Travel Des 2011 Europe

In the beginning of December, a web oriented conference was held in Paris, namely Le Web. Given that my schedule was free, i.e. done with exams and presentation, I added a couple of days to the stay in Paris and a week dedicated to travel through 4 (5) other European countries.

• Route of the trip - Fairly correct, Google maps doesn't support rail transport

Useful

• Deutsche Bahn - Goto source for all your rail timetable needs, all across Europe
•  Brian's guide to getting around Germany - Lots of tips and quirks about the German railway system
• Seat61 - European train tickets - Figure out how to get the cheapest and best tickets, categorized by departing country

Dec. 7th-11th - Norway - Paris

• SAS flight landed in Paris, route KRS-OSL-CDG, ~780 NOK (~100 EUR)
• Metro tickets, 10 single trip tickets, 12.50 EUR

Eat and see

Paris, and France in general, is famously known for spectacular food and dining. I've tried to list a few below.

• L'as du Falafel - Excellent falafel, fresh and crispy, good service, 7.50 EUR
• Le Marais - Most exciting part of Paris, I think, lots of interesting side-streets to get lost in, old Jewish district, together with Rue de Temple (street), it's a treat
• Au pain d'antan - Rated to have the best baguette 2011, excellent small baguettes with cheese and ham, ~2-3 EUR
• Sacha Finkelsztajn - East European bakery, lots of interesting pastries, try Pierogi and Burek fromage, close to L'as du Falafel
• Boulanger/Patissier Huré - 21 Rue Rambuteau, great lunch place, bakery with lots of specialties, try chicken with brie-like cheese, it's the best, ~1.80 EUR
• Maubert Mutualite Market - Find the libanese stand in the middle somewhere, try the Formule wrap of different tastes, I tried the sesame paste one, goood, 5.70 EUR
• L'Arganier - Morrocan cuisine, the Couscous de poissons (fish) was good, comes on 4 plates, ~14 EUR
• Georges Larnicol, 132 Boulevard Saint-Germain - Confectionery house, lots of goood caramels, pick-and-choose

Dec. 11th-12th - Paris - Brussels, Bruges

• Thalys express train over to Brussels, super comfortable, power, 90 EUR
• InterCity to Bruges, 10 EUR

Eat and see

• Belgium chololate and waffles, delicious, but still prefer Swiss chocolate above all
• The canals - Get lost in the sidestreets of the canals
• Belfort - 83 meter high tower and treasury room, climb to the top for a view over the old medieval city, 8 EUR
• Belle Epoque - Moules and fries, casserole full of cooked moules, typical Belgium dish, first time, tasted great, not chewy, but enough with one time, 21 EUR

Dec. 12th-13th - Bruges - Luxembourg

• InterCity train to Brussels, InterCity Express connection to Luxembourg, 26 EUR

Eat and see

• Trails of the old town and casemates, easy to explore, about 2 hours for both paths around the Grund
• Weihnachtsmarkt, Gromperekichecher, fried potatocakes, 3 pieces, tasted excellent, crispy, 3 EUR
• SushiShop, a medium meny, 18 maki pieces, miso soup, and cucumber salad, self-service, freshly made sushi, maki, sashimi, 13.50 EUR

Dec. 13th-16th - Luxembourg - Zürich

• SNCF Corail Express train, lovely frence express train, nice interior, connection in Bern, 76 EUR

Eat and see

• Hiltl - Self-service buffét but also a la carté, first and oldest vegetarian restaurant in Switzerland, 4.50 EUR per 100 gram, take-away 3.50 EUR
• Tidbits - Smaller Hiltl, bar and restaurant, 4.2 EUR per 100 gram
• Sprüngli - Breakfast place by the chocolate maker, excellent famous Bircher müesli, 6.5 EUR small bowl
• Uetliberg - Amazing view over Zürich and the surrounding landscape, S-bahn S10 takes you up from the city centre
• Grossmünster - Romanesque-style church, stairs to the top, cool view, 4 EUR students
• Old town - Along Niederdorfstrasse there's a specialty stores and a number of (short) side-streets
• Migros, Globus, Coop - Supermarkets, get lost in all the different kind of produce, Globus only has their own branded items
• Frey - Number one chocolate maker in Switzerland, try the Classic Branche and some of the plates
• Camille Bloch - Another good Swiss chocolate maker, try the Ragusa with nougat between two slices of milk chololate
• Bretzelkönig - Grab a quick bite, pretzels with large salt speckles and cheese, ~2.30 EUR
• Botanical Garden - In the centre of the city, view from the top spot

Dec. 16th-20th - Zürich - Vienna, Krakow

• Swiss RailJet Express train to Vienna, over the Arlberg passge, a quick walk through Vienna waiting for my connection, 248 CHF (~195 EUR)
• Wiener Linien, metro system, 1.8 EUR single journey, 5.70 EUR 24-hour ticket, should've used the latter choice
• Polish sleepertrain, overnight connection to Krakow, double sleeper cabin, to Krakow, great comfortable beds/bunk, slightly tilted to give a cozy and stable position

Eat and see

• Chattanooga - Small restaurant in the center of Vienna, fast food versions of local cuisine, the Schnitzel with tea was ok
• Glonojad - The best vegetarian restaurant in Krakow, daily specials, self-service by menu, excellent companion salads, 10-15 PLN, tea 5 PLN
• U Babci Maliny - Traditional polish food, nice medieval interior, excellent Barscsz z jajkiem, beet soup with eggs, 6.50 PLN
• Polakowski - Old traditional polish restaurant, samples available on request, self-service by menu, Zurek with kielbasa sausage is good
• Pierogi 24h - Wide selection of pierogi (ravioli) plates, try the Ruskie, 8.20 PLN

Dec. 21th - Krakow - Torp

• Polish taxi, ~4 PLN per km
• WizzAir back to Norway, 165 PLN (~37 EUR), placed reservation 1 day before
  • Arrived laaate, but thanks to a crazy awesome polish taxi driver, we manage to get there in time at super speeds (talking about 104 km in 40min)

Gear

I tried to keep the things and equipment to a minimul and only travel with a single single backpack.

Equipment

• 1x Arcteryx Mantis 26 litre packpack
• 1x iPhone 4S, cable, charger - Wall-charger unnecessary, charged via USB on the MBA
• 1x MacBook Air, charger
• 1x Nikon D5100 DSLR, charger, card-reader - Completely redundant, was superceeded by the excellent camera on the iPhone 4S
• 1x Sandisk USB drive 8 GB
• 1x Kindle 2

Clothing

• 2x Trousers, jeans and grey
• 2x T-shirts, cotton
• 3x Boxers, synthetic
• 4x Socks, wool
• 1x Cotton sleeper

Toiletries

• 1x Toiletries pack
• 1x Toothbrush
• 1x Deodorant
• 2x Cloth zip bags

Misc

• 1x Passport
• 1x Keys
• 2x Apples, Royal Gala