Berlin is an international city and as such, you can eat any type of food whenever you want. When I first arrived I was very intimidated with eating anywhere cause I had trouble understanding the menu! Most restaurants I went to did have an English menu after I asked, which I hate to be the person that needs that but it was nice and made eating out a little less intimidating.
I also found Yelp to be popular and made finding places near me to eat or drink easier. I also love to use Instagram and that is how we found this next breakfast spot, Benedict. Every corner of this restaurant and cafe is an Instagrammers paradise! This breakfast/brunch will be pricier than other low key spots, but you are paying for the atmosphere and I didn’t mind paying extra for the full experience.
This next spot is a gem and could easily be walked by sans the line of people out the door. Hamy is an affordable, fresh and delicious spot. Also situated in a fun neighborhood to walk about this is a must do spot!
A great place to stop for bread, for a picnic?… or a pastry for breakfast is Soluna. Delicious!
Sahara – I think its a chain? But soo good – fun to take to go or eat there on the patio get a beer next door.
Austria Das Original – Delish schnitzel and I think pickled cucumbers and potato salad… SO good!
I enjoy walking and it is especially nice to walk about when traveling. Walking is a great way to get to know a place and acquaint yourself with the area you are staying in.
The Turkish market was a great find! I literally stumbled across it when leaving my hostel Tuesday morning. With clothing, jewelry, sweets and other food items everyone can get something they want here!
The canals are beautiful! I highly reccomend eating/drinking nearby and strolling through them!
Victoria Park is a great place to people watch, relax, or picnic.
Fat tire bike tour – Riding a bike was SO much fun and I felt safer being in a group than I would have been renting a bike alone. The bike lanes can be a little confusing for someone who doesn’t know what they are doing!
Bowling is a great indoor activity if it happens to rain! This alley has 1 euro games on Sunday.
In many ways, I left a little of my heart in Berlin. It is a big city, full of diverse neighborhoods and lots of history. Despite not really understanding the language I felt right at home. I went in May and the weather was amazing. We had a few days of rain but it always cleared up in time for a walk around. One of my favorite things about Berlin is that everyone walks around with a beer in hand. Here in California, you really won’t see that often. It is definitely frowned upon to walk about with an open container. Not so in Berlin, everyone you pass walking down the street, whether it’s parents watching their kids at the park, coworkers/ friends walking to dinner they all have a beer in hand and I LOVE that vibe, so laid back, so me.
I was staying in the cutest neighborhood and the best hostel, Minimal Hostel. I chose to stay in a hostel since I was traveling alone and wanted the opportunity to meet people and hang out with them. In the neighborhood of my hostel was a cute craft beer bar, Lager Lager. I hit this spot up a few times. Always bustling with many people and a great spot to pick up an interesting beer for later.
Another spot close to where I was staying, O.T. Bar Und Projekt Raum was another spot with good wine and beer! Very cool interior also.
Another fun spot for cocktails is Geist Im Glas, this is a super cool place where you can tell the bartender what flavor alcohol combo you like and she will create a drink for you! They have a great outdoor area but after a certain time, they ask that you head inside as to not disturb the neighbors.
Another great place for green juices, coffee, tea and various food is the Marheineke Markthalle on Bergmannstraße. I like going to markets cause I can point to things I want if I am not sure how to say it in German.
I loved the Brlo Brwhouse – so much so that I went to it twice while I was in Berlin. It is in Victoria Park which was a really cool spot to people watch, bike, walk and relax!
In Summary, a few places I really enjoyed for a drink are :
Oh, Copenhagen, I had no idea how much I would love you. An eight-hour layover was not nearly enough time to see all the sights or drink all the beer, but you can rest assured I will be back to do more exploring.
To get from the airport to the central station is so easy… easy enough that even I could figure it out and have someone ask me for help!
My first stop was the Paiperon, a warehouse space filled with local street food vendors. To get there I took the train from the airport to central station and then walked to the Paiperon. The walk was beautiful. I was enamored more and more with each step.
The coolest built-in trampolines! I jumped for a bit and it was so fun and exhilarating.
My next goal was to make it to Warpigs…so again I laced up my walking shoes and headed back past the Central Station.
At points, I felt that I must be lost… but I eventually made it to beer heaven.
I tried the Ligonberry sour = A++
The Black IPA with Cherry = Also delicious
and finally the Imperial Coffee Stout = truly one of the best coffee stouts I have ever had!
I didn’t try the BBQ cause I was too full but it looked amazing! Also seems that people come here for the BBQ alone regardless of the beer.
If you have a long layover in Copenhagen, you should definitely make the effort to leave the airport! I found it to be super easy and well worth the time!
Our next morning started out at a newer SLO fav, Scout Coffee. They now have two locations in San Luis and we went to the shop on Foothill Foothill. The decor is on point and their homemade almond milk will make you sing.
I tried the scone with scallions and goat cheese which was delicious. The vibe was LOUD… I don’t know how someone could study there but maybe on a weekday it would be less rambunctious.
After our coffee and pastries, we headed to Avila to hike the Ridge Trail. This time we parked closer to Pirates Cove… off Cave Landing.
We started at the hill of doom, much better going up than down.
Once we caught our breaths… well once I caught my breath we selfied 🙂
SO amazingly beautiful and vast. Once we were leaving we noticed that it had gotten a lot more crowded. We were lucky that we had so much alone trail time.
After our hike, we put on our blades and rolled down the Bob Jones Trail.
Once in Avila, we stopped for lunch and brews and then headed back on the trail to finish our 5 mile round trip blade sesh.
Saturday Night, we had plans to camp at Montana de Oro State Park. This is probably one of the most beautiful places you will ever go in your life.
Is this real life??? Views and Brews?!! On this somewhat stormy Saturday Night Libertine Pub in Morro Bay was pretty empty but a live band came on at eight that brought in more of a crowd. We enjoyed dinner and a few brewskies.
Last weekend my friend and I took a trip from the Bay to the Central Coast. We lived together in SLO during college and were looking forward to a weekend of all our favorite SLO area things.
First stop Firestone, dinner and a flight were a must after nearly three hours in the car. Have really been loving the sours coming out of Firestone.
Next morning up and ready to go early, gotta get our Black Horse and SLO Donut Co. fix. They even have gluten free donuts these days… so no excuses not to go!
Chels and I both had work to do in the morning but once the afternoon rolled around we were raring for a hike! We found the Cuesta Ridge Botanical Hike and couldn’t believe we hadn’t done it before. Equal parts up and downhill but filled with epic views from start to finish!
Even waterfalls!
A well deserved summit Brew!
Wooooweee does life getter better than these views! So amazing.
What is my favorite thing to after a bunz busting hike? Drink a brew or two of course…
We headed to Bang the Drum Brewery. Great space, indoor and out. Really friendly staff and most importantly great beers!
We went back to the hotel to freshen up before heading downtown for the night.
Next stop, Barrelhouse Speakeasy. This is one of the coolest spaces I have ever been to. A fully functioning barbershop and then a full on taproom downstairs.
Super crowded on a Friday night but really fun.
Looking forward to sharing the rest of our weekend this week!
During our adventures last Spring in Indonesia we decided to spend about five days in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
The truth is … you always need more time, but our few days there were filled with adventure. Making new friends, trying new foods and scuba diving for the first time to name a few!
We took boats to different islands and brought our own snorkel gear. Sapi was gorgeous and it was amazing to float in the water and see all the fishes swim by.
KK has so many markets! Seeing Mango flavored cotton candy was a real dream!
We got bit by the Scuba Bug! Sooooo crazy/scary/cool
Delicious meal – no silverware required!
Frolicking in the Mangrove Forrest and sweating through our clothes.
Sunset viewing with a beer in hand… no matter where you are it feels good to get these little moments.
I am finally getting ready to share my Indonesia and Malaysia trip here and going through the photos and my journal from the trip are really stoking my need for adventure and travel.
Here are a few top memories from the trip…
All packed up and ready to go! One carry on for three weeks. The truth of the matter is I probably had too much.
Our first meal in Indonesia, and quite possibly the best meal of the entire trip. This simple and cheap meal still lingers in my dreams.
It has been raining often in Northern California these last few weeks and as such it has really put me in a planning mood.
Here are a few awesome resources that I have found for planning your next beercation!
From Noble Brewer a really cool beer map where you can search for beer by location, additionally they have put together their list of top 5 beercation locations. I am providing this as a basis for your exploration, however I don’t necessarily condone their choices. Not to be rude but if I am going to San Diego I would go to Mother Earth, Toolbox etc… so I suppose I would really go to Vista NOT San Diego. This article did give me some new ideas though… Lincoln, Nebraska? Asheville, North Carolina?? I really need to do some traveling… SO here is the thing use this as a guide – then search the beer map for options do some google searches and put together your own itinerary.
I also found this interesting list of top 25 cities for beer drinkers so you should probably consult that as well! A little surprised that San Francisco is 19 … but we will take it.
While you are on your travels, beer sure to be on the look out for these 2017 beer trends. What do you think about these trends? Are you excited / annoyed? I have to say I love the intrigue of a good field beer or sour but the flavor better be right if I am going to keep coming back for more!
At this point, you might be thinking how can I take a vacation surrounded by beer? Won’t that be unhealthy? WELL… according to Men’s Health, yes that is right we are taking advice from Men’s Health, “Moderate beer consumption may help you maintain your levels of “good” HDL cholesterol.” Maybe all my beer consumption is what led to my high levels of HDL at my yearly physical…
At any rate, I hope these fun links have given you a little bit of inspo to start crafting your next trip!
Generally speaking when I am going to plan a vacation, I like to pick a place where I can eat good food, drink good drinks, be active ( in some capacity) and maybe throw in some time by the fire or on a hammock!
Palm Springs is a place that I had not been to since becoming an adult and as a Northern California dweller it takes a bit more to get there than from LA or SD. So when one of my Best Friends suggested we take a trip there for her birthday I very enthusiastically said , “YES”!
There was one caveat though… we were going in SUMMER! You might be thinking who in their right mind goes to the desert in the summer? Well people who love a good deal, and in the summer, Palm Springs has amazing lodging deals.
We took off from foggy San Francisco in the morning and landed in Palm Springs at potentially the hottest part of the day… walking off the plane was a rude awakening to say the least.
We assumed (wrongly) that we would be able to get a rental car since its summer… no one is in the desert right? Well without a rental car to our names we would have to uber/lyft/taxi/shuttle all around town.. which turned out to be a good option. The shuttle is great! Highly reccomend looking into it when you are there as a form of transportation.
We stayed at the Saguaro. If you aren’t living under a rock you have already seen its brightly colored, palm tree laden grounds all over instagram.
I would reccomend staying at this hotel if you LOVE to party all day and into the night… the pool parties are very popular here but also extremely annoying if that isn’t your steeze.
If I were to go back I would potentially stay at the Parkeror The Ace.
Once settled at our hotel we took a car service to Elvis’s Honeymoon Hideaway . We had booked a tour prior to arriving which I reccomend if you are interested. I haven’t made it to Graceland yet, so being somewhere that The King lived was a magical experience. It is hard to believe that this home is owned by a couple ( who are selling btw). To me, it seems like this house should be a museum. It is amazing though how little has been updated. The home maintains its original charm and finishes.
peeking over the fence into Marilyn Monroe’s Palm Springs house!
After our tour we were famished and in need of a bite to eat! Another note about Summer is that places close in the middle of the day/ or for the season so be prepared to not get to try all the places you have dreamed about on yelp/instagram.
A must do : Date Milk Shake! Delicious but really, really sweet!
I don’t remember the sandwich place we went too but it was really good and air conditioned! Very important.
Now time for more A/C and some tiki drinks and the historic Bootlegger Tiki.
Every table was full around 4 pm on Friday – prime Happy Hour time!
Love a good door detail!
Las Casuelas is a fun spot for live music and margs!
Ready for day two! We started the day off with a breakfast reservation at Norma’s at the Parker ( ohh lala! ) Another summer tip – wake up early and nap during the hottest part of the day! Not rocket science!… but I thought I would share all the same!
After an amazing breakfast we strolled around the Parker grounds. Beautiful!
Next stop! Saturday morning Famers Market! and look what we found … Beer Tasting! I love to try some good local beer on all my trips so when we found Coachella Valley Brewing Co – I was stoked! Purchased a few beers for back at the hotel where we were headed for some R & R.
For dinner we headed to Birba. We went before the dinner rush and were able to be seated without a reservation.
Our meal and drinks were beyond! I highly, highly reccomend.
Then onto Tropicale, at this point of the night the air is balmy but cool enough for outside sitting and walking.
One final drink and some live music at the Amigo Room.
Day 3! Ready to indulge … yet again.
fun colorful halls at our hotel!
Elmer’s is a chain.. but a highly recommended chain so off we went to try it out!
After our filling breakfast we went to Moorten Botanical Garden. We thought it would be early enough to beat the heat… but we weren’t. We thought we were going to pass out after walking around, but it was beautiful!
After lounging pool side for the majority of the afternoon we got ready for dinner and drinks!
We went to The Purple Palm for drinks, I tried the Rio Rita with Ghost Pepper! Delish!
Again, our food was amazing. Prices were a little high but all great quality food.
For a final night cap we hit Kings Highway … for our second date shake of the trip.
Amazing Wall Weave!! Swoon.
One last view of the pool… looks so relaxing… before anyone arrives!
We headed to Cheeky’s for brunch – we barely made it before they closed for the season!!
I love a good Bloody Mary and this one came in a glass boot – talk about in love!
Great breakfast and amazing service!
We spent the rest of the morning wandering around antique shops and galleries.
Needing a break from the heat we went to Customs Coffee.
For our last lunch we hit Sherman’s Deli in Palm Springs – what a delight! It was so delicious.
After our meal we headed back to our hotel and off we flew back to the Bay! I had an amazing time in Palm Springs – the aesthetic, the food, I loved it all! I will definelty be back… would I go again in the Summer… tbd.
