Backup battery
I am on the balcony of my room at the Balestrand Hotell, trying to focus on what I’m typing. But I am distracted by the view of the Sognefjord in front of me.
-
-
If Rick Steves writes about this place…
Fredrikstad could be the next Cinque Terre. It is surprising to me, given his Norwegian heritage, that Rick Steves gives short shrift to this country. His Scandinavia guidebook includes Oslo, Bergen, and the fjord region, and that’s it. Fredrikstad is exactly the kind of place he likes to discover and reveal to Americans. It has…
-
Just like home
Yesterday in Oslo was like so many winter and spring and fall days in Seattle: grey and rainy. Fortunately I got most of my outdoor sightseeing done on Saturday, when it was beautiful (until late afternoon). So yesterday was a day to check out several Oslo museums.
-
Concertgebouw
I meant to blog about the concert I attended at the Concertgebouw last Thursday, but with all I’ve been busy doing, I somehow forgot. The concert was, in a word, sublime.
-
Out of practice
Last time I blogged I was in a completely different country where they speak a different language and use a different currency and where you didn’t have to say “It’s only money” every time you spent the equivalent of $5 for an ice cream cone. Since then I’ve gotten out of practice with blogging. Sorry.…
-
Danger! Museum saturation possible! Proceed with caution!
I think I knew I was biting off more than I could chew, but this is Amsterdam, home of some of the world’s greatest museums and rich with history. I actually only went to four museums, but it feels like it was much more. And it didn’t help that I never stopped to take a…
-
But what is the extra A for?
Today was my Haarlem day. It’s a short train ride to Haarlem, about 15 minutes. In fact, when I was first planning this trip, I was going to stay in Haarlem. It would have been a nice place to stay, I guess, pleasant to go back to after a day in Amsterdam. But I’m glad…
-
Being a tourist
I like to travel as a temporary local. I’m not big on tours, I hate walking around with my nose in a guidebook, and I like eating in restaurants that locals go to, not ones that cater largely to tourists. Staying in a apartment in a residential neighborhood far from the center, I can mostly…
-
Too much pressure, part two
Now I’m really paying for being too tired to blog last night, because I’m too tired to blog tonight, and I already had to blog about yesterday, and now if I don’t blog I’ll still be a day behind. So here it is: a brief summary of my excursion to Hoorn and Edam.
-
Too much pressure, part one
I missed blogging yesterday because I was too tired, and now I’m a day behind, and the pressure is too great, so this post will probably be boring. Plus I probably don’t remember everything that happened yesterday. All I know for sure is I went from Delft to Leiden to Amsterdam.
-
Ten things there is nothing better than
Here are some of the things that are making my visit to Delft and excursion to The Hague memorable:
-
Out of the frying pan…
… and into the freezer. Or so it seems tonight. The temperatures have dropped about 25 degrees Fahrenheit, from the upper 70s to the lower 50s, which, as those who know me are aware, is a good thing! And the forecast calls for chilly temps through next week. Rain is also in the forecast, but…
