Travelling can be a massive culinary adventure.... If you have the funds to attend Michelin start restaurants, trip adviser's "Top Rated", and go out most days of the week. But when travelling for an extended time period, not only does it add up tremendously but the palate begins to crave something more simple, more home made.
So naturally, one has a few options: 1) Fast food restaurants (MacDonalds, Cafe Costa, street food) Pros: cheap, fast, minimal language skills required, you will appear as a local on your way home from/to work Cons: greasy, calorie dense food, not sustainable in long term 2) Self Catering Pros: cheaper long term, having a more local experience, better for your stomach (especially after last weekend), good for people with allergies Cons: not always economic short term, must navigate through the zoo of people (in busy cities), time consuming, depends entirely on your culinary skills So, I personally hope everyone will generally try to chose the second option when possible. Not only can you go shopping for food with your little hostel family, but also potentially impress them with your mad skills in the kitchen! It is also a good way to meet people, especially if you are travelling alone. Here are some of my ideas for what to cook: 1) couscous with tomato sauce, sautéed vegetables, and fresh herbs 2) tabouleh salad 3) geek salad 4) panzanella salad 4) cheese and meat (and wine) plate 5) local meat or fish pan fried with some steamed vegetables 6) and of course.. Pasta! Now in case none of the above options are feasible, there is of course.. The third option: 3) Coughing up your heard earned cash for a nice restaurant Pros: Trying local cuisine which is professionally prepared, unwinding in a trendy and relaxed setting, being able to rate it after on trip advisor Cons: quality not always guaranteed by price, they will know you are a tourist as soon as you start to order and switch to English, credit card purchases will be more frequent as you see your cash drain Now....chose wisely!
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Traveling can have many meanings for people. It can mean seeing the grand palaces of old cities, majestic waterfalls and mile long beaches, or overdue reunions. Traveling can mean a continuous journey of being lost and found. Finding yourself through interactions with others, through clarity of thought as we are detached from everyday routine, through finding oneself lost in a city. When I first stepped out of the train at Berlin Central I could feel the buzz in the air. This was a city of the living. There was no one single feeling which I felt about the atmosphere, when making the journey to my Kreuzberg hostel. It is a multitude of new and old, tranquil, packed, fast, slow, happy, angry, posh, bohemian, clean, dirty. Berlin had it all. Maybe it is the 20 some years of living in a quiet, laid back, somewhat conservative city, that has me used to cars stopping for pedestrians, knowing my neighbours by name, the exact time down to the minute it takes to drive to the mountains. Maybe it is that my mind has not been stimulated since the last time I went traveling abroad. All I knew was that even though I knew exactly where the Bahn was going, I was lost in this city, all it's voices, colours, and whispers. Kreuzberg is a super hip and artistic neighbourhood in East Berlin, housing many students, people of Turkish descent, studios, cafes, bars... However, 10 years ago, if you were to take a taxi through Kreuzberg your taxi driver could potentially say that you are entering a "bad" area. Quote, unquote. The buildings in my entire city together probably have the equivalent of one block in Kreuzberg of street art and graffiti. And yet here I was, away from the masses of tourists, or people trying to sell you a walking tour, on a quiet street by the canal, and for the first time in a long time, as I walked, I saw life spring up in the smallest things. Personal touches, on the walls, in the windows... It was in the air. People had really made these streets their own. "If you are racist, homophobic, or an asshole, don't come here" read one message on a hostel window in green marker. I didn't know it yet, but I was home. One of the ways in which I like to get accustomed to a new place is to go out for a jog. It puts me in pace with normal life, before I submerse myself in all the tourist activities. I started down the canal, and as I ran on, past the mothers in scarves pushing strollers, shops already smelling of fresh coffee or kebab, cyclists, other joggers... a familiar feeling came over me; of the days of my childhood, when my grandmother and I would go walking along the river in Ukraine, and of how we used to ride bicycles around the alleys in Canada. This was the first of many such feelings.
The longer I remained there, the more I saw, the more people I spoke to, the more I began to understand the underlying decades of conflict and repression in Berlin. And how after repression came a tidal wave of freedom of expression. People were still very passionate about this, because after all, the wall only came down in 1989/1990. It reflected a conflict which had been inside of me since I moved from my birth country of Ukraine, to Canada. A sort of pressure to fit into society and conform to the "acceptable way" to live your life. Why I still think this is defined by finishing school, buying a house and car, and having kids...I don't know. But what I do know is that for years I was fighting for this normality, to have this kind of life. Sitting in a dim bar at night, decorated with mismatching pieces of furniture and lit just by candlelight I further realized why I like a place with a certain degree of disorder. It is because such places have more character and expression. It is that you are able to be anyone, making the most of what you have, being able to go wherever you wish. It is encouraged to be real, frugal, and enjoy the life which you have. Exactly what I felt more than 20 years ago, when I was a kid, running barefoot on the molten cement of a post world war 2 village in rural Ukraine, getting into trouble. In the days when people grew their own produce, had bomb shelters, and old wives tales were taken seriously. Here, I found freedom. It is intimidating at first. What to do when there is no conversation, no one to make eye contact with? A feeling comes over me, like being that kid who is sitting at the lunchroom table alone, head cast down in shame.
But if one can look past all this, and simply start to observe the situation, we can start to notice some patterns: 1) The couple who are not much quieter than yourself 2) Girls (or guys) lost in deep conversation 3) Parents trying to contain the food mess which their kids are rapidly creating Are any of these people staring, or feeling sorry for me? At the end of the day, we are the ones who feel sorry for ourselves, for some unknown reason. So, the perks of eating alone: 1) People treat you nicer: So maybe they do feel sorry, but use this to your advantage! When was the last time the server smiled and asked you more than just how you were? 2) Food comes faster, and overall service is faster: Aside from the obvious reason that your friends' food is not holding up yours, and vice versa, you make up your mind quickly about menu choice (or take your time to make it seem like you are there to stay awhile!) 3) You can think more clear, and plan: This is a good time during traveling to find things to do, book hostels (granted there is Wifi), catch up with friends, emails, ect. Things that are typically not possible, nor polite, during conversation with someone. I personally like to reflect in a travel journal, jot down cool things and places I have seen, and shoot off a few emails so people know I am okay) 4) You are the master of your universe, and others can see that you are not scared to eat alone: Be fearless, people watch, and order something you have never tried before! Having said all this...Here are some tips: -Chose restaurants that are busy, this helping you to blend into the crowd -Bar seats are ideal for lone diners, giving you private space and if you are lucky, a good direction in which to people watch -Start up a conversation with another lone diner... Who knows, you could be soul mates, or friends for life! Overall, if you haven't tried it, try it! And if you have been taking food "To Go" back to your hotel or dorm, then brave the restaurant or public kitchen! Feel comfortable in your own skin, and your own mind. |
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April 2016
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