Berlin Update!

Ok, so it may seem like I've spent God knows how many days lounging in bed nursing a bad back, but that's not true (contrary to popular belief). I have been out and about, taking pics, looking at the remains of the Berlin Wall, checking out Checkpoint Charlie (can't believe that something like that still exists) and basically getting back on my feet. Over the next few days I'll be posting pictures and few comments/stories about my stay here. I don't have too much to say (shocker in itself)about the city right now but I will say this: next time I come here it 's going to be warm, sunny and leafy because Berlin in the winter isn't as much fun – of course starting off a vacation on your back, and not in a good way, is not fun either! 'Nuff said for now – new pics and comments to come.

Ich Bin Ein Berliner!*

A hungry man is sending out a special 'Guten Tag' (Good day) from Germany! Yep, for the past two days 'I am a Berliner'* – well sort of. See I haven't really had the chance to explore much of Berlin since I got here. Why? Oh I could say that the weather has been absolute crap since I got here (and it has been) which doesn't exactly lend itself to touring or I could say that the hotel I'm staying at (The Berlin Ritz-Carlton ) is so nice I just can't imagine wanting to leave(it is VERY nice). The truth of the matter is something less fun. My back gave out. The past two days have been agony. Even putting on something so simple like my socks was akin to torture, and I can barely walk without hunching over. I swear I need a cane, that's how bad it is. I took a bunch of pills today that hopefully should help because frankly as much as I've enjoyed hanging out in my really nice room, this is not the reason why I came to Berlin and I am going a bit stir crazy!

I did manage to make it downstairs for breakfast today after taking about an hour and a half to get ready and no, not for vanity reasons – it just took forever to get dressed thanks to this annoying pain in my back.

But on a more positive note, I had schnitzel for dinner last night!! Take a look – tender veal schnitzel with a cucumber salad, cranberry compote, buttery mashed potato and paired with a tasty Sauvignon Blanc (Cloudy Bay – New Zealand). Just what I needed!

A good friend of mine asked me when I plan on writing more about food and when I look back at previous posts I really haven't have I, at least not since Iceland anyway. I think I'm waiting until I start the India/Vietnam/Japan etc. part of the trip to really get into food writing because I will have the chance to work with food a lot more than what I'm currently doing in Europe. I'll be doing loads of cooking classes and demos when I'm in Asia so I'll be more on the ball with food writing then, I promise!!

London: A Review Part 2

A review continued….

1. This past rainy Sunday was spent doing something quite cultural with my friend, the handsome and talented James (Jim to you and I). I went to a private home museum in Holland Park (anyone familiar with the show AbFab will remember that Holland Park is the same neighbourhood where Eddie lives). The house was called Leighton House, owned by the late Lord and Artist Frederic Leighton and it was built in the 1800's. It was recently refurbished and is really quite extraordinary (I started to take pictures but was quickly stopped by the curator – got a few though) and afterwards Jim and I went down the pub for a traditional English Sunday roast. All in all a really nice day.
   

   
   
   Leighton House – The Arab Room which features an impressive collection of Islamic Tiles and a fountain in the middle of the room.
   
   The ceiling of The Arab Room
   
   The Main hall and that's where I had to stop taking pictures because the curator came flying out from the doors on the right!
   
   Traditional Chicken Roast at the pub – half a chicken, roast potato and parsnips, glazed carrots, gravy, soo good.
   

2. Coventry. Took a trip to the countryside to visit my good friend Tony and his partner Femi (they just got married!) and went to dinner at The Carvery. Every time I come back to the UK I insist on going to that place. Is it worth it to travel to Coventry just for that? Yes! Oh and trust me, you will hear the question 'why are you going to Coventry'? Well when you do now you can tell them that Stephen said one of the best Carvery's in the country is there so shut the fuck up! Yes that's a rather strong response but believe me when dealing with the sneers one sees when you mention to Brits that you're going Coventry, it's an appropriate response. Oh and don't take the London Midland Train if you go – spend the extra money and stick with Virgin, trust me!!!
   

   (pictures to come)
   

3. So a couple of nights ago I'm in the pub, alone, having a pint, happily minding my own business, reading a book on my kindle (oh I'm so plugging this; the Amazon Kindle; the BEST travelling companion a guy could have!!), and as the night progresses I keep noticing this really cute guy staring at me and of course being in straight bar you do NOTHING about it (well maybe I don't, I'm really not as bold as some). Anyway he makes his way over and introduces himself and bah blah blah after a half hour of chatting me up, invites me to his home. I'm like really? Wow you're pretty forward for an Englishman lol also, I'm pretty gross right now. This is my fourth pint so I'm drunk, I'm hungry and I have giant pimple on my nose (did I not write earlier that I was gross??) so I had to leave him but I left smiling too thinking, only in London. Oh and on a much less gross note, I also managed to meet on a completely different night the lovely Helena with the beautiful smile. So this is a huge shout out to her for making my last night in London such a fun, drunken mess haha
   
4. And lastly, a quick word about The Charlotte Hotel. Wow, did you ever spoil me during my two weeks in London. Amazing hotel and worth every single penny spent there. Oh and the Prince William/Kate Middleton wedding just broke when I was at the airport. My thoughts were 'hope she knows what she's in for joining that cuckoo clock family'. Mind you I guess every family is a bits nuts, just none of us really have to cope with it on a world stage.
   

And on that note, see ya later London, I'll be back!! Now this hungry man is travelling to Berlin – I'm craving schnitzel all of a sudden!

London: A Review Part 1

Well my time in the UK has come to an end. Now I admit to not keeping up the blog as well as I should have while I was in London. Why didn't I you may ask? Well time just flew by and to be honest I sort of forgot about the blog. I'm at the airport waiting for my flight to Berlin (which has been delayed due to seriously intense fog here at Heathrow) so now is the time to play catch up. Let's go over the past week of events shall we?

1. Harry Potter. Love Harry Potter. Don't care how geeky that makes me, I love it!!!! So the premier of the new Harry Potter film happened last Thursday (and is currently receiving not so great reviews - at least in Britain anyway) at Leicester Square Theatre and sadly I missed it. I was seriously disappointed. I did, however, get the chance to stroll the Millennium Bridge after a cool visit to the Tate Modern. Now anyone who has seen the Potter film 'The Half Blood Prince' knows that the Millennium Bridge was destroyed in it so you can see how excited I was to stroll along, hoping, just hoping that the Death Eaters would make an appearance (and of course hoping they wouldn't). Yeah I went all nerd there, so what? It was a damn good movie! I should make a comment about the Tate Modern but other than the fact the gallery has been converted from a power plant to the stunning building it is now I have to admit that some of the artists showing their works there were just beyond me and it's not a comforting feeling being rendered an idiot simply because you don't understand their concepts. Oh well. After that this traveler got hungry so I went for curry.
   
   
   Millennium Bridge facing north.
   
   Millennium Bridge facing south -Tate Modern in the background.
   
   Mmm curry.
   

2. I fell – again – this time on Charing Cross Road. I mean this was a serious, fall to the ground, hand spread out to catch yourself before you hit the ground, fall. I tripped on a sidewalk stone. I was mortified and you know what makes it worse? That it seems to be turning into a very sad habit lately. 80 year olds have better mobility than me these days! I fell in Iceland and now I make a spectacle of myself in front of lot of people in London including some folks enjoying their meal at Chipotle Mexican Restaurant. After dusting myself off, I literally ran down the road to get away from the scene and the people staring and eventually made my way into a rather pleasant little bistro and proceeded to drink my face off which totally eased the pain, as it would J Turned out to be an ok afternoon after all.
   
3. Priscilla. Went to see the musical in the West End. It's based on the classic/cult movie, The Adventures of Priscilla; Queen of the Desert. I went with my very good friend Andrew, who had seen it before and warned me on how over the top gay the musical is. That is no joke. It is gay. So incredibly, fantastically, scary, hilariously gay. Perhaps the gayest two hours you will ever spend in your life should you decide to go (you know you're entering the world of gay when men dressed as giant cupcakes WITH candles on their heads are pirouetting around the stage - comfortably). DON'T let that be a deterrent though, seriously, because it was amazing. Actually, I was amusing myself more from watching the straight guys clinging to their girlfriends (and oh they were clinging ladies and gentlemen, but kudos to them for even going – I'm sure they were leaving the musical with their eyes VERY wide open), staring in either horror or awe at the spectacle on stage. Overall it was a good time and so much fun (with a hint of sadness underneath but what would you expect from a musical about three middle aged drag queens)!!!!!
   
   
   This is it kids, this is Priscilla, the musical. See I told ya so!

Living it up

Usually when I travel, I try not to make too big a deal about where I'm staying, meaning, I don't talk too much about accommodations. I hope that I'll be staying somewhere nice, you know, comfy bed, private bath, that sort of thing. Well, in London I've been staying at a seriously beautiful hotel. The Charlotte Street Hotel in Soho. Five star all the way baby. The service is just impeccable, and after this experience I'm not sure how I'll ever go back to just Holiday Inn stylin's but since I'm not a Rockefeller I'll have to figure it out. Anyway why am I babbling about hotels and accommodations? I think mostly because I found the following situation so humorous (to me anyway) I had to write about it. Look at these pics:

I bet you're wondering why I posted these aren't you. Maybe you're asking yourself why is this guy taking pictures of what looks like a gift? Well sadly it's not exactly a gift. It's my laundry. I had it sent out (mostly just underclothes if you need to know), and when I got it back the following day it was presented in a gift box all wrapped up with a flower inside. That is the difference between two and five star hotels (there are other differences but this stood out for me). I laughed when the porter brought it to my room, I couldn't help it. I just found it a bit OTT but I am NOT complaining at all. This hotel is amazing, and if (when) I do make it back to London I'll definitely be staying here again. I mean c'mon, take a look at my room – would you not want to stay here??

London Calling

Well, it's been a few days since a hungry man left Iceland and made his way to London. It's also been a while since I've written to the blog mostly because now that I am in London I'm just not as anxious to write about my experiences here as I was with Reykjavik. There's a reason for that. I've been to London before – many times. At one point about ten years ago I lived here for a year so for me coming back to London is like putting on an old sweater. It's familiar yet very comforting ya know? I mean some things have changed since I last came here in 2008. Oxford Street at Tottenham Court Road (my 'hood whenever I come to the city) is a mess due to construction and they tore down the Astoria Theatre to make way for a brand new subway station. It's still crowded and messy and rainy - all the things I remember and love about the city.

I may not be writing too much in regards to London; maybe the occasional post here and there. I don't have a jam-packed itinerary as I did in Iceland so it'll be a me-mostly-wandering-here-and-there sort of holiday, as per usual whenever I come here.

Every time I think to myself"ok that's enough of London, you've got to stop coming here", like a dog to a bone I'm back again. It's ok, it's good to be back – I've missed you London!

Bless Reykjavik

So it's time for a hungry man to say Bless – which translates to 'goodbye' in Icelandic – to beautiful Reykjavik and the amazing country of Iceland, but hey if you're feeling particularly religious we can go that way too.

What a trip. What a trip. Yesterday I went for a walk around the city. It's not very big, a population of about 180 000 – same size as the city I currently live in back in Canada but I couldn't help but notice the sheer differences between the two. Back home they were/are having a huge debate about what to do regarding the number of bars in the downtown core. Apparently there are too many!! Someone please think of the children!!! In Reykjavik there are so many bars crowded on the main thoroughfare I wonder how they manage to support all these places but yet somehow they do without it turning into a giant brawl when the bars and restaurants close (yeah my hometown is pretty gross once closing time comes around at 2am). I'm thinking city council need to take a trip to Iceland pronto!

I'm really going to miss this place but I know I'll be back again (I think the next visit just might happen in the summer). The people here are incredible. I've been very lucky to have met and connected with some truly outstanding people here. To Ingi, Birna, Halli and Gylfi - 'Takk fyrir'. Actually, Brna and Ingi made a traditional Icelandic lunch for me on Tuesday as a goodbye gift which was so amazing I didn't even know what to say except to constantly repeat thank you, thank you, thank you. Suffice to say a lot of wine was also involved in the meal so I can't quite remember the proper names of the dishes we ate. I'll have to write to Ingi to find that out but it was damn good and a very memorable lunch. I can't believe after being there for only five days that I ve met people who have opened their homes to me. Just completely blown away by the hospitality in Iceland.

Ok I'm going to stop here. Ya'll know where my head is at regarding Iceland so I think I can give it a rest now.

HUGE thanks to Meg at Global Basecamps and Kristin at Nordic Visitor - you guys know why!!

Next stop: London

Golden Circle Pictures: Final

Langjokull Glacier

We arrive. This is the 4x4 that got us up the mountain to the glacier.

First shot getting out of the car – see what I mean about the emptiness but yet it truly was a beautiful thing to see, you're just in awe!

Our guide Gylfi getting the snowmobiles ready.

Gylfi (hands on hip) instructing us before we get on our snowmobiles with Kelly (in orange) and John (in Blue).

Me on my snowmobile – yes I'm aware of how I look but I don't care, I was having such a great time! Oh and now I want my own snowmobile - seriously.

See what I mean again about being so tiny when you're in this environment?

Pictures taken at the base of the glacier. In terms of size, Langjokull is one of the smaller glaciers but you still feel so small when you're standing next to this!

Incredible. I've said it before and I'll say it again, pictures do NOT do this place justice.

The one word going through my mind while riding my snowmobile at this point? Beautiful.

Golden Circle Pictures Part 1

Pingvellir National Park

It was really quite beautiful at the park and the weather was perfect so I was lucky enough to get some pretty good shots!

The Great Geyser

Starting to bubble and getting ready to explode..

Boom!

Pictures kind of don't do it justice but oh well.

Gullfoss Waterfall

The walk to the falls begins.

Look to the left and you'll see a pathway – about mid way down this path is where I fell!

I took this picture on the rocks right beside the falls – I was VERY careful walking here.

This view is looking up the hill from the falls – you can see the path down to the falls. On my way back I held on to the barrier rope the entire way up, I didn't care how it looked!

After that harrowing journey to view falling water, I rewarded myself with a nice hot bowl of Lamb soup.

Best. Day. Ever.*

The weather in Reykjavik was absolutely brilliant on Sunday. In fact, since I've been in Iceland the weather has been outstanding - so sunny and bright (but not warm). So under a cloudless sky, a hungry man became the adventure man as I set out for Pingvellir National Park for the Golden Circle tour. The park is located about an hour outside Reykjavik, and the tour consists of visiting rifts, geysers, glaciers and waterfalls (to be precise: the North Atlantic Rift, which separates the continents of North America from Europe; Haukadalur's Great Geyser; Gullfoss Waterfall, and; Langjokull Glacier). Started out easily enough; the views from the rift were amazing and the geyser was cool, but then things took a wee bit of a turn. I fell on my ass on my way to view the waterfall. Not a little slip, no - no, a serious, legs up in the air, arms all over the place, flat on your back, fall. See, the path to the waterfall was steep and icy and I was warned to be careful which I sort of shrugged off; I mean viewed from the safety of the car how difficult could it be to walk the path right? Still, as I was making my way down I just knew my hiking shoes wouldn't give me a good grip but I attempted the walk anyway. As I slipped on the icy rocks and rolled towards the edge of a cliff and had to grab on to the barrier fence to stop myself from going on a very long and rather unpleasant fall, behind me I heard the cries of "Oh My God, are you ok"??? Yeah, yeah, save for my aching butt and dignity, doing great thanks - thumbs up!! But that wasn't why it was the best day ever.

After the viewings of the geyser, rifts and waterfalls, I, along with two other people - an English/Scottish couple named Kelly and John, who had just proposed to Kelly at the same waterfall where I took a bit of a tumble- drove out with our amazing (and hilarious) guide Gylfi to the Langjokull glacier in a 4x4 (you NEED a vehicle like this to navigate the roads heading to the glacier. If you rent a car in Iceland, don't even attempt to drive these roads - you'll be sorry and charged big time for damage to the car!). We put on our snowmobiling gear, and for the next two and half hours we rode on the glacier (should have been one hour but we were all having such a great time that Gylfi extended it). It was utterly amazing, exhilarating, breathtaking, f**king awesome. We were admiring, marveling, and staring at the sheer size of it. Driving along, looking out at that incredible, vast amount of emptiness but being so aware of the beauty in that emptiness; of the ice, snow and rocks. You feel so tiny; you become really aware of the loneliness, the isolation of the place, but again there was beauty and even happiness in that feeling. I'm aware that this is coming across as the musings/babble of a stoner, but as you can see/read it's difficult to accurately explain the feelings and sensations of being the only people there (which we were), on this massive mound of ice and snow. All I can say is that it's the best thing I've ever done (well so far on this trip) and what I wouldn't do to do that all over again. I can't say anything else.

Best. Day. Ever.

Pictures from the day will get a separate post – there are a lot of them!!

*Disclaimer: I, Stephen Wilson, reserve the right to change my mind regarding the "Best Day Ever" based on upcoming adventures.

Lagoons and Lights Part 2

Pictures: The Blue Lagoon

Path to the spa – that's lava rock on either side

Lava pool beside the entrance

Expanded pic of lava pool beside entrance to Blue Lagoon

Front entrance to spa

The spa – what you're seeing isn't fog, it's steam

The pictures above are all shots of a small area of the outdoor spa and pools. Honestly, the sheer size of place is again something you have to see for yourself and all that steam should give you an indication on just how hot (but incredibly comfortable) the water is!! I could have swam there all day but since I'm not big on dehydration, I had no choice but to get out..I'll be back though!!
 

Lagoons and Lights Part 1

What can be said about the famous Blue Lagoon spa located about half an hour outside Reykjavik that hasn't already been said? The pictures I took (in a separate post to come) really don't do it justice. The hour long massage I got still doesn't do the place justice. It's just a place that I highly, highly, highly recommend visiting for anyone who comes to Iceland - period. Ok yes it's bit pricey and yes the city of Reykjavik has quite a few public pools that offer similar features as the Blue Lagoon but then again everything is pricey here and what's a few more bucks to head out and see this for yourself??

Oh, a couple of things you'll need to know about public pools and saunas in Iceland. You MUST be clean before you go in them. They do not have chlorine so it is expected/imperative that you are to wash your body before entering the water. They even have diagrams on where on the body you are to focus particular attention! That means you are taking a shower - naked, and no you can't wear your bathing suit in the showers, you'd look stupid, believe me. Do as the Icelanders do, shed the clothes and shower up! Trust me, they have no problems chucking their clothes and getting naked (don't be embarrassed, no one's looking – or so they say but I think that's bullshit, they're looking!), THEN put the bathing suit on and head on out to warm water bliss. I may just have to go back one more time before I leave….yes it was that good and so relaxing and very, very beautiful (the water, not the bodies - although….)

So afterwards, Halli (my tour guide for the day and evening) drove me about an hour outside Reykjavik to a town called Stokkseyri to eat at the famous and extremely popular seaside lobster restaurant; Fjorubordid - famous for their langoustine lobster (not the typical huge lobsters you see in Canada - they are very small and incredibly tasty). The place was jammed when we got there and no, not with tourists as I expected but Icelanders(!). Apparently this is the place that Icelanders will take guests when they really want to impress you with their food!! It was something else to witness because they had a big party going on in there and I got to hear some great Icelander folk songs along with a spirited (aka very drunk) version of Mamma Mia. Damn I wish I brought my video camera to tape that! This hungry man travelling thought the hour long drive was well worth it just for the amazing garlic butter sauce that drenched the lobster tails and potatoes. Or maybe it was the pecan carrot cake I inhaled afterwards that made the trip worthwhile? You can be the judge – look at the food!

Fresh in-house made bread plus three dips: Olive tapenade, a garlic cream sauce and again that sweet caramel sauce quite similar to what I've had at Eigar Ben

The Lobster feast!

Curried couscous with dill cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce with an oil and vinegar dressing.

I have a pretty serious sweet tooth so you can see why I'd love this – check out this beautiful piece of pecan carrot cake!!

Halli and I finished the dinner around 9:30pm and then we headed into his giant 4x4 for a trek to the mountain ranges just outside the city to try and find the Northern Lights. Sadly the Gods weren't smiling on us so we didn't get a chance to see anything but we did get to climb some serious mountain roads with his 4x4!! A little scary I'll admit but totally cool too and I got some great pics of Reykjavik at night from the top of the mountain!

An incredible night overall and honestly it didn't matter too to much that I missed out on seeing the Northern Lights. Yeah I was disappointed but so what - I went to the Blue Lagoon!!From what I ve heard the lights are an intense thing to witness but hey, I'm from Canada, I can see it there too – in fact my sister's boyfriend has seen it outside his own house and he lives about 40 minutes away from my hometown so there you go! Now if I could just figure out a way to get back to the Blue Lagoon….

More pictures to follow this post.