By Dirk Ebener - November 30, 2025 Global Travel - Conquering Time Zones, and Handling Your First 72 Hours “The first sunrise after...

By Dirk Ebener - November 25, 2025 Bayswater Station opened in 1868, preserving Victorian charm within London. My December Journey In a few months, I’ll be in London’s December cold, using both old habits and new tools. I picture myself at a Tube map, tracing lines as I did on my first visit, but now with travel apps ready to get me from markets to pubs, from Christmas lights to hidden curry houses. I love using paper maps, but this trip will be a mix—the map for the big pict

By Dirk Ebener – November 23, 2025 London Travel on a Tap: Traveling with the Oyster Card London on a Tap: Traveling with the Oyster Card...

By Dirk Ebener - November 21, 2025 Visiting Istanbul, Turkey, you will see the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sopia Coming back to Istanbul after a few years away always feels special. Even if you know the city well, it still finds ways to surprise you. Istanbul is where East and West naturally come together. You can sense the history in the narrow streets, while the city buzzes with vibrant sights, sounds, and tastes. Istanbul doesn’t just sit between Europe and Asia—it embodies both

By Dirk Ebener - November 16, 2025 Milk at the doorstep of a home in England. The Quiet Clink Before Dawn If you’ve visited London or the British countryside, you’ve likely seen its classic morning ritual: doorstep milk delivery. During my early trips to England, I discovered two-pint bottles and the daily tradition that shapes British mornings. Each day, my host mother asked me to meet the milkman and bring in the order for breakfast. In this blog, I’ll explore not only my i

By Dirk Ebener - November 14, 2025 Goulash Soup: A Bowl of Memories - The Story and Flavor Goulash soup has been a constant thread woven through my life. My earliest memories take me back to my grandmother’s kitchen, where the aroma of paprika and simmering onions filled the air long before I understood what “flavor” meant. My grandmother, who came from a generation that cooked with patience and purpose, would prepare Goulash soup in large pots, always insisting that it taste

By Dirk Ebener - November 10, 2025 A Classic Atlanta Morning at the OK Cafe I had been craving a simple, grounding breakfast, the kind that anchors locals and travelers before the world starts spinning too fast. Some mornings feel like they carry a quiet promise, and this one began just that way—a busy November morning, after a drive into Atlanta, temperatures just at 32 degrees in downtown, and the unmistakable sense that comfort was waiting somewhere nearby. And in Atlanta,

By Dirk Ebener - November 11, 2025 Travel Book Review: Stories on the Road - Books That Blend Food and Travel Books and travel have...

By Dirk Ebener - November 7, 2025 Downtown Heidelberg, with an amazing view of the Heidelberg Castle Traveling has always been my way of connecting with the world—through flavors, history, and the rhythm of daily life in new places. I still remember my first time setting foot in Heidelberg. The cobblestone streets seemed to whisper stories, the Neckar River shimmered like liquid silver under the bridge, and the scent of freshly baked pretzels lured me from one corner to the n

By Dirk Ebener - November 4, 2025 Drosselgasse in Rüdesheim am Rhein, Germany I grew up in Germany, surrounded by landscapes where...

By Dirk Ebener - November 2, 2025 Exploring London on a £60 Daily Food Budget: A December 2025 Culinary Adventure Begins “Every £60 a day...

By Dirk Ebener - October 31, 2025 London, Oxford Street, with Christmas lights and beautiful decorations. “As the film “Tracks” reminds us, every journey is less about what we take and more about what we leave behind.” ( written by Marion Nelson, based on Robyn Davidson’s memoir) There’s a particular kind of excitement that settles in when the countdown begins — not months away, but just five short weeks before a long-awaited journey. London has been calling me for months no

By Dirk Ebener - October 26, 2025 Torii Gates are traditional Japanese gates at the entrance of Shinto shrines that mark the transition from the mundane to the sacred. “Japan calls to me like a memory I’ve never lived — a place where every flavor tells a story, every street whispers history, and every tradition feels sacred. Traveling there isn’t just about food; it’s about tasting centuries of culture in a single bite. I hope to lose myself in its markets, temples, and kitch

By Dirk Ebener - October 22, 2025 Solo Travelers: Hotel Room and Accommodation Safety Tips I still remember my first solo trip as if it were yesterday. I was in my early twenties, standing in front of a modest hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, my backpack cutting into my shoulders, my heart racing between excitement and nervous anticipation. My friends thought I was brave, but deep down, I felt vulnerable. The thrill of independence was real, but so was the fear of being completel

By Dirk Ebener - October 18, 2025 Travel is about discovery, like finding a back-street café, a street food vendor, or a hidden ramen bar. Now, our most useful travel companions are the apps on our phones, ready to guide and inspire us. I’ve learned that a few good tools can turn confusion into confidence and help reveal the stories behind every meal. Here are my favorite travel and food apps, making each journey more flavorful and smooth, one bite and step at a time.   1. Ci

By Dirk Ebener - October 17, 2025 Black Forest Cake: A Journey Through Layers of History, Flavor, and Tradition I still remember the very...

By Dirk Ebener - October 13, 2025 Local Japanese street food at a night market in Tokyo, Japan. A woman is grilling yakitori pork and chicken at a street food vendor market at a Japanese Winter Festival. Traveling, for me, is a feast for the senses — a journey where every aroma, sound, and taste tells a story. The heartbeat of a destination often lies in its kitchens and street stalls, where history and hospitality meet over simmering pots and sizzling pans. From the first si

By Dirk Ebener - October 12, 2025 Leberkäse is more than food. I t ’s a  staple in Bavaria and Austria My First Encounter with Leberkäse...

By Dirk Ebener - October 11, 2025 Visiting a small spice shop at the market in Arambol, Goa, India "Think of us as hosting a dinner, and...

here are certain cities that don’t just welcome you—they pull you into their story. The City of Nürnberg (Nuremberg in English), nestled in the heart of Bavaria, is one of those rare places where history, food, and atmosphere seem to coexist in harmony. I remember arriving at the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) on a crisp autumn afternoon, suitcase in one hand and an appetite in the other. The air smelled faintly of roasted nuts from street vendors, the distant sound of a c