Stockholm, Sweden

The City
Situated on the Baltic Sea, this 700 year old city spans over 14 islands and encompasses both modern and historic European architecture.  By day, walking through the city you get a sense of a the city's age combined with all the amenities of a larger sized city and by night, the city provides ample entertainment from theatres to restaurants to night clubs.

Hotels
We stayed at the pet friendly Clarion Hotel Sign, which is part of the Comfort, Quality, Clarion Hotel chain.  This 4-star hotel has a very good restaurant and bar, a decent exercise area, an excellent sauna where you can get an authentic Swedish massage among other services.  There is also parking, a business center, and other amenities that you would expect of a top-end hotel.  The architecture and style of the hotel and rooms is in a modern theme with cool designs and colours.  This hotel is also completely non-smoking.  The breakfast buffet is definitely worth trying.  It was a little pricey (about 10 euros per person) however this was not your usual european breakfast buffet with a few stale croissants, some slices of cheese, and coffee that has been sitting for several hours.  This buffet was equipped with a lot of choice and everything was very fresh and constantly being refilled by a very courteous and professional staff.

If you don't feel like hitting the buffet, there is an excellent pastry shop down the street from the Clarion called The Muffin Bakery.  This is a chain store so there are several in Stockholm; the one we visited was on Drottninggatan 73, a five minute walk from the hotel.

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Here you'll find excellent coffee and tea options as well as various muffin and pastry concoctions that are very interesting and tasty.  Unfortunately, pets aren't allowed inside however they have a nice patio if the weather is good.

Pets in Restaurants

Unfortunately, many restaurants and cafes were not so happy to accept pets however, in general, patios are pet-friendly so if you get stuck, look for restaurants with out-door sections such as patios or beer gardens.

Parks and Parkettes
Within the city of Stockholm there are several parks and many little parkettes however most of them are manicured and well maintained and therefore are not meant for dogs to be running around in.  It is also expected that your pet is on-leash at all times and needless to say, that you pick up after them.

Cool Swedish Links:

• Visit Sweden 
• also some specific pet info here: Visit Sweden Pets
• Sweden.se
• Lonely Planet

Dog Jaunt

Dog Jaunt is a great website for dog travel in the same vein as travellingpets. On it you can find tons of information about how to get around with your pet, especially in the U.S.A. There is also a lot of great info about public transit in various cities, national trains & airlines as well as great entries on pet travel in general. Here are some highlights from their site:

New York, USA

• Union Square (NYC) off-leash dog park
• Washington Square (NYC) off-leash dog park 
• Dog jaunt: Hudson River Park (NYC)
• List of NYC parks with dog-friendly areas

Florida, USA

• Sarasota, FL off-leash dog park
• Sarasota, FL dog-friendly hotel: Hibiscus Suites Inn 
• Sarasota, FL dog-friendly restaurant: Simon’s Coffee House
  
• Longboat Key, FL dog-friendly restaurant: Dry Dock Waterfront Grill

Paris, France

• List of dog-friendly gardens and parks in Paris

United Kingdom

• Dog-friendly Royal Parks in London
• Dog-friendly pubs in England, Scotland and Wales

Burg, Spreewald, Germany

A weekend getaway location in the East of Germany (near to Leipzig, Berlin, Dresden and the Western border of Poland), Spreewald was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1991 and is perhaps best known for the pickles that come from the region, the famous Spreewald gurkens so sought after in the movie "Goodbye Lenin"

Hotels
We stayed at the pet friendly Hotel am Spreebogen in the city of Burg, with two dogs in two separate rooms (us with our small Mini Schnauzer and our friends with their large Boerboel). We paid an extra 10€ per dog per night and a nice-sized breakfast buffet was included in the room price. Dogs were allowed in all areas of the hotel (lobby/lounge and wintergarten/green room which doubles as the restaurant). Each of the rooms on the main floor of the hotel has a private door to the outside grounds which is ideal for letting your dog out in the morning and night.

Free-roaming cats abound in Burg so if your dog is the type that likes to go after cats you should be alert. Further care should be taken inside the restaurant of the Hotel am Spreebogen as it is made up of large glass windows so dogs can easily see any of the cats roaming the hotel grounds.

Walking

There is not much forested area in Burg, but we took the dogs for a very nice walk along some of the smaller canals from the hotel to the city center of Burg along the bike path. Upon leaving the property of the hotel simply turn right onto Ringchausee street and follow the path straight to the village center of Burg. On this walk, you will pass many fenced in properties with dogs and/or other livestock as well as some farms with unfenced free-ranging chickens.

Once you get to the village center of Burg, Ringchausee becomes Bahnhofstrasse. Along Bahnhofstrasse and then left on Hauptstrasse, there are a few curio shops where you can buy Spreewald souvenirs, pickles and of course a nice warm cup of gluhwein which can be enjoyed by the Burg dam. Not very much is open on the weekends, but the Dreissig cafe, located at the beginning of the village center (Bahnhofstrasse 15), was open on both Saturday and Sunday when we were there.

Just past the Burg dam is the Spreewaldmuehle GmbH ("A" on map). Just across the street from the muehle (mill) is where you can start a very nice forested walk. You walk along the canal, past the fork in the waters until you reach the metal sheet bridge. At the bridge veer left onto the dirt road to Penkeweg street. At Penkeweg go left and follow the street until the Penkeweg/Penkeweg crossing, across from the school. Once again go left along the "new" Penkeweg dirt road. At the next Penkeweg/Penkeweg crossing go right and walk along the shady path until Byhlegurher Strasse. Turning left on Byhlegurher Strasse and following the bike path brings you back to the starting point at the muehle. We kept our dog offleash on the majority of this walk, but be weary that there are wild animals (deer) and domestic farm animals (cows, chicken, geese, sheep) all around, so if your dog is not fully trained it would be advisable to keep them on leash so not to anger the locals.

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Getting There
To get to Hotel am Spreebogen, take the Deutsche Bahn to the village of Vetschau and then take the 38 bus to the "Burg Hotel Zum Spreewald" stop (make sure to tell the bus driver where you are going so he stops for you!). The stop is a short (UNsidewalked) walk (~100m) to the hotel (continuing in the direction of the bus route). The bus costs 2€ per person and we were not charged for the dogs although in principle each dog should pay a child's fare unless they are in a travel case.

Links to the Spreewald area:

• official spreewald website 
• an english(y) guide to spreewald
• spreewald wikipedia page

Coming Soon!

• Athens, Greece
• Mykonos, Greece
• Santorini, Greece
• Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Coventry, United Kingdom
• London and surrounding areas, United Kingdom
• Paris, France
• Miscellaneous, Germany (Frankfurt, Goettingen, Cologne (Koeln), Munich)
• Miscellaneous, Spain (Barcelona, Madrid, Grenada, Tarifa, Gibraltar)
• The Riviera (Monaco & Cannes, France)
• Zurich, Switzerland
• Warsaw, Poland
• Berlin, Germany

Naxos, Greece

The Greek Cycladic island of Naxos is a wonderful vacation spot and incredibly dog-friendly. Most hotels, restaurants, shops, and public areas welcome dogs and there are plenty of things to do with your 4-legged family members!

Other animals in Naxos: You will meet dogs and cats everywhere on the island. All cats we encountered ran from our dog and are generally weary of people, dogs and other cats. Some dogs definetly wanted to start a fight with our dog but only one wouldn't back down and we were lucky that we could pick up our own dog to stop the fight, most however walked away or stood their ground and growled at us. Some dogs are totally scared of people but were very friendly with our dog; so in general, approach with caution. In Athens and throughout the Cycladic islands, it is sometimes difficult to figure out if the dogs on the street are "street dogs" or if they actually belong to someone but are off-leash. It is very common to see dogs on the street with collars and if you watch closely, they tend to linger around a store front (presumably their home). Some can be very protective as in the case of this little old fluffy guy who made sure that everyone knew that this was HIS place.

We meet a great pup at Lemon Cafe (see below) he spent the whole afternoon with us but he wasn't a stray, he was owned by some local fisherman who were docked in Naxos town for the day. This does not mean that Naxos doesn't have a stray animal problem, it does and some people actually set out to poison strays by leaving poison baits out in the street (so we have heard) . As such, do not let your animal consume anything they find in the street!

The Naxos animal welfare society does amazing work in Naxos, they are really helpful and can answer all your questions about the dogs in Naxos. Even if you aren't visiting there, many of their rescue dogs need homes and they will help you organize an adoption to your home country. Please consider visiting thier site and making a donation! (You can also donate to them on the island as they have charity boxes set up in almost all the stores).
*UPDATE* CLICK HERE to set up a 10€ monthly contribution via paypal to help cover NAWS'  veterinary bills
Restaurants/Bars in Naxos Town (aka Chora Naxos): We never had any problem at any restaurant with our dog, so its pretty safe to assume all venues are dog friendly. At every restaurant we went to for dinner, we asked the owners to grill us a chicken breast for our dog and serve it in a container we could place on the ground. No one had a problem with this at all and everyone immediately offered a water bowl as well! (If you prefer to buy dog food for your dog, there is a large supermarket just outside of the center about 50 meters plast plaka beach, we strongly recommend it over the pet store in the city center).
The list below is in no way complete but some of our favorite places on the island. Also, since we are both lacto-ovo vegetarians, a recommendation for an eatery in any of our posts means that the restaurant has plenty of delicious veggie options.

• Cafe Soulatso located on the roundabout in the center of Naxos Town is the best place for breakfast. Plenty of options and many breakfast combo specials with an excellent atmosphere.

• Lemon Cafe located on the boardwalk is the best place for wireless. Just buy a coffee, connect, and play on the web while facing the waterfront. Another great thing about Greece is that there is really no rush and you can sip your coffee or drink all afternoon (no pressure to keep buying coffee or food).
  
  

• Sottovento, located on Plaka Beach in Naxos Town, is a higher class of Italian restaurant. Although the prices are slightly higher than most other places, it is well worth the price with a variety of interesting dishes and a large selection of wine.
  
  

• Plaka Beach Bar, located on Plaka Beach in Naxos Town, is a chill beach side bar with an excellent atmosphere directly on the beach and a handful of tasty food options.
  
  
  

• East West Asian Restaurant & Picasso Mexican Restaurant

Accommodation in Naxos Town: As with most Greek Islands, very few people pre-book/reserve a room in hotel prior to their arrival. The custom is that upon arrival by boat or plane, hotel owners are gathered near the port exit and try to get you to stay at their hotel. In most cases, these people are owners of a house/apartment complex with several rooms that they rent out during the tourist season. Generally they show you pictures of and offer you a price to stay there but with so many other hotel owners around, you can definitely haggle and pick the best option. If you do not want to stay in Naxos Town, though we recommend for your first time that you should, then pre-booking your hotel is suggested.

We stayed at Studios Maria; it was clean, right near the center of Naxos Town, pet-friendly, and very competitively priced. Each room has a fridge, kitchenette (burners, fridge & a sink), private bathroom, TV, AirCon and clean sheets, towels and rooms cleaned daily. If its your first time in Greece you should really stay at a place with a pool and traditional style rooms, but these places will cost you a bit more for the nice atmosphere. For the budget-minded traveller Studios Maria is a nice place to stay and Maria herself is very friendly and helpful and will take you to and from the port by request.

Getting around on Naxos Island: Most people rent vehicles to get around, especially if you plan on visiting the beaches. It is difficult to pre-book because most of the rental agencies are local business with limited internet exposure. The benefit is that you can window shop and haggle for the best price. With our small dog, we opted for a dune buggy (and in the past we have also used a 4-wheeler), both are great, but with a larger dog, most likely a car is your best option. After shopping around, we rented from Mike's Bikes and got a competitive price and a 200 CC dune buggy (tip: if you plan on going off any of the main roads and up any of the mountains opt for 200 or more CCs). When our buggy broke down on the last day of rental, they came to pick us up ASAP and got us back to Naxos Town, no questions asked. Make sure to have a working cell phone with you if you are planning on going outside of the city. Villages are few and far between and the roads are steep!

Hiking in Naxos: Although Naxos has a hilly terrain, there are very few marked paths. After some researching and mapping out a route that was supposed to be signed, we did our best and trekked up a hill/mountain to an abandoned church. The trick is to be aware of whether you are still on a public road/path or on someone's property, which may not be clear until you are at someone's doorstep. Paying a bit extra to get a good map of Naxos when you first arrive is the best idea if you plan to hike Naxos. The quality maps have footpaths outlined but we must admit, you wont find many fellow hikers on your expeditions. Bring plenty of water and sunscreen because its hot and there is almost no shade.

Beaches: Any map of Naxos will have the beaches highlighted on them. The beaches outside of Naxos town, especially north of the city, are secluded and you may very well be the only one on them at any given time. As far as we could tell all the beaches are dog-friendly, as no one complained about our dog on the beach (when other people actually were around). Make sure to bring along a sun umbrella and some drinking water because it gets very hot and there is very little shade. The first and last images below are from Lionas beach, one of our favorites. The ride there is down a very very fun winding road from high up in the mountains to the northern tip of the island. The other two images are from Amitis beach very close to Naxos town, but remote enough that for most of the day we were alone. The drive from the main road to the beach is super quaint as you pass by small local farms. The beaches on the West side of the island are easier to get to and more visited but are also incredibly windy (at least in September when we were there) so we would advise to stick to the north and east and if you feel like being social, the beaches right by Naxos town.

These beaches also have small towns nearby and they usually have a cafe or restaurant.

Tourist Attractions

• Cave of Zeus: The Cave of Zeus is a tourist spot that is not frequented by many people because is it somewhat difficult to reach (half of the journey is on a path, however, the rest is climbing on rocks). You don't need climbing gear but a good paid of shoes is recommended. Our dog had no problem navigating the hilly terrain but we did, make sure to bring water and sunscreen. The hike takes 1-2 hours round trip after a 20 minute drive from the nearest village so make sure to leave plenty of time before sundown before you start.
  

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  The Tower of Aghia: This Tower is an interesting tourist site that is on the road to most of the beaches in the north (and if you plan on driving along the coast).
  
  

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  Town of Chalki (a.k.a. Halki or Chalkio): This is a very quaint town near the center of the island with excellent cafes and a wonderful atmosphere. Great for a lunch stop on your trip. Specifically the Dolce Vita cafe (sign shown below) had some of the best coffee, zucchini pie, and dessert on the island.
  
  

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Getting there: We flew Lufthansa from Toronto via Frankfurt to Athens with our 8kg dog in the cabin (September 2009). We then took a train and then the metro to the port of Piraeus in Athens. Dogs are definitely allowed on the train, but we had conflicting information whether or not they were allowed on the Athens metro. As we had our dog in his travel case we felt confident taking the metro but we are not sure whether it would be possible to do with a bigger dog. From Piraeus we took a ferry boat to the port of Naxos. Our dog was allowed to be with us the entire time on the boat and there was no extra charge for him. Allow at least 3 hours from the airport to the port.