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Daniel Herszberg: Country-Counter with a Travel Mission

Written by Becca

Updated on April 26th, 2024

Our friend Daniel is a professional country-counter, aiming to be the youngest Australian to travel to every country on Earth. He’s telling all in this interview!

This article may contain affiliate links. We earn a small commissions when you purchase via those links — and it's free for you. It's only us (Becca & Dan) working on this website, so we value your support! Read our privacy policy and learn more about us .

We’re so happy to feature our amazing friend Daniel Herszberg , who is a professional country-counter and working toward being the youngest Australian to visit every country in the world.

How very appropriate that Becca met Daniel in Shanghai, China, in 2011, when they both talked about their love for travel in Asia. Since both moving out of mainland China, they have kept in touch, always, about their next travel plans and exchanging tips.

Both lucked out when Daniel moved to New York for five months in 2018, when Becca was able to introduce Daniel to Dan over tacos in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. It was a perfect introduction to how anyone can travel the world, all within Brooklyn.

Whenever we aren’t eating tacos with Daniel, we’re watching his stories and scrolling through his photos on his Instagram, @dhersz . He keeps us engaged as we follow his exciting travels to every corner of the world. We’re eager to see him fulfill his goals and share his experiences with people all over the globe!

We asked Daniel to fill us in on how his adventures began and what some of his best memories and craziest challenges have been.

Here’s a bit about Daniel, along with his biggest achievements and goals for his social media image

Hey! I’m 26 years old, and I’m originally from Australia, but I currently live in Hong Kong . My biggest achievement is probably visiting more than 150 countries in the last few years!

Online, I basically share my quest to visit every country in the world – I’m currently trying to become the youngest Australian to achieve this feat and join the ranks of the handful of people around the world who have managed to achieve this under the age of 30.

When did you start traveling?

As a kid, I traveled to Europe, Asia and the US with my family. My first independent (and intrepid) trip in 2010 took me to China, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Looking back, it’s kind of funny as to how innocent I was, but in the long run, that trip really gave me a taste for independent travel and all its benefits.

Where have you lived abroad, and how do you think living abroad changes your mindset about travel?

Apart from Melbourne, Australia, I would say there are five cities that I’ve called home: Shanghai, Florence, Beijing, Hong Kong and New York.

I think the greatest aspect about ‘living abroad’ is that you never consider it permanent. There is this constant ‘last day of camp’ mentality, where every day and every weekend, I just try and pack as much in as I can.

Whether it’s flying around Southeast Asia, or visiting outlying neighbourhoods and islands of Hong Kong, this is never a mindset I had whilst living in Melbourne. I currently have some time off for Chinese New Year, and I didn’t even think twice about spending it in Hong Kong (I’m currently on a plane to Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, as I write this!).

In a similar vein, living abroad (and perhaps traveling solo for months on end) has made ‘settling down’ a very difficult concept to accept. I’m always thinking about the ‘next step,’ my next home or where I will be in a few years’ time.

When did you start traveling on your own?

My first time I was ever really ‘alone’ overseas was probably in Java, Indonesia, back in 2011. I associate my time in Java with a lot of nostalgia.

This might sound totally strange, but there’s a certain scent that I associate with Java. Perhaps it’s the steam and humidity mixed with traffic and street-side nasi goreng. Whatever it is, every single time, it gets me excited and triggers a big giant wave of travel nostalgia.

I’ve returned to Indonesia many times, and it’s easily one of my favourite countries (although this list just keeps growing…). Regardless, Indonesia certainly marks the first point at which I ever traveled solo, and I haven’t looked back!

How many countries have you visited, and how do you find the time/money to do this?

The basic answer is that I spent seven years as a student in Melbourne, Australia, where I had the perfect lifestyle for traveling.

We had the benefit of around five to six months off per year, I lived at home and I didn’t really have any sort of heavy student debt. I managed to get a few part-time jobs and save up.

I would spend every summer crossing borders and visiting new countries (we have a minimum wage of around $19 per hour in Australia, with most part-time jobs paying above that).

I also managed to study abroad three times (!), which provided me with a new ‘base’ each time to explore both Asia and Europe. Upon moving to Hong Kong, I now have the benefit of a real wage, but I’m definitely lacking the long periods of time I had as a student, when I could go over to Africa for three or four months at a time.

What is one of the most challenging experiences from your travels?

The most challenging experience is probably traveling (or attempting to travel) overland through Africa on public transport – I’ve done various routes (Senegal to Guinea Bissau, Côte d’Ivoire to Benin, Uganda to the Congo, etc.).

In this part of the world, getting between two points is not a matter of getting on a simple bus with a set departure time. Google Maps will “estimate” about a third or a quarter of the time actually required.

Whilst the types of cars, amount of the bribes and number of passengers may vary, the story remains more or less the same: the adventure normally starts at the chaotic-yet-somehow-functioning town garage, where all the minibuses (called sept-place/matutu/bush taxi/car rapide/etc., depending where in Africa you are) to every small town in the region wait to fill up.

In getting to the town garage in these places, you can normally expect some sort of drama. For example, the taxi to the garage will break down, or the President of Gambia will be blocking all the roads for four hours. Most cars are simply shells, with everything in the interior having been removed, and often replaced with wooden benches or some other particularly uncomfortable form of seat.

Forget a road-safety certificate, because the car/van/pick-up truck usually won’t have a key and is operated by various wires held together. Arriving at a garage can be one of the most overwhelming experiences in Africa, with tens of people swamping you, screaming destinations, grabbing at your bags (in the hope you will tip them) and a large number of street kids asking for money (or sussing out your pockets).

Once you finally identify the car/van heading in the direction for where you want to go, the next thing to do is wait for it to fill up! I normally would try and get to the garage at 6 or 7 am, as your odds of the car filling up quickly are slightly better. Normally, it will take anywhere from one to four hours for the car to fill up, and then you are on your way!

There are real pros and cons to waiting at the garage. The pros: you will get the best seat - and this can be very important (see details of the trip below!). If you arrive when the car is leaving, you are normally stuck in the trunk or in the middle of five people. The cons: the wait is long, hot and dusty, and the garage tends to attract characters who are not the most pleasant in town.

Once you’re off, this is the part that gets extra fun! The general rule is that no matter where you are going, it’s a full day (or day + night) of travel. This means that to cover, say, 200 km, it will take around eight hours.

The reasons behind this are:

• Terrible roads (mud, potholes, or simply no roads)
• You are constantly stopping to pick up and drop off passengers at every village
• The driver might decide that halfway into your journey is the perfect time to stop and buy oranges at the market, or perhaps he has spotted a friend, or he wants to visit a relative. This just means more waiting!
• Checkpoints (and being le blanc in the car, I could always expect some extra-special treatment)
• The list goes on!

If you’re trying to cross a border, make sure to add another hour or so for the classic bureaucratic, dusty and unfortunately very corrupt formality, with a number of goats, chickens and children who wish to witness the spectacle.

You might think that being in a car for eight hours could be a nice, relaxing and romantic road trip during which you can witness the African wilderness. The reality is that a 10-seater van will normally hold around 16 people. Your feet will be up against bags of goods (or, I even once had the special honour of sitting on top of a crate of fish in Malawi).

You will generally be given a baby (or chicken) to hold, at certain points. The weather is sitting at around 38 degrees Celsius with 100% humidity, the windows are open and you are quickly covered in a nice crust of dust and sand.

Despite all these challenges, this is also the most rewarding (and only real) way to experience Africa – to engage with its people, to improve your French/Portuguese/Swahili and see its challenges firsthand. The small discomforts I experienced have paled in comparison with everyday life on the continent.

I’ve made six big trips to Africa, and I am continuously drawn back. Without a doubt, Africa is the hardest place in the world to travel; yet at the same time, it is easily the most rewarding. The beauty in Africa is unlike anywhere else on the planet: the mountaintop monasteries of Ethiopia, the dunes of Namibia, the volcanoes of the Congo.

This is a continent of superlatives in every single way, and worth every challenge it throws at you.

When did you decide to pursue the goal of being the youngest Australian to visit every [attainable] country on Earth?

The real answer is probably when I was a little kid. I’ve ALWAYS been intent on visiting every country.

I get so excited by every little aspect of what makes a country different, the small symbols, the little capitals and the flags. When I was younger, my room was filled with globes, flags of the world and travel books. I have a clear memory of sitting in a bookstore when I was about 10 years old and reading Lonely Planet guides.

Recently, I went on an island-hopping trip through the Marshall Islands and Micronesia. When one of my friends asked how I planned which islands to visit, I answered that I had this trip mapped out by the age of 12.

Given that my fascination with these obscure countries started when I was a kid, it often actually feels so long overdue when I arrive in countries.

Fairly recently, I came to the realisation that only about 200 people have visited every country on Earth (that’s almost a third of the amount of people who have been to space!). Once I realised that I could potentially join this handful crew, it became a slightly more pressing goal.

How are you pacing yourself with this goal?

Well, I think I’m probably guilty of not pacing myself very much, but I am very conscious of not ‘rushing’ countries. Whilst I don’t spend a month in each country, I refuse to only fly in and fly out, or tick off countries by only visiting the capital city.

I do genuinely love being on the road, and I don’t get sick of living out of a suitcase. In the undeveloped world, trying to move fast is absolutely exhausting and you have no choice but to pace yourself.

I’m aiming to have visited every country by some point in 2020. After that, I think it only makes sense to hit up the different territories, dependencies and re-visit some of the larger countries that just offer so much.

Even as I currently stay focused on my goal, there are countries I return to quite regularly (I’m off to the Philippines for the fourth time in April). I keep many active lists of all the places I need to return to, and the different sights in various regions I must visit.

In your opinion, what have been some challenges that came along with this idea?

Well, obviously, it isn’t always that exciting. Traveling in the underdeveloped world is one of the greatest challenges and is exasperating, trying and often extremely difficult. I’ve been detained by border police and corrupt officials more times than I could probably count (off the top of my head: Tunisia, Côte D’Ivoire, the Gambia, Togo).

I don’t particularly love finding myself in dangerous situations, or putting my life at risk. I’ve been stranded without money, left at the side of isolated highways, been in numerous car and boat accidents, lost all my luggage and had a few encounters with doctors and hospitals in some fantastic places (Honduras, Nepal, Cambodia).

If I’m heading off the beaten track, preparation is serious hard work. First step is always checking visa requirements. So, I head over to IATA and pray to God that there is some sort of possibility for a visa-on-arrival. If not, it’s off to the embassies, so the next small prayer is that there is an embassy or consulate in Australia (or now, Hong Kong).

When there is no embassy in my home country, things get a little complicated and I now have to find where an embassy (that will give me a visa) is located, following which, I have to factor that into my route. I keep an Excel sheet with the countries I have left to visit and regularly update information from other travellers’ embassy reports. Sometimes this works nicely. In 2016, I spent some time in Paris hopping between embassies in the 8th arrondissement and in Montparnasse.

However, other times, it’s not so straightforward - last year I was lucky to spend lots of time at the embassy of Suriname in Georgetown, Guyana. The waiting area was outdoors, and the sun was out in full force, with humidity sitting at around 100%. Logically, the Embassy of Suriname kept a strict dress code (pants, shirt, closed shoes), just in case you even wanted to try and be comfortable or were attempting to travel ‘light.’

So, once my visa is sorted, next up is the actual planning. The tourism industry in many countries is often extremely underdeveloped. This means that whilst they may have some incredible places to visit, often nobody will know about them or there won’t be any recent information on reaching them. If there’s a guidebook available, I will try and get my hands on it.

However, particularly for much of Africa and the Pacific, this generally isn’t an option. So then, I start browsing the web, and I look generally for other people’s experiences on blogs. I sift through years’ worth of travel forums (Lonely Planet, Tripadvisor, Routard, amongst various Facebook groups). If I still can’t gain sufficient information, then I have no choice but to simply get there and see what can be arranged.

Another important thing to check is health, safety and malaria requirements. I tend to err on the side of caution, and by now, I’ve pretty much been vaccinated against everything, but there’s still the need for yearly boosters for rabies, cholera, typhoid, etc.

Truthfully, the hardest part is probably seeing the world that we know exists, but often choose to ignore: visiting refugee camps, seeing people so weak from hunger that they can barely raise their hands, meeting those orphaned by malaria or entering the homes of those whose only worldly possession is the clothes that they’re wearing, or if they’re lucky, a mosquito net.

I was only 19 the first time I saw people suffering in the streets from hunger and weakness. Only recently, in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, I saw things I can’t un-see. You never really desensitise to this kind of raw human experience.

What have been the biggest rewards?

I would have to say that the biggest rewards have been meeting people (hi, Becca & Dan!) and experiencing different cultures. So yeah, whilst I have visited the great cities of the world and all the major waterfalls, deserts and mountain ranges, the most exciting part is the cultures and people that live amongst these landscapes - seeing and meeting people from every way of life.

My current trip through Papua New Guinea is the perfect example of this. Whilst the Highlands of PNG are famous for their unique landscapes - hills cloaked in forests, endless coffee plantations and beautiful birds - the real treasure here has been engaging with the human face of the Highlands.

The tribes, dances, music and customs of a world that I had only ever before seen on National Geographic or in David Attenborough docos are so alive and relatively accessible. In every village I enter, I am greeted by enormous smiles and the immediate request that I stay the night.

What is said about PNG is true in almost every corner of the world. Considering the extent to which I’ve traveled and the dangerous places I’ve found myself in, there’s always been people on the ground who are willing to help, smiling and offering encouragement along the way.

On my recent trip through Venezuela, the dire economic situation of which needs little explanation, I was visiting the historic Casa San Isidro in Ciudad Bolivar. There, I met a young guide named Diego, who spoke perfect English. Diego keenly took me around the city, using his perfect English and sharing his truly beautiful city (and its absolutely delicious tequeños).

At the of the day, I pulled out some Bolivars from my pocket. With a huge smile, Diego refused to take my money - he was simply so happy that his city of Ciudad Bolivar had a foreign tourist, the first in eight months!

How to follow Daniel (@dhersz) on Instagram

Follow Daniel at his Instagram so that you can find out where he goes next. This is the only way we can keep track of where he is!

Thanks again for answering our questions, Daniel - we loved learning more about you and all of your worldly adventures.

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A look inside manhattan’s most exclusive club.

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Your reservation to wonder awaits.

Private clubs such as Soho House, Zero Bond and Casa Cipriani cemented a long-held Manhattan tradition of the city’s elite clamoring for exclusive spaces. Of course, there will always be the old vanguard — like the Yale Club, Harvard Club and New York Yacht Club — but freshly unwrapped Centurion New York towers over many high-end hideaways from its lavish perch on the 55th floor of the One Vanderbilt building.

The elusive, invitation-only American Express Centurion card (commonly called “the Black Card”) has become a status symbol for the modern day, much like a membership to one of the aforementioned clubs was some years ago. Unlike many of those discreet dens, though, anyone can make a dinner reservation for the Centurion club — no Black Card necessary (but availability is scarce, so you will have to check often).

When Centurion New York made its grand debut in the spring of 2023, it marked a significant shift for American Express in that it was a space that ventured beyond the brand’s ballyhooed airport lounges. The company chose a remarkable venue for the unveiling, too. The One Vanderbilt, a 1,400-foot skyscraper, is the tallest commercial building in Midtown Manhattan. Daniel Boulud’s Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star Le Pavillion resides on the second floor. And SUMMIT, an immersive, four-story observation deck, provides breathtaking vistas from the top three floors.

Getting up to the Centurion club is the first bit of secretive fun you have at the address. You check in with security before swiping your QR code — you’ll get this once you make your difficult-to-come-by dinner reservation on Resy — through the turnstile that directs you to elevators. As you’re whisked up to the 55th floor, the windowless lift heightens anticipation. Once the doors open, all of Manhattan is at your feet — or at least as much as can be captured in the club’s floor-to-ceiling windows.

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The other half of the space contains ultra-modern art, as if the home’s owner had a change of design heart mid-renovation. A black Rothko-esque painting and black cloth cocktail napkins cleverly call the Black Card to your subconscious. Comfortable modular furniture ensures the space feels cohesive and inviting. You can as easily imagine lingering here over after-dinner drinks or a between-emails Perrier.

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In this case, if you don’t have a membership, it’s the Centurion club’s other half of the floor that proves just beyond your fingertips. This private portion features a member’s bar, a wine cellar, an event space and an ultra-exclusive pink-hued bar that’s rumored to be reserved for the Centurion club’s top-tier members.

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Daniel Herzberg is the CEO of Accelerated Educational Solutions and author of 5 books. Over the past 23 years, he has coached over 7,000 clients to become confident and superior learners.

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As a member of The Jills®, Danny Hertzberg has received numerous awards and accolades, including being named to the “30 Under 30” list by Forbes, and most recently the “40 Under 40” list by the South Florida Business Journal. Danny has reached a remarkable level of sales production. He constantly employs the latest digital marketing strategies and social media innovations to market properties on an international level. Danny has presented many of these cutting-edge marketing strategies that he has developed at speaking engagements, seminars and conferences nationwide. Danny was selected to serve on Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate’s smart home tech panel, “Selling Smarter: Real Estate and the Smart Home” at the 2017 and 2016 Consumer Technology Association (CES) Conference in Las Vegas. He has become an expert in smart home technology, and is often quoted by media like Reuters, Time and CNET in stories about the smart home trend. Additionally, Danny is regularly featured in both national and local media outlets, discussing real estate trends in the South Florida luxury market. He has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Curbed, Forbes, Haute Living, Mansion Global, Miami Magazine, Ocean Drive magazine, Robb Report, Daily Business Review, South Florida Business Journal, The Real Deal, the Miami Herald, the Sun Sentinel, among others. He has also appeared on CNBC’s “Secret Lives of the Super Rich,” NBC’s “Open House,” CBS’s “Living Large” and CNBC’s “Power Lunch,” among others. A Miami Beach native, Danny completed a joint J.D./M.B.A. degree from the University of Miami, and earned a magna cum laude bachelor’s degree from Tulane University. He brings his legal expertise to The Jills, which is very beneficial to clients. He is fluent in Spanish and has a vast network of South and Central American clients and agents. Danny places great importance on giving back to the community. He and his sister Hillary, also a luxury real estate agent at The Jills, give back a percent of their real estate commission to a charity or charities chosen by the client. Called the Second Generation Giving Fund, Hillary and Danny have donated to charities close to the hearts of their clients after every transaction, including the Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League, Jewish National Fund, The Friendship Circle, Frost School of Music, Fundación Manos del Sur, Susan G. Komen, Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, GESU Catholic Church, Fisher Island Philanthropic Fund, Humane Society of Greater Miami and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, among others. Additionally, Danny is active in the Habitat for Humanity home building blitz, and has volunteered at a senior living facility, as well as the Ronald McDonald house in Miami. The Jills played an integral role in Coldwell Banker’s national network/Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate’s October 2017 initiative to donate, ship, load, unload and sort supplies for victims of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. He is vice chair of the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority, serves on The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC’s) young leadership board and was invited in 2017 to be a featured speaker at AIPAC’s Saban Leadership Seminar in Washington, D.C. In addition, he served on the Temple Beth Shalom Israel Committee, and is active in the Ransom Everglades Young Benefactor Society. Danny and his younger sister Hillary, also a luxury real estate agent at The Jills, give back a percent of their real estate commission to a charity or charities chosen by the client.

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18 La Gorce Cir

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Utah man declined $100K offer to travel to Congo on 'security job' that was covert coup attempt

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The friend of a prominent Congolese opposition leader’s son said he turned down a six-figure offer to travel there from the U.S. as part of the family’s security detail in what turned out to be a failed coup attempt.

Marcel Malanga, the 21-year-old son of eccentric coup leader Christian Malanga, was detained by Congolese forces Sunday morning, along with a former classmate from their hometown of West Jordan, Utah, after his father was killed in a shootout while resisting arrest. His high school football teammate, Tyler Thompson , 21, was one of two other Americans arrested after an ill-fated attack on the presidential palace in Kinshasa.

Six people were dead and dozens arrested, including the three Americans, following that attack and another on the residence of a close ally of President Felix Tshisekedi , the Congolese army spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Sylvain Ekenge, said.

Daniel Gonzalez, a former teammate of the two Utah residents caught up in the foiled coup, told The Associated Press that Marcel had offered him $50,000 to $100,000 to spend four months in Congo as a security guard for his politician father. The 22-year-old FedEx worker strongly considered it, but said it lacked concrete details. He ultimately declined so he could spend the summer with his girlfriend.

“I feel really sad for Tyler and Marcel but, at the end of the day, I can just be grateful that I didn’t go because I would be stuck in the same scary situation,” Gonzalez said.

Marcel's lucrative offer to Gonzalez sheds light on how he might have enticed Thompson to come along on what his stepmother, Miranda, said was supposed to be a vacation.

It was one of many propositions the coup leader’s American son made to former football teammates in what many described as a desperate effort to bring someone with him to Congo. He pitched the trip to some as a family vacation and still to others as a service trip to build wells in drought-stricken communities.

Although it's unclear whether Thompson was offered money, multiple teammates told the AP that he had alluded to such incentives, telling one friend that the trip could be a “big financial opportunity."

Thompson's family insists he's a political pawn who was dragged into an international conflict under false pretenses. They've had no direct communication with their son since the coup and are worried for his safety, his stepmother said.

Marcel's mother, Brittney Sawyer, said her son is innocent and had followed his father.

Christian Malanga, the slain leader of the Congolese opposition political party, considered himself president of a shadow government in exile, which he called the “New Zaire." He described himself on his website as a refugee who settled in Salt Lake City with his family in the 1990s, pursuing business opportunities in gold mining and used car sales before eventually moving back to Congo to fight for political reforms.

While campaigning for the Congolese Parliament, he claimed he was jailed and endured torturous beatings. He later published a manifesto detailing plans to reform Congo’s security services and described his movement as an effort to organize fellow emigres against the “current Congolese dictatorship government regime.”

“Marcel was pretty secretive about his dad. He didn’t even know him well until he spent last summer in Africa,” Gonzalez said. “There’s no way Marcel had any idea what he’d be getting us into or he never would’ve offered. He’s one of the best friends a person could have.”

In the early hours Sunday, Christian Malanga began livestreaming video on social media from inside the palace. He is seen with his armed son, who hastily pulls a neck gaiter over his face, looking around wide-eyed. Congo officials have not commented on how the attackers were able to get inside.

Gonzalez, of Herriman, Utah, said he had communicated with Marcel about the financial offer over Snapchat, in messages that have since disappeared, in the months leading up to the coup attempt. He was shocked to learn how the trip played out.

Marcel had told Gonzalez that his father was letting him hire a friend so he would have company during his summer abroad. He seemed excited to be able to offer such a substantial amount of money to a close friend who needed it, Gonzalez explained.

The Malangas had promised on-the-job training, full coverage of travel expenses and the chance to explore a new part of the world while making an income, he said. Marcel insisted repeatedly that it was safe, but didn't share details about his father's background.

Neither Gonzalez nor his mother thought the trip would be unsafe, he said, despite the U.S. State Department strongly discouraging travel to Congo — but he turned it down when his girlfriend asked him not to leave for four months.

He later saw private Snapchat videos filmed by Marcel that showed Thompson looking frightened as armed Congolese soldiers surrounded their vehicle. In Gonzalez's final Snapchat exchange with his friend before their capture, he asked whether Thompson was OK and urged them to stay safe.

Marcel assured him that they were.

Other former football teammates, including Luke Barbee and Jaden Lalor, had heard different pitches about the trip and wondered why Marcel seemed so desperate to bring someone along. Neither could fathom their friends' possible involvement in a violent attack.

“I consider Marcel a brother to me and Tyler a friend, and I truly believe Marcel's father must have pressured them for his own wants,” Lalor said. “I just want them back safely.”

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Daniel Boulud is a rare being in the world of gastronomy. Kind-hearted, generous, and beloved in the industry (and beyond - just ask Al Roker or Eric Ripert ), Boulud has built his empire rooted in delicious cuisine and an equally compelling (and refined) experience. Raised near Lyon , Boulud apprenticed and learned from the best before flying across the pond to America where he started as the private chef to the European Commission in Washington, D.C. A move to New York was imminent with Chef Boulud itching to open his first spot. Polo Lounge at the Westbury Hotel debuted, followed by another hotel boîte, La Régence, at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée. However, his star moment came in 1986 when he took the reins as executive chef at the iconic Le Cirque. He remained in this role until 1993 when he opened his eponymous Two MICHELIN Star spot Daniel . (Ed's note: The restaurant is presently serving its seasonal five-course prix fixe or nine-course tasting menus.)

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Dining Out:

Casa Enrique : It is my favorite Mexican destination in Long Island City.

Gabriel Kreuther : Gabriel is a very talented Alsatian chef and a good friend. His restaurant is where classic meets modern.

Le Bernardin : A legendary seafood destination by the great Eric Ripert .

Rezdôra : Some of the best and authentic Italian cuisine in New York. It is a small space with a lot of character.

Saga : It’s a combination of beautiful views with inventive cocktails and dishes.

Atomix : It is a sleek and beautiful chef’s counter lead by Chef JP who brings a creative spin on Korean classics.

Outside the Kitchen:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art with my family visiting from Europe or the Central Park Zoo—I always take my kids to see the seals. Another is The Summit [at One Vanderbilt]; it has the best view of our five boroughs.

Late Night Cocktails: Bemelmans [at the Carlyle Hotel ]—it is the best old-fashioned jazz bar on the Upper East Side.

The Oculus for a croissant and coffee and Épicerie Boulud.

Stretch - Great pizza by a great chef [Wylie Dufresne].

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Ukraine Starts Freeing Some Prisoners to Join Its Military

Nearly 350 inmates have been freed under a new law that allows them to serve in exchange for the possibility of parole, the country’s justice minister said.

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By Constant Méheut

Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine

Ukraine has begun releasing prisoners to serve in its army, part of a wider effort to rebuild a military that has been depleted by more than two years of war and is strained by relentless Russian assaults.

Denys Maliuska, Ukraine’s justice minister, said in an interview on Friday that nearly 350 prisoners had already been freed under a law enacted last week that allows convicts to serve in the army in exchange for the possibility of parole at the end of their service.

The country’s courts must approve each prisoner’s bid to enlist, and Mr. Maliuska said that the judiciary was already considering most of the 4,300 applications submitted so far. Up to 20,000 such applicants, including people who were in pretrial detention, could be recruited to join the hundreds of thousands of soldiers already serving in Ukraine’s military, he said.

The policy echoes a practice widely used by Russia to bolster its forces, but differs in some ways. Russia’s program is open to prisoners convicted of violent crimes, while the Ukrainian law does not extend to people convicted of two or more murders, rape or other serious offenses.

Several Ukrainian lawmakers initially said that people convicted of premeditated murder would not be eligible. But Mr. Maliuska clarified on Friday that someone convicted of a single murder could be released, unless the crime was committed with aggravating circumstances such as sexual violence.

“There is some similarity, but I can’t say that this is the same as Russia did,” Mr. Maliuska said.

Ukraine had mocked Russia’s push to recruit prisoners in exchange for parole earlier in the war. But with the conflict now in its third year and with Ukrainian forces struggling all along the front line, Kyiv desperately needs more soldiers.

“The deficit of soldiers — of course, the difficulties with the draft of ordinary citizens — those were the main reasons for the law,” Mr. Maliuska said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in February that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the war — a figure that is well below estimates by American officials, who said in August that nearly 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed at that point.

In recent months, Ukraine has stepped up border patrols to catch anyone trying to avoid being drafted and lowered the draft eligibility age to 25 from 27 . It has not drafted younger men, to avoid hollowing out an already small generation of men in their 20s, the result of a demographic crisis stretching back more than a century .

Most recently, Kyiv passed a law requiring all men of military age to ensure that the government had current details about their address and health status. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said this week that about 700,000 people had updated their details on an online platform.

Ukraine’s urgent need for additional troops has become particularly apparent since Russian forces opened a new front in the northeast of the country two weeks ago, near the city of Kharkiv. The offensive by Moscow has stretched Ukrainian forces and compelled them to redeploy units from other hot spots of the front line, weakening their defenses there.

Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine’s commander in chief, said on Friday that Russian forces were trying to break through Ukrainian defenses in the southeastern Donetsk region.

Visiting Kharkiv on Friday, Mr. Zelensky also highlighted in a social media post the difficult situation in Vovchansk, a small town near the Russian border that Moscow’s troops have been attacking for the past two weeks, targeting it with heavy bombs and engaging in street fighting. Russian forces have captured about half of the town , according to Ukrainian officials.

This week, a court in the western city of Khmelnytsky said that it had freed more than 50 prisoners under the law allowing for the recruitment of inmates. It said that most of the prisoners who had applied for conditional release to join the military were young men convicted of theft, and that many had relatives and friends who had died in the war, motivating them to join the fight.

The move to recruit prisoners has drawn little criticism from the Ukrainian public, with many civilians and lawmakers saying that convicts have a duty to defend their country like any other citizen. They have also said that joining the military to fight against Russia is a chance for redemption.

“I believe that people who have not committed serious crimes, if they serve in special units, perhaps even on the front line, whether they dig trenches or build fortifications, why not,” Pavlo Litovkin, 31, a resident of Kyiv, said in an interview last week. “We should not imitate Russia’s methods of warfare, but we should manage our resources effectively.”

Roman Kostenko, the chairman of the defense and intelligence committee in Ukraine’s Parliament, told Ukrainian television this week that the law “gives an opportunity to these people who committed crimes to go and help during the war, to prove that they can also be worthy members of society together with the boys who are now defending our country.”

Russia has committed tens of thousands of convicts to the war, enlisting them in special units called “Storm Z” that have been sent on bloody assaults with little regard for casualties. That has helped Moscow gain the upper hand on the battlefield by sheer force of numbers, capturing towns and cities such as Bakhmut , Avdiivka and Marinka in the east.

It remains unclear how Ukraine’s military will use its new recruits. The authorities said the prisoners would also be integrated into special units and that they would not be released until the end of the war.

But whether enough prisoners will join the army to significantly bolster its numbers and change the situation on the battlefield remains to be seen.

The court in Khmelnytsky said in a statement that a large number of prisoners “do not want to be released on parole” under the law. Mr. Maliuska said he expected many to wait and see what happened with the first wave of inmates joining the army.

They want to know “what is the quality of the training, whether the new soldiers and ex-inmates are satisfied, whether they’re treated properly,” Mr. Maliuska said. “That will be key.”

Daria Mitiuk and Anastasia Kuznietsova contributed reporting.

Constant Méheut reports on the war in Ukraine, including battlefield developments, attacks on civilian centers and how the war is affecting its people. More about Constant Méheut