Oslo, Norway

ORIENTATION – Oslo Pass 210 (24hr) 300, 390 kr includes museums and all transportations – Airport express train runs right to downtown - very easy to manage. Train/subway system is very easy and a simple way to get around if it is too far for a walk.

Lodging:

• Hotel Continental - Stortingsgaten 24/26 Vika N - 0117 Oslo Norway +47 22 82 40 00 E-mail: booking@hotel-continental.no - Excellent central location for business or leisure. A subway stop is right across the way that can get you anywhere outside of walking distance. Superb service and the breakfast/overall stay was good.

Attractions - for overall tourist info about Oslo click here...

• Akershus Fortress – free 6:00-21:00 – check for castle details though – great views of Oslo in every direct. Make a point to walk/run through this area. You can also find the Oslo Nazi Resistance museum adjacent to the castle within the fortress walls
  
• Holmenkollen Ski Museum – free with pass 10-16:00 (70kr) – great views of Oslo and surrounding country. Worth a trip. Take the train up the mountain for the quickest visit.
• Oslo University - small university right near Parliament and the Royal Palace
  
• National Gallery (Closed Mon) – includes arch and design 10-18:00 free – has the orig Screaam – Munch – very manageable museum that you can hit in less then an hour. Central part of town, near university.
• Vigeland Sculpture Park – free open all hours. Unique sculptures, but one of the bigger tourist attractions. Great park and worth spending some time here.
• Munchmuseet – some Munch works – check opening, closed M 10-4 – 65kr, free with pass
• Vikingskipshuset – Viking museum 11-16 50kr (free with pass)
• Norsk Sjofartsmuseum – ship museum – 10:30-16 (40kr)
• Royal Palace – changing of guard free at 1:30 – can get very close to the soldiers, but the Palace is less then stellar. Grounds behind palace are worth a stroll.
• Bike Rental - this would be a great way to get around Oslo (weather permitting).
• Bygdoy – peninsula south of town, cool area with beaches and museums, mainly residential
• Museum of Architecture - free - National museum for art, architecture and design
  
• Doga - free - Norwegian design center
  
• Lillehammer (20 min train) – 11-16 60kr – locals suggested not to waste the time on this, as there isn't too much other then some Olympic sights.
• Hiking - check with the tourism office or some locals. Forest and mountains are minutes from downtown. This is the best way to experience Oslo.

FOOD/DRINKS:

• Rema and Kiwi are grocery chains
• Fyret – seafood and cool views
• Lemongrass - Caribbean/Thai/Asian Fusion food - recommended by locals and was a great find. This is a few blocks off the main square. Kristian Augustgt. 14
  
• Fenaknoken – Gourmet food store
• Far East Coffee - one of the better coffee houses you'll come across. Great decor and comfortable seating.
• Mono – drinks and live music
• Muddy Waters – Blues – guide book rec for live music - "older crowd" according to book.
• Lofoten - based on Aker Brygge. If in season order "Lutefisk". Traditional Norwegian dish during Christmas time. Seafood and service here are top notch. Straden 75.
  
• Solsiden: based opposite to Akerbrygge, just below Akershus Festning (recommended during summer)
• Ekeberg Restauranten: local rec - based on the hill side south in the city, with a nice view over the harbour. This is not a typical seafood restaurant, but the food is good.
• Alex Sushi: local recommendation for sushi
• Palace Grill: very expensive, but another local rec. No reservations. Pre-fix menu with wine pairings. About 5-10 dishes served. Probably best to take an early setting around 6.
• Briston Grill - continental fare
• Kristiania - continental fare, local eating spot
  
• Frognerseteren, is based "on top" of Oslo. If the weather is nice this is a nice place to visit.

NEIGHBORHOODS:

• Gronland - is an area with an influence of foreign cultures
• Grunerlokka is a place where students, consultants(not married yet) and young people meet up, go to bars, have a coffee on the street
• Bjorvika - close to central station and pass by the new Opera house which is almost done.

SHOPPING:

• Lysforum - Majorstuveien 28 - you'll see cool light fixtures here featuring Modiss
• Majorstuens Elekriske - 57 Kirkeveinen - more lighting displays, very unique
• Karl Johans Gate - mix of local shops and some tourist shops
• Stortoret
• Baerum Verk - crafts
• Norway Designs
• Hadenland Glassverk
• William Schmidt - souvenirs
  

Berlin, Germany

ORIENTATION: For now there are multiple airports you can fly to reach Berlin. Based on comparing notes, try for Tegel. You'll have about a 20 minute taxi to Mitte (center of town). The train system is excellent here and a day pass for transport 5.80 (A&B) 6 for (ABC – C is Potsdam) – Welcome Card. Day passes are approximately 16E/1 day and 22E/2days

HOTELS:

• Jolly Hotel Vivaldi Berlin - Friedrichstraße 96 - 10117 Berlin -+49 30-20 62 66-0 - good location for both business and leisure. There is a train station right in front of the hotel.
• Lux - a well reviewed option
  
• Novotel - there are a couple hotels in town - Mitte and near the Tiergarten.

Attractions - if you plan to see many museums here, consider getting a Schaulust Museum ticket for 12E, which will get you discounts. Ask at a tourist information booth.

• Gemeldegarie
• Deutsches Historisches Museum - Unter den Linden 2 10117 Berlin – Architecture looked outstanding from outside .
• Berlin Walks - Meeting Point East 10.30am and 3.00pm daily. Nov. Meeting Point East: outside Häagen Dazs Ice Cafe, opposite Hackescher Markt S-Bahn station Prices: € 12.00 - Duration: c. 4 hours from Meeting Point West. From Meeting Point East, it is all walking
• Brewers Berlin Tours – 3.5 hours free – meet at Bandy Books at Freidrichstr Station.
• Fat Tire Bike Tours - 4.5 hours - 20Euro Meeting Point: It's easy. All tours meet outside the entrance of the giant TV Towre in Alexanderplatz. Look for our yellow sign - you can't miss us! Well worth it. You can plan on lunch and a beer for part of the time (not included in cost)
• Reichstag – 8-2400 (last entry 2200) Free, crowded 10-16 – city views – line out the door everytime we went by. You can make a reservation at the restaurant to bypass line.
• Checkpoint Charlie – 9.50E 9-22:00 – did not go to museum, but the area around it has plenty of history. There is a large outdoor display with plenty of pictures and history to satisfy a quick glance or severla hours.
  
• Jewish Museum – 5E 10-20:00 – amazing architecture, ipod audio tour worth getting. Cameras are allowed.
• Tiergarten – park to the west. Beautiful park, former hunting grounds of royal families. Rent a bike or take a stroll through here
• Bebelplatz – memorial to book burnings – near Humbolt University. Worth a quick walk by, right off Unter den Linden near Opera House
• Unter den Linden – Famous street worth walking around on. Leads to Museum Island, Bradenburg Gate and Tiergarten
• Brandenburg Gate – memorial for Berlin Wall. Lit up very well at night. Usually something going on in front of gate.
• Topography of Terror - 10:1800 free during daylight Hitler and SS – open air museum with a lot of information. Great views of the wall, but look for which way the exhibit flows (not many signs)
• Karl Marx Allee – free area of former Stalin control
• German Cathedral – 10-1800 free – views at top of dome.
• Berlin Wall Document center – 10-18 – free, old remnants of Wall
• Victory Column – 2.20E – 9:30-17:30 – not open if raining – cool views – middle of Tiergarten
• Schloss Charlottenburg - 8 E - 10-17
• Pergamon Museum - 8E - 10-18, on the museum island
  
• Potsdam – about 20 mins by train, during warm weather months their are bike tours that go out here...

Food

• Restaurant Vau - Jägerstraße 54/55 - 030 - 20 29 73 0
• Maxwell Gaststätten GmbH - Bergstrasse 22
• Lutter & Wegner Reservierungsbüro - Charlottenstraße 56 , 030 - 20 29 54 0
• Drinks
• Victoria bar - Potsdamer Straße 102
• Zurletzen Instanz - oldest pub
  
• Coffee – Café Sibylle
• White Trash Fast Food - a local joint, despite the name. Get a feel for the Berlin scene at this place.
• Peretti - cheap, good Italian food - Karl Liebknecht Strasse 5
• Dressler - near Brandenberg gate
• Zwolf Apostle - pizza and pasta at a good price
  
• Lubitsch
• 12 Apostel - several locations thru Berlin (Charlottenburg, Mitte, Steglitz, Veranstaltungsburo)
• Osteria Maria - affiliated with 12 Apostel

NIGHTLIFE:

• Tresor - an old East German power plant, now a club filled with three floors of techno.
  
• Dr. Pong's - for a true "Berlin experience" - grab a beer at this local joint and watch your Berliner's around a ping pong table.
  

SHOPPING:

• The Corner - FRANZÖSISCHE STRASSE 40 - 10117 BERLIN
• Berlin Story – english bookstore with cool WWII stuff, GREAT SOUVENIRS THAT ARE WELL PRICED
  
• gendearmenmarkt - near museum good shops
• Kurfurstendamn - in the west berlin area (ku'damn) - good stores
• KPM - porcelain emporium in kempinski hotel
• traventzienstrasse
  
• Kadewe - department store
• frederichstrasse
  

Lugano (Ticino) Switzerland

GETTING THERE/TRANSPORTATION:

• Trains from Zurich are about 3 hours. From Milano it is about 1.5 hours (adding time for the border crossing.
  
• The town of Lugano is manageable via foot. If you are looking to go up the mountains (San Salvatore or Bre) you can either hike or take the funicolare.
• To get to different portions of the lake use the waterbus.
  

LODGING:

• Elvezia al Lago - this is a little outside of Lugano, but if you are looking for a charming, quite b&b this is the spot. Dinner there was great as was the owner's raisin cake.
  
• For holiday apartments you can click here.
  

ACTIVITIES:

• Hiking
• Boating

FOOD:

• For beautiful views - check out the restaurants atop Mt. Bre or Mt. Sansalvatore (Ristoranta Vetta)
• The sidewalk cafes off the main square were good, quick and cheap.
  
• Try walking along the path in Castalonga. There are many options (all on the lake) including the first floor of Elvezia al lago.
  
• Make sure to try gelato in town. Look for a stand near the library and water.
  

SHOPPING:

• Stores are typically closed on Sunday
• For discount shopping catch a taxi or bus to Foxtown Factory Stores
  

St. Petersburg, Russia

ORIENTATION: you can certainly manage getting around by foot throughout town. From the main train station (arriving via Moscow), arrange for a cab to get you to your hotel. Kohctahtnh (+7 812 906-89-57) was one option recommended by the Kempenski

HOTELS:

• Kempinski - great location near Hermitage and on a quiet side street.
  
• Hotel Europa - supposed to be one of the top hotels in St. Petersburg.
  

RESTAURANTS:

• Aivengo - recommendation from Russian men met in Chicago.
  
• Flying Dutchman - allegedly a good spot for views/drinks
• Tri Peskarya - Lithuanian food
• Il Patio - only Pizza
• Imbir Restaurant - trendy cafe
• Cafe SSSR - good spot for coffee with old Soviet block decor
• Ideal Cup - cafe
  
• Russkaya Rybalka - distance outside of St. Petersburg - this was recommeneded from locals we ate next to in Chicago. Apparently people can fish here and then bring in their own food. Very popular with locals?
  

ATTRACTIONS:

• Hermitage - (10:30-5) - go early it will always be packed
  
• St. Isaac's Cathedral (11-19)
• The Neva and the bridges
• Peterhof (Petrodvorets)
• Peter & Paul Fortress (11-17)
  
• Political Museum (10-18)
  
• Dostoevsky's House (11-18)
  
• Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin)
• Summer Gardens - free - open until 10pm, Summer Palace only open 10-18
• Kazan (closes at 19:30)
  

SHOPPING:

• Nevski Prospect - supposed to be the Hollywood Ave/Beverly Hills/5th Ave. of Russia.
• Heritage: Russian souvenirs near the Kempinski and Hermitage.

Moscow, Russia

ORIENTATION: the main airport from Moscow is at best an hour outside of town. It is best to arrange for transportation ahead of time, likely through your hotel. The center of town is around the Kremlin/Red Square area. The city works in a ring system, with this as the center point. The farther you get outside the circle, the more affordable things become. However, as you drift from high traffic tourist areas, you will also miss your opportunity to read English signs. The Metro is well lit and safe, just make sure you have an exact idea of what your stop is called (in Cyrillic).

HOTELS:

• Kempinski Hotel - ideal location for tourism or business, however very expensive. This sits just across the river from Red Square, about a 15 minute walk.
• Ararat Park Hyatt (very expensive, some consider it the best hotel in Moscow)
• Radisson - (more reasonably priced)

ATTRACTIONS:

• Red Square - usually open and gives the best views in Moscow.
  
• Kremlin (10-17, closed Th) - there are many different exhibits/buildings here: Armoury (admission staggered 10, 12, 14:30, 16:30), Assumption Cathedral, Annunciation Cathedral, Archangel's Cathedral, Patriarch's Palace with the 12 Apostle's Church, Church of Laying Our Lady's Robe, Ivan the Great Bell Tower, Tsar Cannon, Tsar Bell
  
• Lenin's Mausoleum (10-13) - free, but you'll have to line up and check all bags and photo equipment near the State Museum.
  
• St. Basil's Cathedral (10-16:30)
  
• State History Museum (10-18) - you can buy a joint admission ticket with St. Basil's
  
• Pushkin Fine Arts Museum (10-18)
  
• Tretyakov (10-19:30) - 2 buildings 20th century/modern and 19th Cent-before. If you have a choice between the 2, go see the older stuff!
• KGB Museum - recently closed for remodeling
• Bolshoi Theatre - famous ballet
• Metro Stations - known for unique designs: Mayakovskaya, Ploschad Revolutsii, Komsomilskaya
  

RESTAURANTS: note it is strongly suggested to get a reservation in Moscow at all restaurants.

• Dorian Gray - a great, relatively affordable Italian restaurant. Phone 238 64 01
• Vogue Cafe - trendy new restaurant, with seating also at the lounge bar. Phone 623 17 01
• Other recs: Pushkin, Galleria, GQ, Korchma

SHOPPING:

• G.U.M. - large, high end shopping mall off Red Square

Tubingen, Germany

TRANSPORTATION: take a train here and you will land on the south side of the river. The majority of the time you can walk, but take a cab from the train station. Many of the streets are cobblestone which makes wheeling luggage painfully annoying. Once you hit your hotel, you should be able to walk, despite some good hills throughout town.

LODGING:

• Hotel Am Schloss - Burgesteig 18 - top of the hill near the castle - great little hotel, just beware as there is a bar right across the street. This can get noisy at night, but all in all was a nice hotel.
• Hotel Hospisz - quieter alternative at the Faules Eck (down the road from Hotel Am Schloss). Note: there is a good chance you will wake up to church bells on the weekend.
  

ACTIVITIES:

• Gondola ride - much cheaper then Venice and often with beverages, food or music. Rides run from April to October.
  
• Schlossgarten/Schloss Hohentingen - castle/museum at the top of the hill in town. Interesting artifacts inside. Views are worthwhile.
• University - one of Germany's largest, this town is swarmed by young people
  

FOOD:

• El Chico: texmex on the river - what else could you want? Grab a seat outside and enjoy the view
• La Cantinella: great Italian restaurant off the beaten path.
• Make sure to grab a hot "bretzel" here as well as Zwiebelkuchen (onion cake - basically a quiche with onion in it, just don't call it a quiche)
• Necharmuller: not sure about the food (typical German fare), but the biergarten along the river is a great view of town.
• Ranitzky Cafe: overlooks the Marketplatz - good spot for a drink
• Saints & Scholars: campus Irish pub
  

SHOPPING:

• AmAsia - unique crafts local to the area
• Inflagranti - Erich Baltzer Marketgasse 9 - classy jewelery
• Weinbergschnecken Gau Austern - local wine producer - Kuchenfertig
  

Stuttgart, Germany

ORIENTATION: the Bahnhof drops you off very close to the main train station. From there you have 2 options - walking (most hotels and sights are a short walk) or catch the U/S Bahn for your best connections. If you are spending a lot of time in Stuttgart look into a Stuttcard for cheaper transportation.

LODGING:

• Hotel am Schlossgarten - this is about a 3 minute walk from the train station and an ideal location. You'll find a tourist information shop on the same block. Good hotel with a helpful staff

ATTRACTIONS:

• Check out the old and new palace - Altes & Neues Schloss
• Konigstrasse - stroll down this for shopping and peoplewatching
  
• Karlsplatz - flea markets on Saturdays otherwise there are good sidewalk cafes
• Mercedes Benz Museum
• Porsche Museum
  

FOOD:

• Grand Cafe - Karlsplatz - serve a good breakfast overlooking the square and Rathaus
  

Brussels, Belgium

ORIENTATION:

• Not the easiest city to navigate. Taxis were seen driving on the tram tracks because traffic was so bad, on the last visit here. The Metro is the best way to go.

HOTELS: in general book early in this town. When EU business or conventions roll into town it can be very, very worrisome

• Hotel Albert - did not honor a reservation booked with them through the internet. If you book here, triple check (via phone) that your reservation is confirmed.
• Hotel Reyers - this place is cheap and you'll know it the moment you walk upstairs. The staff was very friendly, but this was a bad alternative that is not on the recommendation list.

ATTRACTIONS:

• Grand Palace
• Royal Palace
• Parc de Bruxelles

FOOD:

• Moules Frites - mussels and fries, best washed down by a local Belgian beer.

Kilkenny, Ireland

LODGING:

• Lacken House - Bed & Breakfast - located right on the main road so you'll likely here traffic at somepoint throughout your stay. This is about a 5 minute walk from downtown Kilkenny.
  

RESTAURANTS:

• Kyteler's Inn - also is a B&B upstairs. The inside is old caves for pints and grub (try the chili or soup). Make sure to get the story here of the place, rumor has it the Inn dates to the 14th century. On a warm day, head for the back courtyard where you can find live music and tvs with football.
  

ATTRACTIONS:

• Kilkenny Castle - rather unimpressive tour of the castle, but the grounds are worth walking around. This is a great way to learn about the Butlers, a key Kilkenny name.
  
• Cathedral of St. Canice - over 800 years old, and offers a bell tower for viewing.
• Smithwick's Brewery
• National Craft Gallery & Castle Yard
  

PUBS:

• Morrissey's Pub - you could get techno beats or locals watching some football, but what a great name!