Bookstores, breakfast sammies, bottles of wine…
The six things to look for in every city
A background tune for reading this newsletter:
Everybody’s travel checklists are a little different. While sometimes the best part of the trip happens outside of the to-do list, it doesn’t hurt to hone in on your travel “musts.” Without further ado, here are the six things I look for in every city, on every trip.
1. A bookstore
No matter how tall my to-read stack gets at home, I can’t leave a new city without a book and, more importantly, a bookmark, from one of its bookstores. Just like you can tell a lot about a person from their book collection, you can tell a lot about a city from its bookstore collection. Grab a vacation read or better yet, ask about books that are set in your host city or written by a local author!
Mara rec: The Book Lady in Savannah, Georgia.
2. A breakfast sandwich
Every city’s best breakfast sammie is different. I try to ask my Airbnb host or the clerk at the bookstore to point me in the direction of the corner store, coffee shop, or gas station where locals get their fix. Breakfast sammie rule also applies to breakfast tacos, burritos, pastries, bagels and lox — i.e. whichever breakfast food your destination is most famous for.
Mara rec: Cheeky Sandwiches in New York City
3. A dive bar
I love craft cocktails as much as the next person, but I don’t love spending half of my trip’s budget on palomas. After getting my fill of the local mixology, I like to scout a dark and smoky dive bar that serves light beer for less than five dollars. Must have 1) neon signs 2) a grumpy bartender and/or 3) writing on all the bathroom stalls. Bonus points for a popcorn machine or other complimentary snacks.
Mara rec: Churchill’s in Miami, Florida
4. A museum
A must! Even better if the museum covers local history, art and storytelling that you can’t find anywhere else.
Mara rec: The Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, New York
5. A bottle of wine
Much like local bookstores, local wine shops give you a rosy-cheeked, wine-mustached view of what the place is all about and what it’s like to live there. I like to pick out two bottles of the same wine: one for my Airbnb/hotel room/guest room, and one to pack in my checked bag for future me to drink and reminisce on the trip.
Mara rec: Vino Carta in San Diego, California
6. Some green space
Botanical gardens, popular parks, tree-covered squares, farmers’ markets — green spaces are the perfect place to people watch and soak in the local atmosphere. They’re usually easy to find from a quick Google search, and are the perfect spot to enjoy that book or sandwich or bottle of wine you just picked up. ;)
Mara rec: Denver Botanic Gardens in Denver, Colorado
Taking a trip soon? Jot down the things you love to do and make your own list of places, spaces, and eats to look for around the city.
Have a good trip!
Mara
Good Trip Contributing Editor
Local’s Corner
Guten Tag! This week we chat with a true traveler and digital nomad: artist manager and band therapist Allie Silver is an American who lived in Buenos Aires for years before now calling Berlin home. She consults and coaches artists for creative projects, bands and beyond via her Band Therapy sessions.
Her openness, friendly spirit and passion for adventure have led her around the world, so we’re excited to get her insider Berliner tips!
The place she’s traveled to that she’d like to go back to:
I escaped Berlin lockdown to Spain a few weeks ago and have been hiding out here in the meantime til things calm down in Germany. I fell in love with a tiny surf town called Famara on the island of Lanzarote in the Canaries and I am heading back there this week because I can't get enough!
Her favorite local spot within a 15 minute walk of her apartment:
Tempelhof: a gorgeous park in a former airport in my beloved neighborhood of Neukölln, where you can rollerskate down the runway and picnic in the community gardens.
Her favorite local-to-Berlin snack or food she can't get enough of:
Sahara's falafel halloumi magali (fried vegetables) pita with Sudanese peanut sauce and a rhubarb soda — the Berlin summer classic!
An ideal day for her in Berlin (during non-COVID times):
In true Berliner style: biking around the city, thrift digging at the Nowkoelln flea market and an open air dance party with great music on a sunny day, ideally on a rainbow boat on the Spree river like Unkraut Kollectiv, which was one of my 2020 highlights.
Where she wants to travel next, post-COVID:
I have been plotting an adventure to Kathmandu, Nepal to explore the underground art scene and drink tea with my whimsical adventure co-conspirator @foundintranslations that I am very excited about!
The song she has on repeat:
I could answer this question in many ways, but the most present on my mind right now is a tie between the groovy "Soul in My Bones" by Ecuadorian artist Joaquin Cornejo and "Journey to Satchidananda" by Alice Coltrane, which I always have on repeat since it adds a mystical sprinkle to every environment.
Good Trip Tip
It’s easy to forget, but remember to bring home a souvenir from your travels. We’re not talking cheap tchotchkes from a tourist trap shop, but instead a bottle of wine or book like Mara mentioned above, or a local craft. Every time you drink your morning coffee, you can remember where you bought that mug. Soon your home will be filled with small physical embodiments of travel memories.
Leaving you with this stunner of a waterfall in Ethiopia:
