We took a Devour Barcelona food tour of Gràcia, one of my favorite parts of the trip. At the market we tasted olives, ham, cheese, and jam. Later stops brought olive oil, tomato bread and croquettes, pastries, vermouth with pickled anchovies and sausage, and cremat, a Catalan cousin of crème brûlée. The small group made the whole thing feel like a walk with friends who knew exactly where to eat.

From there we went to Park Güell, Gaudí’s gorgeous and crowded park. While we waited for our timed entry, we walked the rest of the park and watched a dancer under the trees.

I stopped for a gin flight at Elephanta before dinner. Then we went back to La Pubilla. They remembered us and greeted us like old friends. I had squid-ink pasta—the pasta itself was squid—and a prawn ravioli that tasted like a really good dumpling. Ksenia had turbot, and we finished with more croquettes, pork cheek, almond curd with blood orange, and I had a giant gin and tonic. I think we made the right call coming back.

Part of my March 2017 Barcelona trip. Trip summary.

From the Notebook

We started, as usual, with breakfast from the bakery, then went to the Sagrada Família. One side of the outside shows the Nativity in ornate detail; the other is severe and angular. The inside is something else entirely: a huge, mostly open space, soaring columns, and stained-glass windows that fill it with gradients of color. I took pictures before and after the tour, then came back to the windows again. The light had changed each time. I absolutely loved it.

A lunch recommendation nearby turned out to be a bad call. The food was microwaved and still cold, the service was slow, and the menu was the water-repellent kind. We grabbed a ham sandwich on the way to Sant Pau. Its gardens were gorgeous, with mosaics, tiles, and dragons everywhere. We arrived with forty minutes left before closing and somehow got through most of it, despite the staff’s warnings.

Dinner involved croquettes, cod fritters, tomato bread, foie gras, rabbit, sausage, Iberian ham, an artichoke omelet, veal with foie, and Catalan custard ice cream. Our waiter thought we were done ordering, then thought we were done ordering again. We finished it all.

Part of my March 2017 Barcelona trip. Trip summary.

From the Notebook

We grabbed breakfast at the bakery and took a walking tour through the old city. Our route took us past the cathedral, Plaça del Rei, Plaça Nova, the quiet Plaça de Sant Felip Neri, Plaça del Pi, the Palau de la Generalitat, Santa Maria del Mar, Fossar de les Moreres, and Passeig del Born. There was a lot of Barcelona to absorb before lunch.

At Bormuth we ate steak with foie and eggplant spread on tomato bread, then walked through Parc de la Ciutadella to the Arc de Triomf. We also visited the Picasso Museum. Ksenia tried hard not to buy everything in a tea shop; she still came away with tea, a diffuser, a coat, and glassware.

Dinner at La Pubilla got out of hand in the best way. The pork croquettes were the best I’ve ever had. We kept ordering: roast beef, scallops on pork belly with mashed cauliflower and truffle oil, pâté, tomato bread, beef sirloin, and more. When the server asked if we wanted dessert, we ordered cappuccino. It was so good I wanted to melt into my chair.

Part of my March 2017 Barcelona trip. Trip summary.

From the Notebook

We landed in Barcelona around noon and started with a croissant and fig tart from the bakery at Hotel Praktik Bakery, where we were staying. That was a promising beginning.

At Cervecería Catalana we ordered Iberian ham and loin, fried cuttlefish, mushrooms and asparagus with garlic, and a filet with foie gras. The filet and foie were great. We wandered through orange trees under a blue sky before visiting Casa Batlló. Gaudí made the inside feel like an underwater fairy tale.

Dinner at La Pepita meant more Iberian ham, grilled artichoke with celery mashed potatoes, shrimp, patatas bravas, a salmon sandwich with foie gras, and more gin and tonic. This city is off to an excellent start.

Part of my March 2017 Barcelona trip. Trip summary.

From the Notebook

We started in Berlin, followed the Rhine to Cologne, caught up with friends near Stuttgart and Ulm, spent a rainy day in Rothenburg, and finished in Munich. We covered a lot of German history, a lot of Christmas shops, several pork knuckles, and one restaurant alley that looked like a Batman crime scene.

Where We Ate

Berlin

We also had schnitzel on Friedrichstraße, currywurst and a Berliner during a walking tour, and lunch at an unnamed potato restaurant in Nikolaiviertel.

Cologne

Stuttgart, Ulm, and Rothenburg

Dinner with Tanya, Maria, Thomas, and Thomas’s mother near Stuttgart was delicious.

Munich

We also had breakfast at the hotel, chocolate and cake on the castle trip, and McDonald’s after Dachau.

Where We Stayed

In Munich, Hotel Torbräu was our base for the castles and city walks. We also stayed in hotels in Berlin, Cologne, the Stuttgart area, Ulm, and Rothenburg.

Places and Tours

Berlin gave us Berlin Cathedral, the DDR Museum, the East Side Gallery, and a long walking tour through its Nazi and Cold War history. The former Stasi prison at Hohenschönhausen was terrifying. In Cologne, we toured the cathedral, made chocolate at the Chocolate Museum, and found Max Liebermann at the Wallraf–Richartz Museum.

The Ludwigsburg pumpkin festival and Rothenburg’s Night Watchman’s Tour were much lighter days. We also visited the Medieval Crime Museum, Linderhof Palace, Neuschwanstein, the two Pinakothek museums, and the Dachau Memorial Site. Munich ended with Marienplatz, the English Garden, and a lazy last walk to the Siegestor.

Vacation Quips

At a Christmas shop, Ksenia assumed they must sell castle ornaments. “Honey. The capitalist side won; they know how to make money,” I told her. When Tanya told Thomas to take a lot of lefts in a parking lot, Ksenia asked, “What are all these ‘links’?”

Day by Day

• October 22: Berlin and Cookies Cream
• October 23: Berlin on Foot
• October 24: The DDR Museum and East Side Gallery
• October 25: The Stasi Prison and One More Alley
• October 26: Cologne Cathedral
• October 27: Chocolate and Cologne Art
• October 28: Pumpkins in Ludwigsburg
• October 29: Ulm and Old Friends
• October 30: Rothenburg in the Rain
• October 31: From Rothenburg to Munich
• November 1: Linderhof and Neuschwanstein
• November 2: A Day Off in Munich
• November 3: Munich, from Marienplatz to Beer Steins
• November 4: Dachau and the English Garden
• November 5: A Lazy Last Day in Munich

Ratings are out of five stars. A dash means I didn’t have a clear verdict.

From the Notebook

We took a lazy last day in Munich: walked to the State Library, then to the Siegestor, Munich’s triumphal arch, and on to a cemetery. We walked through Viktualienmarkt, stopping for hot chocolate at Chocolaterie Beluga and tea and cake at Café Piemonte.

Germany 2016 trip summary.

From the Notebook

We took a day trip to the Dachau Memorial Site. We saw a gas chamber that may or may not have been used, a crematorium that was used very often, and a lot of reconstructed space. Parts of the site had been used for leatherworks, factories, and restaurants after the war.

Lunch was at McDonald’s. Back in Munich, we walked through the English Garden, stopped at a Japanese tea house, and watched the standing wave with surfers.

Dinner at Weiss Haus—probably Weisses Bräuhaus—brought tasty weissbier and IPA. The suckling pig was not as good as the pork belly. We played cards at the hotel bar afterward.

Germany 2016 trip summary.

From the Notebook

We took a walking tour of Munich from Marienplatz: the Neues Rathaus and Glockenspiel, St. Peter’s, Viktualienmarkt, the Toy Museum, Juliet’s statue, Odeonsplatz, and the opera house. Rubbing Juliet’s breast was supposed to bring good luck in love. At Odeonsplatz, our guide pointed out two lions: one with its mouth open facing the king’s residence, where you could speak freely about the king, and one with its mouth shut facing a church, where blasphemy would not be tolerated.

I was the teacher’s pet and got the first question right—how Germans toast: “Prost!” After that I got called on for everything, with 100% right answers. The hint for the main trade item—“It was called white gold”—gave away salt.

After the tour we visited the toy museum, drank amazing hot chocolate at Chocolaterie Beluga, shopped for beer steins and a scarf for Mom, and took the elevator up the Neues Rathaus for the view. St. Peter’s was wet inside. We found a Shakespeare & Co. bookstore, though it wasn’t an English bookstore; we also visited the church with the devil’s footprint. Drinks at the hotel finished the day. The tour’s fourth question was “What was the semi-religious war that lasted 30 years?” I knew that one too.

Germany 2016 trip summary.

From the Notebook

We slept in and had breakfast at our leisure. At the Pinakothek der Moderne, we saw Dalí, Picasso, and Warhol. It was not as good as the Tate in London. The Neue Pinakothek had Manet, Monet, Cross, Klimt, and Van Gogh.

We found an English bookstore and had an early dinner at Spatenhaus. Ksenia also got yelled at because her purse was too big for the museum.

Germany 2016 trip summary.

From the Notebook

We did a day trip from Munich to Linderhof Palace and Neuschwanstein Castle. First, breakfast at the hotel with a band of retired Italians; the man in the blue scarf was swank as fuck.

Linderhof was our first stop. Ksenia was overwhelmed by how pretty it was and wandered around the castle as if she owned it. She nearly missed the tour. “We aren’t in the 10:20 group!” she said. “What time is on your ticket?” I asked. “10:20. But this isn’t our group!” It was.

We stopped in a little village for some wandering and chocolate before Neuschwanstein, then napped on the way home.

Germany 2016 trip summary.

From the Notebook

We walked around Rothenburg in the morning on our way to the Medieval Crime Museum, with its history of crime and punishment, then took the train to Munich and checked into Hotel Torbräu.

We spent the last of our cash on Neuschwanstein tickets and immediately had to find more money. Ksenia panicked; our great Munich adventure began with trying not to get robbed in a seedy part of town, rather than sightseeing. Dinner at the Hofbräuhaus helped: the sausages were really good, though the service could have been better. On the way to the currency exchange, Ksenia got distracted by the Rathaus. “So pretty!”

Germany 2016 trip summary.

From the Notebook

We got to Rothenburg by way of four trains. At lunch in the main square, Ksenia was so overwhelmed by how pretty everything was that making a decision became difficult. We both had venison stew.

We spent hours wandering around town: a garden by the western wall, a walk along the wall, the Christmas Museum, and a lot of Christmas shopping. We also did the Night Watchman’s Tour. By the end, my poor feet were soaked.

Germany 2016 trip summary.

From the Notebook

Breakfast at Harry’s came with a nice woman who helped us with the menu. We bought insoles for my feet, wandered the market, and went into Ulm Minster. Alex and Bine surprised us there. “It’s been a while” was an understatement.

We wandered through old Ulm, which was very pretty. We saw Schiefes Haus, the hotel leaning over the water, and the leaning Butcher’s Tower. Then we drove out to see friends for tea and cake. I saw Willi and Gertha, and we saw Alex’s house being built. Dinner together was very good, and all that catching up made for a lovely day.

Germany 2016 trip summary.

From the Notebook

Tanya and Maria picked us up at the train station, and there were lots of hugs. We had breakfast at a café owned by a friend of Thomas’s, then went to Ludwigsburg for the pumpkin festival. They had enormous pumpkins and sculptures made of pumpkins. We also walked through the fairy-tale garden. Ksenia liked the giant with all the eyes that moved when you opened the door.

We went back to the café for tea and cake—so good—then had dinner with Tanya, Maria, Thomas, and Thomas’s mother. Dinner was delicious. Later we had drinks near the hotel and taught everyone the phrase “night cap.”

Germany 2016 trip summary.

From the Notebook

At the Chocolate Museum, we watched chocolate being made and then bought some. An amazing hot chocolate and raspberry cake made lunch. We went to the Wallraf–Richartz Museum after that. Max Liebermann’s line stuck with me: “A well-painted beet is every bit as good as a well-painted Madonna.” I came away liking Cross, an Impressionist.

We wandered past the Rathaus, a gay wedding, and people dressed as Berliners and pandas. At Brauhaus zum Prinzen I learned the local beer routine: roughly fifteen seconds after putting down an empty glass, a refill appeared. There were chestnuts in the street, and we ate at Früh again. The game stew was excellent. We stopped at a bar for another Kölsch, the last of the big three.

Germany 2016 trip summary.

From the Notebook

We reached Cologne and had lunch at Früh am Dom: stag medallions with juniper cream sauce, mushroom spaetzle, and salad. Then we toured Cologne Cathedral. Gerhard Richter’s stained-glass window looked like colors from the other windows randomly arranged into squares.

We changed money, wandered the shopping district, and dropped off our bags before walking across the bridge to see the love locks. Dinner at Gilden im Zims was pork knuckle and Himmel un Ääd.

Germany 2016 trip summary.

From the Notebook

We toured Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial, the former Stasi prison. The solitary confinement, years of “temporary” detention before trial, and constant interrogations were terrifying. The sensory-deprivation room especially got to me; they called it the “calming room.”

We went back by Checkpoint Charlie, the Wall, and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, then shopped for souvenirs on Friedrichstraße, including Berlin and Appelman ornaments. We stopped at a café before dinner; the coffee guy was from Michigan.

Dinner at Reinstoff meant another restaurant hidden down an alley. Ksenia was bothered by that, though it was not nearly as murdery as the alley to Cookies Cream. I had a Japanese gin with cherry blossom, a little sappy straight but delightful with Fever-Tree.

Germany 2016 trip summary.

From the Notebook

Pretzels for breakfast, then a trip to the post office to mail postcards. We walked to the DDR Museum, where my conclusions were that communism sucked and the wallpaper was hideous. We went through Nikolaiviertel, the rebuilt old center of Berlin, and had lunch at a potato restaurant: potato soup with pork strips, plus sausage with potatoes and mixed vegetables.

We walked to the East Side Gallery, a stretch of the remaining Berlin Wall, and stopped at St. Nicholas Church and Café Spreeblick for dessert and tea. Back on Friedrichstraße, I looked at Birkenstocks that cost €65 for one pair; we picked up Christmas CDs at Dussmann and snacks before calling it a day.

Germany 2016 trip summary.

From the Notebook

Pretzels and butter from the grocery store were breakfast before a long walking tour of Berlin. Our guide, Sami Noble, gave us a 2½-hour overview and then a four-hour Third Reich tour. We had currywurst and a Berliner along the way.

We covered the Brandenburg Gate, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the former bunker site, the Topography of Terror, Checkpoint Charlie, the Reichstag, and pieces of the Berlin Wall. The tour continued through Bebelplatz, Gendarmenmarkt, Tiergarten, and the Jewish Quarter. Germany has done a good job being honest about and accepting its history.

At Brauhaus Lemke we had pilsner, pork knuckle, and bread with lard. Ksenia loved the bread and lard.

Germany 2016 trip summary.

From the Notebook

We arrived in Berlin, checked into our hotel, and found lunch on Friedrichstraße: Wiener schnitzel. We wandered the market by Museum Island, where Ksenia bought two watercolors from an artist and I got hot chocolate. We visited the Protestant Berlin Cathedral, then went back to the hotel for a nap and a shower.

Dinner at Cookies Cream was an adventure before we even sat down. We had to find an alley by the opera that looked like the place Batman’s parents were shot. There was a creepy outdoor chandelier, and we had to ring a bell to get in. Ksenia asked, “Where are you taking me?” Fair question.

My Bloody Melon cocktail had beet, watermelon, and gin. Mostly it tasted like beet, which covered the alcohol completely. We started with a quail egg in truffle foam, with caramelized onion on corn brioche. The Parmesan dumpling with grated truffle was salty. Dessert was sour apple sorbet with dill sauce and a semi-liquid oatmeal-and-granola crust. We had sour cherry schnapps too. Amazing.

After dinner, we took a nighttime stroll to the Brandenburg Gate and stopped in the English section at Dussmann.

Germany 2016 trip summary.

From the Notebook