Earlier in October I was interviewed by Guido, owner of the luxurious Haagsche Suites, at his blog Happy Hotelier. Today, his questions about my past travels and memorable food experiences got me thinking and I couldn’t resist writing down my thoughts.
New York City
When I read question one, top three favorite destination experiences, I first didn’t know what to reply. How is it possible to choose three favorites among hundreds of travel experiences? Each travel experience is special in its own way.
The Swedish ski resort Åre will forever hold a place in my heart, I have loads of good memories from Stockholm (where I lived for two years), thinking of Gothenburg’s amusement park Liseberg always brings a smile to my face, as does Greece, Vienna, Argentiere, Chamonix, Dienten, Grenoble, Lyon, Montbonnot-Saint-Martin, Lanzarote, Montreux, Zurich and New York.
At last I went for my first trip to London in 2005, because I instantly felt at home in the city, as if I had lived there before. When I walked through Notting Hill I knew I had to live in London. A couple of months later I moved from Sweden to spend November through March in the UK.
Next, I choose Paris for the reason that I fell in love with the city at once. The same happened in New York. During those first two weeks — when we discovered Manhattan, rode the subway out to Coney Island and Queens’ Rockaway Beach, attended a gospel service in Harlem, jogged through Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, went clubbing in Webster Hall, got an incredibly relaxing massage at a Thai place in the Village, drank delicious fruit smoothies from Jamba Juice, shopped clothes in the Meatpacking District and saw Aida on Broadway – I knew I would live in New York some time in the future, if only for a month or two.
Although New York also felt like home right away I picked Ohio’s famous Cedar Point as my third favorite destination experience. I have always loved amusement parks, particularly rollercoasters — the faster and higher, the better.
Top Accommodations
Guido’s second question, top three accommodations I’ve stayed, was a bit easier. I will never forget the first time I stepped into the Corfu Suite at Blakes in London, our one week stay at the family owned two-star hotel Della, situated among olive trees outside the center of Parga, Greece, or the view from the second highest floor at Milford Plaza in New York.
Memorable Food Experiences
Despite having numerous memories to choose from, I knew my top three food experiences. Above all I remember a three-course dinner at The Conservatory, London, a super tasty breakfast of spinach and goat’s cheese omelette in Bistro 190 at The Gore, and the spicy Indian food at Zurich’s Hiltl, Europe’s oldest vegetarian restaurant.
But these food experiences weren’t far behind: my first taste of the Austrian specialty kaisserschmarrn, a hot bowl of minestrone soup in a cozy mountain restaurant after a long day skiing, a Greek salad from a Skiathos tavern overlooking the sea, the vegetarian lasagna I ordered at a neighborhood restaurant in Parga, far from the tourist traps along the harbor, fresh waffles with jam and whipped cream in Trysil, Norway, my grandmother’s outstanding crepes, the vegetarian lunch buffet at Hermans in Stockholm, pizza slices at Joe’s Pizza in New York, Italian food at one of the restaurants along Grenoble’s Quai Mounier, gipfelis and gourmet dark chocolate truffles in Switzerland, veggie food at tibits in Zurich, sushi in Malmo, homemade organic Italian ice cream from Dolce Sicilia, and wooked bokchoi with tofu at Sol & Ris in Linkoping.
Worst Destination, Accommodation, Food Experiences
Guido also asked about my worst destination, accommodation and food experiences. I must say, even though we saw nothing of the landscape during the train ride through Austria (Innsbruck-Salzburg-Vienna) I did enjoy the trip. The thick fog didn’t clear, but when you have good travel companions where you are is not always that important.
And although I lost both my new USB flash drive and a good night’s sleep because a guy snored loud all night in the 12-bed dorm room at a hostel in Bayswater, London, at least I had a place to stay (I said quietly to myself as I wondered why I hadn’t booked a single room).
When things don’t turn out in the optimal way, one can always laugh about them afterwards. That’s exactly what we did after a dinner at a restaurant in a shopping mall in Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria. Despite being a party of eleven, our orders were finished in about ten minutes. I bet they just heated our frozen pre-packed, pre-prepared, over priced meals in the microwave oven. In retrospect I wonder how come we even chose that place, especially since they had no guests apart from us.
No matter how disastrous an experience ends up, one can often find something good from it. Injuring my arm the second day of our five-day surfing class on Lanzarote and being stuck on the beach while everyone surfed wasn’t boring. Of course I wanted to surf as opposed to only participate in the theoretical lessons, but relaxing in the sun, hanging out on the beach and taking new photos, cheered me up in no time.
A similar incident occurred on a skiing holiday in Trysil, Norway. When trying to learn snowboarding, I accidentally fell forward and sprained my wrist (probably because I had most of my attention on the cute guy by the ski lift rather than on my snowboard). When I returned from the hospital I asked myself how I would be able to stay away from the piste for the rest of the week. Thanks to our comfortable armchair on the terrace, hot chocolate, some great magazines and sunny weather, the days went by quicker than ever. The next time I had a go at snowboarding I made sure I wasn’t distracted by anything.
That was four of Guido’s questions. If you’d like to read the interview, head over to http://www.happyhotelier.com/2008/10/07/10-questions-8-for-erica-johanson-of-blissful-travel/
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