We decided to spend Tuesday hitting some sites outside of Copenhagen including Odense on the island of Fyn (or Funen) about an hour and a half away and Roskilde on the way back. Our breakfast consisted of pastries and warm drinks from one of the many bakeries inside the train station. We got our tickets, found our train, and were on our way by 10am.
Odense is known as the birthplace and childhood home of local hero Hans Christian Andersen. It's also quite a charming town in spite of a large chunk of it being currently torn up. Apparently they recently discovered Viking age ruins and artifacts buried in the town center and are in the process of excavating it. Some of those artifacts were on display in the Montergarden Urban History Museum which was our first stop. It was actually quite engrossing with displays that mixed artifacts from all time periods so you could see modern tools right next to their ancient counterparts. Some of the interactive displays were fun to play with as well. We spent way too much time there and had to hustle through the rest of our visit to Odense.
We wandered through the little medievalesque streets and courtyards and found the replica corner cottage which claims to be the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen. Kat was amused that everything in the tiny and cozy cottage was scaled down to her size while I had to duck through every doorway. It had a few informational displays spread throughout a handful of rooms and I thought that was the extent of it, but Kat insisted there was an actual Hans Christian Andersen museum we could get into as well. We went in search of it, skirting construction zones along the way, and found a series of closed and empty buildings where it apparently used to be housed at the time our guidebook was written. It took us a little while longer to find the museum's new home and had to circumnavigate the construction zone once again.
We were still in a bit of a hurry to get on to the next stop of the day so we breezed through the H. C. museum, although it was interesting in its own right. The best part was probably the virtual reality headset that let you experience and explore H. C.'s writing room. We then hustled back to the train station and tried to grab a couple pita sandwiches to go, but ended up missing the next train because the sandwich guy took too long. The next train was in half an hour so we waited it out in one of the ubiquitous Joe & the Juice bars that seem to be everywhere we go. Even though we've seen several in every city in Iceland, Netherlands, and Denmark we hadn't gone in one yet. It turned out to be pretty good juice.
Our train left the station by 2:50pm and our next stop was Roskilde an hour away on the way back to Copenhagen. We were concerned because we had learned that one of the two major sites in Roskilde, the cathedral, would be closed by the time we got there and the other one. the Viking ship building museum, would close soon after we arrived. When we got there we hoofed it double-time down the pedestrian mall, past the closed cathedral which we wouldn't get inside this time around, and all the way to the inlet bay which housed the ship building museum and still had 30 minutes to spare. We got our tickets and quickly took in the exhibits.
It was really cool and worth the trouble getting there. They had 6 partially completed reconstructions of ships that had been intentionally scuttled in the inlet as a defensive measure a long time ago. They also had a really neat replica you could climb in and play around on surrounded by animated projections of a roiling moonlit sea all around you complete with sound effects and lightning flashes. There were even costume pieces hanging on hooks nearby if you wanted to go for the full effect. In the basement they had even more cool stuff about how they found and recovered parts of the wreckage complete with a wraparound screen with underwater footage of scuba divers in action. Too bad we only had 5 minutes left to look around by that time, but all-in-all it was a worthwhile visit.
We set a leisurely pace on our walk back and spent some time checking out the cathedral from all sides and then found a place along the shopping boulevard for some warm caffeinated drinks to keep us going a bit longer. We decided to head back to Copenhagen for dinner and grabbed the next train out of town and we were back by 6:30pm.
I convinced Kat to walk all the way out to the Nyhavn district for dinner, because I wanted to see it and all the sites along the way lit up at night. Kat bundled up in all her coats with a scarf, hat, and hood up to stay warm long enough to make it to dinner. We stopped at a place simply known as Holberg no. 19, which turned out to have great menu with lots of tempting choices. Kat got a veggie quesadilla and I had an excellent tapas spread with olives, nuts, cheeses, meats, salad, and toasted bread. We washed it all down with a couple large beers and we were both delightfully satiated. The cafe staff were very friendly and helpful too, even recommending a few other dinner options that we might enjoy on our remaining nights.
After dinner we took some shortcuts along some streets we hadn't explored yet back to our hotel. At the room we made some plans for the next day and then turned in.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Monday, February 19, 2018
Copenhagen walking tour, Feb 19 2018
I let Kat sleep in a bit Monday morning while I showered and did some laundry. We didn't have anything specific planned for our first day in Copenhagen other than the city walk tour in our guidebook. My phone still wasn't connecting to the networks here so I was going to have to rely on my paper maps to navigate.
Once we were both up and ready to go we grabbed a quick pastry and a warm drink and a nearby bakery and then took a spin tour of Radhuspladsen which included a grand city hall and a statue of Hans Christian Andersen looking at the side entrance to Tivoli Gardens. From there we followed the Stroget, a grand pedestrian boulevard, lined by eateries and shopping centers. I was in dire need a few toiletries I had run out of during the trip so we stopped at the Flying Tiger, a 20 kronar store. I was only able to find some deodorant wipes and a few of those awful dental floss pick things. Kat assured me I could use her deodorant if the wipes turned out to be insufficient.
We wandered off the main Stroget for a little while and toured the old university district. I find it interesting that in many of these cities the old church districts inevitably become red light districts, industrial districts become filled with trendy restaurants, and at least in Copenhagen the old brothel district became the university district.
As we strolled through the grounds at Sankt Peders Church we were approached by a nice lady that wanted to share the history of the place with us. It seems that the locals are really very proud of their city. Next we checked out the neoclassical Cathedral of Our Lady, which seemed a bit drab on the exterior but was very impressive on the inside. It really did feel like an ancient temple with its high arched and coffered ceiling, thick columns, and marble statues.
At the twin squares of Gammeltorv and Nytorv we stopped for a beer and a shared snack at a corner cafe. We ordered a smorrebrod to share, an open faced sandwich served on toast. It wasn't our favorite meal so far. The topping was a kind of chicken salad, but made with far too much mayo.
The guidebook tour took us past the Christiansborg Palace Chapel just as TV crews were documenting a long line of mourners filling into the chapel to pay their respects to the recently deceased Prince Consort Henrik. It seemed that those in line were VIPs and the crowds were just observing although all were dressed in dark colors of mourning. We passed by as inconspicuously as we could in our brightly colored touring gear.
Our next stop was the sliding bridge, also known as the kissing bridge because of the way the two ends of the bridge come apart to let ships through and then come together and kiss when they pass. We headed out to the middle of the bridge for a quick kissing selfie and then continued on to Nyhavn.
Nyhavn, or New Harbor, was a colorful waterfront with old wooden ships moored along it and lined by cafes and sausage wagons. I was still hungry so I stopped at one for a quick polse, the local sausage, with the works. Then we stopped at Hviids Vinstue, a cozy basement bar, for a couple of their legendary hot spiced wine or glogg which was delicious and warmed us right up. Kat needed something to eat with vegetables in it so we found a small grocery store that had pre-made falafel wraps for her, and I got some much needed toothpaste. As we left Kat realized she'd misplaced her sunglasses somewhere and went back in to check. Luckily someone had found them and had taken them to the clerk so she ended up getting them back. People are very helpful here.
We wandered the waterfront past the Royal Danish Playhouse and then walked through an interesting art installation entitled "The Wave", by Vertigo. Eventually we ended up at the Amalienborg gardens and palace where Queen Margrethe II lives. It was a short walk from there to check out the domed Marble Church.
The day had gotten more overcast and colder but we pressed onward to Kastellet Park and the Gefion Fountain. The fountain was impressive, but would have been more so if the water had been flowing. We proceeded along the old ramparts all the way out to the Little Mermaid statue. She is quite small and easy to miss if you don't know to look for her. In fact another touring couple on bikes stopped and asked us directions to the statue before we had found it ourselves. The statue reminded me quite a bit of the girl in a wetsuit in Vancouver, sitting on a rock out in the water.
It was late afternoon at this point and we were both getting tired and footsore. Kat was beginning to freeze so we started back for our room. We took some shortcuts and discovered a little playground equipped with hammocks of various types. Kat eagerly tried them all out.
We were back at the room by 5pm and we took a much needed break. After fiddling with my phone for a bit it started behaving properly again. We decided to get some takeaway from the Thai restaurant from across the street for dinner and we ate it in the room while watching some terribly acted true crime TV. It was glorious.
Once we were both up and ready to go we grabbed a quick pastry and a warm drink and a nearby bakery and then took a spin tour of Radhuspladsen which included a grand city hall and a statue of Hans Christian Andersen looking at the side entrance to Tivoli Gardens. From there we followed the Stroget, a grand pedestrian boulevard, lined by eateries and shopping centers. I was in dire need a few toiletries I had run out of during the trip so we stopped at the Flying Tiger, a 20 kronar store. I was only able to find some deodorant wipes and a few of those awful dental floss pick things. Kat assured me I could use her deodorant if the wipes turned out to be insufficient.
We wandered off the main Stroget for a little while and toured the old university district. I find it interesting that in many of these cities the old church districts inevitably become red light districts, industrial districts become filled with trendy restaurants, and at least in Copenhagen the old brothel district became the university district.
As we strolled through the grounds at Sankt Peders Church we were approached by a nice lady that wanted to share the history of the place with us. It seems that the locals are really very proud of their city. Next we checked out the neoclassical Cathedral of Our Lady, which seemed a bit drab on the exterior but was very impressive on the inside. It really did feel like an ancient temple with its high arched and coffered ceiling, thick columns, and marble statues.
At the twin squares of Gammeltorv and Nytorv we stopped for a beer and a shared snack at a corner cafe. We ordered a smorrebrod to share, an open faced sandwich served on toast. It wasn't our favorite meal so far. The topping was a kind of chicken salad, but made with far too much mayo.
The guidebook tour took us past the Christiansborg Palace Chapel just as TV crews were documenting a long line of mourners filling into the chapel to pay their respects to the recently deceased Prince Consort Henrik. It seemed that those in line were VIPs and the crowds were just observing although all were dressed in dark colors of mourning. We passed by as inconspicuously as we could in our brightly colored touring gear.
Our next stop was the sliding bridge, also known as the kissing bridge because of the way the two ends of the bridge come apart to let ships through and then come together and kiss when they pass. We headed out to the middle of the bridge for a quick kissing selfie and then continued on to Nyhavn.
Nyhavn, or New Harbor, was a colorful waterfront with old wooden ships moored along it and lined by cafes and sausage wagons. I was still hungry so I stopped at one for a quick polse, the local sausage, with the works. Then we stopped at Hviids Vinstue, a cozy basement bar, for a couple of their legendary hot spiced wine or glogg which was delicious and warmed us right up. Kat needed something to eat with vegetables in it so we found a small grocery store that had pre-made falafel wraps for her, and I got some much needed toothpaste. As we left Kat realized she'd misplaced her sunglasses somewhere and went back in to check. Luckily someone had found them and had taken them to the clerk so she ended up getting them back. People are very helpful here.
We wandered the waterfront past the Royal Danish Playhouse and then walked through an interesting art installation entitled "The Wave", by Vertigo. Eventually we ended up at the Amalienborg gardens and palace where Queen Margrethe II lives. It was a short walk from there to check out the domed Marble Church.
The day had gotten more overcast and colder but we pressed onward to Kastellet Park and the Gefion Fountain. The fountain was impressive, but would have been more so if the water had been flowing. We proceeded along the old ramparts all the way out to the Little Mermaid statue. She is quite small and easy to miss if you don't know to look for her. In fact another touring couple on bikes stopped and asked us directions to the statue before we had found it ourselves. The statue reminded me quite a bit of the girl in a wetsuit in Vancouver, sitting on a rock out in the water.
It was late afternoon at this point and we were both getting tired and footsore. Kat was beginning to freeze so we started back for our room. We took some shortcuts and discovered a little playground equipped with hammocks of various types. Kat eagerly tried them all out.
We were back at the room by 5pm and we took a much needed break. After fiddling with my phone for a bit it started behaving properly again. We decided to get some takeaway from the Thai restaurant from across the street for dinner and we ate it in the room while watching some terribly acted true crime TV. It was glorious.
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Southeast Amsterdam and on to Copenhagen, Feb 18 2018
Our last day in Amsterdam started off with another pleasant breakfast served up by our host and another engaging conversation with the other guest whom we will call Agent R. We learned during our conversation that he actually works for the FBI. Kat had nailed it when she'd told me that he had struck her as maybe a government or military employee after the last time we'd talked with him. He admitted that it wasn't all action packed heroics and that he had to deal with lots of desk work and mindless bureaucracy, like flying home to DC from Frankfurt in order to take a seminar on overseas travel. It really was a fascinating and delightful experience.
After checkout we still had lots of time before our flight that evening and we didn't want to carry our big bags around all day so we headed to the train station to find some lockers. We were able to get to them once we bought our ticket to the airport which got us entry to baggage area. Once our luggage was stowed we left, but not before grabbing a hot drink. The hotchocspoons were tempting but this time we opted for good old Starbucks which was on the balcony overlooking the main station entryway.
With lots of time still to burn I looked at our map and decided we hadn't checked out the Southeast part of town yet so I pointed us in that direction. We passed by Nieuwmarkt again and continued on to the Rembrandt house. Just around the corner from that was supposed to be a flea market along Waterloopleinmarkt, but it was sadly empty on a Sunday. If only we had pressed onward on Saturday we could have visited it. There was however a store named "4 Cats" on the same block which delighted us both. It was also closed.
From there we crossed Nieuwharengracht and wandered through Wertheim Park. We took a moment to reflect at the Auschwitzmonument, a simple series of shattered mirrors facing the sky. The Southeast neighborhood is home to Amsterdam's Jewish community and has the largest synagogue. Then we looped back around and stopped at Cafe de Sluyswacht for one last beer, a cheese sandwich, and an excellent view of the canals and Montelbaanstoren, a tower which used to be part of the old city wall.
We were back at the train station by 2pm, picked up our bags, and got on our train. We were pretty sure we were on the right train this time as it started filling up quickly with tourists loaded down with roller bags. Just as the train was about to leave a family with four young kids in tow came running and shoving onto the already packed train car. They crowded around the pole we were standing by and the youngest child began unwrapping and shoveling candy into his mouth, dropping his spent wrappers and garbage onto Kat's bags all the while. What is it was children, why do they always have to be so sticky and gross?
The train arrived at Schiphol airport with plenty of time to spare until our flight. We got to our gate without issue and had a nice long wait. I spent the time reading up on Copenhagen in yet another Rick Steves guidebook. The flight was a short one, lasting just over an hour, but everyone seated around us seemed to be ill which made us very paranoid since we didn't want to catch something ourselves. The young woman next to me (we were in a three-seat-wide row) was wiping and blowing her nose constantly so I didn't want to touch anything she would pass me from the aisle when they were doing drink service, and the guy behind Kat coughed and sneezed and she said she felt it on her neck. We both went to the toilet and washed up as soon as we landed.
After disinfecting ourselves we grabbed some train tickets and took the short ride into Copenhagen's main station. We must have looked confused once we got off the train because a nice Danish woman offered us some directions almost immediately. I was surprised at the lack of security since we never had to show our tickets or pass through any turnstiles along the way. We eventually found an actual bank ATM out on the streetside where I was able to get some local currency and then we went in search of our hotel.
The weather was chillier than Amsterdam but still not as bad as Reykjavik. We noticed immediately that there were far fewer bikes as well and we didn't feel like we were constantly in danger of being run down. Despite having some trouble with my phone not connecting to the network here we found the Nebo Hotel which was nearby the train station and got checked in. The room is suitable, but I was disappointed it did not have a drying rack for our laundry.
It was getting late and we needed some dinner so we set right back out again. We got directions to our restaurant of choice, in the trendy meatpacking district, which took us through Copenhagen's red light district, which consists of one well lit street lined by some nude bars and a few sex shops, but nothing too shocking especially after having experienced Amsterdam.
Our first choice for dinner, BioMio, turned out to be uncharacteristically closed. We had made plans to visit our friend Danish friend Rikke, whom we had met at Czocha College of Wizardry a couple years back and who had come to stay with us for a few days while she was vacationing on the West coast. She recently mentioned to Kat via text that the Danish Price Consort, Henrik, had died and that we might experience some unexpected closures and schedule disruptions during our visit due to it. We figured this must just be one of those things so we headed to our second choice in the same district, Mother, which served up fancy personal pizzas. They were good, but we both agreed that La Perla in Amsterdam was better.
Rikke messaged Kat during dinner and let her know that Tivoli Gardens, the local amusement park, would actually be open this week. This was good news because we were prepared for it to be closed during the off-season. All the way back to our room from dinner Kat was bouncing with excitement.
After checkout we still had lots of time before our flight that evening and we didn't want to carry our big bags around all day so we headed to the train station to find some lockers. We were able to get to them once we bought our ticket to the airport which got us entry to baggage area. Once our luggage was stowed we left, but not before grabbing a hot drink. The hotchocspoons were tempting but this time we opted for good old Starbucks which was on the balcony overlooking the main station entryway.
With lots of time still to burn I looked at our map and decided we hadn't checked out the Southeast part of town yet so I pointed us in that direction. We passed by Nieuwmarkt again and continued on to the Rembrandt house. Just around the corner from that was supposed to be a flea market along Waterloopleinmarkt, but it was sadly empty on a Sunday. If only we had pressed onward on Saturday we could have visited it. There was however a store named "4 Cats" on the same block which delighted us both. It was also closed.
From there we crossed Nieuwharengracht and wandered through Wertheim Park. We took a moment to reflect at the Auschwitzmonument, a simple series of shattered mirrors facing the sky. The Southeast neighborhood is home to Amsterdam's Jewish community and has the largest synagogue. Then we looped back around and stopped at Cafe de Sluyswacht for one last beer, a cheese sandwich, and an excellent view of the canals and Montelbaanstoren, a tower which used to be part of the old city wall.
We were back at the train station by 2pm, picked up our bags, and got on our train. We were pretty sure we were on the right train this time as it started filling up quickly with tourists loaded down with roller bags. Just as the train was about to leave a family with four young kids in tow came running and shoving onto the already packed train car. They crowded around the pole we were standing by and the youngest child began unwrapping and shoveling candy into his mouth, dropping his spent wrappers and garbage onto Kat's bags all the while. What is it was children, why do they always have to be so sticky and gross?
The train arrived at Schiphol airport with plenty of time to spare until our flight. We got to our gate without issue and had a nice long wait. I spent the time reading up on Copenhagen in yet another Rick Steves guidebook. The flight was a short one, lasting just over an hour, but everyone seated around us seemed to be ill which made us very paranoid since we didn't want to catch something ourselves. The young woman next to me (we were in a three-seat-wide row) was wiping and blowing her nose constantly so I didn't want to touch anything she would pass me from the aisle when they were doing drink service, and the guy behind Kat coughed and sneezed and she said she felt it on her neck. We both went to the toilet and washed up as soon as we landed.
After disinfecting ourselves we grabbed some train tickets and took the short ride into Copenhagen's main station. We must have looked confused once we got off the train because a nice Danish woman offered us some directions almost immediately. I was surprised at the lack of security since we never had to show our tickets or pass through any turnstiles along the way. We eventually found an actual bank ATM out on the streetside where I was able to get some local currency and then we went in search of our hotel.
The weather was chillier than Amsterdam but still not as bad as Reykjavik. We noticed immediately that there were far fewer bikes as well and we didn't feel like we were constantly in danger of being run down. Despite having some trouble with my phone not connecting to the network here we found the Nebo Hotel which was nearby the train station and got checked in. The room is suitable, but I was disappointed it did not have a drying rack for our laundry.
It was getting late and we needed some dinner so we set right back out again. We got directions to our restaurant of choice, in the trendy meatpacking district, which took us through Copenhagen's red light district, which consists of one well lit street lined by some nude bars and a few sex shops, but nothing too shocking especially after having experienced Amsterdam.
Our first choice for dinner, BioMio, turned out to be uncharacteristically closed. We had made plans to visit our friend Danish friend Rikke, whom we had met at Czocha College of Wizardry a couple years back and who had come to stay with us for a few days while she was vacationing on the West coast. She recently mentioned to Kat via text that the Danish Price Consort, Henrik, had died and that we might experience some unexpected closures and schedule disruptions during our visit due to it. We figured this must just be one of those things so we headed to our second choice in the same district, Mother, which served up fancy personal pizzas. They were good, but we both agreed that La Perla in Amsterdam was better.
Rikke messaged Kat during dinner and let her know that Tivoli Gardens, the local amusement park, would actually be open this week. This was good news because we were prepared for it to be closed during the off-season. All the way back to our room from dinner Kat was bouncing with excitement.
Saturday, February 17, 2018
Van Gogh, Saturday Markets, and Haarlem, Feb 16-17, 2018
Friday night was still young and I wanted to check out at least one fine art museum before leaving Amsterdam so I hustled Kat out of our cosy apartment and we hurried to the Southwest museum district. Given the choice between Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh I was more interested in the Van Gogh. The time was approaching 6pm and I was becoming concerned it would close before we got entry while we waited in the coat check line, but another couple in line in front of us let us know that it stayed open late on Friday and weekends so I was able to relax a bit.
We spent about an hour wandering through the multi-floored museum while I read excerpts from Rick Steves' guidebook about the exhibit. Then we grabbed dinner at a nearby pub which was packed, but we managed to steal a table just a family was preparing to leave. Afterward we took a pleasant evening stroll through the Vondelpark which led us back to Liedseplein past the Stadsschouwburg Theater. The square seemed to be hopping with a party-like vibe. We weren't much in a partying mood however so we made our way back to our room to watch some Netflix and drink hot chocolate before turning in for bed.
It was a bit cold in our attic room during the night, but only because we failed to turn on the heater properly. There were also some intermittent sirens and construction sounds that woke us up, but we other than that we had a pleasant night. We asked for breakfast to be served at 9am so we set an alarm to make sure we were up in time. Breakfast was served in the cute little dining area we had to pass through on our way to our room. When we got down stairs it was already set with four place settings and freshly squeezed orange juice. One of our hosts was there ready to take our order and ask how we took our eggs, if we wanted bacon, and whether we would like tea or coffee. There were also fresh croissants, fruits, and cheeses to snack on. It was all very nice and we felt spoiled.
During breakfast the only other resident at the B&B joined us who turned out to be an American from Philadelphia currently working in Germany and taking a short holiday. We had a very nice conversation about travel in general and we were able to even give him some tips on how to spend his limited time in Amsterdam since we had already made the most of ours. Our host joined the conversation as well and was more than happy to point us in the right direction when we asked about Saturday markets.
Our plan for the day was to find some Saturday markets and then maybe take a train trip to Haarlem. The first stop was Noordermarkt in the Jordaan where we found just what we were looking for: an open-air market selling a little bit of everything. We hoped to maybe find some fashion scarves and maybe an interesting piece of art to add to our growing collections. All we found were some cat toys and a warm stroopwafel, but we were happy with our purchases.
After taking our time we headed to the train station to take a short trip to nearby Haarlem, but not before stopping by the Chocolate Co. and getting a couple more hotchocspoons. We had no problem getting our tickets and finding our train since there were so many trains and times to choose from. The train ride was short but pleasant especially with landmarks pointed out by our guidebook along the way. We arrived at the Haarlem train station which we were frequently reminded was the oldest train station in the Netherlands. It was very stylish and I took lots of pictures because I thought Dad might enjoy it as much I did.
We started exploring Haarlem by taking a stroll through a nearby park and taking some time to appreciate the Hannie Schaft monument. Then we took a circuitous route to the main square, Grote Markt, near Grote Kerk. Our luck was with us because there was another Saturday market going on in the middle of the square. Kat stopped long enough get a free hug from a guy giving our free hugs who looked pretty sad that no one wanted any. We kept our eyes peeled for scarves and art but didn't find anything suitable.
Rick Steves suggested checking out the church so we paid the small admission and went in, if nothing else to use the bathrooms at least. Actually we quite admired the beautifully patterned wooden ceiling and the massive pipe organ. After paying our respects at the church we figured it was time to balance things out and go visit Haarlem's tiny red light district. It wasn't very busy at 1 in the afternoon however, although I did enjoy the fancy red tinted old-fashioned lanterns lining the streets.
We found yet another Saturday market going on at Botermarkt, but still no scarves or art of any interest. We were getting a bit peckish and our guidebook mentioned an enticing salad at a nearby cafe so we went to check it out. Unfortunately that wasn't on the lunch menu so we opted for a couple falafels from a market vendor instead. The falafel stand guy was nice and seemed interested when he heard we were from Oregon. It turned out he knew some people from Portland and had spent some time traveling around the United States.
While we ate our falafels we walked to the last site Haarlem had to offer us, a large wooden windmill known as Molen de Adriaan. It was a nice walk along the canal and an pretty impressive looking windmill, but we were too cheap to pay the admission just to go inside. After we had had our fill we headed back to the station and caught the next train back to Amsterdam.
We were both a bit footsore, but before I let Kat go back to the apartment I took her to one last Saturday market at Nieuwmarkt by De Waag. It was a long shot, but we still did not find any scarves or artwork to our liking. Admitting defeat we picked up a baguette to have along with our wine and cheese back at the room.
When we got back one of our hosts was in the kitchen so I asked to borrow a knife and cutting board for our room which she was more than happy to supply. What I failed to tell her was that I had come down the previous evening searching for a cheese knife and only been able to find a small butter knife in one of the cabinets in the breakfast nook. As I passed by the breakfast nook on my way up to the room I noticed our hosts had gotten out their serving wear and one small butter knife was conspicuously missing. I quickly went up stairs, made sure the knife was clean and dry, and then sneaked back downstairs and slipped it back in with the others. Crisis averted!
I prepared a plate of bread and cheeses with wine for us back in the room while we watched the Winter Olympics and rested from our busy day. When it got later I went back out only long enough to get some takeaway at a place called Wok to Walk that had made to order stir fry, while Kat curled up with a blanket on the couch and watched some Downton Abbey. We had our stir-fries and watched TV and had a nice quiet night.
We spent about an hour wandering through the multi-floored museum while I read excerpts from Rick Steves' guidebook about the exhibit. Then we grabbed dinner at a nearby pub which was packed, but we managed to steal a table just a family was preparing to leave. Afterward we took a pleasant evening stroll through the Vondelpark which led us back to Liedseplein past the Stadsschouwburg Theater. The square seemed to be hopping with a party-like vibe. We weren't much in a partying mood however so we made our way back to our room to watch some Netflix and drink hot chocolate before turning in for bed.
It was a bit cold in our attic room during the night, but only because we failed to turn on the heater properly. There were also some intermittent sirens and construction sounds that woke us up, but we other than that we had a pleasant night. We asked for breakfast to be served at 9am so we set an alarm to make sure we were up in time. Breakfast was served in the cute little dining area we had to pass through on our way to our room. When we got down stairs it was already set with four place settings and freshly squeezed orange juice. One of our hosts was there ready to take our order and ask how we took our eggs, if we wanted bacon, and whether we would like tea or coffee. There were also fresh croissants, fruits, and cheeses to snack on. It was all very nice and we felt spoiled.
During breakfast the only other resident at the B&B joined us who turned out to be an American from Philadelphia currently working in Germany and taking a short holiday. We had a very nice conversation about travel in general and we were able to even give him some tips on how to spend his limited time in Amsterdam since we had already made the most of ours. Our host joined the conversation as well and was more than happy to point us in the right direction when we asked about Saturday markets.
Our plan for the day was to find some Saturday markets and then maybe take a train trip to Haarlem. The first stop was Noordermarkt in the Jordaan where we found just what we were looking for: an open-air market selling a little bit of everything. We hoped to maybe find some fashion scarves and maybe an interesting piece of art to add to our growing collections. All we found were some cat toys and a warm stroopwafel, but we were happy with our purchases.
After taking our time we headed to the train station to take a short trip to nearby Haarlem, but not before stopping by the Chocolate Co. and getting a couple more hotchocspoons. We had no problem getting our tickets and finding our train since there were so many trains and times to choose from. The train ride was short but pleasant especially with landmarks pointed out by our guidebook along the way. We arrived at the Haarlem train station which we were frequently reminded was the oldest train station in the Netherlands. It was very stylish and I took lots of pictures because I thought Dad might enjoy it as much I did.
We started exploring Haarlem by taking a stroll through a nearby park and taking some time to appreciate the Hannie Schaft monument. Then we took a circuitous route to the main square, Grote Markt, near Grote Kerk. Our luck was with us because there was another Saturday market going on in the middle of the square. Kat stopped long enough get a free hug from a guy giving our free hugs who looked pretty sad that no one wanted any. We kept our eyes peeled for scarves and art but didn't find anything suitable.
Rick Steves suggested checking out the church so we paid the small admission and went in, if nothing else to use the bathrooms at least. Actually we quite admired the beautifully patterned wooden ceiling and the massive pipe organ. After paying our respects at the church we figured it was time to balance things out and go visit Haarlem's tiny red light district. It wasn't very busy at 1 in the afternoon however, although I did enjoy the fancy red tinted old-fashioned lanterns lining the streets.
We found yet another Saturday market going on at Botermarkt, but still no scarves or art of any interest. We were getting a bit peckish and our guidebook mentioned an enticing salad at a nearby cafe so we went to check it out. Unfortunately that wasn't on the lunch menu so we opted for a couple falafels from a market vendor instead. The falafel stand guy was nice and seemed interested when he heard we were from Oregon. It turned out he knew some people from Portland and had spent some time traveling around the United States.
While we ate our falafels we walked to the last site Haarlem had to offer us, a large wooden windmill known as Molen de Adriaan. It was a nice walk along the canal and an pretty impressive looking windmill, but we were too cheap to pay the admission just to go inside. After we had had our fill we headed back to the station and caught the next train back to Amsterdam.
We were both a bit footsore, but before I let Kat go back to the apartment I took her to one last Saturday market at Nieuwmarkt by De Waag. It was a long shot, but we still did not find any scarves or artwork to our liking. Admitting defeat we picked up a baguette to have along with our wine and cheese back at the room.
When we got back one of our hosts was in the kitchen so I asked to borrow a knife and cutting board for our room which she was more than happy to supply. What I failed to tell her was that I had come down the previous evening searching for a cheese knife and only been able to find a small butter knife in one of the cabinets in the breakfast nook. As I passed by the breakfast nook on my way up to the room I noticed our hosts had gotten out their serving wear and one small butter knife was conspicuously missing. I quickly went up stairs, made sure the knife was clean and dry, and then sneaked back downstairs and slipped it back in with the others. Crisis averted!
I prepared a plate of bread and cheeses with wine for us back in the room while we watched the Winter Olympics and rested from our busy day. When it got later I went back out only long enough to get some takeaway at a place called Wok to Walk that had made to order stir fry, while Kat curled up with a blanket on the couch and watched some Downton Abbey. We had our stir-fries and watched TV and had a nice quiet night.
Friday, February 16, 2018
Day Trips and the Jordaan, Feb 15-16 2018
The next day was forecasted to be overcast and rain, so we figured it would be a perfect day to take a day trip into Waterland along the coast and North of Amsterdam. It was a very convenient walk to Centraal station to catch a bus, but first we stopped by our new favorite hot chocolate shop where I got one with cinnamon and Kat picked Irish cream. We stopped by the information desk to straighten us out when we couldn't determine where to buy our bus tickets. He gave us vague directions to the opposite side of the station, where we eventually found the desk to buy our all day bus tickets to Edam, Volendam, and Marken.
Our first stop was in Edam, a town known for producing delicious cheeses. It was a charming place that reminded me of Cesky Krumlov with its narrow lanes and bridges connecting the main square with the rest of the town. We took in the sites it had to offer including a church with herons nesting nearby and the quaint cheese shops but unfortunately we missed the open air cheese market which typically happens on Fridays. We stopped at the Hotel de Fortuna & Restaurant for lunch where I had a ham and cheese sandwich and Kat ordered the lunch special which included a selection of small sandwiches and a mustard soup, which turned out to have little bits of salmon in it that she fished out and fed to me.
After lunch we hopped back on the bus to our next stop, Volendam, a seaside town with a touristy waterfront district. The museum was closed during our visit but we enjoyed a short stroll along the waterfront and sampled a waffle and stroopwafel while we awaited the ferry to Marken.
It was about a half hour ferry ride across the sea to the island fishing village of Marken. There wasn't much to see there, but we opted to take the long walk out to a lighthouse on a narrow strip of land. The countryside along the way was very picturesque and we passed by a huge flock of ducks or geese along the way. Unfortunately we couldn't get all the way out to the lighthouse since it was private property but we got as close as we could and I took a few pictures.
On the walk back we passed by the birds again and suddenly they decided to launch into the air. I was dumbstruck by the magical moment even if part of me was worried they would poop on my head. We completed our walk back to the Marken bus station and then took the bus back to Amsterdam Centraal Station.
I was getting tired from our full day and long walk by the time we got back to Amsterdam so we opted to head straight to dinner before turning in for the night. We chose Cafe Restaurant de Reiger in the Jordaan neighborhood, a suggestion from the Rick Steves guide. Kat had just mentioned that she was missing our cats back home so it was kismet when we arrived and there was a cat lounging in the window. We grabbed a seat nearby and the owners introduced us to their cat, Binky, who they said had been missing for the last couple weeks and had recently returned. He seemed very calm and comfortable so Kat got a chance to pet him while we waited for our dinners. We shared some onion soup and I ordered Dutch mussels and fries while Kat had some pesto rotolo with purple carrots with wine. Everything was great.
We returned to the room and turned in early that night. Unfortunately we had some noisy neighbors that night with a child that seemed to scream at random intervals which interrupted our rest. They woke us up again early in the morning as they left their room. It sounded like at least 8 people speaking Chinese at once with no concept of volume control.
By the next morning it was time to checkout from our room at the Ibis and find our B&B. Since we had our heavy packs with us I was focused on finding our room while Kat kept wanting to stop and look at things along the way. Sometimes on these trips I have to remind myself to stop and enjoy the scenery rather than being focused on the next destination. Thankfully it wasn't too long of a hike to Herengracht 21, our B&B for the next couple days.
The entrance to the place was sub-grade and I had some difficulty figuring out how to get inside since the door was locked and the buzzer wasn't labeled correctly. Our host spotted us, thankfully, and let us in. Contrasting with the Ibis hotel, Herengracht 21 was simply dripping with charm. A spiraling staircase took us up to a cute apartment with a roomy sitting room and another stairway led to a loft with a bedroom and tiny bathroom and shower hidden behind closet doors. I was pleased to see it had a heated drying rack so we could do some laundry during our stay.
We dropped off our bags, paid for the room, and then headed back out to find some dutch pancakes. Our first option turned out to be too busy so we headed around the corner to place run by some Indian immigrants, which turned out to be just as tasty. Next we backtracked to Dam Square to began another one of Rick Steves' audio tours focusing on the Jordaan neighborhood.
The tour led us back to the Jordaan, through Big Head Square, past Westerkerk, and by the very busy Anne Frank House, which still didn't have any tickets available to us. We stopped long enough for me to try a raw herring treat, smothered in onions and pickles. Kat opted for some fries instead. Soon we finished our tour and decided to stop by a grocery store to pick up a few beers, some wine, a cheese plate, and some milk for hot chocolate back at the apartment. We took a break at the room and shared a couple beers, ate some cheese, and watched some figure skating. The beers were surprisingly strong!
Our first stop was in Edam, a town known for producing delicious cheeses. It was a charming place that reminded me of Cesky Krumlov with its narrow lanes and bridges connecting the main square with the rest of the town. We took in the sites it had to offer including a church with herons nesting nearby and the quaint cheese shops but unfortunately we missed the open air cheese market which typically happens on Fridays. We stopped at the Hotel de Fortuna & Restaurant for lunch where I had a ham and cheese sandwich and Kat ordered the lunch special which included a selection of small sandwiches and a mustard soup, which turned out to have little bits of salmon in it that she fished out and fed to me.
After lunch we hopped back on the bus to our next stop, Volendam, a seaside town with a touristy waterfront district. The museum was closed during our visit but we enjoyed a short stroll along the waterfront and sampled a waffle and stroopwafel while we awaited the ferry to Marken.
It was about a half hour ferry ride across the sea to the island fishing village of Marken. There wasn't much to see there, but we opted to take the long walk out to a lighthouse on a narrow strip of land. The countryside along the way was very picturesque and we passed by a huge flock of ducks or geese along the way. Unfortunately we couldn't get all the way out to the lighthouse since it was private property but we got as close as we could and I took a few pictures.
On the walk back we passed by the birds again and suddenly they decided to launch into the air. I was dumbstruck by the magical moment even if part of me was worried they would poop on my head. We completed our walk back to the Marken bus station and then took the bus back to Amsterdam Centraal Station.
I was getting tired from our full day and long walk by the time we got back to Amsterdam so we opted to head straight to dinner before turning in for the night. We chose Cafe Restaurant de Reiger in the Jordaan neighborhood, a suggestion from the Rick Steves guide. Kat had just mentioned that she was missing our cats back home so it was kismet when we arrived and there was a cat lounging in the window. We grabbed a seat nearby and the owners introduced us to their cat, Binky, who they said had been missing for the last couple weeks and had recently returned. He seemed very calm and comfortable so Kat got a chance to pet him while we waited for our dinners. We shared some onion soup and I ordered Dutch mussels and fries while Kat had some pesto rotolo with purple carrots with wine. Everything was great.
We returned to the room and turned in early that night. Unfortunately we had some noisy neighbors that night with a child that seemed to scream at random intervals which interrupted our rest. They woke us up again early in the morning as they left their room. It sounded like at least 8 people speaking Chinese at once with no concept of volume control.
By the next morning it was time to checkout from our room at the Ibis and find our B&B. Since we had our heavy packs with us I was focused on finding our room while Kat kept wanting to stop and look at things along the way. Sometimes on these trips I have to remind myself to stop and enjoy the scenery rather than being focused on the next destination. Thankfully it wasn't too long of a hike to Herengracht 21, our B&B for the next couple days.
The entrance to the place was sub-grade and I had some difficulty figuring out how to get inside since the door was locked and the buzzer wasn't labeled correctly. Our host spotted us, thankfully, and let us in. Contrasting with the Ibis hotel, Herengracht 21 was simply dripping with charm. A spiraling staircase took us up to a cute apartment with a roomy sitting room and another stairway led to a loft with a bedroom and tiny bathroom and shower hidden behind closet doors. I was pleased to see it had a heated drying rack so we could do some laundry during our stay.
We dropped off our bags, paid for the room, and then headed back out to find some dutch pancakes. Our first option turned out to be too busy so we headed around the corner to place run by some Indian immigrants, which turned out to be just as tasty. Next we backtracked to Dam Square to began another one of Rick Steves' audio tours focusing on the Jordaan neighborhood.
The tour led us back to the Jordaan, through Big Head Square, past Westerkerk, and by the very busy Anne Frank House, which still didn't have any tickets available to us. We stopped long enough for me to try a raw herring treat, smothered in onions and pickles. Kat opted for some fries instead. Soon we finished our tour and decided to stop by a grocery store to pick up a few beers, some wine, a cheese plate, and some milk for hot chocolate back at the apartment. We took a break at the room and shared a couple beers, ate some cheese, and watched some figure skating. The beers were surprisingly strong!
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Amsterdam First Impressions, Feb 13-14 2018
We were up again by 3:30am to pack for Amsterdam and we had a quick breakfast of yogurt-like skyr, juice, and hot chocolate before heading to the bus stop for our prearranged 5am pickup. We stood out in the early morning cold with out big backpacks on until 10 minutes past our pickup time and then began to get worried so I called the bus company. They determined that a mistake had been made on their end and sent a shuttle straight out to get us so we made it to our 5:30 flybus to the airport. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 7:45, but on the ride over we got an update that it had been delayed until 8:20. Thankfully we had plenty of time until our next flight so it wasn't going to be a problem.
At the airport I stopped by the VAT refund desk and got some money back on the Icelandic sweater I had purchased, since the refund you a portion of the tax charged on souvenirs over a certain amount if you show them your receipts. Then we got our boarding passes printed out, went through security which was rather painless, and found our gate. While we waited I answered a tourist research survey.
The flight to Copenhagen was around 3 hours. We ate some of our packed snacks and watched a movie and I read a little bit of our Amsterdam guidebook to start preparing. We were flying through Copenhagen because it was the cheapest option. In fact the way we booked our flights was originally a round-trip ticket from Seattle to Copenhagen with a 5-day layover in Reykjavik. Then we booked a round-trip ticket to Amsterdam from Copenhagen, so our last 5 days will be back in Copenhagen before flying back through Reykjavik on the way home.
We had about a 3 hour layover in Copenhagen before our final flight so we found a spot at O'Leary's and had some overly-expensive bar snacks and some giant Carlsberg beers while we played Quiddler, a card game where you spell for points, and had a great time. The last flight was a couple of hours and we were seated in an emergency exit row so I got some extra leg-room which was nice. We arrived at Schiphol airport around 5:30pm. We were both getting a little tired at this point and our brains getting a bit fuzzy.
The weather cool but still much warmer than either Iceland or Denmark which was a welcome change. We still needed to get to Amsterdam so we bought one-way train tickets to Amsterdam Centraal station. It was only after we had descended onto the rail platforms and boarded a train that I realized we hadn't scanned our tickets at the scanners above and there was no way to scan them now. We rode the train for about 30 minutes, which seemed a bit long for our trip, before I realized we were going the wrong direction. In a panicked I grabbed our bags and we jumped off at the next stop and in my hurry I dropped my phone. It bounced off the platform, but luckily it did not drop onto the tracks and the screen was still intact.
We crossed the tracks and had to buy new one-way tickets back to the airport. This time I was sure to scan them. We only had to wait 15 minutes for the next train and then we were back on our way in the right direction. Back at the airport I made sure to scan out and then used our old original tickets to scan us back in. We were much more careful about finding the correct train the second time around. We got to Amsterdam Centraal around 7:30pm and we properly scanned our tickets on our way out of the station.
Our next destination was to find our hotel and drop off our bags. Thankfully the Ibis was adjacent to the train station. Just outside of the hotel was a multi-level bike parking area which was absolutely packed with bikes. The guidebook warned us to beware at all times of being run over by these silent killers. Bikes and scooters constantly zip along the narrow paths and have the right of way in Amsterdam.
We went inside our hotel and checked in. Rick Steves describes the Hotel Ibis as cheap and utterly charmless and he's absolutely right. The door doesn't open all the way because it connects with the foot of the bed, which reminded me immediately of the Lord Jim hostel near Earls Court in London that we had dubbed the Internet Hole since we only stayed there long enough to use the internet to find a better place to stay. We found tiny black hairs on the bedsheets and questionable stains on one of the chairs. I was disappointed that there wasn't a drying rack for towels and laundry. However the bed did turn out to be roomy and comfortable and you couldn't beat the location. Surprisingly it was rather quiet that first night and we both ended up getting a good night's sleep.
Although we were both tired we decided to go out and get some dinner before going to bed. We headed out on the main drag and I went in search of a not-so suspicious ATM. There are lots of independent ATM companies and most of the currency exchange places have ATMs, but the best rates are at the banks which were rather hard to locate. We wandered the canals and finally found a Rabobank over in the Jordaan neighborhood.
Armed with cash in hand we continued on until we reached La Perla, a popular pizzaria. It was busy that evening, but we still managed to get seated rather quickly at a shared table. We ordered two personal-sized pizzas and shared them along with some wine. After the prices in Iceland and Denmark we were pleasantly surprised at how comparatively cheap everything was. After a great meal we were feeling quite satisfied and wandered back along the beautifully lit canals to our room.
We got up late the next day and decided to do the first of many walking tours. I'd downloaded some audio-guides with the Rick Steves app on my phone, but we were going to have to share a single set of earbuds as we walked. Since it was Valentine's Day we thought it was appropriate. Before we started our first tour we stopped by the train station again and got a chai and a hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was neat because you got to pick out a chunk of chocolate from the display case with a ton of flavor options and then they plopped it in a cup and melted it with steamed milk. We definitely plan to go back there.
The city walk tour started at the Amsterdam Centraal train station. The exterior was very fancy and the interior had be completely renovated in a more modern style. Next we headed down the Damrak, which is one of the main drags downtown, and stopped at the very cool Sex Museum. It occupies two tall multi-storied narrow buildings connected by covered exterior staircases that seem to go every which way. The exhibits themselves were fun and interesting and it was actually less cheesy than I expected. I'd say it's well worth checking out.
After the Sex Museum we continued our walking tour to Dam Square, grabbed a tasty sandwich roll to share along the pedestrian mall along Kalverstraat, swung by the Amsterdam Museum, took in the view at the top of a slanty elevator at a mall, through an open-air flower market, and finished up all the way down at Leidplein Square.
It was still too early for dinner so we went in search of a drink and found a nice pub featuring 100 Danish beers. We got a pilsner and a glass of the local gin called jenever to share. The pub was near the place we were going to be staying for the final two nights in Amsterdam so we wandered over to check it out.
Kat had the brilliant idea that we should do some pot while we were in Amsterdam since it was everywhere and kind of one of the things to do so she searched her phone for a place to grab an edible, since we don't enjoy the smell or act of smoking. She found a place called Best Friends that supposedly had some good cupcakes so we headed there. The recommended dose was half a cupcake if you are a lightweight so we shared only a third between the two of us. It was enough to get mellow and not get much else which was just fine for us.
Now it was time to get some serious munchies so we headed to dinner at a recommended place called Kantil & de Tiger, an Indonesian restaurant. There are many Indonesian restaurants here because the Netherlands had colonies in Indonesia at one point in time. We ordered rejsttafel, a traditional Indonesian feast of small plates meant to be shared and stuffed ourselves.
After dinner we attempted to see Anne Frank's house back in the Jordaan district, but we had not made reservations and they were completely sold out for the rest of the month. Instead we wandered back downtown and grabbed some hot drinks before starting our next audio-tour, the Red Light District. I think it was a fitting tour to experience on Valentine's Day. It wasn't nearly as seedy or tacky as I had imagined it might be and we had a very nice evening stroll while window shopping. Soon our tour was over however and we took our own self-guided tour back to our room.
At the airport I stopped by the VAT refund desk and got some money back on the Icelandic sweater I had purchased, since the refund you a portion of the tax charged on souvenirs over a certain amount if you show them your receipts. Then we got our boarding passes printed out, went through security which was rather painless, and found our gate. While we waited I answered a tourist research survey.
The flight to Copenhagen was around 3 hours. We ate some of our packed snacks and watched a movie and I read a little bit of our Amsterdam guidebook to start preparing. We were flying through Copenhagen because it was the cheapest option. In fact the way we booked our flights was originally a round-trip ticket from Seattle to Copenhagen with a 5-day layover in Reykjavik. Then we booked a round-trip ticket to Amsterdam from Copenhagen, so our last 5 days will be back in Copenhagen before flying back through Reykjavik on the way home.
We had about a 3 hour layover in Copenhagen before our final flight so we found a spot at O'Leary's and had some overly-expensive bar snacks and some giant Carlsberg beers while we played Quiddler, a card game where you spell for points, and had a great time. The last flight was a couple of hours and we were seated in an emergency exit row so I got some extra leg-room which was nice. We arrived at Schiphol airport around 5:30pm. We were both getting a little tired at this point and our brains getting a bit fuzzy.
The weather cool but still much warmer than either Iceland or Denmark which was a welcome change. We still needed to get to Amsterdam so we bought one-way train tickets to Amsterdam Centraal station. It was only after we had descended onto the rail platforms and boarded a train that I realized we hadn't scanned our tickets at the scanners above and there was no way to scan them now. We rode the train for about 30 minutes, which seemed a bit long for our trip, before I realized we were going the wrong direction. In a panicked I grabbed our bags and we jumped off at the next stop and in my hurry I dropped my phone. It bounced off the platform, but luckily it did not drop onto the tracks and the screen was still intact.
We crossed the tracks and had to buy new one-way tickets back to the airport. This time I was sure to scan them. We only had to wait 15 minutes for the next train and then we were back on our way in the right direction. Back at the airport I made sure to scan out and then used our old original tickets to scan us back in. We were much more careful about finding the correct train the second time around. We got to Amsterdam Centraal around 7:30pm and we properly scanned our tickets on our way out of the station.
Our next destination was to find our hotel and drop off our bags. Thankfully the Ibis was adjacent to the train station. Just outside of the hotel was a multi-level bike parking area which was absolutely packed with bikes. The guidebook warned us to beware at all times of being run over by these silent killers. Bikes and scooters constantly zip along the narrow paths and have the right of way in Amsterdam.
We went inside our hotel and checked in. Rick Steves describes the Hotel Ibis as cheap and utterly charmless and he's absolutely right. The door doesn't open all the way because it connects with the foot of the bed, which reminded me immediately of the Lord Jim hostel near Earls Court in London that we had dubbed the Internet Hole since we only stayed there long enough to use the internet to find a better place to stay. We found tiny black hairs on the bedsheets and questionable stains on one of the chairs. I was disappointed that there wasn't a drying rack for towels and laundry. However the bed did turn out to be roomy and comfortable and you couldn't beat the location. Surprisingly it was rather quiet that first night and we both ended up getting a good night's sleep.
Although we were both tired we decided to go out and get some dinner before going to bed. We headed out on the main drag and I went in search of a not-so suspicious ATM. There are lots of independent ATM companies and most of the currency exchange places have ATMs, but the best rates are at the banks which were rather hard to locate. We wandered the canals and finally found a Rabobank over in the Jordaan neighborhood.
Armed with cash in hand we continued on until we reached La Perla, a popular pizzaria. It was busy that evening, but we still managed to get seated rather quickly at a shared table. We ordered two personal-sized pizzas and shared them along with some wine. After the prices in Iceland and Denmark we were pleasantly surprised at how comparatively cheap everything was. After a great meal we were feeling quite satisfied and wandered back along the beautifully lit canals to our room.
We got up late the next day and decided to do the first of many walking tours. I'd downloaded some audio-guides with the Rick Steves app on my phone, but we were going to have to share a single set of earbuds as we walked. Since it was Valentine's Day we thought it was appropriate. Before we started our first tour we stopped by the train station again and got a chai and a hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was neat because you got to pick out a chunk of chocolate from the display case with a ton of flavor options and then they plopped it in a cup and melted it with steamed milk. We definitely plan to go back there.
The city walk tour started at the Amsterdam Centraal train station. The exterior was very fancy and the interior had be completely renovated in a more modern style. Next we headed down the Damrak, which is one of the main drags downtown, and stopped at the very cool Sex Museum. It occupies two tall multi-storied narrow buildings connected by covered exterior staircases that seem to go every which way. The exhibits themselves were fun and interesting and it was actually less cheesy than I expected. I'd say it's well worth checking out.
After the Sex Museum we continued our walking tour to Dam Square, grabbed a tasty sandwich roll to share along the pedestrian mall along Kalverstraat, swung by the Amsterdam Museum, took in the view at the top of a slanty elevator at a mall, through an open-air flower market, and finished up all the way down at Leidplein Square.
It was still too early for dinner so we went in search of a drink and found a nice pub featuring 100 Danish beers. We got a pilsner and a glass of the local gin called jenever to share. The pub was near the place we were going to be staying for the final two nights in Amsterdam so we wandered over to check it out.
Kat had the brilliant idea that we should do some pot while we were in Amsterdam since it was everywhere and kind of one of the things to do so she searched her phone for a place to grab an edible, since we don't enjoy the smell or act of smoking. She found a place called Best Friends that supposedly had some good cupcakes so we headed there. The recommended dose was half a cupcake if you are a lightweight so we shared only a third between the two of us. It was enough to get mellow and not get much else which was just fine for us.
Now it was time to get some serious munchies so we headed to dinner at a recommended place called Kantil & de Tiger, an Indonesian restaurant. There are many Indonesian restaurants here because the Netherlands had colonies in Indonesia at one point in time. We ordered rejsttafel, a traditional Indonesian feast of small plates meant to be shared and stuffed ourselves.
After dinner we attempted to see Anne Frank's house back in the Jordaan district, but we had not made reservations and they were completely sold out for the rest of the month. Instead we wandered back downtown and grabbed some hot drinks before starting our next audio-tour, the Red Light District. I think it was a fitting tour to experience on Valentine's Day. It wasn't nearly as seedy or tacky as I had imagined it might be and we had a very nice evening stroll while window shopping. Soon our tour was over however and we took our own self-guided tour back to our room.
Monday, February 12, 2018
Feb 12, 2018: Wrapping up Reykjavik
The weather cleared up by Monday morning so we had breakfast in the room again, packed new sandwiches, and then headed out to the bus stop by 9:30am to catch the shuttle to our Golden Circle tour. We were at the main bus station and on our tour bus by the time it headed out at 10:30am.
The drive was beautiful, the sun was out and the morning sky was clear and the scenery was stunning. I didn't want to miss a minute of it, but Kat hadn't slept well the night before as per her usual so she napped a bit on the way there and back. Our tour guide was an older gentleman, a retired physics teacher with a broken rib, who kept up a fairly constant and dry narrative that taught us everything we needed to know about Iceland's history, geology, horticulture, and socio-economical underpinnings. The time just flew by.
The first stop on our grand tour was Thingvellir National Park. It has a rich history as the birthplace of Icelandic nationhood and seemed to be a favorite of our guide in particular. It is also notable for being along the path of where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. Kat stood astride a narrow fissure with one foot on each of the two plates and I took her picture. The fissure quickly widens and becomes a narrow gully and then a massive cliff face looking out over an icy lake. It was breathtakingly beautiful but we only had a half-hour to spend there until we had to be back on the bus. It was far too short a stay.
Our second stop was Geysir hot spring area. The area was dotted with many small hot springs and was home to at least two major geysers. The oldest and most renowned, Old Geysir, had stopped erupting some time ago, but it was still impressive to look at. The smaller yet active geyser sprayed an impressive amount of steam into the air every few minutes. It smelled of egg-farts everywhere. We had about an hour to wander around before getting back on the bus so we took our time and ate most of our packed lunches at the cantina.
The last stop of the tour was at Gullfoss, or Golden Falls. I really didn't know what to expect and so my mind was blown when we finally got to the viewing area. It was massive and awe-inspiring. We walked along the overlook and I took way too many pictures, but none of them do it justice. There was a hugely long line for the stairs leading down to the base of the falls, which was hardly moving at all, so we did not get a chance to get any closer, which is a shame. We also learned while we were there that our Northern Lights tour for that evening had been canceled due to expected cloud cover so I was doubly disappointed. We decided we would just have to come back again some time and get another chance at both.
On the trip back we passed through some small communities that focused on greenhouse agriculture, many horse farms, and several Summer houses, one of which was own by our guide. We got back to the main bus station by 6pm and got a refund for our Northern Lights tour, since we would not be able to reschedule it. We didn't bother mentioning to the attendant that we'd gotten a discount on our booking when we were refunded the full amount.
Since we found ourselves ahead of the game we decided to splurge on dinner that night after we stopped briefly at the apartment. Our guidebook suggested the restaurant at the Borg Hotel for fine dining and an authentic Icelandic experience, but when we got there it had apparently changed ownership and now was called Jamie's and served Italian cuisine. That suited us just fine in any case and dinner turned out to be just fine.
After dinner we decided to go have soak at a nearby outdoor geothermic pool. Along the walk we wandered by a really neat looking cemetery and I stopped to take a few pics. Our soak in the pool was relaxing and just what we needed to bookend our stay in Reykjavik.
The drive was beautiful, the sun was out and the morning sky was clear and the scenery was stunning. I didn't want to miss a minute of it, but Kat hadn't slept well the night before as per her usual so she napped a bit on the way there and back. Our tour guide was an older gentleman, a retired physics teacher with a broken rib, who kept up a fairly constant and dry narrative that taught us everything we needed to know about Iceland's history, geology, horticulture, and socio-economical underpinnings. The time just flew by.
The first stop on our grand tour was Thingvellir National Park. It has a rich history as the birthplace of Icelandic nationhood and seemed to be a favorite of our guide in particular. It is also notable for being along the path of where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. Kat stood astride a narrow fissure with one foot on each of the two plates and I took her picture. The fissure quickly widens and becomes a narrow gully and then a massive cliff face looking out over an icy lake. It was breathtakingly beautiful but we only had a half-hour to spend there until we had to be back on the bus. It was far too short a stay.
Our second stop was Geysir hot spring area. The area was dotted with many small hot springs and was home to at least two major geysers. The oldest and most renowned, Old Geysir, had stopped erupting some time ago, but it was still impressive to look at. The smaller yet active geyser sprayed an impressive amount of steam into the air every few minutes. It smelled of egg-farts everywhere. We had about an hour to wander around before getting back on the bus so we took our time and ate most of our packed lunches at the cantina.
The last stop of the tour was at Gullfoss, or Golden Falls. I really didn't know what to expect and so my mind was blown when we finally got to the viewing area. It was massive and awe-inspiring. We walked along the overlook and I took way too many pictures, but none of them do it justice. There was a hugely long line for the stairs leading down to the base of the falls, which was hardly moving at all, so we did not get a chance to get any closer, which is a shame. We also learned while we were there that our Northern Lights tour for that evening had been canceled due to expected cloud cover so I was doubly disappointed. We decided we would just have to come back again some time and get another chance at both.
On the trip back we passed through some small communities that focused on greenhouse agriculture, many horse farms, and several Summer houses, one of which was own by our guide. We got back to the main bus station by 6pm and got a refund for our Northern Lights tour, since we would not be able to reschedule it. We didn't bother mentioning to the attendant that we'd gotten a discount on our booking when we were refunded the full amount.
Since we found ourselves ahead of the game we decided to splurge on dinner that night after we stopped briefly at the apartment. Our guidebook suggested the restaurant at the Borg Hotel for fine dining and an authentic Icelandic experience, but when we got there it had apparently changed ownership and now was called Jamie's and served Italian cuisine. That suited us just fine in any case and dinner turned out to be just fine.
After dinner we decided to go have soak at a nearby outdoor geothermic pool. Along the walk we wandered by a really neat looking cemetery and I stopped to take a few pics. Our soak in the pool was relaxing and just what we needed to bookend our stay in Reykjavik.
Sunday, February 11, 2018
Iceland, Reykjavik, Feb. 10-11 2018
For dinner Saturday night we decided to try out the only restaurant in our guidebook advertised as vegetarian, Glo. They had all kinds of wraps, salads, rice bowls, and other good stuff, plus you could add chicken to any of it. We both liked our meals and it was the most affordable meal we'd had yet so we decided we should probably come back for another meal before we left. Before heading back to the room we stopped a market to get supplies to make breakfast and pack a lunch for the next day. We also picked up milk and hot chocolate mix for a treat later.
Our golden circle tour was scheduled for the Sunday morning so we went to bed early. The weather was a bit stormy and we were concerned that our trip might get cancelled, but I hadn't received an email saying anything one way or the other so we just hoped for the best. The storm got worse overnight as we could hear the wind and snow pelting the windows. Neither of us slept very well that night.
I'd set my alarm early so we could have enough time to cook and pack lunches. Kat made eggs with toast and our purloined butter while I made a few peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the tour. After cleaning up we packed and headed to the bus stop to catch our shuttle. It was colder than the day before and still windy.
The shuttle arrived as we got to there, but as we were getting on the driver told us both our golden circle and northern lights tours had been cancelled due to inclement weather. I was upset I never got an email letting me know, but there wasn't anything I could do about it at the time so we rode the shuttle to the main bus station and rescheduled our tours for Monday, our last day in Iceland, to try again.
We walked back to the room because it turned out my camera needed to be recharged and I wanted to change out what I was carrying around in my backpack. Unfortunately when we arrived our room was being cleaned, because we thought we were going to be gone all day we'd put the "please clean" sign out. Not wanting to disturb the housekeeper we opted to go get a hot drink somewhere instead. Keep in mind it was still stormy out this whole time and we were bundled up in two jackets and all our warmest stuff.
We found a cafe that was open and tried to plan the rest of our day. We considered an escape room, but it was very expensive for just the two of us. In the end we took the tour company's suggestion and discount coupons to go see the much-hyped ice cave exhibit at the Perlan Museum in town. It didn't look too far on the map so we figured we could just walk there and hunt pokemon as we walked. Unfortunately my phone had been acting funny lately and would randomly shut itself down even with plenty of charge left. I was getting frustrated with it and I will probably need to get the battery replaced when we get back to the states.
Our walk to Perlan was quite a trek with biting wind blowing stinging snow into our faces the entire way. By the time we got there the wind was so strong it was blowing us sideways so we were glad to take shelter inside the museum. It was very busy, probably in part due to the cancelled tours, but also because several school groups seemed to be on field trips as well.
The main exhibit was a replica glacial ice cave preserved by keeping it very cold, about 14 degrees Fahrenheit. I had high hopes, but it turned out to be very small and slightly disappointing. It took us almost no time at all to explore the entire thing and the fake photo-op backgrounds really took me out of the experience. After wandering through the caves and spending some time with the slightly more interesting interactive panoramic maps display we decided we were done.
The weather had only gotten worse since we had been in the cave so there was no way we were going to walk back. Thankfully they offered a free shuttle service that would take us back to Harpa downtown, but we didn't know exactly what we were looking for at first because there were many vans, taxis, tour and school buses coming and going from the parking lot. People were huddling near the entrance but still getting pelted by snow and blown around by the strong winds. We stayed inside until it looked like people were moving toward the shuttle, but because we had hung back we missed out on seats for the first one. It was getting late now, I was hungry, and we didn't want to miss the next bus so we ate a couple of our packed sandwiches and stood outside to be the first on the bus. The next one came about a half hour later and we pushed and shoved our way on board.
It was a short ride back to Harpa, but it was still quite windy out. We both needed a drink and Kat wanted something warm to eat, maybe some soup, so we went looking for a soup place she thought she remembered seeing on one of our walks. I couldn't recall it, but we tromped up and down and around the streets in search of it to no avail. I still think she imagined it. We eventually gave up the search and opted for a pub instead, but the English and Irish pubs were both full to bursting with people watching football, who had had their flights cancelled or were otherwise snowed in. The only option left was the tacky-looking "American Bar". There were plenty of seats available there.
Kat got a Gull and I ordered a Guinness along with some nachos to share. The nachos were close but not quite right, as if someone had described nachos over the phone after having seen them once but never tasted them. The chips were triangular but definitely not tortilla chips and instead of salsa they were covered with something more like tomato paste from a can. In any case we ate it all and were happy to be out of the weather for awhile.
We were both pretty done for the day, even though it was early afternoon, and headed back to the apartment. The wind had died down a bit while we were at the bar so the walk back wasn't so bad. Once we got back I got in bed, watched a little of the Olympics on TV, and then took a long nap. I only woke up long enough for a light snack and to blog. Hopefully our trip doesn't get cancelled for tomorrow.
Our golden circle tour was scheduled for the Sunday morning so we went to bed early. The weather was a bit stormy and we were concerned that our trip might get cancelled, but I hadn't received an email saying anything one way or the other so we just hoped for the best. The storm got worse overnight as we could hear the wind and snow pelting the windows. Neither of us slept very well that night.
I'd set my alarm early so we could have enough time to cook and pack lunches. Kat made eggs with toast and our purloined butter while I made a few peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the tour. After cleaning up we packed and headed to the bus stop to catch our shuttle. It was colder than the day before and still windy.
The shuttle arrived as we got to there, but as we were getting on the driver told us both our golden circle and northern lights tours had been cancelled due to inclement weather. I was upset I never got an email letting me know, but there wasn't anything I could do about it at the time so we rode the shuttle to the main bus station and rescheduled our tours for Monday, our last day in Iceland, to try again.
We walked back to the room because it turned out my camera needed to be recharged and I wanted to change out what I was carrying around in my backpack. Unfortunately when we arrived our room was being cleaned, because we thought we were going to be gone all day we'd put the "please clean" sign out. Not wanting to disturb the housekeeper we opted to go get a hot drink somewhere instead. Keep in mind it was still stormy out this whole time and we were bundled up in two jackets and all our warmest stuff.
We found a cafe that was open and tried to plan the rest of our day. We considered an escape room, but it was very expensive for just the two of us. In the end we took the tour company's suggestion and discount coupons to go see the much-hyped ice cave exhibit at the Perlan Museum in town. It didn't look too far on the map so we figured we could just walk there and hunt pokemon as we walked. Unfortunately my phone had been acting funny lately and would randomly shut itself down even with plenty of charge left. I was getting frustrated with it and I will probably need to get the battery replaced when we get back to the states.
Our walk to Perlan was quite a trek with biting wind blowing stinging snow into our faces the entire way. By the time we got there the wind was so strong it was blowing us sideways so we were glad to take shelter inside the museum. It was very busy, probably in part due to the cancelled tours, but also because several school groups seemed to be on field trips as well.
The main exhibit was a replica glacial ice cave preserved by keeping it very cold, about 14 degrees Fahrenheit. I had high hopes, but it turned out to be very small and slightly disappointing. It took us almost no time at all to explore the entire thing and the fake photo-op backgrounds really took me out of the experience. After wandering through the caves and spending some time with the slightly more interesting interactive panoramic maps display we decided we were done.
The weather had only gotten worse since we had been in the cave so there was no way we were going to walk back. Thankfully they offered a free shuttle service that would take us back to Harpa downtown, but we didn't know exactly what we were looking for at first because there were many vans, taxis, tour and school buses coming and going from the parking lot. People were huddling near the entrance but still getting pelted by snow and blown around by the strong winds. We stayed inside until it looked like people were moving toward the shuttle, but because we had hung back we missed out on seats for the first one. It was getting late now, I was hungry, and we didn't want to miss the next bus so we ate a couple of our packed sandwiches and stood outside to be the first on the bus. The next one came about a half hour later and we pushed and shoved our way on board.
It was a short ride back to Harpa, but it was still quite windy out. We both needed a drink and Kat wanted something warm to eat, maybe some soup, so we went looking for a soup place she thought she remembered seeing on one of our walks. I couldn't recall it, but we tromped up and down and around the streets in search of it to no avail. I still think she imagined it. We eventually gave up the search and opted for a pub instead, but the English and Irish pubs were both full to bursting with people watching football, who had had their flights cancelled or were otherwise snowed in. The only option left was the tacky-looking "American Bar". There were plenty of seats available there.
Kat got a Gull and I ordered a Guinness along with some nachos to share. The nachos were close but not quite right, as if someone had described nachos over the phone after having seen them once but never tasted them. The chips were triangular but definitely not tortilla chips and instead of salsa they were covered with something more like tomato paste from a can. In any case we ate it all and were happy to be out of the weather for awhile.
We were both pretty done for the day, even though it was early afternoon, and headed back to the apartment. The wind had died down a bit while we were at the bar so the walk back wasn't so bad. Once we got back I got in bed, watched a little of the Olympics on TV, and then took a long nap. I only woke up long enough for a light snack and to blog. Hopefully our trip doesn't get cancelled for tomorrow.
Saturday, February 10, 2018
Reykjavik, Iceland, Feb. 9-10, 2018
Friday night we had dinner at the Isleski barinn (Icelandic bar) downtown. Despite the unassuming name it was quite nice and cozy. Kat had a barbecue chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries and a lager. I had a stout and some traditional fish stew, which was kind of like a cheesy shepherd's pie, and a plate of mixed meat bites including pieces of ram testicles, pickled whale, lamb, and various sausages. Kat tried the whale, but said it was too fishy. I shared the rest of my testicles with the two nice ladies at the table next to us. They shared some of their whale jerky and puffin meat with us. Kat didn't like the whale jerky any better than the pickled whale.
After dinner we wandered down the main drag again looking at some of the shops and did a little grocery shopping before calling it a night. We got to bed around 10pm and since we really didn't have much planned for the next day we slept in a bit. In the morning I showered and washed some of my underwear and socks. The hot water here is really hot and naturally heated by geothermic action but smells like egg farts. The cold water is mountain run-off and clean and delicious.
On Saturday the conditions were much more icy, windy, and cold so we bundled up in multiple layers of coats. We walked to Mokka for breakfast since the guidebook mentioned they had waffles. Kat wanted syrup but they only had jam and whipped cream for the waffles. We needed some butter for our toast at the apartment and we didn't want to pay $5 for a tub of it at the grocery store so I managed to score couple extra individually wrapped pads of butter from the cafe, ostensibly for our waffles although we packed them away in our bags and then shuttled them back to our room fridge. We were pretty proud of our frugality and considered becoming butter barons. Along the way we noticed several patches of yellow snow on the sidewalks, hopefully left by pet dogs and not people.
Our plan for the rest of the day was to do a bit more exploring, some shopping, and hit a couple of the museums. Along the way I stopped to take pictures of some of the cool graffiti wall art decorating many of the buildings. The first museum stop was at the Icelandic Phallological Museum, were we looked at preserved penises of all types of animals and even a human one. They had lots of interesting artwork and knick-knacks all within the same general theme.
Once we'd had our fill of penises we headed back toward the Old Harbor district to hit the Saga Museum. Along the way we stopped at The Nordic Store where I found a Icelandic wool sweater I liked and that wasn't too expensive. We pressed on through snow flurries and finally reached the Saga museum which consisted of a short series of dioramas inhabited with creepily life-like mannequins depicting the somewhat brutal history of Icelandic settlement. Kat listened to the audio tour while I took some dimly lit pics. At the end of the exhibit they had a dress-area with a couple of cheerful stuffed characters as scene setters. I got a pic of Kat wearing a big helmet and wielding a spear twice her size.
After our saga was complete I was feeling a bit peckish and we both wanted to sit with a beer so we went in search of something nearby and preferably not too expensive. Most of the fancy restaurants on the harbor were quite spendy, but we found a decent fish and chips place not very far from Ramen Momo. The fried fish and beer were just what I needed. Kat wasn't as hungry as I was so she just shared some of my fries.
Kat did a little research on her phone and located a flea market nearby that sounded interesting so we went to go check it out. We wandered around the market for a bit but resisted the urge to buy anything. There turned out to be some cheaper sweaters in a few of the stalls, but I was still happy with my earlier purchase.
Next we stopped by a grocery store and picked up some peanut butter and jelly with which to make sandwiches for our lunches on our excursion on Sunday, and some hot chocolate mix for later back at the apartment. We headed back to the room and settled in for a relaxing afternoon break with hot chocolate and nature shows on the tv as a storm began blowing outside.
After dinner we wandered down the main drag again looking at some of the shops and did a little grocery shopping before calling it a night. We got to bed around 10pm and since we really didn't have much planned for the next day we slept in a bit. In the morning I showered and washed some of my underwear and socks. The hot water here is really hot and naturally heated by geothermic action but smells like egg farts. The cold water is mountain run-off and clean and delicious.
On Saturday the conditions were much more icy, windy, and cold so we bundled up in multiple layers of coats. We walked to Mokka for breakfast since the guidebook mentioned they had waffles. Kat wanted syrup but they only had jam and whipped cream for the waffles. We needed some butter for our toast at the apartment and we didn't want to pay $5 for a tub of it at the grocery store so I managed to score couple extra individually wrapped pads of butter from the cafe, ostensibly for our waffles although we packed them away in our bags and then shuttled them back to our room fridge. We were pretty proud of our frugality and considered becoming butter barons. Along the way we noticed several patches of yellow snow on the sidewalks, hopefully left by pet dogs and not people.
Our plan for the rest of the day was to do a bit more exploring, some shopping, and hit a couple of the museums. Along the way I stopped to take pictures of some of the cool graffiti wall art decorating many of the buildings. The first museum stop was at the Icelandic Phallological Museum, were we looked at preserved penises of all types of animals and even a human one. They had lots of interesting artwork and knick-knacks all within the same general theme.
Once we'd had our fill of penises we headed back toward the Old Harbor district to hit the Saga Museum. Along the way we stopped at The Nordic Store where I found a Icelandic wool sweater I liked and that wasn't too expensive. We pressed on through snow flurries and finally reached the Saga museum which consisted of a short series of dioramas inhabited with creepily life-like mannequins depicting the somewhat brutal history of Icelandic settlement. Kat listened to the audio tour while I took some dimly lit pics. At the end of the exhibit they had a dress-area with a couple of cheerful stuffed characters as scene setters. I got a pic of Kat wearing a big helmet and wielding a spear twice her size.
After our saga was complete I was feeling a bit peckish and we both wanted to sit with a beer so we went in search of something nearby and preferably not too expensive. Most of the fancy restaurants on the harbor were quite spendy, but we found a decent fish and chips place not very far from Ramen Momo. The fried fish and beer were just what I needed. Kat wasn't as hungry as I was so she just shared some of my fries.
Kat did a little research on her phone and located a flea market nearby that sounded interesting so we went to go check it out. We wandered around the market for a bit but resisted the urge to buy anything. There turned out to be some cheaper sweaters in a few of the stalls, but I was still happy with my earlier purchase.
Next we stopped by a grocery store and picked up some peanut butter and jelly with which to make sandwiches for our lunches on our excursion on Sunday, and some hot chocolate mix for later back at the apartment. We headed back to the room and settled in for a relaxing afternoon break with hot chocolate and nature shows on the tv as a storm began blowing outside.
Friday, February 09, 2018
Reykjavik, Iceland, Feb. 7-9 2018
The flight went well and we were able to get a decent upgrade to economy plus so our seats were comfortable and we got a decent meal on the plane. We also got access to the lounge at SEA-TAC before the flight, which was nice. Since we had a long layover in Seattle we had a chance to leave the airport, take the light rail into town, and meet our friends Bob & Mandy for brunch at a bakery near University St.
It was a 7 hour flight and we left around 3:30pm. Despite the nice seats neither of us really slept on the way. We arrived at the Reykjavik airport around 6:30am local time and found our bus that would take us to the Blue Lagoon, which Kat had pre-reserved. We got there at opening time around 8am, so about 1am Oregon time. Sunrise wasn't due for another hour so we stored our backpacks, got showered and changed into our swimsuits and went out into the below freezing weather and took a dip in the hot springs. From time to time we were showered with hail as we soaked, but it didn't bother us too much. It was gloriously warm and beautiful and peaceful and quiet since it had just opened. We drifted around, put on mud and algae masks, had a smoothie, and just relaxed as we watched the sun rise. By 10:00 it was getting quite busy as more tour buses arrived. We really didn't have anything else planned for the day so we stayed until about 11 before getting out and finding a bus to take us back to Reykjavik.
We got back to the city by 1pm and we were fading fast and looking forward to finding our apartment and dropping off our heavy packs. Kat napped on the bus and I tried to stay awake to take in some of the scenery. As we were dropping people off at bus stops around town we were treated to a show as one woman got very upset at the bus driver for having seemingly lost her bags somewhere along the way. I'm not sure how it happened, but they ended up rendezvousing with another bus that supposedly had her bag and making the exchange. It delayed our arrival for quite some time.
Once we got off the bus and found our bags (thank goodness) we had a short hike to where we were going to stay, Castle House Luxury Apartments. Thankfully our room was ready and we were able to get the keys right away. It's a small studio apartment on the ground floor, but around a corner and away from the street. It's cozy and warm and the bed is comfortable. We dropped off our stuff and we were both very sleepy, but we decided we should go find some food before we crashed since we hadn't really eaten much since the meal on the plane.
We went for a short walk and found a main drag with lots of options and ended up at a gastropub and tapas bar where we shared a few interesting dishes including some puffin meat. Food and drink is very expensive here. After our late afternoon meal we dragged ourselves back to the room and were in bed by 6pm. We slept until 8 the next morning.
Friday morning we got ourselves up and out the door by 10am. The weather was cold and a bit windy, although the sun was peaking out from time to time as well. We had come prepared however and we were plenty warm in our new winter gear. We grabbed a quick breakfast of chocolate crepes and coffee & chai latte at Cafe Babalu on Skovalorthurstigur then wandered down to see Hallgrimskirkja. Then we wandered around checking out various shops filled with hand-knit sweaters and other souvenirs.
Eventually we ended up by the cultural center, Harpa, then wandered along the water to see the viking-ship like sculpture Sun Voyager, or Solfarith. Turning around we headed back toward Harpa and the Old Harbor district. I had read about a ramen shop in the area and wanted to go try it out so we went in search of it. We got there around 1pm and we were ready for warm bowl of soup and noodles. It was very tasty and the shopkeeper was friendly and fun to talk to as we sat at the counter eating. He was born in Tibet, lived in India and New Zealand for awhile and then moved to Iceland to help a friend run the shop.
Satisfied and full of noodles and gyoza we were ready to head back out into the cold and do a little more exploring. We followed the winding streets and Kat found a neighborhood cat to pet. We wandered through some small parks and past the Parliament building and looped back around to large duck pond that our apartment was located near. We decided to go ahead and book a couple of bus tours for the following days and to schedule our airport transportation while we were at it.
We followed a busy road to the main bus station where we were able to take care of everything. Before leaving we decided to grab a couple hot chocolates from the attached cafe for the walk back. They were spendy, tiny, and ultimately disappointing, but at least they were warm. After all the exploring we were ready for a short break so we headed back to the apartment where we could sit down and recover until it was time to go out for dinner.
It was a 7 hour flight and we left around 3:30pm. Despite the nice seats neither of us really slept on the way. We arrived at the Reykjavik airport around 6:30am local time and found our bus that would take us to the Blue Lagoon, which Kat had pre-reserved. We got there at opening time around 8am, so about 1am Oregon time. Sunrise wasn't due for another hour so we stored our backpacks, got showered and changed into our swimsuits and went out into the below freezing weather and took a dip in the hot springs. From time to time we were showered with hail as we soaked, but it didn't bother us too much. It was gloriously warm and beautiful and peaceful and quiet since it had just opened. We drifted around, put on mud and algae masks, had a smoothie, and just relaxed as we watched the sun rise. By 10:00 it was getting quite busy as more tour buses arrived. We really didn't have anything else planned for the day so we stayed until about 11 before getting out and finding a bus to take us back to Reykjavik.
We got back to the city by 1pm and we were fading fast and looking forward to finding our apartment and dropping off our heavy packs. Kat napped on the bus and I tried to stay awake to take in some of the scenery. As we were dropping people off at bus stops around town we were treated to a show as one woman got very upset at the bus driver for having seemingly lost her bags somewhere along the way. I'm not sure how it happened, but they ended up rendezvousing with another bus that supposedly had her bag and making the exchange. It delayed our arrival for quite some time.
Once we got off the bus and found our bags (thank goodness) we had a short hike to where we were going to stay, Castle House Luxury Apartments. Thankfully our room was ready and we were able to get the keys right away. It's a small studio apartment on the ground floor, but around a corner and away from the street. It's cozy and warm and the bed is comfortable. We dropped off our stuff and we were both very sleepy, but we decided we should go find some food before we crashed since we hadn't really eaten much since the meal on the plane.
We went for a short walk and found a main drag with lots of options and ended up at a gastropub and tapas bar where we shared a few interesting dishes including some puffin meat. Food and drink is very expensive here. After our late afternoon meal we dragged ourselves back to the room and were in bed by 6pm. We slept until 8 the next morning.
Friday morning we got ourselves up and out the door by 10am. The weather was cold and a bit windy, although the sun was peaking out from time to time as well. We had come prepared however and we were plenty warm in our new winter gear. We grabbed a quick breakfast of chocolate crepes and coffee & chai latte at Cafe Babalu on Skovalorthurstigur then wandered down to see Hallgrimskirkja. Then we wandered around checking out various shops filled with hand-knit sweaters and other souvenirs.
Eventually we ended up by the cultural center, Harpa, then wandered along the water to see the viking-ship like sculpture Sun Voyager, or Solfarith. Turning around we headed back toward Harpa and the Old Harbor district. I had read about a ramen shop in the area and wanted to go try it out so we went in search of it. We got there around 1pm and we were ready for warm bowl of soup and noodles. It was very tasty and the shopkeeper was friendly and fun to talk to as we sat at the counter eating. He was born in Tibet, lived in India and New Zealand for awhile and then moved to Iceland to help a friend run the shop.
Satisfied and full of noodles and gyoza we were ready to head back out into the cold and do a little more exploring. We followed the winding streets and Kat found a neighborhood cat to pet. We wandered through some small parks and past the Parliament building and looped back around to large duck pond that our apartment was located near. We decided to go ahead and book a couple of bus tours for the following days and to schedule our airport transportation while we were at it.
We followed a busy road to the main bus station where we were able to take care of everything. Before leaving we decided to grab a couple hot chocolates from the attached cafe for the walk back. They were spendy, tiny, and ultimately disappointing, but at least they were warm. After all the exploring we were ready for a short break so we headed back to the apartment where we could sit down and recover until it was time to go out for dinner.
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