From A to Z

My first trip to Europe was in March of 2003 and included the cities of Bar-tha-lona, Paris and Amsterdam.  I was a rookie traveler and relied upon the rumors that Amsterdam was nothing more than a drug paradise with crappy food.  This of course begged the question "what the hell do people do there when they get the munchies?".

I quickly learned that Amsterdam was much more than what it is infamously known for and upon my return home, I promised myself to never rely upon rumors and to always do my due diligence when planning a trip.  When I learned the Boy and I would return, I was curious to find out what a 30 something year old's perspective would be in comparison to a 20 something year old's.  As you will see, age and a shift in one's priorities can influence an experience.

Amsterdam's Beauty

20 something's perspective: How do they ride their bikes here when they are high?

30 something's perspective: How do they ride their bikes here when they are sober? (I LOVE how bikes are so prevalent in Amsterdam but I have to admit that it looks like a scary place to ride one...but I am a wimp, so there.)

Amsterdam's Museum and Art Scene

I only wish I could have left my hips there too...oh well, such is life, ho-hum, long exhale while staring out a window.  Two days ago I returned 10 pounds heavier from Atlanta and while it is no secret that I missed friends and family, I was shocked to learn just how much I missed good, cheap, no frills FOOD.  Eating my way through the ATL was one of the highlights of our first return trip and I can still taste the greasy goodness from our two amazing burger experiences.  You would think a good burger is easy to come by in 21st Century Europe...think again.

So let me stage the Zurich food scene: picture sausage, veal in a mushroom cream sauce (which they call Zurich Art), fried potatoes and melted cheese.  Then pan over to the bathroom that your run to after your 5th slice of Raclette.  While slices of melted cheese are tasty and all, no boiled potato, gherkin or pickled onion will enable your body to process it effectively.  I actually like all of the German influenced cuisine I listed above but I can only do so much of it before I start daydreaming about the Thai or Indian food from Atlanta which causes me to weep happy tears.  Zurich does have a decent amount of ethnic eateries but I have yet to come across one that makes me cry like a teenage girl who just saw Justin Bieber flick his weird ass bowl cut. His bowl cut is as mind blowing as watching a toilet flush in the southern hemisphere for the first time, backwards and freaky.  In all fairness to Zurich, we have found good places to eat for all budgets, although I use the word "budget" loosely.  I am so fair that I even posted some restaurant recommendations over on ACC so I could feel less guilty about bashing Zurich's food scene.

Five Guys Goodness

Oh Atlanta, you little food minx...the first night we were there, you showered us with burger kisses.  Our friends Kevin and Sus were kind enough to take us to Holeman & Finch, famous for its 10pm burger. They only make 24 of the these lovelies and we got there at 8pm in order to reserve ours.  At 10pm sharp, a  procession of servers delivered the sizzling burgers to the 24 lucky souls who got there early enough to stake claim to theirs. Unfortunately, my stomach has become a bit atrophied over the past 11 months and couldn't handle the entire burger, but the Boy came through and finished the half I could not.  Two days later we went round two with a burger from Five Guys Burgers and this time, I finished the whole thing.  It was a taste sensation.  More taste sensations in Atlanta included the Chicken 65 from my favorite Indian Restaurant Zyka, the Banh Mi from Littles in Cabbagetown, over 10 plates of awesomeness from my brother's restaurant INC Street Food and of course the honey bacon from Sun in My Belly (although it did end up causing a storm in my belly an hour later).

In stark contrast, Zurich is a classic underachiever.  It has all the potential in the world with unbelievable access to amazing produce and meats but fails to deliver with over-priced, average fair.  I still haven't figured out why this is the case but I hope with the increasing flow of us Ausslanders into this great country, we will at least get to a place where we have over-priced, awesome food.

This post was written for AffordableCallingCards.net, a community linking Expats and soon to be Expats. I know a lot of my readers travel, so check out how you can get cheap calling cards overseas,which means one less thing to worry about while you are busy sipping on a Pina Colada. 

Before you say "none of your beeswax, my thing is "A", you are "B", so "C" your way outta here"...hear me out. I am not talking body parts, k? I believe every Expat has a "thing", something that keeps you connected to where you came from. It is that one comfort you long for. It could be something tangible like a particular store (come on, we all miss Target!) or something intangible like communication: