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Sunday june 13'th

Today only one thing - with Quick Coach Lines to Seattle

Well - on the bus to Seattle a little more then 100 miles south from Vancouver. In Seattle I had booked a room at the Moore Hotel - a cheap hotel right in Downtown. Nice hotel -and again - room with a view - this time Elliott Bay

I spend the rest of this day finding how Seattle is working.

Laundry-time - Lonely Planet recommends a laundry close to the hotel called "sit-and-spin". I find it. Weird place. Laundry, Cafe and a gallery at the same shop. Going to the bar and ask for a packege of Tide is a bit unusual.

Sightseeing the rest of the day - among it Pioneer Square

The hotel is a bit strange. For instance the breakfast-restaurant is always closed when I arrive. I wonder if I sleep to much?. Well - nothing to do about that - instead I find one of the enormous amont of coffee-bars - this time called Tully's. Another franchise with great coffee and great bagels. I live close to Belltown, which is (or was) some kind of artist-quarter. They say that this was where Nirvana hanged around until they got famous. The garbage-cans is a bit weird as well.

After "breakfast" its time for another classic when visiting places. A visit to the local zoo - better known as Woodland Park Zoo. This one is just like such places - but I think its great fun - just annoying with all the kids hanging around.

After the zoo its time for a long walk around the nearby lake called Green Lake. Very nice place - but you feel a little strange just walking. Most people put something under their feet - skateboards, in-liners, rollerskates - whatever.

Im pretty activ today, so in the evening I take the monorail to Space Needle, which is a famous tower in Seattle.

Actually this tower fits good to Seattle as a high-tech city. Microsoft has got its headquarters around here, and there are plenty of computer-business around. Nintendo is also somewhere around here. And Amazon.com.

Wednesday june 16'th

Today I take the bus to Gasworks Park - a strange place build on an a ground where they used to produce gas. The old gaswork is still there - graffitti all over - and it looks almost ready for take-off.

There are very few people in the park this morning. One is flying a model-plane - and a young couple read poetry to each other - weird.

From Gasworks Park I go to a funny neighbourhood called Fremont. In the local tourist-guide they write.

"Fremont is sitting on top of a huge natural reservoir holding the largest proven beer reserves in the world"

In Freemont I find an Internet-cafe. I just have to check if my danish soccer-team AaB has won the championship. Actually Im on their internet-site in the same moment, as the last game finishes. We loose that one - but we won the championship the week before.

So in a very good mood I return to downtown, where I take the ferry to Bainbridge Island - mainly to see Seattle from Elliott Bay.

Not a lot of people on the bus - 6 in all - and the driver  - a former methodist-priest, now a tourist-guide. He is a good story-teller about the mountain and the park. He is especially happy to talk about climbing the mountain. About 10-15 people do it every day. Next year its time for the driver to try. By the way the mountain is 14.411 feet high.

As it offen happen in these small groups it getw very cozy. Especially a retired farmer from Ohio can keep the good spirit going with a number of questions and comments. That eventhough he is pretty hard to understand while he is always close to loosing his artificial teeth, everytime he says something. So it turns out to be a very funny day. The weather was absolutely fantastic- which means no clouds. So you could actually see the mountain!. And the clou of the day was when suddenly a wild bear was standing on the road   -not even the driver had experienced that before.

There is also an impressive "fishladder" used by the fish to get up into the lake.

Later I visit Seattles Broadway - very lively as well - and very alternative. You are very much "out" when you have no piercings and no tattoos.

Then another walk along the harbourfront of Seattle. Here you can buy all tourist-junk imaginable. The place doesnt get more charming by the fact that they have built a freeway on the 2'nd floor so to say - above the harbour - so you can hardly hear what you are thinking.

So instead of wasting my time here I take a bus to Washington Park Arboretum. A nice park beside Union Bay, and at the bay it almost looks like marshland. At least the pathways are very wet. You can almost walk on the water. Very charming spot - but again - a freeway on the 2.nd floor. Is anyone in this place thinking????

From here by bus back to downtown - when I find the bus. Bacause my busstop is closed because of roadwork - and when I finally find one where there are actually busses arriving - yes -then the bus take me in the wrong direction. Finally I change to one that will take me downtown.

Now and then you have to do something not typical for tourists. Why not go to the races??!. I take the local pony-expres (which is a bus) to Emerald Downs the local race-course. Unfortunately the weather is bad - light showers all day. But what the hell - its quite fun watching the horses with their small mexican jockeys on their backs.

You bet almost like in Denmark, so thats pretty easy to find out about. I win in the first race, so I think that I might finance the whole trip this afternoon. But of course - its the only win on that day.

If I have to be totally honest Im getting a little tired of playing a tourist. So today - no sights - just a stroll around town - a movie - The Presidents Daughtre (John Travolta - pretty boring). A little shopping, t-shirts, Starwars-lego etc, - a coffeebar - another coffeebar and so.....

Going back home today - and for the first time the legendary Seattle-fog from the morning (or almost morning that is).

I spent the day watching an IMAX-movie (where you feel you are almost there) of a local vulcano Mount St. Helens, which exploded some 20 years ago. And then the last cup of coffee at my local favourite-coffee-bar. Now they recognice me, and says nicely hello to you.

Get my luggage at the hotel, finds the bus to the airport. British Airways is on time - this time I was as well!. A boring flight to London Heathrow - a bus to Gatwick. Here I have to wait 6 hours for my Billund-plane. But Im in Gatwick before my schedule, so a very nice man in the check-in counter, gets me on an earlier flight to Billund (eventhough my discount-ticket doesnt allow flight-changes). So just a little shopping in the airport, before my Maersk-air flight to Billund leaves.

In Billund late afternoon (wednesday afternoon that is). Wait for no. 44, which takes me and my luggage back to my home in Vejle.

That's it folks....

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