2020 is a strange year to write down travel stories, but it is a definitely a good year to jump into old folders and reminisce a bit. And since the last months brought enough distressing news, here are four pleasant places I would say are definitely worth checking out once we have left all the weirdness behind us. Completely subjective, in no particular geographical or chronological order, a kaleidoscope with pieces from around the world.
Japan - Asakusa Kagetsudo Honten
A trip to Japan is always great fun and a culinary revelation, but it does not even have to be super sophisticated cuisine to get the endorphins jumping. When you approach the Asakusa shrine in Tokyo you head through a crowded street with hundreds of small shops left and right. You can and should spend hours exploring the area and the temple itself, but for this gem, leave the main shopping street and turn to the right facing the temple.
You will smell it before you see it: a small bakery serving fresh melonpan, a ridiculously tasty treat, all warm and crispy, fresh from the oven. One bite and the noise around you vanishes, and you get lost in the crunchy, sugary deliciousness of that doughy treat.
Montenegro - Soba
Podgorica does have a more vibrant nightlife than we first thought when we walked through the city during the day after arriving in Montenegro. Most clubs and bars are situated around Bokeska Street and so is Soba, a hybrid between café, cocktail bar, and bookstore. We enjoyed quite a few drinks and the comfy vibe of the place which feels like a sort of public living room.
There are big open windows through which you can watch the night crowd walk by, dressed up for a fun night out, while you listen to the jazzy tunes coming out of the speakers at just the right volume:
USA - California 1
Okay, technically I am cheating, because it's not a spot, but some 600 miles / 1000km of coastline, but the overall vibe of driving that road is just amazing, and I think the experience deserves to be praised in its entirety. I would recommend to drive it from North to South, so you're directly hugging the coast without another lane between you and the Pacific. Rent an impractical convertible with shameful gas mileage and unnecessary horsepower. Have a road trip playlist ready and just...drive. This scenic route offers new gorgeous scenery around every corner:
In between, you might see seals, squirrels and even zebras, which can be spotted on the way - and all seemed to be as chilled out as the stereotypical surfers at the beaches.
But since we're talking about the most pleasant places in the earth, let me pick one after all: the so-called Ho Chi Minh Trail, which leads from a neighborhood in La Jolla down to Blacks Beach - through a sandstone passage with carved-out stairs, onto a narrow trail, across a mildly dangerous wooden plank, and down a rope at the end. But once you step out of the passage and you have the ocean in front of you, you're at peace with the world. There is a regular - safer - road to the beach, too, but come on.
Armenia - Yerevan Cascade
Armenia's capital Yerevan is a beautiful city and was an unexpected gem of the trip through the Caucasus region. You can get some seriously tasty coffee, too. On the northern side of the city center is the Cascade, which also holds the Cafesjian Center for the Arts. The giant limestone stairway leads up to a view point from which the city and the twin peaks of Mount Ararat can be admired. And a great view it is - especially in the evening when the setting sun paints the entire scenery lavishly in gold, orange, red, and purple.
Stay, watch, and admire, until the sun is gone and the lights of the city invite you downstairs again to have a last drink before heading to bed, your head still spinning from the magnificent display.
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