Free Wheeling in Europe’s Most Popular Capital

Tomorrow sees the start of the new high speed Eurostar train links from Paris Gare du Nord to London’s revamped St. Pancras station. The capital-to-capital journey should take just two hours and 15 minutes instead of three hours and will also have a new stop at Ebbsfleet in Kent. The route to Brussels from London is also set to be faster at one hour 51 minutes.

Queen Elizabeth II opened the new St. Pancras station on Nov. 6 and the £5.8 billion project is said to have impressed even the French train masters. I’ll let you know more about the champagne bars on the platform next month when I head to London myself.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this issue.

Bests,

Leigh Fergus
Editor, The European

P.S. Get Eurostar train times, destinations, prices, and other details.

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The Catalonian secret to enjoying winter

by David Kennedy

The grapes are plucked and pressed; the leaves on the vine turn to gold and fall. The yearning to take in calories hangs heavy in northern Spain’s Catalonia region. One way to welcome the winter in this part of the world is the Calçotada.

The Calçotada is a lengthy outdoor meal to mark the arrival of winter and celebrate the humble calçot, a cross between a leek and a scallion. Increasing numbers of country restaurants offer this feast as a fixed menu. The calçot season used to run from January to May, but now the local farmers manage to make it available from November to May.

The vegetable comes from the area between the Tarragona coastline and the vineyards of the Priorat mountains to the west. The town of Valls, near Tarragona, is the main center—and the site of the Macro Calçotada in February—but most inland villages will have a restaurant serving this meal.

Eating instructions
The calçots are tied together and roasted over a bonfire of thin twigs snapped from local vines, hazelnut, and almond trees until burnt black. The bundles are wrapped in newspaper and put aside while the meat dishes are barbecued on the embers.

The calçots are served unwrapped on red roof tiles. You peel them holding the top with one hand and forcing the scorched skin down and off with the other. You dip what is left in a romesco sauce of olive oil, almonds, garlic, fried tomatoes, parsley, and a benign red pepper known as a nyora. Then you lift the long calçot over your head and lower it into your mouth. It’s surprisingly sweet, but messy to eat—bibs are provided.

Calçots are served until you say “stop.” The wine can also be messy, as it comes in a porron, a glass teapot for collective consumption. Just tip it up and pour it into your mouth. Glasses are provided on request, but porrons are an integral part of the party. As with the calçots, empty teapots are automatically replenished—wine is included in the overall price.

After the calçots, you can start on the meat: barbecued Catalan pork sausages stuffed with parsley and garlic and served with white beans or lamb cutlets and artichokes, and a salad.

Some restaurants offer a slice of orange in Cointreau to cleanse the palate, before the crema catalana dessert and a bottle of the local Cava. Coffee and liqueurs follow and levels of noise and bonhomie increase exponentially.

Revelry is the essential component of every Calçotada. The common characteristic of those eating is a contented expression: take a look around you—everyone will be smiling.

How to get there
Valls is about 6 miles from Tarragona, exit 33 on highway AP7, or the N240 towards Lleida. Salomó, just over 12 miles from Tarragona, is another place to try: exit 32 on the AP7 for Torredembarra/Altafulla inland to La Riera de Gaia, and then take the T204 road to Salomó.

Expect to pay between 28 and 35 euro, including wine. Half-portions are often available for children.

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Vélib’: Bicycle freedom à la Parisienne

by Anita Breland

Vélib’ is a new self-service bike rental scheme in Paris, similar to the bike-sharing system planned for Portland, Ore., and definitely worth a try.

Bikes can be rented with a swipe of a credit card or, for commuters, their electronic travel pass. The cheap wheels of Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë’s environment-friendly plan offer relief from traffic-choked streets and metro trains filled to bursting. Introduced on July 15, the bikes now seem to be everywhere.

The program began with installation of more than 10,000 bicycles available for rental around the clock at 750 stations across the city. The number of both bikes and stations is expected to double by year-end. The bicycles can be picked up at the nearest vantage point and dropped off at any station with an open locking post.

Vélib’ has an ATM-style panel that gives instructions in French, English, and Spanish. The display lets a renter know how many bikes are available at multiple stations within easy reach and provides a map to help locate them. A panel on the bike itself cites the key rules of Paris cycling: don't ride on sidewalks, don't carry passengers, and do follow French road rules for intersections, stop lights, and one-way streets.

Free wheels for first half-hour
To get started, riders purchase a one-day card for 1 euro, a weekly card for 5 euro or an annual card for 29 euro. If paying with a credit card, there is also a refundable deposit of 150 euro. The first half-hour’s ride is free, with one euro charged for the first additional half-hour, two euros for the second and four euros for every half-hour thereafter. The idea is to encourage people to use the bikes for short trips or errands rather than keep them all day.

The three-speed touring bikes have a silver-gray metallic finish. Weighing in at a hefty 55 pounds each, these no-fuss steeds come equipped with lock and basket and a well-covered chain (no bicycle clip needed) and durable wheels. Riders must be over 14 years of age and at least five feet in height. Helmets are not provided.

Vélib’ makes it a snap to ride independently, 24/7, over cobblestone streets past some of the most famous landmarks in Europe, or to peddle along more than 230 miles of newly designated bike lanes. On Sundays it gets even better: automobiles are barred from quays along both sides of the Seine from the Bastille to the Eiffel Tower, adding miles to the atmospheric options for two-wheeling through Paris.

Check www.velib.paris.fr for more information and a list of bike stations (in French).

[ Editor’s note: Other schemes like this are successfully in place in European cities such as Lyon, Barcelona, Spain, and Vienna, Austria. Several U.S. cities are also planning to introduce similar schemes.]

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Fur hats and cameras

by Piers Gladstone

If you’re in Moscow and are looking for souvenirs other than a set of wooden dolls and a tin of caviar, be sure to go to the Izmailovsky Park market.

The market resembles a kremlin or traditional medieval fortress town, and is roughly divided into three sections. Instead of the usual tourist offerings, you’ll find a lively display of Russian history and culture where religious icons, silver samovars, jewelry, and pre-revolution antiques are laid out on stalls and blankets next to original Soviet memorabilia every weekend.

The first stretch of stalls sells Russian handicrafts and souvenirs. You can pick up lacquered khokhloma bowls from around $10, as well as traditionally woven fabrics. The quality is better than anywhere else in Moscow, and prices are negotiable. But this isn’t Asia—don’t expect more than 10% off. And yes, you can find those hand-painted matrioshki dolls here, as well.
Hats and snacks
If you want a warm winter hat, stay in the first section near the food stalls. Several traders sell original and reproduction Russian military hats from $15 upwards, and real fur hats from $30. (The food stalls along the right-hand side offer grilled kebabs and plov, a central Asian rice dish with lamb, both for $2.)

Soviet-era fans should check out the next part of the market for the Soviet propaganda posters. Themes range from anti-fascist posters from WWII to the Cold War, and posters urging factory workers and peasants to work for the common good. Many of the designs are works of art in themselves, and repros go for as little as $10—originals start at around $100.

Other souvenirs include badges, coins and stamps, as well as WWII military uniforms and equipment—a Red Army uniform costs around $30, but German outfits fetch much higher prices. I even saw German hand grenades for sale. Russian copies of German camera brands from the same era are also on sale—a brand new working copy of a 1940s Leica costs just $80.

Many of the shoppers are older Russians, nostalgic for the past or their youth, but you’ll also see the younger generation here. These young people find the posters kitsch and fun, especially those advocating abstinence—an alien concept for most spendthrift young Muscovites.

The last part of the market is for Soviet household bric-a-brac, carpets from the Caucasus and Central Asia, as well as art and antiques. You should be aware, however, that any item over 50 years old is considered an antique and needs special documentation to leave the country. To bring home your Art Nouveau lampshade or ancient religious icon, take your purchase, along with three photographs of it, to the Moscow Service of Cultural Preservation, Stary Arbat, 53/6, Department of Expertise. The paperwork can take up to a week.

Directions
From the metro station—known as both Izmailovsky Park and Partizanskaya—follow the crowds heading down past the three monolithic concrete tower blocks on your left of the Izmailovo Hotel, built for the 1980 Olympic Games that were held in Moscow. You’ll soon come to the gates of the market. Entrance is 10 roubles ($0.40). The market is open every Saturday and Sunday.

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What it costs to live in… Sofia, Bulgaria

by Maria Savage

In this occasional column, we report on the costs incurred to you, should you make the move to Europe. This week, we visit Sofia, Bulgaria, for the lowdown on some general items you’ll be paying for.

Bulgaria has a lot to offer the adventurous traveler—and at bargain basement prices.
From ski slopes to golf courses to beaches, with Ottoman culture thrown in, this is one of the European countries that it won’t hurt your wallet to explore.

Sofia, the capital, and the southern Black Sea coast in-season are the most expensive places to live, but costs are still very affordable. The city of Varna in the north is even cheaper—and more pleasant—than the southern coast. Prices in ski resorts like Bansko and off-season coastal areas are generally 20% cheaper than the capital, and out in the countryside you can expect costs to be as much as 50% lower.

Monthly costs for running an apartment in Sofia:
Rent of a two-bedroom, 100-square-meter apartment..............................450 euro
Utilities: water, gas, electricity (for above residence)..................................74 euro
Gallon of Gas...........................................................................................2.65 euro
Taxi across town......................................................................................2 euro
Phone (90 euro one-time fee)...................................................................4 euro
Internet....................................................................................................15 euro
Satellite TV..............................................................................................15 euro
Maid (once a week)..................................................................................50 euro
Movie tickets for two w/large popcorn and two sodas...............................12 euro
Dining out for two, three times a month......................................................40 euro
Espresso...................................................................................................0.60 euro
Pack of local cigarettes.............................................................................1.60 euro

The following are samples of prices for groceries from a mid-range supermarket:
White loaf.................................................................................................0.30 euro
Liter of milk..............................................................................................0.50 euro
6-pack of coke.........................................................................................1.50 euro
Bottle of table wine...................................................................................3 euro
6-pack of beer..........................................................................................3 euro
Fresh chicken per kilo...............................................................................2.50 euro
Sirloin steak per kilo.................................................................................7.40 euro
Tomatoes in summer per kilo....................................................................0.60 euro
Cheese per kilo........................................................................................1.40 euro