ABC’s of travel: travel tuesday

happy travel tuesday! it’s a very special one for me as i have been chosen to be a co-host for the next couple months (alongside the lovely bonnie, courtney & yalanda) and i couldn’t be happier about it. so thank you! i’ll do my best to make you all proud.

for my first week abroad the #traveltuesday express, i wanted to share a little about myself and travel moments, and if you’re new around here, so you could get to know this orange-haired american in czechland a little better. i present to you, the good ol’ abc’s of travel, cynthia-style. 

(a)ge you went on your first international trip: age 9, on a family spring break vacation to cabo san lucas, mexico. i remember making my family promise that we would come back every year. i also first remember hearing the term “happy hour” and i thought it was just a mexican thing.

(b)est foreign beer you’ve had and where: oh man, have i had good beers in so many countries. but my ultimate favorite beer moment: drinking an icy cold hoegaarden on a bike ride from bruges to knokke, belgium. there is nothing better than sitting at a table, looking out at the belgian beach drinking my favorite lemony beer. it is absolutely true that it tastes so much better in belgium!

©usine [favorite]: a typical food court in singapore that i went with my mum & brother when i was 13. i was trying to eat noodles with chopsticks when an older singaporean gentleman came over, moved my fingers to the right position, and walked back to his table. asian noodles are forever my favorite.

(d)estinations- favorite, least favorite, & why: as much as i have love for so many places all over the world, BERLIN will forever be my favorite destination. i feel so at home, like i can be the best version of myself there. for least? i am sad to report that i did not love dublin. but i would gladly return sooner than i would to füssen, germany. füssen is a great little town but getting yelled at by a pension owner in german for something that she told me was okay to do (use the upstairs bathroom) really soured my visit, as well as my travel partners who i had grown weary of. have you ever seen that one parks & rec episode when they stay in the pension? it was JUST LIKE THAT.

(e)vent you experienced that made you say wow: the height of oktoberfest in munich. a table looking out over the madness, people standing on our table playing the trumpet with the band, a large woman who took off her top down and started dancing below… it was all very wow. the best party that i am fine not to repeat for awhile! honorable mention: visiting the isle of eigg, scotland and massacre cave. i needn’t say more.

(f)avorite mode of transportation: german u-bahns. i have so many good u-bahn stories and memories… it’s rarely boring!

(g)reatest feeling while traveling: gotta be that wow feeling when you’re seeing something absolutely take-my-breath-away. the feeling that you are feeling absolutely sure and justified about what you are doing in life! the free feeling i got during my time as a work-staying vagabond in scotland.

(h)ottest place you’ve ever traveled to: i felt like my face was melting off sometimes when i spent time in japan one july. i think it was a shock for my entire body, which showed especially through my mess of frizzy hair. i had a great time, but i think i looked like a wreck.

(i)ncredible service you’ve experienced: laibon restaurant in český krumlov (above) comes to mind. the magical owner (yep, i’m convinced he’s magic somehow) always treats us like he knows us well. it’s funny that a “best service” moment should happen in the czech republic, but maybe that’s what makes laibon stand out.

(j)ourney that took the longest: during a harmless sounding flight from dublin to seattle in december, i had a thirteen hour layover connecting through newark due to inclement weather. flights were getting canceled left and right, and fortunately mine was only delayed. but man, that was a long day. happens to most every traveler at some point though, i’m sure.

(k)eepsake from your travels: i was in love with my silk nepalese skirt i bought on my first trip to amsterdam in 2004. it was such a beautiful piece, but sadly it was so fragile and has since ripped beyond repair. i’m comin’ back for another nepalese skirt sometime, a’dam!

(l)et-down sight, where & why: the reichstag in berlin (the dome, above, was closed for renovations). most castle interiors, anywhere (except for scotland!) because they were huge bores. the island in the middle of lake bled, slovenia because there is nothing to do except to pay 3 euros to enter a church to ring the wishing bell.

(m)oment when you fell in love with travel: probably my exchange experience in japan, staying with a lovely japanese family for a week. at the age of only thirteen, it was life-changing to be somewhere so different than anything i had ever known. to sleep on the floor on tatami mats and have to go to an outhouse type building to take a shower. the vast and brilliant green beauty of the country. camping on a beach on the north-side of the island. attending a traditional lantern celebration dolled up in a yukata. i have to recommend an experience like this in asia to all bright, young kids. it will change their life!

(n)icest hotel you’ve stayed at: the grand hyatt, executive suite, seattle (above) on the closing night of the SIFF party 2012, looking over the puget sound. this was the nicest suite in the hotel and my lovely concierge friend unexpectedly gave me an incredible hook-up. i will never forget this evening! (later that night: high-fived jason biggs)

(o)bsession- what do you take photos of while traveling: brilliant color of any kind: buildings, landscapes, sunsets. (below, corniglia, italy)

(p)assport stamps- how many & from where: at least 30 that i know of, mostly all from european cities with the exception of aruba.

(q)uirkiest attraction you’ve visited & where: an american old western city in bavaria, germany. can’t get much quirkier, really!

®eally frightening- a place where you felt unsafe or uneasy: oh man. clearly, an experience arriving in luxembourg jumps out at me. my travel companion and i had just arrived at the central station and heard there were supposed to be shuttle buses stationed outside to take us to our hostel (which was located several kilometers away, on a hilltop). after looking confused for awhile, an individual clearly in some point of a gender transition approached us and flamboyantly, in french-accented german told us she could take us there. i have no idea why we agreed because he (or she) drove a big white unmarked (!!!) windowless van, but she tried to assure us she worked for the hostel. i was nervous as hell, but trying not to show it while following every little turn on the map, hoping she wouldn’t suddenly make a wrong turn and give away the fact that we were being kidnapped. but kidnapped we were not, and arrived promptly at the hostel. phew.

(s)plurge- something you have no problem spending on while traveling: i rarely splurge these days, to be honest! but on special occasions when i do, it might be a very nice meal out… the kind where you really just order whatever you want and not think about the consequences.

(t)ouristy thing you’ve done: double-decker buses in london! I DON’T CARE, they are amazing and iconic. (and who hasn’t, really?) i hope to try the double-decker bus afternoon tea experience the next time i’m there!

(u)nforgettable travel memory: i outlined several favorites here, but generally, my one month time studying in switzerland was itself a giant happy travel memory. i was traveling solo (no boyfriend hanging around) and felt the most independent i ever have in my life, as well as the most learned in german language, as i was staying with a swiss host that didn’t know any english. having those one month unlimited swiss rail train passes was incredible– you can get so far in this tiny beautiful country in one day! specifically, i remember going in a train down from the jungfraujoch, listening to eddie vedder while all my friends slept in the seats around me. it was such a surreal, peaceful happy memory.

(v)isas- how many and for where: six for the czech republic (two of those are long-term residence visas!) and one for studying in germany.

(w)ine- best glass while traveling: some of my favorite glasses have actually been in washington state, but i have a happy memory of going to an all you can eat… and drink buffet while in budapest, hungary. that was just insane. i am going to track down that restaurant so hard when i return!

e(x)cellent view & from where: the space needle, specifically the revolving restaurant in seattle, wa. the restaurant may be fancy and pricey, but for the rotating 360 degree views of the puget sound and mt. rainier, it is absolutely worth it! (photo via)

(y)ears spent traveling: since i was an infant, surely. i am glad my family has always placed a high priority on travel, especially because of the nature of my dad’s job which has sent him all over the world. i’ve always felt like my life has been international but i really have to thank my parents for this one: instilling that incurable travel bug in me!

(z)ealous sports fans and where: germany, for sure! a few times the fans have been too rowdy (literally rocking the s-bahn and hanging out of it) that the train couldn’t even move. being in switzerland during the eurocup in 2008 was pretty rad too– how would you not be zealous if your own little country was hosting such a huge event? (above, zürich hauptbanhof)

if you’re a blogger, join us for travel tuesday this week! here’s how it works: share a post about travel, link back toco-hosts bonnie, courtney, yalanda, & myself (cynthia) in a text link. add your link & hop around.

{TIPS} only one post per blogger please. save others for future tuesdays! the last tuesday of the month will be an optional themed prompt. share the love on social media with the #traveltuesday hastag.

// <![CDATA[
document.write('’);
// ]]>