Here you can find our favorite picks from the Europe part of the trip:
Coffee shops and bars:
Köln (Cologne):
* Cafe Rico, Mittelstrasse 31-33. Just in the beginning (or the end) of the shopping street. A bit expensive but breakfasts are decent. Nice atmosphere.
* Schokoladen-Cafe, Am Schokolandenmuseum 1a. The chocolate museum coffee shop, mind-blowing pieces of cakes! Nice view over Rhine from the terrace. And the museum is not bad, either… 
Berlin: (Ost…)
* Club der Visionaere, Am Flutgraben 1. Superb open air chill out place by the canal. Ubercool, MaikuSasi liebt!
* Astrobar, Simon-Dach-Strasse 40, Friedrichshein. Retro-futuristic interior with robots and space kitsch (read: truly hip!). Even classical flipper and computer games from 80′s. Cocktails around 3 Euros. A must.
* Kiki Blofeld, Köpenicker Straße 48/49, Kreuzberg. A beach bar on the river Spree, sun terrace, garden and of course a beach. Nice music.
Praha: Cafe-bar Puskin, Husova 14. One of the pretty streets leading from Old Town Square to Charles Bridge. Not very badly touristic, though. Cute deco with lace curtains and table lamps – feels like in granny’s place. Serves food plates too. Downstairs is a cellar restaurant, which is recommended in several tourist guides, we didn’t try though (more expensive). They also rent apartments, maybe a worth to have a look.
Bratislava: 1. Slovak Pub, Obchodna 62. Cheap authentic Slovak place full with students. Good, home-style Slovak food and beer.
Budapest:
* Cafe Miro, Uri utca 30. Up in the Buda castle, relatively expensive and full of tourists. Still, MaikuSasi loves. Beautiful decoration and atmosphere, great art exhibitions on the walls. Worth visiting, but if you are on tight budget, go elsewhere to eat.
* Europa Cafe, Vaci ut. 45: Not very different from other terasse cafes on Vaci, not cheap definately (none is on this tourist pedestrian street). Sasi liked the waitress though, and the place is good on observing. Mind you, while sitting on the terrace, we saw some of the shortest skirts in whole Europe, if not the World. An American senior gentleman almost got a heart attack on the table next to us, while a German family father probably had sore neck next day from watching the “sights”.
* Klub Vittula, Kertez u. 4, 1073 Bp. Story goes that this rather funny-named-in-Finnish club would have good music and it should be THE hang-around place in Bp. Never made it there, though, so if someone goes, pls let me know if it is as good as said (and let me also know if the name truly is a Finnish word).
Brasov, Romania:
* Sayuri Lounge, Republicii nr. 9 (courtyard) – or terrace on the pedestrian street on summer. Free wifi, nice coffee drinks. Inside, cool Asian-style deco.
* Jad Cafe, Dealul Morii nr 1. Even the name says this cant be bad… They serve mezze, too.
FOOD
Bakeries & Snack Shops:
Bergamo: Il Fornaio , Via colleoni 3. (Just next to Palazzo Nuovo) Really good thick pizzas – they clip pieces with scissors and you pay based on the weight. Yammy!! Be aware of the school breaks though: local kids run in the bakery to buy lunch, and its very crowded and noisy then…
Thessaloniki:
* Valentino, Dimitriou Gounari 25. Just down from the Galerius’s Rotonda on Navarino Square. Excellent crepes and toasts (2-3 euros). Nice lunch or night snack in student hang out area. Locals recommended.
* Nterlikatesen, Kouskoura 7. (Sometimes transliterated in English also as Derlicatesen – same place.) Another local recommendation: best souvlaki in the world, claimed a girl in Thessaloniki, and at least I haven’t find better than that yet. Extremely busy place, but food is mind-blowing good – and chep! Ena pita souvlaki, is the phrase to know. MaikuSasi loves!
Restaurants:
Lucca: Caffe del Flore, Via Fillungo 123, 55100 Lucca. Coffee Shop, but also Lebanese kitchen!
Brek. The best food chain in Italy, pastas for like 3.50e. – Milano: Via dellAnnunciata 2 (near Piazza Cavour, on the corner of Golden Quad). Venice: 124 Cannareggio (abt 100m from the railway station, first street to the left). And dozens more all over Italy.
Wien: Centimeter I: Lenaugasse 11, Centimeter II: Stiftgasse 4/ Siebensterngasse, Centimeter III: Liechtensteinstrasse 44/Bauernfeldplatz. Restaurants which sell everything with tape measure. Snacks 3-5 euros, meals 5-8 e, beer 3 e for 0.5 l. Try one meter sausages!
Athens: Agora tees Adrianou, Adrianou 31, Monastiraki. One of the many tavernas on this street overlooking Acropolis, but the owner charmed us: “Not worth to come, there is bad food in here”, claimed this old man with a twink when we were looking at the menu outside. He was also gentle to the cats – feeding them outside so they wouldnt come in, not just kicking them out like so many Greek waiters. Good moussaka, big portions, mains 7-13 euros.
Gelaterie (Italian ice cream parlours):
Bologna: Gelateria Gianni (Via Santo Stefano). Flavours like Divina Commedia, Inferno, Bestia in Citta, Titanic. Have no clue what these had, but Delicia della Nonna was delicious.
Firenze: Via del Oche, on the corner of Via di’ Calzaiuoli (street leaving from Duomo to Piazza della Signoria).
San Gimignano: Gelateria di Piazza (Piazza della Cisterna 4): Member of the Italian team of the ice cream world champion team. Exellent white chocolate ice cream.
Roma: Blue Ice (Viale Ottaviano 35, the street leading from Vatican to Ottaviano Metro stop). The BEST gelaterie in Italy, we claim. Huge portions, really friendly staff, absolutely most delicious Mela Verde (apple) and melon flavour ice creams – home made. MaikuSasi loves!
Delicacy shops:
Siena: La Cantina dei Tolomei (Banchi di Sopra 29). Tuscany hams and cheeses, quality wines (try Nobile di Montepulchiano, not only Chianti!) Very helpful handsome young man to explain Tuscany culinarism. Reasonably prized, though not for backpackers.
Bonn: Bärenland, Maximilianstrasse 28a. A delightful shop full of different kind of gummibear candies. Maiku loves! Quite likely a chain, so eyes open elsewhere in Germany, too.
Internet coffee shops:
Lucca: Betty Blue Cafe, Via del Confalone 16-18. Next to the city wall and bicycle rental. A bit expensive but nice decoration. Open until 1PM.
HOSTELS & PENSIONS
Siena: Ostello di Guidoriccio, Via Fiorentina 89, 53100 Siena. tel. 0577 52212. HI Italy member. Very classical hostel: huge school-like building with long corridors. Nothing fancy there, but all the rooms doubles.
Siena: Casa di Laura, Via Roma 3. Tel. 0577 222 747. One of the many private pensions, but the owner lady is a charming Italian nonna. We had a beautiful huge room with a poster bed and crispy clean linen with lavender scent. Doubles from 40 Euros.
Nice: Hostel Les Camelias, 3 rue Spitalieri. Tel. +33, (0)4 9362 1554. Another HI hostel, but probably the cleanest I have ever been. Airy colourful rooms. Good services downstairs, huge kitchen, wifi etc. Tends to get full fastly.
Sibiu, Romania: Old Town Hostel, Piata Mica nr. 26. Tel. 0269 216 445, contact@hostelsibiu.ro. Quite possibly the best hostel Maiku has ever been. Located on a building 450 years old, in the middle of the old town, just right in the square. 3 rooms with bunk beds. Really nice and helpful staff. Gets full fastly. MaikuSasi loves!
PLACES TO CHILL OUT:
*Secret garden in Venice: Parco Savorgnan (in Cannareggio, entrance in the end of c. Procuratie, a narrow lane leaving from Campo San Geremia). Watch Venetian families on their Sunday picnics and have sunbath – but look out for dog poop!
*Rooftop of Milano Duomo: Chill out on a sunny day on the roof of the Gothic Cathedral. Entrance to the elevators behind the building. On good weather, you can see Alps and as far as Switzerland. Do not try to lie down, though, the guards will come and get you up. Sitting OK.
*Rheinpark in Cologne: Just enjoy the sunny summer days on the Rhine river banks.
*Cimeterie du Pere-Lachaise, Paris. The most beautiful cemetery in the whole wide world. Spot the celebrities (Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf etc.) or just stroll around. Cimeterie du Montmartre is not bad, either.
*Jardin du Tuilliers, Paris. Chilling out from the 16th century, Parisians know how to do it. Have a look by yourself.
