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I recently upgraded to a
Blackberry 8700g.
Email, cellphone, web
access, and PDA all-in-one.
I love Canon digicams.
I had an S330, then an S230,
now an SD400. They're solidly
made, they take great pictures,
and they're ultra-portable.
I've gone back to the dark
side. I once again have an iPod.
This time it's a 60gb iPod Photo.
The Dell Latitude D620
is my current work laptop.
It's a cleanly designed
Centrino Duo machine with
amazing battery
life and a nice screen.
My home laptop is a
15" Apple MacBook Pro
dual-booting both Mac OS X
and Windows XP. Hooray for
Boot Camp!
I recently upgraded to a 20"
Dell 2001fp LCD. It has great
image quality, and convenient
USB ports on the side.
My current PC is
a P4 system based on an Intel
D915GAG motherboard in an Antec
Sonata II case. 200gb Seagate
SATA hard drive, nVidia GeForce
6600GT video card, SB Live 5.1,
and NEC DVD-RW drive.
Just like with digicams,
I like Canon inkjet printers. My
i860 is quiet, fast, and produces
first-class color prints.
Not much to say here.
If you're an aviation enthusiast
and you have a fast PC,
go buy FS2004 now.
If you get hooked on
flight sims like I did, you'll want
a good flight controller. The
CH Products Flight Sim Yoke USB
is probably the best all-around
flight controller out there.
It ain't cheap, though....
My Current Reading List
Eastward to Tartary:
Travels in the Balkans,
the Middle East, and
the Caucasus
by Robert D. Kaplan
Falling Off the Map
by Pico Iyer
Great Bridge: The Epic
Story of the Building of
the Brooklyn Bridge
by David McCullough
The Polish Way: A Thousand
Year History of the Poles and
Their Culture
by Adam Zamoyski
Best of Europe 2006
by Rick Steves
| Austria | |
| Enns | |
| Hotel | |
| Gasthaus Zum Schwarzen Bären | Nice small B&B in a nice small Danube valley town. |
| Restaurants | |
| Pizzeria-Weinstube Loimayr | Decent place for decent pizza, around the corner from the Schwarzen Bären. |
| Hall in Tirol | |
| Hotels | |
| Gasthof Badl | Nice hotel right off the motorway, but alongside the Inn River, in Hall. Has a good restaurant with all the usual Austrian dishes. |
| Vienna | |
| Hotels | |
| Hotel-Pension Museum | One of my all-time favorite hotels anywhere. It looks like one of the sets for The Third Man. Big high-ceilinged rooms with tall windows, and balconies overlooking the museums. As a bonus, Wiener Wald is right across the street. |
| Restaurants | |
| Rosenberger Markt Restaurant | Sort of a collection of food courts with everything from schnitzel, to fish, to salads, to waffles prepared for you cafeteria-style. I like point-and-shoot type places. |
| Schweizerhaus | Hut-shaped schnitzel stand in the Prater, close to the Riesenrad. You'll be able to spot it from the top of the wheel. |
| Wienerwald | Okay, I know it's a chain, and it's probably seen as the Austrian equivalent to an upscale KFC, but it's damn good. And pretty cheap. Chicken cordon bleu, anyone? |
| Belgium | |
| Antwerp | |
| Bruges | |
| Hotels | |
| Hotel Cordoeanier | Nice clean hotel on a quiet side street two blocks from the Markt. Nice breakfast. |
| Hotel Van Eyck | A friendly hotel just around the corner from the main market square in Bruges. You're a 2-minute walk from the best french fries in the world. |
| Restaurants | |
| De Vlaamshe Pot | Literally, "The Flemish Pot." Nice restaurant with all the usual Belgian specialities. |
| Frites/Hot Dog stand | Okay, this isn't technically a restaurant, but it's one of my favorite places to eat anywhere. It's a big green cart out in front of the Town Hall and Belfry, selling french fries (frites), hot dogs, and various condiments to put on both. "Mosterd" for your hotdog, and so forth. Mmm, mmm, delicious. I have often considered going to Belgium specifically to get frites from this stand. |
| Gran Caffe de Passage | Cafe/restaurant that is part of a hotel and hostel of the same name. Eclectically decorated, it has a small menu of nice Belgian dishes at reasonable prices. Located at Dweersstraat 26. |
| Brussels | |
| Hotels | |
| Hotel des Eperonniers | Simple but acceptable old hotel just around the corner from the Grand Place. Plenty of waffle stands nearby. |
| Ghent | |
| Czech Republic | |
| Cesky Krumlov | |
| Hotels | |
| Hotel Konvice | German-run and German-filled little hotel with views of the castle. Has a good restaurant, too. |
| Restaurants | |
| Pizzeria Latran | Following my theory about the omnipresence of pizza, here is a good pizzeria in Cesky Krumlov. Nice place for pizza and a large beer. |
| Restaurant Mastal | Good cellar restaurant on the town square. Czech dishes, Czech beer, Czech people. |
| Restaurant Parkan | Terrace restaurant on the bank of the river right next to the bridge at the center of town. Unbeatable views of the castle, and great fish that seem to be caught from the river next to you. Mind the ducks. |
| Prague | |
| Hotels | |
| Dum u Velke Boty (House at the Big Boot) | One of my favorite hotels anywhere. Friendly staff, great breakfast, and an unbeatable location in the shadow of the Hradcany. Located on a quiet square across the street from the German Embassy, just up the street from the American Embassy. |
| U Zluta Bota | I haven't stayed there, but it's an interesting-looking place around the corner from the place where we usually stay. |
| Restaurants | |
| Gitanes | Nice little Mediterranean-themed restaurant near Dum u Velke Boty. Has both Mediterranean dishes and traditional Czech stuff. Good salads and pasta. Very reasonable prices, and staff are very friendly. |
| U Maltezskych Rytiru | Tremendous quality food in a basement restaurant on Prokopska. Good place for duck, pheasant, and Czech specialities. |
| England | |
| Bath | |
| Hotels | |
| Parade Park Hotel | Hotel within 2 minutes' walk of the Roman Baths and abbey, with a nice park (the Parade Gardens) across the street. Good breakfast, too. |
| Restaurants | |
| Evans' Fish and Chips | Old fashioned fish and chips place for take away or eat-in. The staff wear white paper hats, and you can get mushy peas. |
| Tilley's Bistro | Upscale little restaurant with a small but good selection of carefully prepared dishes. Halfway between the abbey and the Parade Park Hotel. |
| Burcot | |
| London | |
| Hotels | |
| Abbey House Hotel | Located right nextdoor to the Vicarage Hotel. Equivalent quality, location, and amenities. |
| Cherry Court Hotel | Small but cozy hotel located a short walk from Victoria Station. It isn't fancy, and it isn't big, but the owners are friendly, the rooms are clean, and you feel very welcome. |
| Kensington Travel Inn | Chain hotel located immediately across the street from the apartment I lived in as a student in 1991. Clean, big, and conveniently located for the sights in South Kensington and Earls Court tube station. |
| Morgan House Hotel | Another pleasant small hotel close to Victoria Station. |
| The Vicarage Hotel | Nice family run hotel in a townhouse near Kensington Gardens. Very pleasant location, good breakfast, and nice furnishings. |
| Restaurants | |
| Cafe in the Crypt - St. Martin-in-the-Fields | Nice cafeteria run by the church upstairs. Good "first lunch in London" sort of place. |
| Chelsea Kitchen | Cheap but filling place on Kings Road in Chelsea. Usual 3-course meals, spaghetti bolognese, etc. |
| Masala | Friendly neighborhood Indian place about 30 seconds' walk out the front of Earls Court tube station. Not far from the apartment I had on Knaresborough when I was a student. |
| West End Kitchen | One of many small restaurants in the area with cheap 3-course "pre-theater" meals. Lots of simple British dishes, and as cheap of a decent meal as you can get in London. See also The Stockpot and The Chelsea Kitchen. Probably all owned by the same people. |
| Oxford | |
| Estonia | |
| Tallinn | |
| Hotels | |
| Old House Guesthouse | B&B style accomodation in a restored house in the old part of Tallinn. Somewhat diffident staff, but nice accomodations anyway. Nice apartments as well. |
| Finland | |
| Helsinki | |
| France | |
| Arles | |
| Hotels | |
| Hotel de l'Amphitheatre | Carefully decorated, spotlessly clean, well-run hotel just down the street from the amphitheater. One of the classier breakfasts anywhere. Attention to detail is first-rate. |
| Avignon | |
| Colmar | |
| Montpellier | |
| Hotels | |
| Hotel du Midi | Refurbished old hotel right on the town square in the middle of Montpellier. Corner rooms have balconies overlooking the square. Very nice. |
| Nimes | |
| Paris | |
| Hotels | |
| Hôtel des Argonauts | Tiny hotel above a Greek restaurant in the Latin Quarter. Cheap, clean, and a tremendous location. |
| Hotel du Palais Bourbon | Nice hotel in the 7th Arrondisement, close to the Invalides and the Palais Bourbon. Good bakery just up the street. |
| Restaurants | |
| Germany | |
| Berlin | |
| Cologne | |
| Munich | |
| Regensburg | |
| Rothenburg | |
| Wurzburg | |
| Italy | |
| Assisi | |
| Florence | |
| Hotels | |
| Albergo La Scaletta | Nice old hotel on the top floor of a building just a block south of the Ponte Vecchio. Great views from their rooftop garden. Ask Manfredo to cook dinner for you--you won't regret it. |
| Rome | |
| Hotels | |
| Hotel Aberdeen | Immaculately clean hotel not far from the Piazza della Republica. Very helpful staff, great breakfast, and plenty of interesting food options nearby. |
| Siena | |
| Hotels | |
| Palazzo Ravizza | Very nice palace hotel south of the Campo. Has a couple "loft" rooms on the top floor that are much cheaper than the fancier suites and rooms below. Fancy breakfast, even for loft folks. |
| Venice | |
| Hotels | |
| Hotel Ai Do Mori | Surprisingly nice hotel next to a McDonald's, 50 meters from Piazza San Marco. No breakfast, but you can't have everything. One room has a terrace overlooking the domes of San Marco. |
| Pensione Guerrato | Pension located just west of the Rialto Bridge. Has some great apartments to rent for larger groups. |
| Netherlands | |
| Amsterdam | |
| Hotels | |
| Hotel Keizershof | A great small hotel, very centrally located in Amsterdam. They only have a few rooms, so book well in advance. |
| Hotel Prinsenhof | Nice family-run hotel in the middle of Amsterdam. Steeeep stairs... |
| Haarlem | |
| Leiden | |
| The Hague | |
| Poland | |
| Krakow | |
| Hotels | |
| Hotel Saski | Another nice hotel in Krakow, this one is much bigger than the Wawel Tourist, and closer to the main square. That usually translates to a litte more noise from the streets outside the hotel. You can have hot dogs for breakfast here, if you're so inclined. (They're "sausages.") |
| Hotel Wawel Tourist | A nice hotel on a quiet side street, halfway between the town square and Wawel Hill. Has undergone a lot of renovation in the last couple of years, but prices are still pretty reasonable. Good breakfast. |
| Restaurants | |
| Cechowa | Nice medium-priced Polish restaurant serving all the usual stuff. Close to Jagellonian University. |
| Resturacja Wierzynek | One of the oldest restaurants in Europe, and the most expensive in Krakow, it's still not that outrageously priced by western standards. For a fancy meal in a great old restaurant, this is the place. Famous for its dill potatoes. |
| Wroclaw | |
| Zakopane | |
| Russia | |
| St. Petersburg | |
| Hotels | |
| Nevsky Prospekt B&B | Friendly B&B decorated like and old-fashioned St. Petersburg apartment. Very clean, very helpful staff, and good breakfast served in your room each morning. |
| Scotland | |
| Sweden | |
| Stockholm | |
| Hotels | |
| Hotel Tre Små Rum | Name means "Three Small Rooms" in Swedish, apparently. They now have six rooms total. Very nice, very clean, nice self-service breakfast room. |
| Uppsala | |
| Switzerland | |
| Geneva | |