Travel
Laura Baranik
freelance writer / editor
New York City
New York City
Travel
So you're in Central Europe for a limited time only and you want to hit the hottest of the Austro-Hungarian hot spots. These are, inarguably, Prague, Vienna, and Budapest. (If you want to be really cool, you'll throw Český Krumlov into the mix, too.) Guess which capital city hasn't reached the top of the tourist...
The Scandinavian capital of cool is best visited in summer, when the days are super-long and the weather's perfect for strolling down the winding streets of the old town, Gamla Stan. And although Stockholm is jam-packed with cultural heritage, the shopping is where it’s really at.
I booked my train ticket to D.C. for the Women’s March on Washington on November 14th, 2016 – less than a week after Donald Trump was elected President, and way before anyone could predict just how huge the post-inauguration protest would become.
It was clear from my introduction to Sultanahmet Hamami’s receptionist that my visit to one of the oldest spas in Istanbul was going to be a little different. He was a toothless Turkish man, seated on the street outside the hamami on a plastic chair. "You go hot room, you wash," he explained, gesticulating with a hand-rolled cigarette.
There's a lot more than gravestones going on in Prague's oldest and coolest cemeteries. Here are five reasons you should get your ass out of the pub and into some hřbitovy this autumn:
Food
What happens when I get recognized in a restaurant? Well, the service usually gets better: suddenly, a waiter who's been ignoring me all night is perfectly on point, asking if we need a dash of fresh pepper or a foot massage.
The newest, best, most must-visit restaurant in the country doesn't have a celebrity chef. It doesn't have white tablecloths, amuses-bouche, or a sommelier. Instead of soufflés, there's smažený sýr (fried cheese); tlačenka (head cheese) takes the place of truffles. This is Lokál, and it's the restaurant we've all been waiting for.
On a chilly evening in late January, a Chinese dragon, held aloft by a team of puppeteers, pranced up and down a single block of Jakubská street.
At three o'clock in the afternoon on opening day of the new Starbucks on Malostranské Naměstí, the area around the shop's cash registers was crowded with customers. As each order was finished, a barista placed a labeled cup on the counter. "Grande chai latte for Sandra!" A young woman with dreadlocks went to get her tea, but before she could reach it, an older lady muscled her way through the crowd and grabbed the cup.