no time for blogging

Has It Really Been a Year and a Half?

Cheryle — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 06:02:00 GMT

Yes, it has.

After receiving a few emails from various friends about why I have stopped blogging, I realized that I never provided any "closure" on this blog explaining my silence.

Truth is, I haven't really "stopped" - I just changed the focus of this blog from the mish-mash that it was in it's previous incarnation to one focused solely on adventure - whether they be here in the city of Portland or across the ocean.

So ... what's next on the list?

We didn't go to Europe in 2009, but are eagerly anticipating visiting Positano, Paris, and Amsterdam in May 2010. We will be spending a week in a glorious villa with a view of the Mediterranean, popping into Paris to renew our love affair with what surely must be one of the world's most beautiful cities, and finally, chilling out in charming Amsterdam.

Will May 21 ever get here?

Bye Bye, Stockholm.

Cheryle — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:19:00 GMT

It's Thursday night about 9:30, and at 4:00am tomorrow we'll be hopping on the train to Arlanda airport and beginning our 24-hour odyssey of airplane rides and layovers. Stockholm, London, Chicago, Portland. With any luck we'll be arriving in Portland around 8:00pm or so on Friday night.

While I am excited to be returning home to our cats and everything else I hold dear, I am sad to be leaving Stockholm. This city, unlike any other, has touched us deeply with both her natural beauty and her wonderful, warm people. And the museums, shopping, and food are pretty good, too.

Last night we accepted our new Swedish friends' invitation to meet them for drinks. We took the train over to the trendy district of Sodermalm, called up Anders on his mobile phone, and met him outside one of the many popular bars in the area. Walking through this area we felt more like hip young urbanites than the married middle-aged suburbanites that we really are, although I'm sure we weren't fooling any of the hundreds of twenty-somethings out for their evening fun! Still, it was a great way to spend an evening in Stockholm and our new friends didn't seem to mind that they were keeping us out past our 10pm bedtime.

After I get home, I'll try to find some time to post some pictures from the last couple of days, but until then, just this one:

Hejdå Stockholm! Vi kommer att återvända igen någon dag!

Tuesday, August 12: If We Could Marry Stockholm, We Would.

Cheryle — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:03:00 GMT

Tuesday morning we decided to take another boat cruise since the sun was out and our tickets were still valid. Since we were there early, we secured excellent seats on the outside of the boat so we had the best vantage point for taking photos:

The obligatory goofy self-portrait.

The National Museum, which I'd love to see next time.

We love the style of these buildings.

Stockholm has the most interesting cloud formations I've ever seen.

After joyriding for about an hour, we hopped off the boat at the Vasa Museum. The Vasa is a Swedish warship that sank in 1628 just minutes after beginning her maiden voyage. She rested just outside the Stockholm harbor for hundreds of years but was salvaged in 1961. Michael and I had seen the Vasa on several travel shows, and had been looking forward to seeing this for a long time. She didn't disappoint -just look at the detail preserved for almost 400 years, amazing!

In addition to the Vasa herself, there were exhibits showing what life would have been like on board for admiral and crew, as well as hundreds of items that salvaged from the wreckage including clothing, dishes, and coins, all painstakingly arranged and researched. Definitely an archaeologist's dream but something that everyone should see when they come to Stockholm.

After the Vasa. we hopped the boat again to take us across to the island of Skeppsholmen, where several museums are located. I had wanted to visit the Museum of Modern Art, but the weather was so beautiful we didn't want to be inside any longer, so I contented myself with taking pictures of the colorful sculptures outside:

Later that evening, Michael was craving a hamburger so we walked the few blocks to the Hard Rock Cafe. We've visited their locations before but never actually eaten there. Since the weather was still quite nice we were seated on the patio. Almost immediately, we started chatting with three young Swedish guys
(Jonas, Anders, and Daniel) that were seated at the adjacent table. Before long, they invited us to move our table over next to theirs and before we knew it, almost four hours had passed and the staff was closing up the patio for the night! They invited us to go out the next night and Michael programmed Anders' number into his mobile phone.

As we walked home - now through the pouring rain - we reflected on what had just happened. Not once in six years of travelling, had a group of locals been so friendly and welcoming to us. We fell into bed sometime after midnight, another great day in Stockholm behind us.

Monday, August 11: Falling in Love With Stockholm

Cheryle — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:09:00 GMT

Wow, Wow, Wow.

Although destinations in France and Italy tend to capture the majority of the hearts and minds of Americans dreaming of European adventures, Stockholm is quickly becoming our favorite large European city. I don't know why it took us 6 years to get here, but boy am I glad that we finally made it! We're already dreaming of the day when we can return.

From the very moment we stepped out of our apartment that first day, we felt as if we were home - perhaps it was the fresh air and natural beauty that reminds us of the Pacific Northwest. I have to say also that the Swedes (and the Danes, as well) are possibly the nicest people we've ever met in any of our travels, anywhere. Every interaction has been an absolute pleasure - whether with our bartender Fikri, the girl at the bakery, or the guy that run the video store a few blocks down.

Anyway, with the sun shining bright and Michael's cold making a hasty retreat, we took on the day early and with lots of energy. We strolled through the beautiful Humlegarden which is just a few minutes walk from our place:

Humlegarden - one of many beautiful parks in Stockholm.

Before we knew it, we were on Stockholm's waterfront where we caught the Open Top bus tour as we often do in new cities. Although they are admittedly cheesy and very touristy, they are a great way to get an overview of an unfamiliar place. We rode the complete circle which took just over an hour, and disembarked at the Royal Palace where we just happened to catch the changing of the guard! Although we didn't have very high expectations for this event (the one at Buckingham Palace in London is kind of lame) it turned out to be a great show and definitely one of the highlights of our trip. Although I was shooting pictures above my head a lot of time, I was able to capture some great pictures of the event. The ceremony lasted for well over 30 minutes, and although I couldn't always tell what was happening, the music was fantastic and the excitement amongst the crowd was infectious:

After the ceremony ended, we headed into Gamla Stan once again, where we mostly managed to avoid the
tourist crowds:

The quiet alleys are there, if you allow yourself to find them.

Since the sun was still shining brightly, we decided to take a boat cruise which was included with the price of the bus tour. The views of Stockholm's waterfront were breathtaking:

Storm brewing, but I LOVE this photo.

The Vasa museum.

Oh boy, the boat trip is starting to feel like Spash Mountain!

Just as quickly as the storm rolled in, the sunshine returned.

A sunny corner bar wtih great people-watching.

As you can see from the pictures above, we experienced a variety of weather conditions during our cruise. Had we not been completely covered by the boat's canopy we would have gotten soaked, but under the safety of cover we thoroughly enjoyed being tossed about on the water, watching the rain come down in buckets around us. It was, in fact, an absolute blast and we felt fortunate that we happened to catch the rain storm while stilll on the boat.

After disembarking, we walked into the trendy district known as Sodermalm where we wound down an eventful and highly enjoyable day in our new favorite city.

Sunday, August 10: Quiet Day in Stockholm

Cheryle — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:03:00 GMT

We woke up early and since the sun was shining, decided to take a short walk around our neighborhood before our 10:30am appointment with Jan, who was driving in from his summer cottage to help us get the wireless internet access working in the apartment. After years of suffering the slow upload speeds, inconvenience, and expense of internet cafes, we brought a laptop with us this year specifically so it would be easier to write the travel journals, keep up on email, and look up information about events and attractions in whatever city we're in. At first, I wasn't too keen on dragging yet another piece of electronic equipment with us over the pond, but now I wouldn't have it any other way. It is TOTALLY worth it.

Since we only had a short time before Jan's visit, we stuck pretty close to home and took some pictures of our immediate neighborhood:

The little balcony where we like to relax with coffees.

This is the front of our building. We live on the top floor.

Looking up our street to the left ...

And to the right.

The church just up the street from us.

Jan stopped by as scheduled, and thanks to Michael's computer expertise, we were able to get the wireless internet working again - for us and for future guests.

We then decided to tackle the Stockholm Metro, or Tunnelbana, which we had heard great things about. Both of us are huge fans of the European trains and metros, and look at riding them as almost an activity in themselves. Plus, with the exception of the Circle line on London's Underground system, we've found that not that many tourists ride the Metro systems so it's often just us and the locals.

We ended our journey on the Tunnelbana at Gamla Stan, Stockholm's "Gothic Quarter":

We stayed there for only a brief time, because the streets increasingly began to look like this:

Yikes! Time to dodge the crowds ...

After hopping the Tunnelbana back to our neighborhood, we stopped in at a little pub that Michael had discovered on Saturday called The Doors. It's reminiscent of the little corner pubs you find in London, but even more cozy and more friendly. The bartender, Fikri, greeted Michael like an old friend and we ordered up a couple of beers, some pommes frites, and just enjoyed the atmosphere for awhile. While we were here, an older man with a strong Southern accent came in, and Fikri introduced us. Turns out this man, Jim Bean, is from North Carolina but has lived in Stockholm for 19 months so far - his wife is on a 24 month assignment with her company. Lucky guy! The Doors pub is his regular watering hole and he stops in nearly every day.

Tired already, we headed home to prepare dinner and rest up for a busy day of sightseeing ahead.

Next: The absolutely BEST day of our vacation so far, can it get any better? Many pictures to come ...

Saturday, August 9: Copenhagen to Stockholm

Cheryle — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:59:00 GMT

Saturday started off with a workout - dragging our suitcases the roughly 8 or so blocks to Central Station where we caught the S train to the airport. We checked in quickly and painlessly, and made our way through security with minimum hassle. After a light breakfast in one of the airport restaurants, we caught our flight to Stockholm and landed just over an hour later.

After some initial minor fumbling (why are ATM's always so difficult to find in European airports? And why do banks place such low limits on daily withdrawals - a major source of difficulty when travelling abroad? Argh!!!) we boarded the Arlanda Express train bound for Central Stockholm and then took a quick taxi ride to our apartment in the quiet, upper class neighborhood of Ostermalm.

AnaCha, who has lived in this apartment for 25 years with her husband Jan, greeted us and showed us around their spacious and well-appointed flat. Apparently, AnnCha and Jan have a country home just an hour from Sweden where they spend most of the summer with their adult children and grandkids, and they make a nice extra income renting out their city flat to travellers like us when they're not here. Although it does feel a little odd to be living in someone's home (most of the flats we rent are just that - rental flats), Jan and AnnCha have really made us feel welcome and even left us a little care package of nuts, beer, and wine! This is probably the most well-stocked apartment we have lived in so far, they have truly thought of everything. We are absolutely thrilled to be living here for the next week, just take a look at the view out of our kitchen window:

Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.

The spacious and well-stocked kitchen.

All this, for the same price you would pay for a boring Americanized hotel room downtown.

Michael ventured out briefly while I stayed behind to unpack, do laundry, and generally settle into what is going to be our home for the next 6 days. From what little I've seen of Stockholm so far, I do think I am going to love it. I just hope the rain stops sometime soon!

Tomorrow is Sunday and a lot of things are closed, so we'll probably just focus on familiarizing ourselves with our local neighborhood and taking pictures. Hope everyone is doing well and do post a comment if there is anything you're curious about - be it Stockholm, European travel in general, or just to say hi. I'm here to help!

Friday, August 8: Final Day in Copenhagen

Cheryle — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:17:00 GMT

We awoke to cool temperatures and grey skies on Friday, a stark contrast to the sun we enjoyed on Thursday. Michael was still not feeling very well, so we decided to keep things local and headed for the Danish Design Center which was just a five minute walk from our apartment. This small homage to the genius that is Scandinavian design occupies three floors, but doesn't have a lot on display and so it's easy to cover in an hour or less. In addition to their permanent collection, there are rotating displays focused on various aspects of design - the current one highlighting innovations in food packaging. As lovers of Scandinavian design, this museum was on our "must do" list but I don't think it was quite as comprehensive as either of us had hoped for. Still, it was an interesting and affordable way to spend an hour on a rainy day.

One of the innovative food packaging displays.

Lobby/cafe of the Danish Design Center, where we enjoyed some good cappucinos.

Afterwards, we stopped in briefly at a natural pharmacy across the street and inquired about getting something to help with Michael's cold. I can't remember what the stuff was called, but the shopkeeper recommended some kind of substance that bees use to plug small holes in their hive. We figured it couldn't hurt, so we bought a little bit and headed back to the apartment to contemplate our next move. The weather was getting progressively more awful with thunder, lightning, and buckets and buckets of rain. It was probably just as well, as M really needed to take a nap to combat his ever-worsening symptoms.

I tried to content myself with reading and my iPod, but soon grew stir crazy and headed out into the monsoon alone, umbrella in hand. I smiled to myself as I watched all of other tourists huddled under the eaves of shops on the usually clogged Stroget. Amateurs! Yes, I was getting wet but I knew I would eventually dry out, so I pressed on despite the fact that the entire bottom half of my jeans was now soaked with rainwater. I was on a mission - to visit a vintage clothing store called "Kitcsh Bitch" that had received a good review in a local shopping magazine that I picked up at the Design Center. I eventually located the little shop and worked through the racks of retro clothing, most of which was too outlandish for me. I did find two tops that I really liked, so tried both on and selected one that was sort of "boho chic" and in a great shade of green. I was pleased, as my favorite souvenirs from our trips abroad are those that are wearable --- it's like having a little piece of vacation with you all the time.

I returned to a great surprise - a husband that was feeling much better! Perhaps it was the nap, or maybe it was the weird beehive wax remedy, or maybe it was the fact that the sun had finally appeared. Whatever the reason, we headed out to explore Nyhaven - the colorful Dutch-style town houses that line the historic canal are one of Copenhagen's most recognizable sights:

Hungry, we headed back towards our apartment, stopping to have dinner at a Mexican resturant in the so-called "Latin Quarter". I was a bit apprehensive of what Mexican food in Denmark might taste like, but was pleasantly surprised by plenty of spice, and a dish that wasn't as heavy as I had feared. The view from our sidewalk table was great too, as it was Friday night in Copenhagen and the human parade was decked out to party. In fact, if it wasn't for table of four smoking constantly right next to us we probably could have sat there and gawked for another hour. An early night as we had a 7:00am alarm and still had to finish packing for Stockholm.

See you in Sweden!

Thursday, August 7: Wow, Man. Trippin' Thoughts on Christiania.

Cheryle — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:54:00 GMT

After a simple yet tasty breakfast of bacon, fruit, and some slices of baguette with butter, we headed out into the sunshine to explore Freetown Christiania, a "hippie" commune established in 1971.

The original Christianians established squatters' rights in some abandoned military barracks, which were, oddly, just a 10-minute walk from the Danish parliament building. Thirty-seven years later Christiania is still going and has in fact become a popular tourist destination, despite the "no photo" policy.

We spoke briefly with a young man working the counter of a cafe where we stopped to buy a bottle of water. He told us that the current government is feeling pressure to "normalize" Christiania and in fact, has already banned the marijuana stands that used to line the main drag (aptly nicknamed "Pusher Street"). Although I had read elsewhere that the land was highly sought after by condo developers, this young man said that the soil was so contaminated that he doubted anyone would want to take that on - supposedly even Halliburton had shown some sort of interest but later backed down once they realized the difficulty involved in making loads of money from it. (Much easier to just keep ripping off the American taxpayer - ha!)

After reading Rick Steves' description of Christiania, I was completely underwhelmed by the reality of it. I'm pretty open-minded about things, but Steves paints a picture of Christiania as almost some kind of bohemian utopia, but all I saw was a bunch of dirty shacks, graffiti, and creepy guys, some of them stoned out of their minds. Still, I am glad that I was able to see Christiania as it stands today, because who knows what the future may bring?

Main entrance to Christiania.

I doubt the original intent of this sign was to be humorous, but that didn't stop us from laughing.

After our re-entry into the EU (see picture above), we stopped for a light lunch and took the Metro (a first for us in Copenhagen) back to Norreport station. Since Michael was fighting a cold, he went back to the apartment to rest, and I decided to do a little shopping. I visited two stores, but didn't come away with much other than sore feet and a pounding headache. Even H&M is expensive here! I got a bit lost on the way back to the apartment, but that wasn't such a bad thing as I stumbled upon a delightful little square with some interesting "art" in the center:

The Danes love their cigarettes, in more ways than one.

The colors of the buildings and open nature of the center remind me of all the wonderful campos in Venice, making my heart skip a beat.

Ahhhhhhh ... how I would love to be riding a bike around Copenhagen right now.

I soon found my way home, showered (the second of three in one day as it was warm and humid), and relaxed for a couple of hours.

Craving some green space, we later hopped the Metro again (old pros now) and headed for the district of Frederiksberg. We walked through part of the beautiful Frederiksberg Have which apparently is hugely popular with runners. Watching all these healthly, tanned Danes sprint by, I suddenly felt even older and fatter than I usually do. Oh well, the gym will be waiting for me once I return home to Portland.

Frederiksberg Slot, a former royal palace, overlooking the park.

Lush greenery that reminds me of home.

One of the many ponds in Frederiksberg Have.

Since M was still fighting his cold and we were hungry, we headed home, cooked a quick pasta dinner, and then hit the bed early. We've got one more day in Copenhagen, and then Saturday it's on to Stockholm and access to a washing machine and dryer again - yippee!

Wednesday August 6: Rosenborg Slot, Rundertaarn, Tivoli

Cheryle — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:53:00 GMT

We were up and out of the apartment by 8am on Wednesday, propelled by the bright blue sky and forecast of rain later in the day. We tried to find an espresso bar or coffee shop that was open, but all of those we passed by didn't open until 9 or 10, so we proceeded to our first desination for the day, Rosenborg Slot.

Rosenborg Slot (aka Rosenborg Castle) was originally a summer countryhouse as a project of Christian IV. The castle is surrounded by acres and acres of beautiful gardens, referrred to as the Kongens Have, where I soaked in the bright sunshine and took pictures:

Rosenborg Slot.

From the beautiful botantical gardens.

Another view of Rosenborg Slot.

Next door to the Rosenborg Slot the Danish Royal Life Guards performed their drills:

Standing at attention.

Marching to the beat. The chain link fence got in the a bit, here.

Although we could have gone inside the castle and seen the crown jewels, neither one of us was interested in going inside - it seemed almost criminal on such a crisp and sunny day.

After stopping briefly for cappucinos at a tiny cafe, we headed for the Rundetaarn, or Round Tower, located just minutes from our apartment.

The Rundetaarn was also one of Christian IV's projects and is the oldest functioning observatory in Europe. You can climb up to a viewing platform on the top (and at only approx $12 USD for two people, a bargain here in pricey Denmark). The climb was very, very easy - due to the fact that instead of stairs, there's a spiral ramp that winds itself around the core of the tower - a stark contrast to the steep spirals and ladders we experienced on our climb of the Westerkerk in Amsterdam!

Inside the church attached to the Rundetaarn.

View from the top of the Rundetaarn.

After descending the Rundetaarn we stopped at a sausage stand for a Polser, a popular street food here in Denmark. Ours came wrapped in bacon, and I asked the sausage wagon lady to load mine up so I got some kind of spicy mustard, ketchup, two kinds of onions (raw and deep fried, mmm!), and sliced pickles. We inhaled them in short order and I could have easily eaten another one, but we pressed on to visit the local Netto supermarket to stock up on some needed groceries - including some delicious Havarti cheese and for me, some desperately needed fresh fruits and vegetables.

Since we had plans to visit Tivoli -perhaps Denmark's most popular attraction - later in the evening, we went back to the apartment and rested up for a few hours. With acres of ground to cover and the prospect of being surrounded by lots of small noisy children, we needed our strength!

Did I mention that our apartment's location was one of it's strong points? This was evident last night when we walked just a few short blocks and then all of a sudden I see Radhuspladsen and the lighted sign for Tivoli:

Yippee! My inner child was jumping for joy at the prospect of visiting this amusement park (even though I never like the rides) but my adult self was dreading the hordes of people, overpriced food, and high admission cost just to enter the park ($34 USD for two).

It turns out my fears were (mostly) unfounded. Tivoli is absolutely gorgeous and felt a lot more organic and beautiful than my distant memories of Disneyland and Great America. Although it was starting to get dark, I still managed to capture some photos of this beautiful park:

One of many restaurants at Tivoli.

One example of the many beautiful buildings there.

Outdoor concert.

After a couple of hours at Tivoli, we were quite hungry and so I dragged Michael to Wagamama, a pan-Asian noodle bar that I've mostly seen in and around London but had never got around to trying. We waited in line a long time, but were eventually seated and ordered Chicken Gyoza, Steak Yakisoba Noodles, and Chicken Chili Mein. Plus a bottle of water, Coke for Michael, and a small beer for me. Grand total for this tasty but not anywhere near mind-blowing meal? About $80 USD. Ouch.

We were in Wagamama for a good hour, and as we got up to leave we noticed lots of umbrellas and rain slickers pulled over people's heads. The threat of rain as predicted by AccuWeather had indeed materialized. Fortunately we came prepared with our collapsible umbrellas, and made the short walk home in relative comfort.

Thursday we plan to visit the hippie commune, Freetown Christiania. Should make for an interesting cultural experience!

Tuesday, August 5 - Amsterdam to Copenhagen

Cheryle — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:16:00 GMT

Quote of the Day: "It's a Shopping Mall with an Airport Attached" --- Michael on Amsterdam's Schipol airport

We were up and running at 6:30 on Tuesday, as we had a taxi coming for us at 7:30 to take us to the airport. We got there with plenty of time to kill, which wasn't such a bad thing as Schipol is by far the nicest airport either one of us has ever been to -- bright, modern, and chock full of great shops and eateries. At 10:00, we boarded our SAS flight to Copenhagen with seats in the very last row ... good thing the flight was only about an hour long.

Once we landed in Copenhagen, it took us awhile to find an ATM and hop on the train, but once we sat down it was just 15 minutes to Norreport station followed by a few blocks walk to our flat where we met our greeter, Kirsten.

I'm not sure who or what I was expecting, but Kirsten was certainly a surprise. Lanky and tall, with yellow teeth and shoulder length grey-and-white hair, she wore a marijuana leaf necklace and some kind of Jamaican looking knit cap. She looked as if she had time-travelled from a 1960's hippie commune. She didn't speak the best English (which seemed odd for a Dane) but we communicated well enough and after showing us around the apartment, we exchanged money, keys, and our good-byes.

And what an interesting flat it is. It definitely has its plusses and minuses, which is a bit of a letdown since our Amsterdam apartment was so fantastic. The floorboards are incredibly creaky. The bedroom is a closet with a bed stuffed in it. But probably the biggest minus here is the "shower", which feels standing under a garden hose! And, the sink (which is tiny) is in the same enclosure as the shower so in order to wash your hands you actually need to step into the shower. I've seen some strange bathroom situations in my travels, but this one takes the cake.

On the positive side, there is great light in this space and the windows in the back of the apartment open up on to a beautiful community garden. The front windows overlook our street, which makes for some great people-watching. More positives include some great contemporary art on the walls (I will try to remember to post pictures) and of course the central location.

We didn't do much Tuesday except walk down the Stroget - a series of streets which form the largest pedestrianized zone in all of Europe. We weren't impressed - it was just another version of the Kalvarstraat or Las Ramblas or any other number of heavily commercialized, tourist-choked nightmares present throughout Europe. We definitely won't be going back there, unless one of us is on a mission for something specific.

Did I mention that Copenhagen is outrageously expensive? So far, we have spent:

-$20 USD for two Quarter Pounder meals at McDonald's. (Don't laugh, we hadn't eaten lunch and it was the most convenient thing available at the time.)
-$10 USD for two absolutely horrible, thin cups of coffee on the Stroget. (Folgers tastes better)
-$6 USD for a latte that tasted like it had no espresso in it.

I am hoping that as we move away from the tourist zones such as Stroget, we will find some better and cheaper eating options. It does appear though, that even a simple Falafel sandwich here will set you back $10, something which you can get for $4-$5 back in Portland.

We returned from our stroll down Stroget around 6pm and promptly fell asleep - obviously we're not as over the jet lag as we throught we were. I also had a horrible stomachache for awhile and feared food poisoning or something, but it eventually subsided. At 9:30 we both woke up briefly and I had a couple slices of baguette with "smor" (butter) and went back to bed. Michael stayed up for awhile catching up on political news (thankfully the Internet connection is fast here) and finally went to bed a couple of hours later, I think.

Wednesday the weather is supposed to be sunny and mild, so we have plans to climb the Round Tower (great views of the city) and visit Rosenborg Castle and the nearby botanical gardens. Photos to come!