Cass, 

I decided to take a bike ride and take a few phone pictures for this entry. It’s not a complete view of the city by any means, but a quick tour of basically a big circle around Chicago.

Chicago, Illinois

This is a Brown Line CTA train heading downtown behind my apartment. I currently live on the north side of the city.

Name: Gabe Holcombe 

Age: 26 

Occupation: I work for a large natural foods market 

Current Location: Chicago, Illinois

I went further north from my apartment and took this picture at Wilson and Broadway in the Uptown neighborhood. Those are the Red Line CTA tracks and the Wilson station on the left. Basically, this area is amazing and weird and there will always be some sort of scene taking place in or around the station. 

Hometown: Rochester, NY/Manhattan, KS

I love hand-painted signs and Chicago has a ton. These are some beautiful examples from the Uptown area. 

Transportation: 85% bikes, 10% CTA, 5% bumming rides from friends

I biked south down the lakefront path towards the city. This is Belmont harbor. During the nicer days in spring and summer, there is a glut of tourists, slow walkers, rollerbladers, dentists on $5,000 carbon road bikes and other hazards which prevent a normal city cyclist from really having much fun. However, once you get south of the city, the path is quiet, beautiful and extends for a nice section of the lake in and into the South Shore area. 

Best Food Spot: I like to go to produce markets and prepare meals at home in order to save money. There are tons of them around the city with varying degrees of quality and selection. Some of my favorites include Cermak Produce (I like the Kedzie and Berteau location and the North and Washtenaw store), Pete’s Fresh Market (Cermak and Rockwell), Edgewater Produce (Clark and Catalpa) and some other markets that specialize in specific ethnic cuisines like Joong Boo Market (Korean, Kimball and the Kennedy Expressway) or Patel Brothers (Indian, Devon and Rockwell).

I took a detour around the city and biked through the Pilsen neighborhood, which is just south and west of downtown. 

Pilsen has tons of more detailed murals, but I like this one in particular. 

Best Drink Spot: I avoid bars a lot, but there are a few that I like around town. Club Foot in the Ukrainian Village, Alice’s at Belmont and Central Park has the best karaoke in town. The Two-Way on Milwaukee in Logan Square for cheap drinks. Lots of good neighborhood bars and hole in the wall spots that I either can’t name or don’t feel like naming.  

This is the Damen Avenue overpass over I-290. The CTA Blue Line cuts through the middle. Damen avenue is a nice artery with a bike lane that cuts through a good chunk of the city. The Sears/Willis Tower is in all of these pictures as a good reference point.

Chill Spot: There are lots of good spots to hang out or relax in the city that don’t involve a crowded beach or park. I have a short list of courtyards, empty beaches, rooftops, forgotten parks and other nice places to hang out.

I headed northwest into Humboldt Park, a huge park located in the neighborhood of the same name. It’s gigantic. There’s the Sears Tower again. 

Shopping Gems: There are many great thrift stores in Chicago. Village Discount Outlet is a large chain in the area, and some are better than others. The ones in the farthest north and northwest regions seem to be less picked over than those closer to the more gentrified north side and Wicker Park. The Salvation Army on Devon and Hoyne is huge and has good stuff, too. For music stuff I like Midwest Buy and Sell out in Portage Park (Irving Park and Austin). For bike stuff, I like Smart Bike Parts in Logan Square (Armitage and Humboldt) and Roscoe Village Bikes (Roscoe and Seeley) in Roscoe Village, which is closer to where I live.

Favorite Thing About the City: That I can live affordably in a city that has a lot to offer. Shit, I don’t know. It’s Chicago, it’s a great place. It’s comfortable and stifling, beautiful and sometimes scary, all at the same time. Hard to describe. Come visit!

-Gabe

10:02 pm  •  7 June 2010

South Korea

Name: Tiffany Kwak

Age: 22

Occupation: Intern

Current location: Seoul, South Korea

Hometown: Lawrence, Kansas

Transportation: Public transportation in Seoul is near-perfect, if not perfect. It is what all metro systems wish they could be! There are an infinite amount of buses, and the subway system has 11 different subway lines. Another great thing about the metro system in Seoul is that buses and trains all run on time, so there is no need to wait for minutes on end. Taxis are everywhere in Seoul, and like buses and trains, they are cheap. The base price for a taxi ride starts around 2400 Won, which is about $2 USD. Subway and bus rides are 1000 won (900 won if you have a transit card) one way, which is around 80 cents! I think for every 100km you travel, they add about 10 cents per 100km you travel. Transfers from buses to trains and vice-versa are free. Another great thing about transportation in Korea (not just in Seoul) is that there is an awesome high-speed rail system. KTX trains can take someone from Seoul to Busan, which is located down south, in about 2-3 hours.

Food spot: You will never go hungry in Seoul. There are many street vendors who line the streets of Seoul day and night. Food is relatively cheap, around ~5000 won to ~8000 won per dish. But if you seek expensive food, that’s not difficult to find, either. I absolutely love Myeonghwadang in Myeongdong. My mom and I love this place - their kimbap and miso are the best! My favorite dish is seolleongtang (ox bone-based broth with thin slices of beef brisket and sometimes tripe, served with sliced green onions and usually with radish kimchi) and my dad took me to the best seolleongtang restaurant near Kangnam but I can’t remember the name of it.

Drink spot: My favorite bar right now is Motto in Hongdae. Granted that I am not a regular there yet, you can request music and the drinks are pretty cheap (6000 won ~ 8000 won). Seoul is also coffee heaven - Koreans are obsessed with cafes. You’ll see big chains like Starbucks or Pascucci’s, but there are plenty of small, indie cafes wherever you go.

(A list of music requests at this bar, motto. KOREANS LOVE INSANE CLOWN POSSE!!!)

(At a club called Freebird in Hongdae. This was a cover band that sang songs by Daughtry and Nickleback. Koreans think music that is awful in the US is really cool, so eh. My friend Jiyoung brought me there and she was so incredibly embarrassed. Hahaha.)

Chill spot: You can find me at Kyobo Books. Kyobo Books knocks Borders and Barnes & Noble out of the water. They have countless amounts of books, ranging from foreign novels to manga to Korean poetry. I spent around an hour and a half here the other day just browsing through books.

Shopping gems: South Korea is a shopper’s heaven, but it also can be a shopper’s hell. You can totally bargain with shop owners and get things for a lower price at markets in Namdaemun and in Dongdaemun. Hongdae has a lot of cute boutiques, and because it’s a really youthful, artsy part of town. I like A-Land in Myeongdong and Doota Mall in Dongdaemun. Daily Projects in Apgujeong is more expensive and “avant-garde” (think clothes by Bless and Gareth Pugh), but it’s worth going to.

Favorite thing: My favorite thing is how relatively cheap it is to dine out and to ride the metro/buses/taxis. I also really like how fashion-conscious a lot of the young people are.

What is the character of the people/landscape in seoul, south korea? It’s hard to sum up the character of the people of Korea. But if anything, I would describe Koreans as and headstrong. Koreans know exactly what they want and go for it. Koreans may come off as brash and lacking proper etiquette, but it’s not really deliberate. There are a lot of foreigners in Korea but especially in Seoul, so if you came to visit it would be pretty easy to get around because the signs in Seoul are all English-friendly. Also, the landscape within Seoul is kind of like that of Rome - there is a modern city surrounded by ancient remains, like palaces. The landscape that surrounds Seoul is absolutely breathtaking as well. Mountains are everywhere, and the beaches in the south are stunning.

8:59 pm  •  5 February 2010

Portland, Maine

Name: Glen Mies

Age: 26

Occupation: Gallery Assistant

Location: Portland, ME

Hometown: Kingman, KS

Transportation(what is transportation like in your city?):  There are buses that I’ve never ridden on and taxis.  I drive my truck all over the damn place.  I like to drive.  Everybody else here is a crappy driver, so it’s frustrating.

Food spot: There is an Eritrean restaurant that is tasty and a few good diners.  Unfortunately, it’s very hard to find good Mexican food here.

Drink spot:  Ruski’s Tavern is the best bar that we’ve found so far.  It is small and not loaded with cool people.  They have a bright green women’s bathroom and a great jukebox, filled with butt rock.  Also, they serve gigantic hamburgers and good fries!

Chill spot:  I suppose Arabica is a good place to relax and has good coffee, but I’m not too big on chilling, personally.

Shopping gems:  There are many bookstores, one of the best being Longfellow Books.  If you’re looking for clothes, I would recommend Material Object and Find.  There is a large immigrant population here, so there are several obscure little shopping marts.  For example, if you’re in the market for pig’s blood, I know from a friend that you can get all you ever wanted from the Halal Butcher.  I hear they don’t like to serve women, though.   There is also a gallery, right downtown, that supposedly sells good weed.

Favorite thing/place/person/location:  My favorite thing, here, is my truck.  My favorite place is the apartment that Lisa and I will be moving into in a couple of weeks.  It is right downtown and much bigger than the one we live in now.  It also happens to be in an old hotel, named the Wadsworth.  I like the fact that we will be living in the Wadsworth.  Lisa is my favorite person, here.  I also have a great professor, Peter Schellenberger, who makes photographs with old dinnerware that contains radioactive material.  I suppose my favorite location is downtown and Old Port, which are adjacent and full of little shops and eateries and the occasional teenage pregnant girl with a cigarette in her mouth.

What is the character of the people/landscape in Portland, ME?  There are a lot of homeless and poor people around.  Lots of motorized Rascal scooters putting about the downtown strip.  In the summer, you see many young men without shirts and who move about as though they are high on drugs.  There are also a large number of African immigrants.  During the school year, you will see art students smoking cigarettes.  Most of the folks that I have interacted with have been friendly and helpful.

11:14 pm  •  25 January 2010

Iceland

Name: Katie Savastano

Age: 22

Location: Iceland

Duration of stay: from  July 2008- May 2009

Occupation/activity there: I had a negative experience as an au pair for an Icelandic family for six months. After I quit, I milked my au pair visa for the last four months and lived downtown with a friend on the main street, Laugavegur. Things were really cheap for me, as an American, after their economy collapse in October of 2008. So, I didn’t worry too much about money and focused on making my time in Iceland an overall good experience— to redeem the first six months.

Why iceland?: I knew I wanted to go live in a different country for a while. I’ve been friends with a lot of exchange students, and I just wanted to know what it’s like. I was inspired to go to Iceland back in 2007 after I saw Múm in concert. Soon after, it was like I kept hearing about the place. NPR mentioned their geothermal energy plan, a friend made me see the music documentary Screaming Masterpieces, and it was around the time Sigur Rós released their Heima dvd, which had a lot of breathtaking footage of Iceland’s landscape. All of these random mentions and peeps about the place happened in less than a week or two, and I had to go check it out. It was calling me.

Transportation in Iceland: When you live in Reykjavik, you can take the bus anywhere. I rarely had to take the bus once I moved downtown 101. Because it’s a small city, you can walk everywhere. Though, most Icelandic people have cars, and most of them drive everyday.. huge gas-guzzling SUVs.

Best food spot: Eating out in Iceland is ridiculously expensive. Don’t be surprised to spend $15 on hot chocolate and a croissant. My roommates and I usually made soups. We always cooked together. As a tourist without a kitchen, I would suggest getting a burrito at Santa Maria, an authentic Mexican restaurant downtown on Laugavegur. There’s also a decent vegetarian buffet called ‘A Naestu Grosum’ very close to Santa Maria. Sandholt Bakarí is a decent bakery down the street, and you can get a sandwich for about 700 ISK, which is pretty rare. All of these places I’m suggesting are in 101 (downtown Reykjavik).

Drink spot: Kaffi Hljómalind for the best hot chocolate. I can’t remember if they had decent coffee. I don’t drink coffee. Drinking at the bars is not a cheap activity, but you can share a cheap bottle of wine with a friend at cafe Hemmi & Valdi.

Chill spot: (Kaffi) Hljómalind or Babalú. My friends and I would kill hours/days in these places. Hljómalind is right on the main street (Laugavegur), and for as many regulars there are there, a lot of curious tourists who enjoy local hotspots wander in. It’s a wonderful place to meet people, and it had a community space in the back for anyone to use. It’s probably the most laid back international hang outs in Reykjavik. I will always miss it. Babalú is owned by a great guy from NYC. It’s a friendly atmosphere with cozy corners to sit in, and a few streets up from the busy street.

Shopping gems: Kisan, which is a French store actually, but they do sell a few products from an Iceland line, Farmers Market, which makes Icelandic wool hats and gloves. Beautiful things, but a little on the pricey side. The best place to shop cheaply is at the flea-market by the harbor, every weekend. There are a ton of booths selling anything from second hand clothes to vintage postcards, and fish. Also, there’s a Red Cross store and a Salvation Army (run by really nice women) all in 101. If you’re willing to dig, you can come out with some good lightly worn wool sweaters— they make for the best souvenirs from the North.

Favorite Icelandic food: The dairy was phenomenal in Iceland (except for the cheese). 4.9% milk was the tastiest. Nothing in the States can compare. My friends and I would heat the milk up on the stove and stir in honey, watch a movie and eat pecans. It was the perfect combination. Skyr is this delicious yogurt-like snack. I had a cup of the blueberry every other day. We would get plain Skyr and mix granola, oats, raisins, chocolate, banana and whatever we had in it. Other than that, traditional Icelandic food wasn’t that great. Oh yeah, and the hotdogs were delicious too. I rarely am okay with eating processed meat, but this was a weak spot for me. The ones wrapped in bacon at the convenient stores were the best, served with deep fried onions and a honey mustard sauce. About the most unhealthy thing to eat for a few bucks, but oh so good!

Icelandic people: Most of them speak English really well. Most are educated.. You know, there are good and bad people everywhere. The thing is, I rarely met an Icelandic person I liked. They are guarded by a thick brick wall that you can look in but you can’t get through. And even though the crime rate is really low in Iceland, I’ve never seen so many rude or aggressive drunk people. But that’s mostly on the weekends. If you’re in 101 on the weekends, look out for flying glass and cans and shouting men in tuxedos. Also, if a guy grabs you, whatever you do, don’t hit him. He will hit back. I was told by a mellow Icelander that the cool ones don’t go out to 101 on the weekends, but it’s really hard to get in that “cool” crowd, unless you’re dating an Icelandic person. I’ve know a lot of non-Icelandic people that have dated Icelandic people, and it usually never works out. Overall, I had some bad experiences with Icelanders but I think most would never know that unless they stayed there long enough. However, because I was a foreigner, I got to be with all the other foreigners. That was amazing. We were all kind of in the same boat: inspired to go there and being far away from everyone we ever knew. That made us bond instantly. If you know what CouchSurfing is, I recommend doing it there. There is an awesome community there- most of which are made up by warm foreigners willing to take in other foreigners!

The landscape: The quality of the Iceland’s nature overrides anything bad about the country. When you go visit Iceland, you better spend a lot of time outside, no matter how cold it is. When I first arrived there in the summer of 2008, a new friend took me out to Þingvellir (Thingvellir Nathional Park), only a half hour drive from the city. We were wandering around in between the two continental plates, hopping on soft beds of moss, gawking at the richest blue water, all in the wee hours of the morning. It was still light outside at 3AM. I recommend Iceland in the Summertime. Though the Spring is cold, you can at least still see the Northern Lights at night if you go outside the of the city in early March. Must-see places: It all depends on how much time you’ve got. If you’re only there for a week, only give the city two days. It’s small, and it’d be a waste of time if you spent most of your trip in 101. Go to Hljómalind to meet people or find people on the CouchSurfing website (there’s even a Reykjavik group) and coordinate a road trip or a day trip. A perfect day trip would be to hit up Thingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss (the Golden Circle). If you go during the right time of year where you have a lot of sunlight, you should make your first stop by Álafoss to buy yourself a nice traditional sweater (also it’s located right next to Sigur Rós’s recording studio). My favorite part of Iceland was the South. Take Hwy 1 south for a day trip and drive towards Vík. On the way, there are a few famous waterfalls to stop at and who knows how many little ones you will see just from the road. If you have a lot of time in Iceland, I’d catch a ferry to Vestmannaeyjar (the Westman Islands) for a few days. Heimaey, the main island was devastated by a volcano back in the ’70s but most of everything was rebuilt, and it’s surreal to walk through “The Pompei of the North” and learn about this beautiful island with its cute colorful houses.

Tourist tip: There’s a tourist company called Reykjavik Excursions that can take you to all the right places, but what I suggest is finding some new friends and splitting the cost on a rental car from BSI. All you need is a good Subaru, which can cost you only about $80 a day (split between 3-5 people, it’s nothin). Driving in Iceland is incredibly easy. They have the same road systems only with fewer stoplights and more roundabouts.

_____

Katie currently resides in Eugene, OR.

12:15 am  •  7 December 2009