Vancouver Canada

This summer I went on my first Alaska cruise. More on that cruise later but first I want talk about the day or so I had exploring Vancouver, Canada (British Columbia) – the starting point of the cruise. I have only been to Canada once before and that visit was to Montreal, so I am excited to see another part of this incredibly large country that I have put off visiting for way too long. Although Vancouver has much to offer in the form of natural resources I decided to keep this visit a city exploration since I plan of spending a week observing wildlife in Alaska.

The hotel we chose is further away from the action than I want in Metrotown but I soon see that it is very convenient to get to downtown Vancouver by the elevated train. I take it a few times during my stay. I am in Vancouver with some family members but they arrive later in the evening so my first evening is exploring on my own.

For my first evening I spend most of my time in Chinatown. It is a little rougher in this part of town but I generally feel safe. This is also the location of some good eateries and cute cafes. My first stop is the recommended Phnom Penh Restaurant, a Cambodian and Vietnamese restaurant. I knew arriving that there would probably be a wait since they don’t take reservations. I am told the wait is thirty to forty minutes and they take my phone number for when my table is ready. I wander around the neighborhood while I wait – it actually ends up being closer to sixty minutes and I would have stopped somewhere for a cocktail if I knew the wait would be that long.

I order too much food for one person because there are many things I want to try. Everything I ordered (butter beef, water spinach, chicken wings, moo moo shake) was good and I vow to come back to try more. What I really like is that even though it is awkward to dine alone, especially at a family style Asian restaurant, they seemed to be accommodating by letting me order smaller portions of some of the dishes. A little politeness goes a long way – I am used to being treated as second class in some countries as a solo diner but they did not (although I am certain I would have gotten a table faster if I had a bigger party since there weren’t many smaller tables).

Next stop is at Laowai for a cocktail. They have an interesting food menu that I would be taking advantage of if I hadn’t just eaten a large meal.

I have a reservation at a speakeasy nearby. I walk the neighborhood while I wait for my reservation time.

My last stop is at Bagheera, a speakeasy with an entrance themed like a horse betting window. This is once again another place with an interesting food menu, many of them Indian themed. I want to come back when I am hungry and try some of the menu items.

The next morning my cousin and I take the train into downtown Vancouver and then walk down to the ferries.

We take a ferry out to Granville Island for some snacks and to walk around. There are so many food choices here that I wish I scheduled more time in Vancouver to hang out here. In the summer there is live music and other events happening on Granville Island. Definitely visit their market if you are ever in town.

We also linger a bit to watch some geese and ducks.

We have a food tour scheduled this afternoon so we head to the Waterfront Station to meet up with our group.

We automatically have a connection to the tour guide who has the same name as my cousin’s sister who passed away many years go (I also was very close to this cousin who was six months younger than I). The guide is an actress but also holds many different roles, one of which is as a tour guide. We try a number of dishes around the downtown area and she tells us a little history of each location. While I didn’t love all the food choices (this tour might have been better in Chinatown) she did a good job overall. The tour at least was a good introduction to the city.

After our tour we take a break to have a drink and a view.

Our next adventure is to walk the sea wall down to Stanley Park. We enjoy nice views along the way as well as a seal but our legs and feet are tired. We pledge that we will at least continue on until the Totem poles but then allow ourselves to uber back to the hotel.

Stanley Park

There is so much more to see but we are exhausted and we have a cruise to catch tomorrow so early to bed!

Gdańsk

I’m on my way to the port city of Gdansk that is a the top of Poland near the Baltic Sea. Many come up to this part of Poland to enjoy the coastal life. Unfortunately even though it is May it is still too cold for beach weather.

My train ride here from Warsaw is only 3 hours but seat reservations in first class is the way to go. The train is busy. On this train there is a rude group of guys in the partition next to us. They unceremoniously kick out an older couple from their seats and because they don’t speak Polish they are endlessly mocked. The guys get louder and louder and soon they play very loud dance music the rest of the ride. They even catcall me at one moment when I am lining up for my stop. Honestly this is the first time I’ve encountered rude and inconsiderate Polish people during my entire travels here. Hopefully it is not a trend.

It is cold and wet again so once I get to my hotel room I don’t want to leave. I think all my travel exhaustion is catching up with me so I spend a couple hours napping. I eventually force myself out for dinner and a walk around town. Luckily the rain is just now a slight drizzle. Most of the surfaces here are stable but there are some slippery spots near my hotel and I am one of those people who can render the most slip-proof shoe useless. I walk carefully this evening. I have contemplated buying more secure shoes because mine are old.

I am excited because I am actually staying in a hotel where my rate includes early breakfast so I don’t have to wait around for coffee shops to open to get my coffee. The hotel room is a bit of a splurge, purchased with credit card points, with a wonderful view of the canals. It does get loud during the day with all the drawbridge alarms and moving sidewalks (for boat passing) but luckily it gets quiet in the evening.

The first night I find it really challenging to eat at places I originally planned due to long lines or being completely full for the night. I have a note to make reservations when I can for other nights. I do finally get an outdoor table at a pizza place because it has stopped raining and no one wants to sit in the cold.

In the morning I have a busy day of sightseeing so I am not feeling too bad about my early bedtime tonight.

More Copenhagen

It’s supposed to storm today so I am heading out early to the gloriously historic theme park of Copenhagen, Tivoli Gardens.

First I stop at the nearby food hall to try smorrebord and some fresh strawberries. We grow many strawberries where I live and I am embarrassed at what we call a strawberry; I believed I didn’t care for them much because ours are usually tasteless and a large size. This market’s strawberries are the opposite – bite size and full of sweet flavor. I am a fan. I buy a box of them to carry with me today.

Tivoli Gardens, the 19th century amusement park, feels like a walk in a Time Machine with all the splendor of times past. Although most rides and exhibits are actually high tech now, it gives you the feel like you are experiencing something from 150 years ago.

I buy a ticket to just enter the garden, which you can do, but there are also options for passes for rides. There is even an app to buy passes for individual rides if you wish to do so. It is probably more cost effective to buy a ride package but I didn’t really come to do all the rides so I just buy one ticket for one ride I want to try. I spend the rest of my time admiring the decor and eating all the things. I even do a little shopping. I stop at a restaurant on site for a beer and some white asparagus, one of my favorites lately. Not long after my lunch the clouds get thicker and I decide to start heading back to my hotel to wait out the storm.

Before I go back to my room I buy some snacks and gin cocktails to hunker down with. I am being warned about this upcoming storm by locals. I am from Florida and we know how to prepare for a storm (aka Land of Hurricanes) but turns out the storm is actually just a large amount of rain. My local friend tells me a storm like this is a big deal here because they aren’t a car centric city. Everyone has to try to get to their buses or trains or ride their bikes to places in this terrible weather. It is very disruptive. I use it as an excuse to call it a night early and try to see if I now like gin.

The next morning I finally get laundry done. The place close by doesn’t take credit cards but the one ten minutes away does. I start my load and then go out to enjoy a coffee and croissant. The lady who served me asked why I am out so early when it is obvious I am not a local. Yes I get up early no matter what time zone I am in; its my curse: sun is up and so am I. This will explain why I try really hard to go to bed early when I can. My wake time will not change no matter what time I go to bed.

After laundry I go back to Nyhavn to catch one of those canal boat tours, sitting in the back in the open even though it might rain again.. and it does. Luckily I remembered my jacket and it is only a light sprinkle. I get to see other parts of town I have yet to see and probably won’t due to time like Freetown Christiana (an independent hippie squatter part of the city). Today will be another short sightseeing day because I have bought tickets for a concert tonight.

After the boat tour I decide to eat all the foods I’ve had on my list. This leads inevitably to a tummy ache. I go back to my room to briefly recover when I get a message from friends of friends to meet them at a bar before the concert.

I am going to see one of my all time favorite bands tonight – Depeche Mode. When I am traveling I do check to see if any good bands will be in town while I am there and I always just miss bands. This time I am lucky and there are tickets available. After I purchase my seat though I notice I have a warning of it being a possible partially obstructed vision. Darn it! My local friend is going with some other friends. They have tickets in general admission. I avoid floor seats and general admission these days because I’m short and my views are usually very obstructed. It might have been fun to be down below with the crowd and dancing; no one but me is really dancing my section.

I never find the people I am supposed to meet at the Depeche Mode pre-party. I have never met them in person and it is hard to locate them based on the photos I see in the group chat. I decide to go ahead and head down toward the stadium because I have no idea how long it will take me to get there.

I eventually find my seat and the obstruction isn’t the best but I should still be able to enjoy the concert with it. Only unfortunate thing is I am in the center of the row so I need to monitor my fluid consumption. It will be a pain getting past all those people to go to the bathroom.

The show is everything I wanted it to be, the perfect mix of cool new stuff and fan favorites (the last time I saw DM they played majority new music). I am very happy I bought tickets to the show.

Depeche Mode

As expected it takes a while to get back with the crowds thick. However they have non-stop trains arriving to move the crowds out. Copenhagen knows how to plan! I end up sitting in the front and there is a cool view of the tunnels I never noticed before.

Time for bed since I am heading to Berlin tomorrow morning.

Copenhagen

I leave Ribe on a regional commuter train and switch trains at Bramming and somehow get a direct train to Copenhagen even though it seems like most have switches in Odense. I purchase an assigned seat but the train I am on does not have the car I am assigned to so I just grab a seat anywhere (we are on a two car train for some reason). Fortunately no one makes me get up for my entire journey. I have no train snacks because none of the stores are open before I leave in the morning.

My original plans had an overnight stop in Odense, the home of Hans Christian Andersen. Because I really dislike rushing through cities I cut out this stop and added time to Copenhagen instead. This gives me an excuse to return to Denmark.

I didn’t sleep well last night because of the party outside until late. Luckily I nap on the train ride.

It’s a 20 minute walk to my hotel so I grab a croissant sandwich and coffee for the journey. My room isn’t ready yet upon arrival which is probably good because I can see myself lazily lounging in my room until it is time to meet a friend later. I had originally planned to do laundry during this time as well but the weather is too beautiful to be inside. Hopefully I can make my clothes last a couple more days (sorry Copenhagen about my smell).

From my hotel walk towards what looks like the center of town. I end up on a busy shopping street. I notice truckloads of high school graduates in mobile parties like the ones I’ve seen in other towns. These are loud and more high tech though. One truck backs up into the square I am in and loads of kids come swarming, stripping off their clothes and bathing in a fountain. What fun! I will continue to see truck after truck of party goers the next few days (you can always hear them coming with the music and whistles).

There is a mermen statue underwater that I try to get a look at but the water is cloudy.

My friend reaches out. She is biking down and will meet me at a beer bar around the corner. We grab some beers and sit outside in the nice cool air and chat. It is very warm in the sun but in the shade the temperatures are perfect.

She takes me around town and shows me landmarks and gives me advice. We stop for a cider across the street from a Scientology building where there is a desk for L Ron Hubbard, if he ever comes back.

From there we share a BBQ plate at WarPigs, a Mikeller location that has American style BBQ. The BBQ pork rivals what I can get in the USA. The location is in the Meat Packing District which is basically an old meat packing district home now to many hangouts in its unassuming blue and white color buildings.

We go down by the water and enjoy the nice early evening. Danes are all about soaking up the sun. I am very lucky to be here this time of year with the sun constantly shining despite’s my annoyance that I will sometimes sweat here.

I finally check into my hotel and there is no AC as usual but I have a fan so I feel lucky. There is noise outside but I am so tired that I sleep well.

In the morning I head out early to get coffee. I am meeting my friend for brunch but not for a couple hours.

She suggests this very funky cafe Bankeråt around the corner from my hotel. There are lots of animal heads and other things…very strange. Brunch is the Danish style where you can choose a number of items from a list and they all come out in little containers (similar to what I did the other day in AArhus). It is like tapas for brunch.

She has errands to run so I wander around town by myself, first stopping to check out the food hall TorvehallerneKBH near my hotel. I am full now so I make a note to return.

This is a bike centric town so one has to make sure you are not actually walking in a bike lane. Bikers are pretty good at avoiding tourists but its always good to watch out for them.

I rent a bike and ride out to Superkillen park, a funky park in the Norroborro district that was designed to incorporate themes related to nearby immigrant groups.

I get on a bike again but this time starting my search for the popular little mermaid statue. I make a pit stop in a park and the happen upon some historic housing.

I find the genetically modified version of the little mermaid first, a modern art take on the historic character. There is also other weird sculptures in this area that looks like it is also a cruise port.

I eventually make it to the actual little mermaid and it is crowded with tour groups lining up to take pictures with the mermaid. I sit aside for a while thinking if I wait in out the crowds will die but they never do. I eventually get up and go snap some pictures myself, doing my best to avoid the crowds in my photos.

I continue on along the water to a waterside seafood restaurant where I get some fish and chips and a drink and watch the boats pass by. It is a beautiful day which I guess are rare here. I am very lucky because most of my days are beautiful.

I walk to Nyhavn district, the distinct beautiful view of the city with the colored buildings. I watch the drawbridge as the boats pass underneath.

I’ve been warned about the pricing of the area so I stop in a cute bar that is on the way back to my hotel to get a carrot cake themed whisky cocktail that is quite good.

Tomorrow I plan to check out the historic theme park Tivoli and try to beat the upcoming rain.

More Aarhus, open air museum

The next morning I walk down to Den Gamle By, an open air museum. I am really digging these open air museums lately. I love popping into a historic town and seeing how people lived. It’s voyarism at its best.

They must have built this entrance later because it seems they actually have us start now in present day instead of old times. I can tell later there was another entrance in the back of the complex. So basically I start in present day times, exploring stores and apartments set up on how people in Denmark live today. The apartments they show are pretty large. I move onto the 1950-1970’s stores and apartments. Finally its the early 1900’s and 1800’s.

I slowly glide through businesses and apartments from 1974 (the year I was born!). Again it is fun walking through apartments, one of a hippie commune, and wondering how life was like. There is an apartment that is set up like it houses Turkish immigrants and I learn how much labor had to be imported because they could not find native residents who could fill the employment needs.

At some point I end up in a museum, it is easy to get carried away here.

1800’s

I know I have missed something so I head back to see the 1970s gynecological office. Seems a little out of a horror movie. But things have surely gotten better, Right?

After Den Gamble By I travel over to Dokk1 which is basically a library. There is a very interesting art work here by the car park which is a city upside down. The car park itself is pretty cool. People park their car into available docks or elevators and I am assuming the car gets taken below. They then retrieve it later.

I later walk along the harbor a bit and then past a historic theater near my hotel.

I head to dinner, during this time I notice a bunch of white captain hats. A quick google tells me that those wearing them are recent graduates from high school and it is a Denmark tradition. Watching the graduates party seems to be a regular thing during the rest of my time in Denmark.

The next day I let myself rest a bit only leaving briefly to get coffee, where I get temporarily trapped by the rain. I am woken up by fireworks at 11:30 PM and loud birds in the early morning, a pattern that repeats the next night. Why I decided to not wear ear plugs when sleeping with an open window is beyond me. I eventually get my motivation and walk towards the water to explore one of the newer neighborhoods. I had originally planned to bike there as one blogger suggested but it isn’t a far walk. Sometimes I prefer walking so I can catch things along the way. Today is summer solstice so I’ll have plenty of sun to explore today.

Watching bike commuters while I’m trapped by rain.

I make it out to a Danish brunch and I’m a fan. The menu lists a bunch of choices and you can choose from a list of items to make your own breakfast combination.

I walk by rows and rows of boats. It is windy but the rain has stopped and the sun is out, I wonder why people are not out today. I know it is a week day but I always had the impression that Northern Europeans disappear from the office when they begin to see sunny days. I round the corner and see some sailboats. It seems like they are practicing tacking (I believe that is the word for turning around a water craft with a sail a term I only know because I had an ex determined to teach me how to wind surf).

I admire all the architecture. With all the windows I am able to slightly see into some apartments. I am very jealous of this lifestyle. Due to me not working and blowing all my money on travel I doubt I’ll be able to afford this lifestyle during my lifetime.

I walk past a row of wooden loft like houses. I can see completely inside and there are no curtains in sight (again with the large windows). It appears they can be rented out for stays. They are the definition of hygge. I have already decided that if I ever own a home again at least one room will be inspired by this.

I walk to another pier that seems to be the place for water sports. There is an area for swimming and a place to practice wake boarding. I watch for a while.

I had decided to head back toward the Latin quarter when I spot a dome in the distance on another pier. There are square foot gardens, wildflower patches and a cafe. The cafe seems to be occupied by a private meeting so I wander around for a bit instead.

It is here I decide to finally rent the bike, although my ride back is pretty short. I guess I could have taken it out for longer but it seems that it is going to rain again.

After a break in my room I head to a nice cafe. I am not impressed with my meal but the atmosphere is nice. I even get chilly and need to use my jacket. I have a cocktail at a local bar and then head to 7-eleven to get a water and some snacks. While in line a very intoxicated high school grad caresses my arm. He isn’t trying to be a jerk, he is just very drunk and friendly, even telling the older lady in line next to me that she is beautiful. It is a very weird interaction. I witness broken beer bottles and cups of half empty alcohol randomly placed around town. I am sure it is not always like this, is it?

Tomorrow I’m off to Ribe, Denmark’s oldest town.