17 Comments

Well, I think you need another trip to Switzerland to take in much less congested areas. On Lake Geneva base yourself in Lausanne, a small charming city and visit nearby Montreux & Vevey. Best train rides - the Centovalli (100 valleys) to Locarno on Lago Maggiore or Golden Pass to Spiez, walk into quiet town, visit castle, then board ferry to cruise along Lake Thun. For Berner Oberland, base in Interlaken (ck to make sure no major festivals) and go to charming Lauterbrunnen - take cable to car-free Murren, a ski resort in winter, but in summer has best views of Jungfrau, Monch & Eiger & the whole range because you're across from them, not on them. You can hike or bike out of Murren to the most peaceful countryside I've visited or take the cable back to the valley. Again cruising along Lake Thun or Brienz from Interlaken is another way to take in the spectacular scenery and the tiny towns at each stop. Enjoy!

Expand full comment

I’m surprised you haven’t had a doner kebab before now. It is Turkish in origin. Very popular drunk food in many parts of the world. The modern doner kebab originated in Berlin in the 1970s and there is actually a doner kebab association based there.

The strangest thing I have ever eaten is seal. I wrote about my experience for the NYT. https://archive.nytimes.com/dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/when-seal-is-on-the-menu/

Expand full comment

Yep, we just never got around to it. It's hard to do Döner when you're on a plant-based diet. What did the seal taste like?

Expand full comment

You can do an all-veggie kebab, which is the one I’ve tried. Seal tasted a little like venison or elk. Like those meats, the seal flesh is very lean. There is only one place that processes it in eastern Canada, so it isn’t widely available to try beyond restaurants in Montreal and Quebec. I don’t eat much meat at all any more, either.

Expand full comment

Vietnam- some kind of egg that was ancient. 100 year old egg? Can’t remember the name but I could only eat a few bites

Expand full comment

Chicken knees in Vancouver, B.C.

Expand full comment

Donkey. Yep, really donkey. It was in Verona Italy. We ate at a place that specialized in donkey dishes. Tough and chewy, but nothing that would differentiate it in any way from any other meat dish.

Expand full comment

Not an Anthony Bourdain type, just regular stuff but worst pizza was in Cantwell Alaska-must have been 2 pounds of cheese, and worst nachos? Krakow Poland, Doritos with ketchup. Just want to say heading for Switzerland in September and staying in Pontresina instead of St Moritz. Nice hiking trails there.

Expand full comment

Fish head "soup, stew, what ever", in VN! Yuk!

Expand full comment

Crocodile meet while visiting Cape Town, South Africa.

Expand full comment

a silkworm, after the fiber was removed. It tasted like a wet walnut. I could happily eat a bowl of them, if necessary. Might add a dollop of honey, though.

Expand full comment

Balut

Expand full comment

Value

Expand full comment

Autocorrect

Expand full comment

Morton Bay bugs in Darwin, NT. Zebra in Nairobi, Kenya. Reindeer in Anchorage, AK. Kangaroo and emu on the Indian Pacific between Perth, WA and Adelaide, SA, Ostrich in St. Albans, MO.

Expand full comment

The strangest food is (sounds like) "zumzat", a special meat treat from our Afghani cooks high in the mountains of Nepal. We know it was part of the barbequed goats they had just slaughtered for dinner, but none of us really wanted to know which parts...

Elliott, can you kindly provide a transcript of your valuable posts?

We can read a lot better than we can listen...

Expand full comment

chicken feet and bull balls

Expand full comment