and thus don’t want this collection of best experiences to be too skewed to only a few places where I had the best of times. Therefore I have elevated some others to the title of ‘best’ to diversify the pack. With that said, consider it a highlight reel that is meant to be referenced with my posts rather than a standalone summary of my experiences.
The Best of the Best:
PLACES
The best country: Japan. I am a sucker for big dense cities, efficiency, good use of technology, beautiful landscapes, good food, and peculiar cultures, all as foreign as possible from what I’m used to. Japan delivered on all this and more. (Runner up: Italy, placed: Vietnam)
The best city: Rome. It was beautiful. The food was excellent. The architecture was iconic. The history was unsurpassed. Even though it was overwhelmed with tourists, it’s the kind of place that’s worthy of all the tourism, so it is the nature of the beast.
The best town: Nagarkot, Nepal. This quiet village was nestled in the green mountains at the foothills of the Himalayas, where the near scenery displayed terraced farms while the white capped Himalays rose well above where your brain thought the horizon should be. Friendly locals, a peaceful vibe, happy backpackers, and plenty of day hikes made it a perfect peaceful retreat.
The best countryside: Switzerland. Words can’t describe the beauty of these mountains. Big rocks and snow caps and ranges that go on for eternity make the vertical nature here unbelievable. Farms and villages spread across rolling hills for miles interspersed with blue lakes make every plane far from plain.
The best mountain: Everest. Bigger isn’t always better, but it is in the case of buildings and mountains. Seeing Everest from the plane and during sunrise from a hilltop really far away was special.
The best beach: Nacpan Beach, El Nido, Philippines. Great weather. Great waves. Twin beaches. Great people. Unforgettable 3 days.
The best ocean: Pacific. The best beaches I visited were here, and I swam the most here, and I boated the most here. It is big and blue and beautiful along so many of the coastlines I frequented.
The best river: Meuse. I spent a few days inadvertently following the Meuse through central Europe, enjoying it in Maastricht, Liege, Luxembourg, and France.
The best lake: Ratchaprapha Lake, Khao Sok, Thailand. Despite being man-made, this was one of the more stunning aquatic environments.
The best island: Kauai. Hawaii’s western “Garden Island” was stunning, with green cliffs and ridges were permeated with red canyons overlooking clear blue waters.
The best forest: The bamboo forest at Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. After being inundated with tourists, this meandering path along bamboo on one side and deciduous trees on the other was both pleasant looking and a peaceful hiatus from the crowds.
The best jungle: Khao Sok National Park (also the best lake if you’re keeping track) in Thailand
The best garden: Tivoli – if I saw this place in a movie I probably wouldn’t believe it was real. It was that fantastical.
The best skyline: Singapore had some of the neatest modern architecture around. While Dubai was a runner up, it was a facade, and only special from one angle.
The best new building: Burj Khalifa. Bigger isn’t always better, but this time it was.
The best old building: The Taj Mahal – there’s a reason this thing’s a wonder of the world, and it’s because it’s fantabulous.
The best rooftop: Chillout Hostel in Jaipur, India, had a chill rooftop bar/cafe, area of bean bags, artsy design, bright colors, great staff and guests, and in a country where it wasn’t always pleasant to be out and about on the street at night, was a great haven. I made this category thinking it would be a skyscraper, but looking back I would give up those high up city views before sacrificing the memories from the Chillout roof.
The best exterior: Burano. The brightly painted homes on the island suburb of Venice made me all giddy inside. It was a fun place to spend a few hours, and the bright homes made the gloomy day all the more pleasant.
The best interior: Pantheon. The design and age and size and ratios and materials and details and sound quality and lighting make the Pantheon a true architectural jewel of human history.
The best view: The Buddha Stoupa in Kathmandu. Here the views of Kathmandu, mountains, a massive conglermation of Buddhist prayer flags, wild monkeys, and beautiful thousand year old architecture made it a truly memorable spot.
The best synagogue: Nueue Synagogue in Mainz, Germany. Eye catching modern architecture made this one special. And this was the only one I prayed in.
The best church: The Cologne Cathedral. Doubling on German houses of worship here, the cathedral was huge and ornate and spectacular inside and out.
The best temple: Ta Prohm in Siem Reap stands out in memory as the best, though Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat were both extra special too. Here nature’s dominance over man’s attempt at architectural holiness was both beautiful and symbolic.
The best shrine: The Grand Shrine at Ise, where I had an authentic moment with a few thousand Japanese folks in the quiet wooded religious site.
The best castle: Burg Eltz – no one ever forgets their first castle.
The best fort: The Amber Palace in the Indian city of Jaipur. Nestled on the hillside of a long and breathtaking valley, this old building had no shortage of views and gorgeous materials and lengthy corridors with al sorts of rooms and levels, all at an impressive scale.
The best cemetery: Okunoin Cemetery on Mt. Koya, Japan’s largest with over 200,000 graves. With massive trees, statues, shrines, and an eerie foggy feel, this was the most interesting cemetery I saw (and I saw too many).
The best museum: Museum Ludwig, in Cologne. With art from various snapshots in time, predominantly in the modern era in a big collection spread across vast spaces, this place was the exact type of art museum I want to see.
The best statue: Big White Buddha in Pai. This one had the best setting, was immense, had oh so many steps to get there, views for days, and was just peaceful and pretty at the end of the day (especially when illuminated by the setting sun at the end of the day).
The best university campus: The LIST campus in Luxembourg’s Esch Sur Alzette was the most interesting and unique (the University of Bologna’s very old campus was a close second).
The best airport: Singapore’s high end modern clean and decked out airport lived up to the hype.
The best subway: Japan. Here the subway had electronic signs constantly updating with information about the train in Japanese and English, was clean, reliable, comfortable, convenient, frequent, had great signage and priority seating, and was associated with incredible underground shopping.
The best flora: Singapore. I’ve never seen such beautiful and large and healthy and abundant orchids in my life. Singapore was the closest I got to the equator on my travels and it showed, the plants were diverse and lush and stunning.
The best fauna: India. Best is subjective here – I didn’t appreciate many of the animals I encountered, but I did enjoy witnessing the range of species that doted city streets and train stations and rooftops and open space. Between cats and dogs, monkeys, cows, goats, a camel, an elephant, donkeys, exotic birds including a kingfisher, and who knows what else, the diversity in the animals I saw up close and personal was greatest here.
EXPERIENCES
The best water activity: Canyoneering in Kawasan Falls on the island of Cebu in the Philippines. Sorry scuba diving, but the action packed adrenaline inducing and all the while beautiful canyon ledge jumping stands out in my mind as the most special thing I did in the water.
The best air activity: Paragliding in Nagarkot, no doubt. Flying above the terraced farms and near the Himalayas and even above an eagle was incredible and memorable and one of the best things I did anywhere, not just in the air.
The best land activity: Hiking in the Swiss Alps, from Schynige Platte to First. Soaring mountains, green lake filled valleys, and stunning vistas experienced from crunchy snow made this one a special thing to do on land.
The best fire activity: The fire shows in Ko Phi Phi. Watching these guys spin their flames night after night, while stacking themselves on top of one another, tight rope walking, or whatever other insane feats they could do, while facilitating a massive beach party, was, as they say, fire.
The best heart activity: Visiting German cemeteries to see relatives is the meaningful experience that wins out here. What exactly is a heart activity? Well, I had begun with land and water, and added air, and then I was only one element away from the big four with fire. At that point, if you’ve seen Captain Planet or the Fifth Element, the one remaining it’s heart (or something like that).
The best event: Oktoberfest in Munich. This was the biggest thing I attended, and as a lover of the hoppy nectar, something this huge celebrating beer, and the start of my widdershins, was an amazing experience. The fact that all of the tents and rides and infrastructure gets built and disassembled each year dating back well over a century was further astounding.
The best tour: Mao’s tour of the temples of Siem Reap, Cambodia, which I went on with my cousin Karen, was numero uno as far as tours went. He was great and the content was other worldly (or perhaps, other era-ly).
The best day trip: Island Hopping in the Philippines. I said it once and I said it again. One of the best days was this boat trip, hosted by Mad Monkey Hostel in Nacpan Beach, where we snorkeled, ate, drank, swam, jumped, relaxed, and soaked in the sun and sand and cliffs and caves. A perfect day in a perfect place.
The best flight: Singapore Airlines redeye from JFK to Frankfurt on October 1, 2019. This was how I started my trip, and was the nicest plane, best plane food, and best staff. And the excitement from kicking off the widdershinning is unbeatable. I took no photos of or from the plane, so here’s one of me getting ready to go.
The best train: Overnight train from Hanoi to Hue. I slept like a baby on the top bunk in my 4-person cabin during the 13-hour train ride that sped through the Vietnamese countryside.
The best bus: The shuttle ride in Kaho Sok National Park en route to the lake, where we passed by jungles and great scenery, with great company. I didn’t take any photos on this ride, so here is an image of the road to our Jungle Huts hotel.
The best drive: Austrian Alps. Wait, didn’t I say Swiss Alps before? Well, they were both great (way back when I initially crowned the Swiss Alps I thought about making them a tie). I’ve been given Switzerland a good bit of love here, so this is to diversify it all. This drive featured massive mountains, fog making it all the more surprising when a peak popped out of nowhere, and multiple filming locations from the Sound of Music.
The best ride: The Easy Rider from Hue to Hoi An. The second time I had ridden on a motorcycle (they picked me up to go paragliding a few weeks earlier on one as well), this ride along the Hai Van Pass had ocean, mountains, cities, towns, and lunch.
The best boat: Mekong Delta Sunrise Tour. One of the most unique experiences of the trip was visiting the Cai Rong floating market on the Mekong at sunrise, and then proceeding through some otherworldly densely flora rich Vietnamese backwoods.
The best car: Camaro in Oahu. I got two silver Camaros, but the one in Oahu was newer and didn’t have nearly as much damage. Here are some photos of both, because you can’t tell the difference.
The best hostel: Cheerful Hoi An Hostel. There were some good ones along the way, with the first runner up being Balmer’s in Interlaken. But good facilities, an amazing breakfast that was included, and Hien, the best proprietor ever, made this one the best of the world. Additional nods to Jaipur’s Chillout Hostel, Pai’s Common Grounds, Munich’s Meininger Hotel, Nagarkot’s Hotel Mt. Paradise, and Mad Monkey Nacpan Beach.
The best hotel: Memoire D’Angkor in Siem Reap. This was probably the nicest place I stayed, and wasn’t nearly me most expensive accommodation due to Cambodia’s suppressed economy. Took no photos here, so please enjoy this one of a nearby temple.
The best host: Matt and Debi, in LA. I was lucky enough to get free accommodation from a couple of friends and one stranger (loose friend of a friend) along the way. Eli, Sami, and Davide all get a special thanks, but my 3 nights and great days with Matt were the glaze on the cherry on the icing on the cake at the very end of this incredible trip. I took no photos here, so please enjoy this one of the nearby Sunset Blvd at sunset.
The best airbnb: Prague. Context is everything here. I arrived in Prague around 4pm on a Friday without a place to stay. I spent the next 7 hours trying to find a place. When I finally got into this clean and quiet apartment it was the biggest relief of the whole trip. I took no photos here, so please enjoy this one of the nearby cityscape.
FOOD AND DRINK
The best breakfast: Menemen, the Turkish scrambled egg dish in Dubai, wasn’t profound (and isn’t great to look at) but was great and something I plan to incorporate into my own repertoire. Unlimited great bread, honeyed butter, and Turkish coffee with honey in it helped round out this widdershinning winning breakfast.
The best lunch: This lunch set in Nara had everything. Ev-er-y-thing. I just happened upon this restaurant, making all the more serendipitous.
The best dinner: The tasting menu at Veritas Restaurant in Naples. Dinner isn’t just the food, but the meal includes the company and ambiance. A phenomenal Michelin star tasting menu with great company (Max and Rachael) helps.
The best street food: Aloo Puri Chaat on the streets of Kathmandu, with it’s crunchy, soft, sweet, spicy, savory everything in one bite.
The best fast food: Banh Trang Trung, a crispy Vietnamese pizza-ish dish from Hue. This one’s open ended as to wether or not it’s fast food, but it was great and I received it quickly after ordering it. It was definitely street food, but that winner was already crowned.
The best pasta dish: Lasagna Bolognese in Bologna was everything Italian should and could ever be.
The best noodle dish: Kamo Zaru Soba (with duck). These noodles had bit and flavor and were Michelin starred Nanina Okina in Osaka, while still affordable.
The best dumpling: Singaporean Soup Dumplings from a Michelin acknowledged hawker stall was number one, and the best thing I ate in Singapore too (brief consideration was given to pierogis but Poland cuisine cannot compare to the wide ranging flavors of Asia).
The best soup: Slovenian Lamb Stew on Lake Bled. The rich brothy meaty meal had depth and subtle spices and was the perfect cozy escape from a cold wet night. And some additional pasta makes everything better.
The best meat: Kobe beef dinner in Kyoto. Delicious. Tender. Melt in your mouthy.
The best dairy: This ravioli for lunch in Tivoli. The name of the restaurant eludes me. As someone dependent on Lactaid, this was savored so much more.
The best fish: Pickled herring in Wroclaw, Poland, with an apple yogurt compote or something in the middle. I had a few good fish dishes in both Europe and Asia but this one was more unique and memorable. The quality of the photo is not commensurate with the food.
The best fruit: Mangoes in Southeast Asia. The fresh fruit throughout this region was all bursting with flavor and made for great breakfasts, snacks, desserts, smoothies, what have you. But the mango stood out (runners up were passionfruit, dragonfruit, and pineapple).
The best veggie dish: Thali Set – I had a couple of these for dinner at Hotel Mt. Paradise in Nagarkot and another for lunch in Agra. A variety of local flavors and ingredients which some locals ate one of per day as their only meal.
The best dessert: Gelato from Gioliti in Rome. I got coffee, dark chocolate (the chocolate was non-dairy believe it or not), with store-made whipped cream.
The best sweet: Belgian waffle from Une Gaufrette Saperlipopette in Liege. Could this have been a dessert? Absolutely. Did I have it as my breakfast that day? Yes. Do I still wonder if I should’ve had another one? Always. Was it the best single thing I ate on the entire trip? Possibly.
The best coffee: Egg coffee in Hanoi. I was excited for bold Vietnamese coffee in general and didn’t even know to be excited for egg coffee until I got here. It was basically coffee and custard.
The best beer: Chang beer in Thailand. There were definitely some good beers along the way. I had many of these in Europe. But none was more drinkable nor singularly adopted as my beer of choice than Thailand’s Chang Beer.
The best wine: Wine pairing in Krackow, which I had with my four course tasting menu. The wines were the highlight was the food was unremarkable for the price and quality of physical restaurant. I couldn’t tell you what wines I had, but here’s a photo of a good red with some lame meat.
The best liquor: Japanese single malt whiskey. There were a few. I never really knew which one I was drinking. But they were great. Smooth, golden, sometimes smoky, always tasty.
The best cocktail: The All Evil, from Nokishita711 Gin and Cocktail Bar in Kyoto (see best bar, below). It was fruity, bubbly, sweet, sour, tart, umami, floral, and served in what appeared to be a handmade ceramic bowl.
The best bar: Nokishita711 Gin and Cocktail Bar in Kyoto. This teensy tiny place had the most inventive cocktails I’ve ever seen, was adorable, and the price of every drink was “pay what you want,” which they actually stood by! I would go back to Japan just to spend another hour in this bar.
The best restaurant: Robot Restaurant in Tokyo. The food was shit. But no restaurant put on a show quite like this one, with multiple acts, a massive cast, music, lights, lasers, aliens, dinosaurs, robots, swordfights, and cosplay. Ending with a Kumbaya moment.
The best cuisine: Italian. Japanese and Vietnamese are runners up, in that order. But Italian food is so rich, celebrates great meat, seafood, cheese, and carbs. Oh the carbs. And the desserts. And the pizza. All so good.
CULTURE
The best people: The Thai. They were friendly, kind, welcoming, fun, wild, acrobatic, accommodating, and showcased their incredible country.
The best language: Italian. No people sound more like they’re singing when speaking plain words than the Italians. Their flowery language was beautiful, and their handsy-ness when they spoke made it all the more interesting and entertaining. The highlight of the physical language they used was the swipe swipe. I really took to this, wiping any any comment, thought, person, disturbance, sight, or sound, with a quick flick of the wrist. Because I have no photos of it or the language, here’s Italian Larry David waiting for the bus.
The best manners: Japanese. Quiet, reserved, polite, thoughtful, friendly enough (at least when drinking), and strict adherence to all the rules made them memorably well mannered.
The best service: Los Angeles. I had to adjust my expectations to not be disappointed with most of the service around the world. Sure, I ate at or visited some nice places that took unusually good care of me, but in general, the quality of service in the United States exceeds those abroad. I’m not an advocate of our waitstaff needing to work for tips, but the difference was noticeable. Here’s Sunday brunch from Electric Owl in LA.
The best fashion: French. Milan was something else, but I didn’t consistently see well dressed people across Italy like I did in my brief encounter with France. The French are just a fit and well put together bunch. I didn’t really capture great photos of it, so here’s a random one from Strasbourg.
The Best of the Rest. As I went I rated a handful of things from each place or segment of the trip. Some of my favorite things from around the world are listed here, in a non-comprehensive format.
I spent about a week in Hawaii, where I had a glorious time due to the surroundings and knowledge that I had to milk every last drop out of the end of my trip. In my small sample size, the best island was Kauai. The best place was Waimea Canyon, while the best hike was to Hanakapi’ai Falls (also the best waterfall). The best activity was indeed hiking, though sitting idly on the beach was great. The best beach was Ke’e Beach. The best thing I ate was a cali burger from Street Burger (the fish tacos were good but I didn’t have any great ones). The best way to get around was definitely by my Camaro. The best thing I drank was Kona Brewing’s Big Wave lager.
Asia as follows:
The best of India and Nepal; where I balanced plenty of good with some memorable bad. The best meal was the dahi puri street food I had in Nepal. The best city was Kochi in southern India. The best town was Nepal’s Nagarkot. The best view was from my Everest Flight. The best temple was Kathmandu’s Bouda Stupa, while the best building was the Taj Mahal. The best waterfront was Alleppey Beach.
My time in the “still developing” nations of Nepal and India was bookended by dramatically different experiences in two of Asia’s most wealthy and modern cities, Dubai and Singapore. These two cities get their own category of “best of,” being my two stops in wealthy modern cities of Asia. The best dish was the steamed mini buns (soup dumplings) from the Zhong Guo La Mian hawker stall. The best view and best sunset came courtesy if the best building, the Burj Khalifa. The best plant were the many orchids in Singapore’s Botanical Garden. The indoor environment was the cloud forest greenhouse, the best outdoor was the botanical garden, both of Singapore. The best beach was Jumeirah Beach. The best drink was mint lemonade in dubai. The best moment(s) was reconnecting with Aaron.
Twelve days I spent in Vietnam and 3 in Cambodia, with some incredible and memorable places and moments. Of particular note are the best natural place, Halong Bay. The best city in my eyes was Hoi An for its beauty, activity, and food. The best experience might have been going to the Cai Rong Floating Market in the Mekong River in Can Tho. The best street food was banh trang trung in Hue, while the best dish was the pho bo in Hanoi. Hanoi was also home to the best drink, Cafe Giang’s egg coffee. The best lodging I had was without a doubt Hien’s Cheerful Hostel in Hoi An. The best means of travel was being a passenger on the easy rider motorcycle from Hue to Hoi An. The best companion was my cousin Karen. The best building was Angkor Wat for it’s size and carvings.
The best of Thailand is chock full of tough choices. The best thing I ate was Khao Soi in Chiang Mai. The best thing I drank was Chang beer. The best city/town was Pai. The best beach was Ko Phi Phi for its beautiful serene days and crazy nights. Though the best natural place was Khao Sok National Park. The best building was Bangkok’s Sri Maha Mariamman Temple. The best moment was being surrounded by a school of trevaly and a napolean wrasse while diving in the Siliman Islands.
The Philippines were great. Specifically, the best beach was Nacpan Beach, which was on the best island of Palawan. The best experience was the Palawan island hopping boat. The best traditional thing I ate was my last meal of chicken and rice in Cebu (most food was western). The best lodging was Hanover Hostel in Moalboal. The best not-beach natural place was Kawasan Falls. The best sunset (there were a few good ones) was from Las Cabanas Beach in El Nido. The best thing I drank was a tropical fruit smoothie.
Japan. Maybe the best country? So many incredible things here. Some highlights included the best city, Tokyo, and town, Ise. My meals were diverse enough that I shall not crown a single one. My best sushi was the last conveyor belt sushi I got in Tokyo (not sure of the name). My best noodle dish was Kamu Zaru Soba from Osaka’s Naniwa Okina. The best other dish was the hitsumabushi unagi in Nagoya. The best drink was the All Evil in the best bar, Nokishita 711 Gin and Cocktail Lab. The best old building was the Grand Shrine at Ise, while the best new building was Osaka’s Umeda Sky Building. The best day was the excursion to Mt Fuji. The best night was somehow my last night in Japan, where I wound up solo barhopping around Osaka, finding odd watering holes and chatting up travelers and locals alike. The best ride to get from A to B was the fastest, the Shinkansen train from Tokyo to Nagoya. The best store was not Don Quijote, but was Seven Eleven for its ubiquitousness, variety, prices, bathrooms, ATMs, trash cans, and quality.
The Best of Europe! See below for categories, but each single best something or other in Europe is featured here. Obviously this is subjective, a result of my limited itinerary, and based on sometimes intangible qualitative factors.
The best country in Europe was Italy, from Burano in the north to Capri in the south. Thanks to the history, the coastline, the rolling hills, mountains, lakes, seas, food, etc. etc. etc.
The best savory thing I ate in Europe was a tie between the pickled herring with appley yogurt in Wroclaw and Bologna’s own lasagna bolognese.
The best sweet thing I ate in Europe was the Belgian Waffle from Liege. I’ll reiterate that it was soft and chewy and sweet and sustaining and definitely, beyond the shadow of a doubt, from Narnia.
The best thing I drank in Europe was… maybe the aperol spritz? Maybe one of the glasses of wine with my Krakow tasting menu? Nah, drinks are all about company, and the best has to be whatever the hell I got from Jerry Thomas Speakeasy in Rome. Sometimes when you’re told you’re attending one of the best bars in the world, your brain accepts this fact, and voila.
The best building in Europe was the Cologne Cathedral (sorry Pantheon). The detail and scale and exterior and interior were just unbeatable.
The best natural feature in Europe was the Cave of Postojna in Slovenia. It’s just hard to fathom that places like this exist on Earth.
The best manmade landscape was the Tivoli Gardens. This expansive complex had countless fountains, moss covered statues, topography, and pleasant surprises around every corner.
The best statue in Europe was TBD
The best piece of art in Europe was TBD
The best drive in Europe was through the Swiss Alps. Verdant green valleys. Snow capped mountains. Old stone carved tunnels. Cows. Sheepies. Foliage. It had it all.
The best vista in Europe was overlooking Rudescheim am Rhein.
The best tour guide / tour in Europe was Mattuesz’s tour of the Jewish Quarter of Krakow.
The best event in Europe was Munich’s Oktoberfest. Food, beer, hundreds of thousands of people, culture, beer, many huge tents built for this event alone, history, beer, beer, etc.
The best town of Europe was Fucking Austria. Fuckin A, could it be anywhere else?
The best city in Europe was Rome (I suppose it’s no surprise that there’s overlap between the top city and country). It had everything. Food, architecture, ruins, people I was happy to spend time with, good urban scene, and so on.
Below is the geographical best of various segments from my time in Europe. In a tournament style bracket of trip highlights these would essentially comprise the first two days of March Madness. The cream of the crop is featured above, but when it comes down to it, nearly everything has been amazing and enriching and worthwhile and the things I list on this page only represent the tip of the iceberg of my experiences on this trip.
Having one country complete, the Best of Germany awards can now be distributed. They include the best beer: Lowenbrau. The best dish: kasesspaetzel in Cologne. The best place: Rudescheim am Rhein. The best activity: Oktoberfest. The best building: Cologne Cathedral. The best moment: breaking the Yom Kippur fast (if you’ve ever broken a fast, you’d probably agree that this was the best moment in recent memory).
I spent less then 24 hours in each of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. The awards for the ‘one day countries’ are here. The best drink: Sauvignon Blanc in Strasbourg. The best dish: Belgian Waffle in Liege. The best country: France. The best locale: Strasbourg. The best activity: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard at the Rockhal in Esch-Sur-Alzette. The best building: Notre Dame of Strasbourg. The best view: Bauldin-Turm (Baldwin Tower) in northeast Belgium.
I spent 13 days in Italy, so there’s some tough competition here, especially with food. The best building is the Pantheon. The best view was afforded from the terrace if the Bellevue Syrene in Sorrento. The best place was the island of Capri (sorry Burano), but for cities specifically it’s gotta be Rome. The best drink is the Aperol Spritz. The best pizza was from Gusta Pizza in Florence. The best pasta was Lasagna Bolognese. The best dessert was Giolotti’s gelato. However the best restaurant was Veritas in Naples. The best space was the Gardens of Tivoli. The best lodging was Davide and Marco’s due to their ridiculous hospitality of strangers.
I previously skipped over Switzerland so I could have a best of Alpine countries. Austria, Slovenia, and Switzerland are lumped together for this purpose. The best country of the 3 is Switzerland. The best place was atop the Swiss Alps. But the best name of a place was Fucking Austria. The best meal was Bled’s Lamb Stew. The best lodging was Balmer’s in Interlaken. The best drive was through the Austrian Alps.
My last group of places in Europe, Prague and Poland. The “Eastern Europe” section of “The Best of.” The best city out of these three was Prague. The best lodging was the Hotel Sofia in Wroclaw. The best dish I ate was Pickled Herring with apple and yogurt in Wroclaw. My best drink was lemon vodka in Krakow. The best view was offered by the Prague TV Tower. The best building? Hmmmm, going to have to go with Prague Castle’s Cathedral. The best person was my fellow Prague housing refugee, Karun. The best statue was (sorry gnomes) the Kafka Head in Prague. The best natural feature was the Oder River in Wroclaw.
Widdershinning Weiss 