Mastering the culinary experience on Benelux trains

by Tom Johansmeyer on


Hitting the rails around Europe can be a blast, and I particularly enjoyed it in the so-called “Benelux” countries (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg). The scenery in the Netherlands was a bit thin, but the Belgian towns were incredibly cute, and it was fun to watch the Dutch signs yield to French as we approached the Luxembourg border.

And let’s face it: any alternative to air travel is a welcome one.

While the trains were a bit slow, they did offer plenty of space, and the ride was comfortable. The only downside was dining: some had a cart that was pushed around periodically, but that was the best available. In other cases, there was nothing at all.

So, if you’re going to hop the train to places like Amsterdam, Bruges, Brussels and Luxembourg, you’re going to want to pack your own grub. You can always pick something up at the train station, but packaged sandwiches and snacks pale in comparison to what you can accomplish with a little planning.

You can do better!

Below, you’ll find tips for giving yourself a better dining experience when you ride through Benelux:

%Gallery-129425%The Netherlands: let’s focus on Amsterdam; after all, it is the country’s major destination. You might be tempted to pick up a “spacecake” while they’re still available to tourists (the fun, for those who indulge, comes to a close at the end of the year), but that only appeals to one type of audience. Instead, head into town and pick up some of the local cheese – one of the few areas where Amsterdam truly excels in food and dining. You’ll wind up spending $10 to $15, but you’ll walk away with enough cheese to feed a village on a three-hour train ride. To make it a bit better, add some spicy mustard to your order (it complements the cheese nicely).

Plan ahead: the cheese and mustard will stay edible for a while, so spend the extra cash to get enough for several long train rides. You’ll be happy you did.

Belgium: in Bruges, there’s a great farmers market in the main market square. Visit it. While the vegetables look delicious, they do have a fairly short shelf life (unless you happen to travel with a refrigerator strapped to your back). So, you’re better off heading to the sausage stand. Pick up a few sausages, and make it interesting by selecting from a variety of animals. You’ll be able to dine on pig, bull and ass, among others. Bring some variety into your on-train meal, and you’ll have a better experience.

Remember the cheese you picked up in Amsterdam? And the mustard? If you bought enough, you can add some awesome sausages to the experience. The meal builds on itself! Again, plan for future train rides, and buy some extra sausage.

Luxembourg: you have cheese and mustard from Amsterdam. You just picked up sausages in Bruges. And, you’re Benelux trip will likely end with a trek from Luxembourg to Brussels or Amsterdam to catch your flight home. What’s missing from your meal on what could be the longest leg of your Benelux train experience?

Wine!

Luxembourg’s local white wines are nothing short of delicious. Skip the Alsacian, French and German options in favor of what the locals produce. If the imbibing experience matters to you, spring for a few cheap wine glasses that you’re fine with tossing at the airport (or losing to breakage in your bags). Otherwise, a few plastic cups will do the job just fine. As you ride back to your final stop before leaving Benelux, you’ll wash down your accumulated sausage, cheese and mustard with something crisp, tasty and unlikely to be on the shelves of your local liquor store.

Photo of the day: behold the power of Cadbury chocolate

by Meg Nesterov on


Depending on which side of the pond you hail from, you probably have a strong opinion on which Cadbury chocolate is superior. Americans live for the season when the Cadbury Creme Egg (now actually made by Hershey) is available to provide way more sugar in one sitting than is advisable, while Brits find the Yankee versions of their confectionary too sweet and consider the simple Dairy Milk bar to be perfection. Flickr user andreakw has introduced a third contender: Cadbury Australia, which offers a fairly dazzling array of flavors, from white chocolate (I personally find it an affront to chocolate, but others love it) to Turkish delight. Any Aussies want to compare their Cadbury to the American or British varieties?

Upload your chocolate or other sweet travel pix to the Gadling Flickr pool and we may use one for a future Photo of the Day.

Riding the rails in Wales: a steam train into the Welsh hills

by Sean McLachlan on


If you like old trains, you’re going to love Wales. The region has several narrow-gauge steam locomotives. The website Great Little Trains of Wales tells you about ten of them traveling various routes around the country. Most are clustered in the north and west, which most travelers say has the best scenery.

Having never been on a steam train and knowing it would be a guaranteed hit with our five-year-old son, we took the Vale of Rheidol Railway from Aberystwyth up into the Welsh hills to Devil’s Bridge. Our train, the Prince of Wales, dates to the 1920s and has been lovingly restored. It makes the 12-mile run in about an hour.

We set off to much chugging and hooting, which was taken up by all the children on board. As we cleared the station we saw that strangest of British animals, a trainspotter, filming our departure. Leaving Aberystwyth and the trainspotter behind, we picked up speed and soon started to ascend into the hills. Parts of the route are very steep and winding, which is why a narrow-gauge is used, and goes along the southern side of the Vale (Valley) of Rheidol. To our north the valley opened up to view, a gleaming strip of river winding far below, and here and there a farm. Only a few farms and houses stood near the rails and most of the time we were in countryside. A Red Kite flew by looking for prey. The engineer said that buzzards are a common sight too.

%Gallery-129371%One thing that was very noticeable was just how loud steam trains are. Our forefathers did not get a quiet, relaxing ride!

We continued to climb up the side of the valley past a few farms, thick woodland, and fields covered in wildflowers until we made it to Devil’s Bridge, where the trainspotter from Aberystwyth was waiting to film our arrival. There’s a beautiful waterfall tumbling through thick greenery here, and three bridges passing over it. The lowest bridge is said to have been built by the Devil in an attempt to get an old woman’s soul. The woman was too clever for him, though. You can read the story here. Two trails offer views of the falls.

There’s also a Robber’s Cave that local folklore says was used by three thieves–two brothers and their sister. The cave was a great hideout and they managed to live a life of crime for many years until they accidentally killed one of their victims. The locals came out with dogs and traced them to this cave. The men were hung and the woman burnt at the stake.

If you’ve never been on a steam train before, it’s a fun novelty and a great way to see the countryside. Our son loved it, of course, and all the other kids seemed to be entertained too!

Airbnb users home trashed, company sorry though

by Chris Owen on

It sounds like a great idea where everybody wins. Rent out your spare room or whole home as a mini-hotel of sorts on the free-to-list Airbnb website or browse the Airbnb site to find reasonably priced places to stay when visiting cities all over the world. In a Craigslist sort of way, renters and owners leave comments, check each other’s profiles and communicate via email in what has become a billion dollar startup with over 60,000 members. But what if something goes wrong?

A San Francisco woman who recently rented out her apartment through Airbnb found out the hard way. The “guests” trashed her apartment, stole stuff and left a big mess for her to clean up, all the while emailing her about how wonderful the place was.

User “EJ” describes the scene in their blog, Around The World And Back Again:

“They smashed a hole through a locked closet door, and found the passport, cash, credit card and grandmother’s jewelry I had hidden inside. They took my camera, my iPod, an old laptop, and my external backup drive filled with photos, journals… my entire life.”

This animation gives us an idea of how it all went down:

Seeking some sort of relief, compensation or information on what to do, EJ contacts Airbnb who while not legally liable, have tried to assist her.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t pause here to emphasize that the customer service team at airbnb.com has been wonderful, giving this crime their full attention. They have called often, expressing empathy, support, and genuine concern for my welfare. They have offered to help me recover emotionally and financially, and are working with SFPD to track down these criminals.”

Airbnb feels bad about the whole thing too, CEO Brian Chesky wrote yesterday:

“Hey everyone – we were shocked when we heard about this unsettling event. We have been working closely with the authorities, and we want to reassure our community that, with the help of our security infrastructure, we were able to assist the police in their investigation, and we understand from authorities that a suspect is now in custody.”

Still, EJ has a huge mess to clean up and is feeling anything but happy about the whole deal.

“I’ve had to miss several days of work and essentially put my life on hold. I haven’t slept or eaten properly in days, and I’m exhausted. My strength is gone, and as I pick through the wreckage, clean up this mess and try to piece my life back together, I realize the only thing that sounds appealing now is to go spend a few months near a beach, somewhere calm and sunny. Somewhere like Mexico, or Bali.”

That’s a whole lot different than the picture painted on Airbnb’s website.

Flickr photo by alancleaver_2000

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Amsterdam hot dog review: THE CHUBBY!

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Sometimes a food’s name says everything you need to know about it. Tucked away in the museum part of Amsterdam, the Lunch Kiosk is a mobile operation intended to feed the tourists in need of some fast grub. I was in that spot on my visit earlier this month, and I do like to sample a hot dog wherever I go. It seemed like an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.

At the Lunch Kiosk, the Chubby Hot Dog on the menu caught my attention immediately. How could it not? The big dog is wrapped in bacon and cheese, making it (what I thought would be) an artery-clogging delight. I had visions of Vancouver and Reykjavik, which made me salivate all the more. After waiting in line for what felt like an eternity, I placed my order and waited some more. I took this as a good sign, too. After all, immediate doesn’t usually equate to culinary quality (not even with hot dogs).

When my order was up, I snatched it with excitement and headed over to the ketchup and mustard. The latter was particularly interesting, as Amsterdam tends to do mustard well (I do suggest smearing some on any of the local cheeses).

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My first bite was nothing but … disappointment. The Chubby Hot Dog nailed the aesthetic, but it failed to deliver on taste. The dog was lukewarm at best, a risk inherent in eating hot dogs from vendors that have four wheels. It didn’t snap as much as hot dogs from the likes of Gray’s Papaya or even Banger Bros in London. And for flavor, it just held flat. At best, the Chubby tasted like lukewarm bologna. While I was able to tolerate the dog at first (I was incredibly hungry), I wound up abandoning it at the half-way mark.

Foreign hot dogs tend to be a role of the dice. Where East Anglia (England), Madrid and Amsterdam fell short, Stockholm, Reykjavik and Montreal came through in style. Though considered to be among the lowest forms of food, it’s nonetheless tough to master the hot dog. The Chubby just failed to execute on its delectable plan.