Montag, 19. Oktober 2009
Dienstag, 13. Oktober 2009
Portland
This past weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving and Monday was a holiday. We decided it would be a nice long weekend to take the Amtrak Cascades south to Portland, Oregon. The train takes eight hours and it is a very scenic ride along the Northwest Coast and the Cascade Mountains. Seattle is about halfway and also Bellingham and Everett seam to be interesting places. For the direct train we had to be at the train station just after six in the morning and just about managed to do all the bureaucratic stuff and security checks before the train left at 6:40 am. We enjoyed the ride towards the border with all the bridges over the Fraser river and also the clear view of the coast was great. We saw shipwrecks, container ships and lots of fishermen.
Pearl District
Delicious Tuna at Bay 13
In Portland we walked to our hotel in bright sunshine, quickly refreshed and headed out again to check out the city. We took the Portland Streetcar which has a Fareless Square that covers most of the area that was interesting to us. The Portland Streetcar is the first new streetcar system in the US since World War II to use modern vehicles. They are similar to Swiss trams but were build in the Czech Republic and shipped to Portland complete.
Portland at night
In the Pearl District we explored the streets with old warehouses and industrial charme. We found a stylish seafood restaurant and I had some amazing tuna while Olaf went for the steak. We wandered around the Pearl District a little more and went to another cafe for coffee and dessert. It was getting cold and we still had some time to kill before the concert started, that we wanted to check out. The concert was alright but it was even more intersting to watch the Portland cultural scene and try some of Oregons microbrewed beers.
Indian Corn at the Farmers Market
On Saturday we alreday knew we would check out the Farmers market at the University since it was recommended to us by Kristi and Ben when they were in Portland two weeks before. After trying a few things we bought German style bread, rawmilk cheese and pesto for breakfst and some apples for a snack. We walked around some more, went to a crafts market at the waterf ront and when we were getting tired we went to Wordstock mexican restarant just across from the, a bookfair, and listed to some readings and discussions. For dinner we took another advice from Kristi and went to the Bailey's Taproom were you can have 20 different, changing constantly local beers from microbreweries. The torta and Enchilada were a good basis for the beer and the athmosphere was relaxed but vital.
Olaf in th City of books
Powell's books
An Sunday we met with an old "virtual" friend of Olaf, Claudia and her husband Stephen. She is German and has been living in Portland for ten years and plans to stay. We went for brunch and had a great time talking about all kinds of things even though we just met. They also showed us around the North West of Portland and 23rd street with its nice shops and cafés. We enjoyed staying at the Ace Hotel for the last night, a design hotel with each room different. Our room had a graffiti like slogan on the wall and a working record player with over ten records. We enjoyed listening to music instead of the TV and the restaurant next door served excellent past as well.
Our room at tha Ace Hotel
Monday morning we still had some time to walk around downtown and the Pearl district, went to Powell's books again and got ready for the long train ride. Unfortunately the ride back was really fatigable. We had a delay of almost an hour and when we were finally in Vancouver there was still a lot of waiting and the customs check, when all you want is go home. Riding the train in North America is really different than in Europe. There are people on the road waving or taking pictures, as if they had never seen a train before and the peole on the train also act like its their first train ride ever. The things we like about riding a train are that you can read and enjoy the landscape. European trains are much more quiet though, while the Amtrak Cascades is constantly squeaking and blowing the horn for cars and pedestrians to watch out at crossings. Also there is a lot of waiting at Signals when cargo trains is coming through and even the Skytrain is faster while riding through Vancouver. We chose the train because we don't like driving long distances and it was cheap but next time we will consider a different transportation. There is still a lot to do until we can confidently recommend others taking the Amtrak for such a long ride. I know, we are spoiled from the trains in Germany and Switzerland but now we can appreciate them much more agian.
Pearl District
Delicious Tuna at Bay 13
In Portland we walked to our hotel in bright sunshine, quickly refreshed and headed out again to check out the city. We took the Portland Streetcar which has a Fareless Square that covers most of the area that was interesting to us. The Portland Streetcar is the first new streetcar system in the US since World War II to use modern vehicles. They are similar to Swiss trams but were build in the Czech Republic and shipped to Portland complete.
Portland at night
In the Pearl District we explored the streets with old warehouses and industrial charme. We found a stylish seafood restaurant and I had some amazing tuna while Olaf went for the steak. We wandered around the Pearl District a little more and went to another cafe for coffee and dessert. It was getting cold and we still had some time to kill before the concert started, that we wanted to check out. The concert was alright but it was even more intersting to watch the Portland cultural scene and try some of Oregons microbrewed beers.
Indian Corn at the Farmers Market
On Saturday we alreday knew we would check out the Farmers market at the University since it was recommended to us by Kristi and Ben when they were in Portland two weeks before. After trying a few things we bought German style bread, rawmilk cheese and pesto for breakfst and some apples for a snack. We walked around some more, went to a crafts market at the waterf ront and when we were getting tired we went to Wordstock mexican restarant just across from the, a bookfair, and listed to some readings and discussions. For dinner we took another advice from Kristi and went to the Bailey's Taproom were you can have 20 different, changing constantly local beers from microbreweries. The torta and Enchilada were a good basis for the beer and the athmosphere was relaxed but vital.
Olaf in th City of books
Powell's books
An Sunday we met with an old "virtual" friend of Olaf, Claudia and her husband Stephen. She is German and has been living in Portland for ten years and plans to stay. We went for brunch and had a great time talking about all kinds of things even though we just met. They also showed us around the North West of Portland and 23rd street with its nice shops and cafés. We enjoyed staying at the Ace Hotel for the last night, a design hotel with each room different. Our room had a graffiti like slogan on the wall and a working record player with over ten records. We enjoyed listening to music instead of the TV and the restaurant next door served excellent past as well.
Our room at tha Ace Hotel
Monday morning we still had some time to walk around downtown and the Pearl district, went to Powell's books again and got ready for the long train ride. Unfortunately the ride back was really fatigable. We had a delay of almost an hour and when we were finally in Vancouver there was still a lot of waiting and the customs check, when all you want is go home. Riding the train in North America is really different than in Europe. There are people on the road waving or taking pictures, as if they had never seen a train before and the peole on the train also act like its their first train ride ever. The things we like about riding a train are that you can read and enjoy the landscape. European trains are much more quiet though, while the Amtrak Cascades is constantly squeaking and blowing the horn for cars and pedestrians to watch out at crossings. Also there is a lot of waiting at Signals when cargo trains is coming through and even the Skytrain is faster while riding through Vancouver. We chose the train because we don't like driving long distances and it was cheap but next time we will consider a different transportation. There is still a lot to do until we can confidently recommend others taking the Amtrak for such a long ride. I know, we are spoiled from the trains in Germany and Switzerland but now we can appreciate them much more agian.
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