6 Perfect Meals in Europe You Must Try When Visiting

Now that our time in Europe on our RTW adventure is coming to a close, we’ve been doing a lot of reflecting. And since I love food, I tend to reflect on that aspect of our time in Europe a lot.

We’ve had a few truly terrible meals, lots of mediocre meals, and a handful of simply spectacular drool-worthy meals in the last 150 days. Many of the best meals were not fancy; in fact, most of them involved in-season, fresh, high quality ingredients that were allowed to shine through because of the simplicity of the dishes. Of course, when we think about our favorite meals, the atmosphere also comes into play.

Things like sunsets, cool buildings, or unique cultural experiences were present in most of our favorite meals, although the atmosphere alone certainly doesn’t always make for a great meal. When it comes down to it, only a few meals can be called “the best,” and the following six were what we’d consider perfect meals in Europe.

Read more

5 of the Best Winter Activities in the Arctic Circle in Sweden

When we traveled to the Arctic Circle in Sweden (Kiruna, specifically), our primary goal was to attempt to see the northern lights for the first time.

But before we booked our accommodation, we had a decision to make- do we go fully remote for the best light viewing while being away from towns and cities or do we stay in a bigger area, possibly to some light detriment, to enjoy the many fun activities in the Artic Circle in winter?

As this was our first time this far north in winter, we chose the latter. Our logic? If the weather didn’t behave for northern lights we could always come back, but we may as well have a full vacation experience while we’re at it.

So if you’re looking for some fun attractions in the Arctic Circle to round out your trip, we’ve got you covered here!

Read more

Marg & Bein Review – A Prix Fixe Local Experience in Bergen

Marg & Bein is a prix fixe fine dining restaurant located in Bergen, Norway, that utilizes only Norwegian meats and produce in their 4, 6, or 9-course menus. On our visit we tried the 6-course menu with wine pairings and, although each dish was rather small, the creativity and flavors were outstanding.

The sleek and minimalist typical Scandinavian decor, combined with their hyper-local focus, offers a truly unique and of-the-moment dining experience.

Read more

10 of the Best Norwegian Foods (And Where to Try Them)

You may not think of Norway as a culinary destination, but on our recent western fjord road trip, we were pleasantly surprised with the food. Although the dining scene in larger towns like Bergen and Alesund was amazing with lots of fine dining options, we were equally impressed at some of the food we had in tiny fjord-side towns and mountaintop restaurants, too.

From hot dogs to prix fixe menus, we were delighted at the focus on using local ingredients in traditional dishes and in more unusual and creative ways, too (smoked salmon on a pizza, anyone?).

Before our trip we did some research on traditional Norwegian foods to try, but finding some of those foods proved near impossible. In this post we highlight some traditional and more common foods that we were actually able to try, and give some ideas of where to find them around the western fjords.

Read more