Posted by Christopher Wink on Nov 12, 2008 in
Commentary 
I haven’t really been to the United Kingdom or England or whatever you’d like to call it. I spent less than a week in London, the country’s most populous city and de facto capital. That doesn’t offer much insight into the English mentality. Come to think of it, five days doesn’t allow me to know much about London itself.
I am on year five living in Philadelphia. I started out in a secluded dormitory for the city’s largest university, before renting out the ground floor of a fine rowhome in the Lower Tioga neighborhood.
I don’t know Philadelphia.
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Tags: Europe, WDSTL
Posted by Christopher Wink on Nov 11, 2008 in
Commentary 
Sean enjoying a sausage and fries at Curry 36, a food stall in Berlin, Germany.
I try to avoid American foods when traveling. So I can focus on local delicacies; so I can return home and appreciate it all as I stuff my food bag.
But I had to change plans for one of my favorite American foods: french fries. A handful of European cities have stalls that lay claim to being among the best.
We started the pursuit in Amsterdam and Brussels. Both cities have a rich tradition in French fried potatoes, seriously.
In Amsterdam, Mannekin Pis - like the statue in Brussels, confusingly enough - claims the best fries in Holland - and beyond if you ask the right person.
Belgians say they developed the technique though. We were sent on a long walk south for the best fries in Brussels. They were good - the sausage burgers weren’t - but not worth world renown (video forthcoming).
Then, at a noted sausage stand in Berlin, we came across some more noted fries - Sean’s favorite on the trip.
I think I have to go with Amsterdam’s. Ooh. eating. Anyone have any good Euro-french-fry eating experiences?
Tags: Amsterdam, Belgium, Brussels, Food, Netherlands
Posted by Christopher Wink on Nov 11, 2008 in
Experiences 
Graffiti in a skatepark in Brussels, Belgium. The Philadelphia creation has gone global.
Graffiti is global.
We’ve spotted some great tags across Europe, more so than in even a city like Philadelphia, where the very concept developed - more on that below.
Check a slideshow of some of the best on Flickr.
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Tags: Europe, graffiti
Posted by Christopher Wink on Nov 10, 2008 in
Experiences 
The fixed price menu of Slingerbulten in Stockholm, Sweden on Nov. 3, 2008.
On Monday, Sean and I took on the urban Swedish tradition of dagens rätt, a fixed price menu for lunch, at Slingerbulten in Stockholm.
Fish, potatoes and cabbage, as per tradition, but even more so is the act of a cheap(er) meal for working people in a business district. We paid 80 Swedish krona ($10.5 USD). In a city as expensive as Stockholm, that is divine.
Check video of the feast below.
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Tags: Food, Stockholm, Sweden
Posted by Christopher Wink on Nov 9, 2008 in
Experiences 
Sean Blanda (left) and I on the Philadelphia Art Museum steps on May 28, 2008. Together we travel blogged and podcasted for a month while backpacking Europe.
OK, so we weren’t entirely honest.
If you saw our final episode, you know that Sean and I returned.
On Tuesday, Nov. 4, we flew from Stockholm, Sweden to Dusseldorf, Germany before heading across the pond back to Philadelphia.
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Tags: WDSTL
Posted by Christopher Wink on Nov 9, 2008 in
Experiences 
The bed on which I slept while couchsurfing in Budapest, Hungary on Oct. 20, 2008.
Turns out many of you have been interested in where we slept at nights. So we’ll do you one better. Here is a list of everywhere we stayed, our experiences and any other advice we have about this end of a tour like this.
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Tags: couchsurfing, WDSTL
Posted by Sean Blanda on Nov 8, 2008 in
Podcast
Sean and Chris are back hone in Philadelphia. They go over their regrets and give you advice for your own Eurotrip.
Tags: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Video
Posted by Christopher Wink on Nov 8, 2008 in
Travel Tips 
A photo I took of the Coliseum in Rome March 2007.
More than a year ago I wrote a commentary piece for The Temple News, the college newspaper of my alma mater Temple University, deriding the European continent as location of choice for young travel.
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Tags: Europe
Posted by Christopher Wink on Nov 8, 2008 in
Education 
I am dodgy. I can accept it. So, I didn't go into this London bar on Brick Lane Oct. 3, 2008.
I am hot tempered.
I cringe over costs. Accept them. You are in an unfamiliar place. You will be short 30 pence for a bus ride home in London and get stuck putting 3 pounds on your Oyster card, with an additional $3 charge for using your credit card abroad.
What do you want out of your travel? How do you want to represent yourself and your country. Traveling will make you learn plenty about yourself, which is good because it is rarely as important as when you’re seeing the world.
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Tags: Budget, couchsurfing, currency, Jetsetting
Posted by Christopher Wink on Nov 7, 2008 in
Foreign Perspectives 
Phil spoke English with an American deadpan. But don’t mention that to him.
This Portuguese native who was living and working in Hungary when we met him in Budapest told me his English came from U.S. media our country pushes out into the world.
“Conflicting” messages, he told me. One of the many reasons the world is conflicted about the United States.
Watch my interview with Phil below.
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Tags: Budapest, Hungary, Portugal, Video
