Pickle Deli Square

Design

At the Mercedes-Benz Museum, I saw a photo of a housing development that I remembered studying in Design History class: the Weissenhof Estate. I'd forgotten it was in Stuttgart! So I went online to check out the place, called to verify that they were open (since it was Monday, and also the May 1 holiday), and hurried to take the train and bus back over to the west side of town.

The Weissenhof Estate was a model development by the city of Stuttgart planned by Mies van der Rohe, and designed to experiment with new models of housing. It was an image of this townhouse complex designed by J.J.P. Oud that made me suddenly remember the slides in Design History class.

May 8

May 8 Cars! Cars! Cars...2! A visit to the Mercedes-Benz Museum

Design

After visiting the Porsche Museum, it was time to head back to the Stuttgart Hauptbanhof to catch the S-bahn to Neckar Park - basically clear on the other side of town. I only had time at Hauptbanhof to pick up a sandwich and pastry in the station, to eat while waiting for the next train.

Unlike the Porsche Museum with its advantageous location adjacent to the station, you do have to walk about 15 minutes from the station to the Mercedes-Benz Museum. It's fairly well signposted, though.

On the other hand, like the Porsche Museum, there's a vanity roundabout sculpture next to the museum. While the Porsche Museum had Porsches mounted on top of three tall posts, the Mercedes-Benz version is a more subtle, extruded 3-pointed star.

May 7

May 7 Cars! Cars! Cars! A visit to the Porsche Museum

Design

When I was looking for a destination around Europe to spend my May 1, International Labor Day, long weekend, I decided to combine Strasbourg, with its charming village feeling, and Stuttgart, known for being the industrial home of Porsche and Mercedes-Benz.

Just after waking up, I hopped on the S-Bahn from Hauptbanhof to Neuwirtshaus/Porscheplatz station. The museum is right there, adjacent to the train tracks.

I was impressed with the service as soon as I walked up to the ticket counter. The attendant proactively asked me if I had taken public transit to the museum. Indeed I had, and upon showing my transit day pass, I learned that I got half-price admission, paying €4 instead of €8! This discount wasn't published anywhere on the website, so it was a very pleasant surprise!

May 6

May 6 Lodging Review: Hôtel Vendôme, Strasbourg France

Though I was in Strasbourg two days and Stuttgart one, I spent only one night in Strasbourg and two in Stuttgart due to flight and train schedules.

I thought choosing a place near the train station would be handy, to drop bags off upon arrival in the morning, and to leave in storage and pick up again just before boarding the train.

With a rate of just $64 including taxes for one night, the price was right. And as you can see in this photo, it really was right next to the modern, bulbous Strasbourg train terminal.

May 5

May 5 Gluttony at Gurtlerhoft Restaurant

For lunch the next day, I chose Gurtlerhoft Restaurant. It's situated right next to the Cathedral, and seemed quite popular with tourist groups. But I had read some convincing reviews from locals who praised the food here, so had decided to give it a try.

You go down a flight of stairs and enter this "cave." All of Strasbourg is so atmospheric!

May 4

May 4 Hearty Alsatian Cuisine at Wine Tavern Fink'Stuebel

Besides storybook scenery, the food of Alsace-Lorraine was something that really drew me to visit. And apparently the wine taverns are the place to go for hearty, traditional food.

Fink'Stuebel fit be bill.

May 3

May 3 Impressions: Strasbourg, France

Strasbourg is fairy tale charming. It's probably one of the things that compelled me to visit - it just seemed so "European!"

You imagine Beauty and the Beast taking place in a town like this; in fact, it's said that the town from which the Disney animators drew inspiration is just south of Strasbourg.

I think there are probably a few American apartment developments or subdivisions inspired by the Alsace region!

May 2

May 2 Lodging Review: Motel One Stuttgart

I had stayed at a Motel One a few years ago in Munich, and thought the concept was quite attractive: modern rooms with just what you need at a reasonable cost. One of the Motel Ones in Stuttgart (there are a few) was just a block from the Hauptbanhof (train station), and given that I had late evening/early arrivals in Stuttgart both times I was passing through, this hotel was a logical choice.

Apr 29

Apr 29 VLC-ZRH-STR: making a 10-minute connection!

So much for "Swiss punctuality."

Posters on a certain frequent flyer message board often like to say how efficient, punctual, and reliable SWISS is, along with their partner Lufthansa. I guess it's the national reputations of Switzerland and Germany influencing the perception of the national airlines. Though if you look at the statistics, Iberia has been the most punctual airline in the world the past few years, the stereotype of Spanish people being lazy and tardy notwithstanding.

So I had confidently booked a 45 minute connection in Zurich Airport, for my flight from Valencia to Stuttgart. It was a way to maximize my work day, yet still arrive in Stuttgart the same evening.

When I got to the airport, however, I found out that the flight was delayed 35 minutes! And the check-in agents refused to look for alternate possibilities, telling me that I had to go to Zurich to be rebooked. How does this make sense? What if it became so delayed that I would be stranded in Zurich while in Valencia I could just go home?

So I was left with little choice but to head through security and cross my fingers that it would all be resolved in Zurich.

Apr 28

Apr 28 Lounge Review: Sala Cap des Falcó Ibiza

Ibiza is a small airport, so the chances of spending a lot of time here are probably not great. Still, they have an Aena-operated lounge called Sala Cap des Falcó, which is accessible by Priority Pass!

It's located at one of the ends of the terminal, near gate 1. So after coming through security, make a U-turn. Don't make the mistake that I did and walk to the opposite end of the terminal!

Apr 27

Apr 27 All About Bullit: Ibiza's fish-boil-paella multi-course meal

Separated by only 100 miles, Ibiza and Valencia share some food customs, naturally. Typical Ibicenco foods include the sausages botifarra and sobrasada, which can also be found on the mainland. Surprisingly to me, a lot of the typical products and dishes involve meat, when I had thought that seafood would play more of a starring role.

One dish that does highlight seafood is the dish "bullit." It's a cool concept of featuring the same produce in different forms, akin to Peking Duck, where first you eat the skin, then the meat inside of buns, then a broth with the duck bones.

We tried bullit at the restaurant Es Calo, in Es Calo ;) , on the island of Formentera.

Apr 26

Apr 26 Formentera Day Trip Itinerary

Formentera is an island quite close to Ibiza, and popular for day-trippers. Here's an outline for an itinerary to get a taste of Formentera in one day.

First, there are a couple different ferry companies that go between Ibiza and Formentera. They're comparable in cost and all advertise a 30-minute "fast ferry" ride. Our trip time was more like 45-50 minutes! I can't imagine how long the 1-hour "slow ferry" would take...

Our first stop was Ses Illetes, a narrow spit of land going into the sea. I just couldn't get over how clear and blue the waters were here!

Apr 25

Apr 25 Impressions: Ibiza

Before visiting Ibiza, I used to think of beaches and partying when I thought of the island.

I'm sure the partying is quite spectacular - the road from the airport to town was plastered with billboards promoting parties and clubs - and the beaches for sure are among the most picturesque in the world.

But I was surprised by what a charming the old town Ibiza was.

Apr 13

Apr 13 Best Gelato of Milan and Emilia-Romagna, 2017 Edition

Gelato.

I got my first taste of the inimitable texture and pure flavor of fresh gelato in my trip to Rome almost a decade ago, but it wasn't until I visited Florence and Bologna a few years ago when I became truly obsessed with gelato, even taking a gelato-making class.

Now, every time I come to Italy, I make an effort to try as much gelato as possible. Every store is different, and the pistachio in one gelateria will be different from the pistachio in the next. Besides, as I learned in my class, gelato uses more milk than cream, so it's almost healthy! ;) (It's also why the flavors shine through so clearly compared to ice cream - there isn't so much fat that gets in the way.)

This trip to Milan, with a weekend in Emilia-Romagna was no different: I'm proud to say that I averaged 1.67 gelatos per day over the course of my 9-day trip. Here's a rundown of the highlights.

Apr 12

Apr 12 Parma Eats: old-school at Ristorante Cocchi

After not getting to eat at the "recommended" Da Enzo and Da Danilo in Modena because they were full, I called ahead to Ristorante Cocchi to make a reservation for lunch two days later. The friendly guy spoke English well, and asked me to call ahead if I couldn't make the reservation because he said that Sunday lunches were his busiest times.

Cocchi is a bit outside of Parma town center. It's a pretty easy walk down a slightly dull, busy road, but I did take the bus back into town on the return to save time and get out of the sun.

My table was waiting for me with my name on a little tent card!

For my starter, I got a plate of cold cuts - I wanted to eat Parma ham in Parma! The plate included salume, parma ham, culatello (ham from the pig's rear end, supposedly the most tender of all), bacon, and coppa, all served with fried bread.

Apr 11

Apr 11 A Day of Cheese, Vinegar, Prosciutto, and Food Coma!

Cooking Class & Food Tour

When I was choosing where to spend my weekend after Milan Design Week, I originally had decided on Cinque Terre. It was a place I missed visiting on my Pisa/Florence/Bologna trip a few years ago, and it seemed like a relaxing place to be for just a couple of days.

When I looked into it more, though, it seemed like a combination of cute buildings, stunning scenery, and a bunch of tourists. Which isn't bad - Lake Como is kind of like that -, but I thought back to my Pisa/Florence/Bologna trip and remembered another part of the region that I missed: learning more about the vinegar of Modena ("balsamic vinegar" as we call it in the US), Parmesan cheese, and Parma ham.

I investigated doing a tour of my own, looking up different cheese factories and their opening times, seeing how much it was to go by taxi to the different spots. I quickly came to the conclusion that a food tour would be much more convenient, relaxing, and potentially cost-saving. The food tour from Italian Days had wonderful reviews online, so I just booked it and didn't think twice about it.

Apr 10

Apr 10 Modena Eats: a drop-in at Zelmira

I didn't make any reservations for dinner in Modena before I arrived. Probably not the best idea, but I was simply too exhausted to do much research and planning.

My Airbnb host recommended Da Enzo and Da Danilo, but said that they would likely already be fully booked on a Friday evening. I walked over, and indeed they were fully booked. A note for next time: I got a good vibe from Da Enzo. I walked up and came upon all of the staff, including the waiters, folding tortellini in the landing!

I wandered around town, passing by the famous Osteria Francescana, and passed by this little terrace tucked into a corner of buildings. I kept walking, but eventually circled back and decided that this had a nice, relaxed atmosphere, and that's all that mattered this evening.

Apr 9

Apr 9 Modena Impressions