Lofoten, Norge (Norway) Part II (Now with SNOW!)

Snowy time in the coolest archipelago in the world!

Caribbean of the Arctic. April 2022.

Nirvana in Henningsvær. April 2022.

Clouded.

Yellow Boat in a Storm.

Tropical Waters and Snow Storms.

Gulls chasing Fishing Boat to Church. April 2022.

Setting Sun Behind the Ridgeline. April 2022.

Dark Snow Clouds. April 2022.

Salted Dried Cod Production in Svolvær. April 2022.

Vågan Kirke, Outside of Svolvær. April 2022.

Frosted Tips Outside Svolvær. April 2022.

Fjord Near Narvik (Evenskjer, I Believe). April 2022.

Snowscape outside Björnliden, Sweden. April 2022.

Heart Cloud at Dusk. April 2022.

So I cheated, these last two are from the drive back into Sweden, just outside of Björnliden. But the sunset was beautiful and the snow was blowing around making a crazy mist so I had to post them. (Please don’t) sue me.

Koblenz and Castles

Welcome to Koblenz, a city in Southwest Germany:

Schloss Stolzenfels, one of the many castles that line the river valleys around Koblenz

Koblenz is located at the intersection of the Rhine and Moselle rivers and is surrounded by more castles than you can shake a stick at. After reading about some of the coolest castles in Western Germany, I figured Koblenz was a good place to start. Driving time was pretty short (about 2.5 hours from Utrecht) and the German borders had finally opened to Dutch tourists. After more than 3 months of quarantine, it was time for a relaxing (and responsible!) trip.

I looked for hotels with a nice view on one of the river banks and settled on the Mercure Hotel, a 4-star hotel on the Rhine River that checked all the boxes. As it turns out, they had just reopened a few days prior and had some good Coronavirus prevention strategies in place. Masks were required in the lobbies, elevators, and hallways, and rooms were left un-booked for several days between guest stays. Partly due to this and partly because of the type of room I had booked (City View ftw!) we ended up having the entire top floor to ourselves. There were beautiful views of the southern half of the city (including Schloss Stolzenfels in the distance) and the Rhine River.

Going into town that evening was an interesting experience. There were tons of people out and about, enjoying the night air. Many people had masks on, and they were required when entering any indoor area. Everything closed down around 22.30, with a pair of police officers politely going around the square and asking people to disperse. After picking out some to-go beverages, we walked on a nice boulevard that ran the length of the western bank of the Rhine and found a nice bench to people watch. A very solid evening.

Wandering through the old town the following day, it was time to seek out some breakfast (brunch actually. Wake-up calls are unnecessary when you’re on vacation and mornings are stupid). Eventually we landed at the Altstadt Hotel & Café (above) that had great outdoor seating on a beautiful square next to the Town Hall (below). Masks were required indoors again (a regulation throughout Germany) but once you sat down outside you are free to remove them in order to drink your massive “bowl” of coffee. And I mean massive. It required both hand to pick up and drink, and boy was it delicious. The sandwiches were no less delicious. Altstadt Café bakes their bread fresh, and the cream cheese/peppers/diced pepperoni panini daily special was exactly what I needed. 100 percent recommended.

Johannes-Müller-Denkmal, a monument from 1899 honoring Doctor Johannes Müller. It stands in front of Koblenz Town Hall and Citykirche.

The rest of the day was spent wandering the city, exploring on foot. Recommendations include:

  • Ludwig Museum and Basilica of St. Castor - Beautiful gardens and a beautiful church.

  • Memorial of German Unity/Deutsches Eck - People watching, river confluence, outdoor biergarten.

  • Weindorf Koblenz - Winery with an excellent traditional German menu (schnitzel AND POTATOES!)

  • Hauptfriedhof Koblenz - Hike into the hills surrounding Koblenz to see the main cemetery. Several WWI and WWII memorials and beautiful gardens.

Herz-Jesu-Kirche, a Catholic Church in Koblenz c.1903

Sunday: On to the castles! The goal was five castles in one day. Google Maps were created. The car was started. Here we go…

Burg Thurant, Alken, Germany. Vinerads lead down to the town of Alken and the Moselle River. Castle #4!

Pergola Garden, Schloss Stolzenfels, Koblenz, Deutschland.

Burg Lahneck, castle #2 on the whirlwind castle tour.

Burg Eltz. c.1157

Wrapping up with Burg Eltz (the castle that inspired the trip in the first place), it was time for dinner at Pizzeria Vulcana in the nearby town of Münstermaifeld. The outdoor seating provided a great view of Stiftskirche St. Martin und St. Severus. Great food with a great view!

Thanks for reading! Please Like or Comment below if you have questions.

Graffiti near Koblenz Stadtmitte, the main train station in Koblenz.

Genève, Suisse

Here are some pictures and words from a weekend trip to Geneva, about as far west as you can go in Switzerland (and surrounded on 3 and a half sides by France).

The former Collège de Genève, founded in 1559, and now Calvin Middle School.

Atop Cathédrale Saint-Pierre Genève. November 2019.

Geneva is a beautiful city, and one of the most expensive places I’ve ever been. When people tell you that Switzerland is expensive, that is not a joke at all. But the distant mountains are striking, and the water is crystal clear. We spent a Saturday wandering around the city (as usual). The landmark that really stands out is the St Pierre Cathedral. Since it’s up on a hill, you can see it from almost anywhere in the city. So of course I had to check it out.

St Pierre’s is easily one of the most accessible cathedrals I’ve visited. Not only can you tour the interior, but you can go up into the belfry, the “attic” and both towers. The views from the top were incredible. Even cooler, there is a rather extensive museum underneath the building. You can see tombs and the foundations of the various buildings that have existed in the same spot for almost two thousand years. It’s a “can’t miss” attraction.

View of Geneva to the South.

Dusk. Lake Geneva. November 2019.

All of this walking around obviously makes you hungry. Especially because Switzerland actually has hills (unlike a certain mostly-below-sea-level country we had flown in from…) Across the lake from the hotel Google led us to a fantastic Italian restaurant called “Da Paolo”. You should eat there. We ate at Da Paolo again the following day because there were so many things I wanted to try. Then we watched the sun dip below the buildings.

Guide Light in Lake Geneva.

Lake Geneva at Sunset, November 2019.

Day Two consisted of another walkabout. Morning coffee came from the insanely charming Cottage Cafe, right beside the Monument Brunswick. Literally placed in a tiny cottage in a peaceful park, this place turned out to be a great find. There weren’t very many cafes on the northeast shore of the lake and we almost settled for Starbuck’s (please no.) but walked up to the Cottage just before serious caffeine withdrawals set in and things got ugly. It’s been notoriously hard for me to find a big American-sized cup of coffee in Europe, but this place helped me out (and served with Swiss chocolate!).

I had two.

Other highlights included a walk down the Rhône River, visiting a beautiful ancient cemetery, checking out bridges and lochs, and a floating shopping center in the middle of the river (Da Paolo for lunch of course. Also, cemetery has too many “e’s”. One of them should definitely be an “a”.) On the southeast bank of Lake Geneva there was a playground made of bouncy recycled tire remnants. Swings made of tires, climbing rubber tire strands, and a tire swing held up by other strips of tire rubber. Kids be damned, swinging on bouncing swings on the shore of a clear lake is just as fun for adults. Also noteworthy was the nearby Villa la Grange, an extensive open park area with a central villa and an amphitheater.

Cathédrale Saint-Pierre Genève

Lac Léman (Lake Geneva). November 2019.

If you’re ever in eastern France and want to check out Switzerland, you could do far worse than Geneva. Coffee, Chocolate, Cathedrals. And Coffee.

Leiden, Nederland

Welcome to Leiden. I had been trying for over a month to coordinate a trip to Rotterdam and using my friend Carolien as a guide. We finally found a day on the weekend that we both had available and the weather was nice and decided that would be the day. But as you can see from the title of this post, we ended up in Leiden instead.

Hooglandse Kerk from Beschuitsheeg

There is a direct route from Utrecht to Rotterdam by train, but on the weekend we chose the way was shut due to maintenance on the tracks in Gouda. For no particular reason, we settled on Leiden. Leiden is a smallish city in The Netherlands northeast of The Hague.

Leiden is a very interesting city. The Hooglandse Church is built with a variety of different bricks, making for very appealing visuals. The nearby hill is topped by an old stone circular wall that offers excellent views of the city from all angles. We even stopped in an old record shop for a quick browse. If you are in need of a peaceful city with some amazing architecture, look no further than Leiden.

Hooglandse Kerk, Leiden. c.1377

On the Docks of the Herengracht. October, 2019

Haarlem, Nederland

Pick a number, end up in Haarlem.

With no plans for the weekend, I decided to hop on a train. Armed with my trusty OV-Chipkaart, I headed to the central station. I picked a track at random and boarded the next train. After passing through Amsterdam, I arrived in Haarlem and jumped off, my camera in tow.

Sint Bavo Kerk ("Saint Bavo Church") from the Grote Markt, Haarlem's Central Square.

A beautiful Dutch city, Haarlem sits about 20km (12.4mi) west of central Amsterdam. The only attraction I knew of in Haarlem was the large church in the middle of the old city. It was hard to miss. the church is tall and beautiful. Inside the spectacular organ was playing. The grote markt outside was bustling, and a very nice contrast to the towering old building.

After visiting the church and the market, I wandered around the canals. The buildings lining the canals are colorful and interesting. I even found a sailboat. After wandering for several hours, I finished the trip off with some bitterballen and a crazy strong smoked Russian Imperial Stout at the Jopen brewery on the west side of the old town (at the recommendation of my friend Carolien). A solid end to a random Saturday in the Netherlands.

Binnen Spaarne, Old Town Haarlem.

Hope you enjoyed this small tour of Haarlem.

Brugge, België

When I moved to Europe several months ago, I already had my first road trip in mind. Bruges. It’s in Belgium. Back in college, my roommates and I watched “In Bruges” basically on repeat for months on end. The Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson film is dark, hilarious, and endlessly quotable. In fact, my entire reason for my visit was to take a picture of the famous belfry and send it to my former roommate with the caption “Bruges is a shithole” (A line from the aforementioned film spoken by a pouty Colin Farrell). But it isn’t. Bruges is a beautiful city, a perfectly preserved medieval city center that feels like a living fairy tale.

The 116m high tower of Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk (Church of Our Lady). c.13th-15th century

I decided my first adventure after moving to Europe would be to visit Bruges. After making the sub 3-hour drive down from Utrecht, I checked into my room at the Grand Hotel Casselbergh in the heart of the old town. The Casselbergh itself is a wonder, and sits adjacent to “The Burg”, an historic square that features the Town Hall and The Church of the Holy Blood. Even better, the famous Belfry is just down the road. After dropping my bag I grabbed a quick dinner across the street at the Restaurant Diligence, a nice brown pub with a fine Belgian beer selection and a traditional Belgian menu.

After dinner, I headed to The Burg, planning to make my way through quickly on my way to the famous Markt where the Belfry stands. As I stepped into the square, I was greeted by an array of rainbow colored lights and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” filling the large open space. I had stumbled right into the middle of Benenwerk.

A Bruges Tripel and pre-dinner snack at Restaurant Diligence

A Bruges Tripel and pre-dinner snack at Restaurant Diligence

Benenwerk festival at Stadsbestuur Brugge (Bruges City Hall)

Benenwerk festival at Stadsbestuur Brugge (Bruges City Hall)

Benenwerk (roughly translated, “Leg Work”) is a yearly festival in Bruges where dance floors are built all across the old city with live music and DJs. 80’s music in The Burg, Disco by the Belfry, and even dance classes in the old Markt. It was amazing.

Benenwerk 2019 in Bruges, Belgium.

The next morning I went on a nice walk around the city. In general, I like to pick something interesting and walk towards it, stopping for anything interesting I may find along the way. When I’m hungry, I find food. When I’m thirsty, I find drink. This usually works out very well, but there are some exceptions. Climbing to the top of the Belfry required waiting in a long line. So it isn’t a perfect way to explore, but I enjoy it.

As with every medieval Western European city, there are plenty of beautiful buildings. Bruges also has plenty of canals, in the same vein of many of the Dutch cities I have since explored. It should be noted that Bruges is in West Flanders, a region of the Flemish portion of Belgium with deep Dutch roots (they speak Dutch as well).

Quick notes from the day of walking:

  • Sansveria Bagelsalon serves excellent brunch and coffee. I had a large, delicious breakfast bagel with bacon, egg, cheese and avocado. The bagel was ridiculously fresh and the coffee was great. It’s an easy walk from the middle of the old part of the city.

  • The Church of Our Lady is breathtaking. You can walk most of the way around it and the Bonifacious Bridge is right behind the church, crossing the canal. You can enjoy the shade and watch people cram onto the bridge for pictures.

  • The Markt is a must visit. Every building is interesting, including the Belfry.

Sint-Salvatorskathedraal Interior

The Obelisk in the middle of the Markt. The Belfry in the background.

All in all, Bruges was well worth a three hour drive and then some. I will visit again soon. Like or comment below if you have any questions.