Traveling in Tabs — Take Note

Adam reflects on his travels of the last year.

My last pre-pandemic trip was to Las Vegas where I ran a convention in February 2020. I look back on that trip wishing I had made the most of it, though, I really did make the most of it: there was a steakhouse waiter who claimed to serve most of the Presidential nominees in the last five years but refused to gossip about them unless he was asked twice.

Most of my travels this year have taken place in my browser. When I read or hear about an interesting or homey destination that would require a long-haul flight, I pull up Google Maps and investigate. Does everyone do this?

On the Off Menu podcast, Evelyn Mok mentioned one of her favorite restaurants in Gothenburg, Hing Wa. Decades ago her father supplied the bowls to the previous restaurant in the same location. Hing Wa still has those bowls and she returns to them regularly.

When traveling in tabs, the street view is the first destination. I want to imagine myself surrounded by the city. From there, I’ll scroll past the more professional pics which do their job for an audience of legitimate potential customers. But the less professional pictures (often taken by a patron or a bit outdated) are more comforting. This is when I begin to imagine myself in the room.

With this form of faux travel, it is hard but not impossible to replicate the serendipity of coming across a destination you hadn’t planned. For example, say you don’t remember the precise details of the cherished restaurant mentioned on a podcast: you may find yourself at Wah Nam in Rotterdam instead of Hing Wa, which is not only the wrong city but also the wrong country. Still worth a look even if you don’t know the charming story behind their bowls.

Traveling and pretending to travel aren’t just about the restaurants you imagine eating inside of. After a few references on Monocle24 Radio I made a point to CTRL+T over to the Anatheum Boekhandel Spui en Nieuwscentrum in Amsterdam to browse their newsstand from my browser.

Throughout February I enjoyed Vikingur Olaffson’s concerts streamed lived from the Bergen Philharmonic. It was exhilarating to hear the music, see the occasional ill-fitting vest, and ogle the unmasked Norwegians. At some point I learned that the orchestra performed in Grieg Hall and wanted to take a peak outside.

But the more I wandered through Europe in my browser, the more I found myself thinking back on my aimless strolls during real travels. A few years ago I walked from the Museum of Ethnology in Hamburg, along Grindelberg, past a huge and unexpected mural, to Balz and Balz, a beautiful coffee shop along Isebekkanal.