Need a quick jolt of travel inspiration? Here are forty(-one)! These are our all-time favorites by category as of winter 2019:
Countries:
Japan
Austria
Cyprus
Jordan
Czech Republic
The top two here are too easy. Japan is the Globepouncing dream. It takes the top spot thanks to its history, exceptional public transportation, meticulously manicured public spaces, and the fact that everything there is either beautiful, adorable, or both - even in the subway video game songs are played as the train doors close. Austria easily beats the rest because of its Alpine beauty in the west, its west-meets-east flavor in and around Vienna, its German gastronomy, and the convenience of intercity European rail. Cyprus is currently our intended retirement spot; Jordan’s cup runneth over with history per square kilometer (see our Jordan article); and Czechia edges other similar places, e.g., Germany, Switzerland, France, etc., because of its low-cost value.
Cities:
Tokyo
Berlin
London
Salzburg
Rome
This list is Euro-heavy, but there’s no surprise at the top: Tokyo paces Japan and everywhere else in urban efficiency and cleanliness. Berlin is captivating much in the same way that Beirut is with its still-fresh recent history, but Berlin’s reunification has had an immeasurable impact on the rest of the world, and one can still see and feel that dynamic.
Sarajevo is similar in this regard, but Berlin’s transportation links and museums win-out on this list. London is expensive but endlessly entertaining. If you grow tired of London, consider therapy. Salzburg is the one here that is least like the others: it’s much smaller and somewhat more obscure than Europe’s major tourist destinations, but, nestled in the foothills of the Alps, it is perhaps the most beautiful place on Earth.
Rome - well, some of these really are too easy. Having studied in Rome for a semester, my bias here may be heavy, but one can travel thousands of miles over three continents to find Roman remnants of remarkable scale and still be impressed by the ancient capital. The mothership is the mothership.
Restaurants:
Hondros - Paphos, Cyprus
Sushi Daidokoya - Shibuya, Tokyo
Richardsons / Rokerij - Phoenix, AZ, USA
Ćevabdžinica Hodžić 2 - Sarajevo, B&H
Scheers Schnitzel - Berlin
You'll notice a pair of trends in this list: value and local flavor. When we eat abroad, we have one objective - find the yum. Hondros is a traditional Cypriot place where you’ll find the best stuffed peppers, spanakopita, lamb, meatballs, bread, and Greek salad anywhere. Their local house wine is second-to-none, and everything is fairly-priced. We like Sushi Daidokoya because it’s old-fashioned and unpretentious. It’s not your bright, sparkling-counter, overpriced sushi. It’s your rustic, wooden-interior, duck-through-the-curtain, cozy sushi place with friendly chefs who love to make sushi. With great prices and unlimited access to green tea powder and hot water at every seat, it was hard not to go back every night.
Richardson’s and the Rokerij are neighboring partner-restaurants in north central Phoenix near the Camelback corridor. Richardson’s is straight New Mexican (not Mexican - New Mexican). The Rokerij is the Dutch New Mexican cousin of Richardson’s (rokerij is Dutch for smokehouse). Many menu items are the same, but there are some differences: there's a Euro flair at the Rokerij although both are primarily New Mexican. The Rokerij also has a great basement bar with corner booths, a fireside sitting area, and barkeeps who know how to make great drinks - ask for anything and they'll make it right. Be ready for abundant spicy heat at either of these places. I actually prefer to take most of my dish home and eat the leftovers cold.
Our preferred destination for cevapi, Ćevabdžinica Hodžić 2, was a recommendation from Alen, our Bosnian friend from Sarajevo. There is a place around the corner with the same name minus the "2" - #2 is the way to go. In addition to perfect ćevapi the salad is also huge, delicious, and cheap - a fitting counterpoint to the meat. Scheers Schnitzel is here because their schnitzel is as good as any other, but it's quick and fairly-priced with large portions. You could sit somewhere for hours for similar food and pay twice as much or more. At Scheers, walk up to the counter, pull a beer out of the fridge, and be on your way before long. Try the jägerschnitzel.
Archaeological sites
Terra-cotta Warriors, China
Siem Reap, Cambodia
(Tie) Roman Colosseum, Italy & Giza Plateau, Egypt
Tempting as it was to make this one a clean sweep for the Holy Land, too many other spots do not deserve such a slight.
In trying to keep this list to no more than one per country, Emperor Qin’s guardian force edges the Great Wall - part of which is also a testament to Qin's influence - because it is so vastly different than anything else and because it may just be history’s most clever decoy - check out a map of the whole site in this Nat Geo article. The Angkor ruins at Siem Reap are - with apologies to Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, etc. - the archaeological standard-bearer for an entire region, and we already discussed Rome: although there are other ancient arenas and theatres scattered about the Mediterranean world, the Flavian Amphitheatre still stands out - even after a solid millennium of looting and complete neglect and now modern overtourism. The Pyramids and Great Sphinx at Giza inspire awe mostly for the same key reason: they still stand after millennia despite being stripped and willfully damaged time and time again. Also, it would probably be an unforgivable travel foul to leave off the only remaining wonder of the ancient world.
Accommodations:
Pepper's Place (via Airbnb) - Killarney, Ireland
Nancy’s (via Airbnb) - Jerome, AZ, USA
Mövenpick Petra - Jordan
Atana Khasab - Musandam, Oman
Wicker Park 2BR 2BA Modern Condo (via Airbnb) - Chicago, IL, USA
As though Pepper’s Place needs us to pitch it here - it’s almost always booked, it's run by an Airbnb Superhost, and I have it on good authority that it's 'supercute.' Parking is easy, it’s a short walk from the adorable main street of Killarney, and it’s home to a lovely dog and cat (Pepper is the cat). Although the place we stayed (twice) in Jerome, Arizona - Nancy's 'At Home Inn' - appears to not currently be accepting reservations, you should still check out this one-of-a-kind, rustic, purportedly-haunted, old hillside mining town. "But Globepouncing, where should I stay?" Excellent question - fun fact: a friend of mine from university, Abby, owns and operates The Flatiron breakfast spot across the street from Nancy’s - and she is also an Airbnb Superhost with a place (The Flat) listed on Airbnb. Also be sure to check out the vintage shop upstairs across from the Flatiron - we did before our ghost tour.
The Mövenpick at Petra is ultra-convenient to the archaeological site and luxurious at a reasonable price. Atana Khasab is serene. Not many head to Oman’s upper peninsula on the tippy-tip-tip of the Arabian peninsula, but staying at Atana Khasab and enjoying a dolphin-watching boat ride through the fjords is well-worth the road trip from Dubai or Abu Dhabi. The Wicker Park walk-up is a great value with an unbelievably comfortable master bed not far from the hip Milwaukee Ave. strip in Chicago where, among many other fun spots, you’ll find one of the best bookstores we’ve ever seen, Myopic Books, and one of our favorite pizza places, Piece Brewery.
Outdoor Markets:
Saida (Sidon) Old Souk - Lebanon
The Original Farmers Market - Los Angeles
Mercato Metropolitano - London
Naschmarkt - Vienna, Austria
Temple Street Night Market - Hong Kong
The Old Souk in Sidon is a taste of the old world: rustic shutters opening onto narrow streets where artisans ply their trades, coffee shops in caves, stalls with any Arabian garment one might need, even an old soap factory - again, in a cave. Most souks accessible to outsiders in the Arab world are all the same and made for tourists, but this one is real. The next three markets are on this list because if you can’t find something you want to eat at any of the three, you don’t really want to eat. What’s most fun about Mercato Metropolitano is that the world-famous Borough Market is up the street, but MM down the street in Elephant and Castle is more fun and even houses a brewery, German Kraft. Now imagine any Chinese trinket or knock-off item. Got it? Now imagine being surrounded by neon lights and a million people. There - you’re at the Temple Street Night Market in Kowloon, HK. Take the Jordan stop on the Red Line.
Breweries / Vineyards
Augustiner Bräu Kloster Mülln, Salzburg, Austria
Augustiner Bräu München, Germany
Aphrodite's Rock Microbrewery, Paphos, Cyprus
Southwark Brewery, London, UK
Madonna Estate, Napa Valley, CA, USA
Salzburg’s Augustiner Bräu serves what we consider the best beer in the world and has the best biergarten and food stalls to boot. It’s perfect. We have it on the authority of my family in Bavaria that Augustiner Bräu München is the only outfit that still brews within city limits, and they also serve excellent traditional food. Get the Deutsch menu with no English to survey your fullest array of food options. For our money, Aphrodite’s Rock is the best beer you can find outside of the German-speaking world. Southwark Brewing edges out the other spots on the Bermondsey Beer Mile not only because of their excellent casks but also because of their ultra-friendly staff who brought me unlabeled bottles from the storeroom so I could try everything - thanks again! Madonna Estate wins our hearts over several other world-class vineyards because their operation is organic and family-owned, and I like their whites even though I normally only take reds. When we still lived in the US, we were in their club receiving a red and a white quarterly. It's a good deal - free shipping in the US.
Airports
Queen Alia IA, Jordan
Hong Kong IA
Tokyo Narita
Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP)
Dublin, Ireland
Airports matter. An airport can begin or conclude your well-deserved holiday with ease and convenience or with the unmistakable stench of annoyance (Philadelphia, Chicago, New York, Newark: it’s embarrassing - get it together).
Check out our Tips on Flying for more tips...on flying...
Our top two on this list are cut from the same cloth. They both usher you in and out painlessly with similarly-designed, appropriately-sized, convenient arrival and departure halls and quick immigration checkpoints. Hong Kong also has the eminently convenient Airport Express train on the MTR orange line. Tokyo Narita is even better-connected to town than HK but might be a tad intimidating to the inexperienced traveler. MSP deserves a spot on this list because it offers so much less hassle and so much more aesthetic charm than any other US hub, and Dublin earned its spot because we know firsthand that one could find a much less accommodating airport if you become stranded overnight...sorry again, guys.
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