Make a list of what you want to try!
While traveling abroad, it is important that you do some research on what types of foods you will encounter along the way. Before you reach each country make sure you google what dishes are popular and find some things you want to try. Don’t be afraid to be adventurous. If there is a dish the country is well known for chances are it’s very delicious. Also, make sure you google the top places to see in each city. Trip Advisor is a great resource for this and gives helpful suggestions. Plan ahead for some of the things you want to see and some of things you want to eat and write them in your notes on your phone. That way when you are searching for a restaurant to eat at in Paris, you can easily go back and remind yourself you wanted to try snails.
The UK
London Sights: A must is to do the Tower of London Tour, this tour you get to see the Crown Jewels and even tour some of the torture chambers and imprisonment styles they used back in the 1480s. Another must-do is the London Eye. Try to buy the ticket that includes a glass of champagne and cheers at the top with your friends.
London Eats: A great dish to try in London is fish and chips. Most restaurants serve it with great tartar sauce. Don’t forget to squeeze a lemon over your fish before indulging. Another thing you may want to try in London is afternoon Tea. Kensington Place has a reasonably priced afternoon tea spread and you get a great view of the palace gardens.
France
Paris Sights: Besides the obvious the Eiffel Tower, a great option is a boat tour. I suggest doing this at sunset and you will get to see the Eiffel Tower in all its glory, sparkling at night. A great sight to see in Notre Dame and maybe even try to attend a mass service there. The Palace of Versailles, The Louvre, and the Montmartre are also great sights to the east and all have great food options as well.
Paris Eats: Something that is a mist to try in Paris are crepes. If you are not a fan of sweets then try a savory crepe. A great area that has lots of crepe options is, St. Michel. I suggest going to a restaurant that serves crepes rather than a cart or food truck. Those tend to taste more like pancakes rather than crepes. If you are feeling adventurous, try snails! Lots of people say they taste like oysters but I thought they were quite different. A lot of the time they serve them with a pesto sauce which is delicious. Paris also has amazing hot chocolate and macaron options. My favorite spot for Hot Chocolate is Angelina’s. They have them in a couple of spots and they even have an Angelina’s inside the Palace of Versailles. My favorite spot for macarons is Ladurée. You can send some home from Ladurée too if you want to enjoy them in all their glory after the trip has ended.
Germany
Heidelberg Sights: The Caste of Heidelberg is the main attraction and an amazing thing to see in person. Walk around the outside and tour the inside, they have a restaurant and café up on the hill as well so you don’t have to worry about getting hungry during the tour. An extremely fun thing to do in Heidelberg is to ride the funiculars. It is their way of transporting people up the side of the mountain to the Heidelberg castle. There are three levels you can ride a funicular up to. I did a ton of shopping in Heidelberg. There were tons of fun stores I had never heard of before that had great apparel and shoes. Although they had a few high-end stores, I still picked up some very cute items from Heidelberg.
Heidelberg Eats: Most of the popular German foods are red meat. They are also known for their chicken curry. A fun thing to try in Germany is the spätzle. This is basically their version of mac n cheese although sometimes they do serve it in a curry sauce. A must-have is to be served a beer in a giant pint mug. It’s a fun experience even if you aren’t a beer lover. Another thing you could try is currywurst or a bratwurst which could be comparable to a hot dog and are super tasty. The last thing that I highly suggest that you try is a potato pancake. These are just what they sound like: a potato that is fried and in the shape of a pancake.
The Netherlands
Amsterdam Sights: An amazing thing to go do is the Heineken Experience. Especially if you are a marketing major this would be enough material for a whole paper. The tour is expertly combined with just the right amount of history and background of the company, live-action simulations, and a taste test of their famous beer at the very end. Amsterdam also is home to some awesome museums. I highly suggest visiting the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh museum. A must-do is the Anne Frank House tour. You may learn something you didn’t know about Anne Frank and her family. I know I sure did. My favorite experience in Amsterdam was a canal tour. This is a great, cheap way of getting to see the whole city all while cruising their famous canals.
Amsterdam Eats: I had Dutch pancakes twice while I was in Amsterdam, they were so delicious. A Dutch pancake is a very thin pancake where they bake your choice of toppings and sauces into the pancake. I chose to have apples and blueberry sauce baked into my Dutch pancakes. A great stop for dessert is Ree7. This famous little shop serves you your choice of strawberry, chocolate, or vanilla milk in a mug and tops it with a donut, a chocolate-dipped waffle, sprinkles, a cookie, and candy. This makes for a masterpiece you won’t be able to eat without taking a photo of. Lastly, two things you might want to try that The Netherlands is known for is bitterballen and stroopwaffles.
