Dinner on day #1 in Munich was at The Charles Hotel at their restaurant, Sophia’s . Scotty started with white asparagus soup and I had ravioli stuffed with asparagus; it is still asparagus season. For our mains, hubs had tagliatelle with red sauce, and I had stuffed turbot. On the second day, we had dinner at Neo-brasserie Hoiz . Scotty began with the grilled Caesar salad, while I opted for the spicy fried calamari with Asian influences. Scott ventured to try an ox steak acco

Spending two days in Nuremberg provided two evenings to delve into the local cuisine. The first night's dinner was at a traditional Franconian restaurant called Albrecht Duerer Stube . The setting was as authentic as imaginable, featuring timbered walls, various knick-knacks, and waitresses dressed in dirndls. Albrecht Duerer, a painter and printmaker from the late 15 th century, hailed from Nuremberg, and his former house still stands. However, you're likely more interested

Deciding where to eat can often be more difficult than choosing which site or museum to visit. With so many options and limited time, Berlin presents a wide range of choices, requiring some discernment when making reservations. I usually book in advance for major cities if I'm worried about last-minute availability, but I also enjoy getting recommendations from the local concierge. Our first night's dinner was at a trendy, small restaurant called Barra , where we sat at the b

Prague offers a variety of dining options. We enjoyed breakfast each morning at the Andaz, an ideal starting point for our stay, and its breakfast was consistently satisfying. Typically, we skipped lunch, opting instead for a cup of coffee and something nutritious like a piece of strudel to keep us going until dinner. On our first night in Prague, we indulged in our first Czech pilsner, which I paired with a tender braised leg of venison served in a wonderfully thick roasted

Our first exposure to the Ginza  area of Tokyo was to have dinner at a bustling Italian restaurant called The Kitchen Salvatore Cuomo Ginza . The food was decent, but the service left much to be desired. We experienced a long wait for our meal, and they played loud heavy metal rock music. Eventually, Scott's dinner came out but we still had to wait another ten minutes for mine to arrive. As a former New Yorker, I have no problem expressing myself and in this case, I pulled ou

Taking a ferry is a very pleasant way to get to your next destination. We proceeded to Mount Koya and the Iya Valley by ferry across to Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s main islands. First we will talk about highlights from the Iya Valley. We attended a dance performance in the town of Tokushima at the Awa Odori Kaikan Museum . Dance has been a significant aspect of the local culture for 400 years. The dancers were graceful and athletic, and although they weren't on par wi

Mount Koya is the central hub of the Shingon Buddhist sect. Buddhism consists of three primary schools: Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana, each with numerous sects, subsects, and movements. The core tenets of Buddhism focus on understanding suffering, identifying its causes, and pursuing a path to liberation through mindfulness, compassion, and ethical behavior, all aimed at achieving nirvana (enlightenment).   We wandered through an enchanting cemetery nestled among tower