Fun-sized: A Travel and Life Blog

10 (More) Days in Switzerland

I’ve been wanting to go back to Switzerland since I first went in 2019 and we finally made it happen this year with the relaxed COVID restrictions! We got caught up in the recent travel delays and had several airport sprints but everything turned out in the end. As of September 2022, there were no travel restrictions or extra paperwork for Americans either flying into Switzerland or back in to the US, though I did need to submit some information about where we were going to the airlines for contact tracing.

I’m not going to go into all of my travel tips for Switzerland (if you want a more in depth summary, I’d recommend my post from 2019) but my top recommendations are to buy a Swiss Travel Pass (they get you almost all transportation covered including lake boats and museum entry, except for most mountain tops) and to be aware that Switzerland has slightly different power outlets than most other European countries (hexagonal instead of round but the same prongs). You can find more information about what the Swiss Travel Pass does and doesn’t include on the My Swiss Alps site and this helpful Rick Steves post. Next time we travel, we’re going to try to bring a multi usb port so we have a lot of places to charge our electronics, since outlets in hostel rooms are sometimes very limited.

As a general trip overview, we ended up sleeping in Interlaken for all but one night in Zurich because I enjoyed the Bernese Oberland so much on my previous visit. We used Interlaken as our base to take trains to other parts of the country – which is feasible if you’re willing to take trains daily 2-4 hours one way but otherwise you might want to stay in other regions overnight. On our next visit, I think we’ll want to spend more time exploring the regions around Zermatt, Basel, and east of Zurich – but I don’t think you can argue that the Bernese Oberland is one of the most beautiful regions in Switzerland.

Day 1: Flying in to Zurich and Hiking Harder Kulm in Interlaken
Day 2: Hiking Klein Scheidegg in the Bernese Oberland
Day 3: Hiking Allmendhubel in the Bernese Oberland
Day 4: Exploring Lugano & Morcote
Day 5: Ballenberg, Swiss Open-Air Museum
Day 6: Exploring Basel & Bern
Day 7: Hiking Hohenweg Hohbalmen in Zermatt
Day 8: Exploring Lucerne
Day 9: Exploring Montreux – Chillon Castle & Wine Tasting
Day 10: Exploring Zurich

Edited image from the Nations Online Project; travel time via train from Interlaken are shown

Day 1: Flying in to Zurich and Hiking Hard Kulm in Interlaken

After nearly missing our connection in JFK due to some delays, we arrived in Zurich at 10:30AM and caught the 2 hour train to Interlaken. We were fortunately able to check in early to the hostel and get a bit settled before heading out to hike.

We stayed at Backpackers Villa Sonnenhof, which is where I stayed the last time I was in Interlaken and would highly recommend it. It has laundry for 4 CHF (roughly 4 USD) in the basement, extensive kitchens, included breakfasts, towels included, and 24/7 reception. There is not any soap included in the showers, so you’ll have to bring your own (we picked up some extra shower gel at one of the many Coop markets in Interlaken). Last time I stayed here I was in a shared room but this time we did a 2 person private room (just 10 CHF more per night) and it was LOVELY and included a mirror and sink in the room.

After getting settled, we did the 3 hour, 5 mile, 2380 ft elevation (round trip) hike up to Harder Kulm (which starts by the Interlaken Ost station) and grabbed few drinks at the top. I didn’t drink much in restaurants while I was here last but it was cheaper than I remembered and beers anywhere were usually between 5-7 CHF (5-7 USD). The hike is a difficult one and you don’t get much of a view until you reach the top, but it is spectacular. You can take the funicular up as well, but that’s not 100% included with the Swiss Travel Pass.

Day 2: Hiking Klein Scheidegg in the Bernese Oberland

The forecast for our trip had rain for all but the first few days, so we ended up front loading all of our hiking (we did ultimately get a bit lucky and do a lot of sunny weather chasing for the rest of our trip). Because of this, our first full day in Switzerland was hike #2, which my boyfriend said was his favorite our of all of our hikes.

The hike to Klein Scheidegg starts in Grindelwald near the Grindelwald Grund station (a 30 min train ride from Interlaken – make sure to pick the right station or you’ll just be wandering around Grindelwald for a while trying to find the trailhead) and ends in Wengen (also a 30 min train ride from Interlaken). We ended up doing an extra few miles to Lauterbrunnen to finish out the hike but the walk from Wengen to Lauterbrunnen is just steep switchbacks down a mountain with no view, so I’d recommend ending in Wengen as guide books normally recommend. All transportation to Grindelwald, Wengen, and Lauterbrunnen is covered by the Swiss Travel Pass and there is transportation up to Klein Scheidegg if you’re not looking to hike, but this is not covered by the Swiss Travel Pass.

The hike in total took us 8 hours (including a 1 hour break) and was 13 miles with 3800 ft of elevation gain, so it’s a tough one. Your main views are at Klein Scheidegg (unless you’re unfortunate and hiking on a cloudy day) but the rest of the hike is quite scenic with some flat stretches and you have a lot of walking through pastures listening to the quiet tinkling of cowbells, which is my favorite. Generally the signage along the trail is quite good and my only recommendations are taking the adventure trail route once you reach Klein Scheidegg and taking the slightly longer route closer to the cliff edge once you reach Wengeralp because otherwise you’re just walking along a kind of boring road instead of through the forest. You have several spots along the hike to stop and grab a bite or a drink, so definitely take advantage of at least one of them! Most of our hikes this trip were punctuated with a mid-hike beer or two.

Day 3: Hiking Allmendhubel in the Bernese Oberland

We took advantage of another nice day in this area to do the hike from Murren up to Allmendhubel and then down to Lauterbrunnen. I had also done this hike last time and this is probably one of my favorite hikes since it’s mostly downhill with only 500 ft of elevation gain. You get amazing payoff and views the whole day (and a lot of self-pay dairy fridges). The hike took us 6.5 hours (including a 1.5 hour break) and was 11 miles, so we were cruising with an average move speed of 2.2 mph.

The hike starts in Murren (travel up here is included in the Swiss Travel Pass and includes both a gondola lift and a cog wheel). Murren is an incredibly picturesque town far up in the alps and even if you weren’t hiking from here, I would highly recommend visiting for the views. You can travel up from Murren to Schilthorn, which I had done last time, but the travel up to this snowy mountain summit is now only 50% covered by the Swiss Travel Pass and it would have been a few hundred dollars for both of us to go up, so we passed on it.

You start the hike by following the signs from Murren up to Allmendhubel (a 30 min walk) and then come back down along the north face, which goes through an ultra beautiful mountaintop valley of Mirrenberg, which is one of my favorite views.

My favorite part of this hike is walking through Gimmelwald, which is a small town just below Murren. It has several self-serve dairy fridges where you put money in a tin for milk, cheese, sausages, and even fruit cake. I got some milk for 1 CHF and a very dense fig filled fruitcake that I nibbled on for the next few days. I also love grabbing a drink at Hotel Pension Gimmelwald, which is where you can find Schwarz Monch Schwarzbier, a super delicious Swiss black lager.

My second favorite part of the hike is walking along the Lauterbrunnen valley and 30 minutes from Lauterbrunnen you hit the last dairy fridge, which is a vending machine with goat milk products (I love the goat coffee milk).

Day 4: Exploring Lugano & Morcote

The weather forecast was grim through most of Switzerland on day 4, so we decided to make the 4 hour train ride (8 hour round trip) to Lugano. Lugano is in the Italian part of Switzerland and it really did feel when we popped out of the tunnel through the Alps as if we’d entered Italy. Lugano is in the Ticino region and one of the most prosperous cities in Switzerland. I had heard previously that if it was raining in the rest of Switzerland you could usually still find good weather in Lugano and that was certainly the case. Within the Ticino region, it seemed like Lugano was the best place to visit with Locarno being a close second. We did also consider stopping in Bellinzona (20 min by train from Lugano), which is known for 3 medieval hilltop castles but decided to pass since we had such a long train ride back.

We decided to take the lake boat to Morcote from Lugano once we got there. Morcote is 50 minutes from Lugano by boat (30 minutes by bus, once an hour) and has a lovely hillside church that dates back to the 10th century. It was voted most beautiful Swiss village of the year in 2016 (as we were reminded by everyone multiple times). It affords some really romantic views of the lake but expect to climb a lot of stairs! There is a route that seems to lead up to the castle from the church but doesn’t, so be warned! The castle is also only accessibly by appointment, so not something that’s easy to visit.

We didn’t end up going to Gandria but that was another town near Lugano we were thinking about going to. It’s a fishing village and has an olive tree path that’s supposed to be very beautiful. Gandria is also accessible from Lugano via boat and bus or is a 1-hour walk away (so very nearby).

Lugano itself was nice but didn’t have anything we really wanted to see, so we just wandered around for a while and I ended up buying shorts and a t-shirt from H&M because I had packed for cooler weather and it was hot.

Day 5: Ballenberg, Swiss Open-Air Museum

We were feeling a bit worn out by our 8 hours of train rides the day before so we stuck close to Interlaken on day 5 and took advantage of the museum pass portion of our Swiss Travel Pass to visit Ballenberg, the Swiss Open-Air Museum, which has more than 100 original Swiss buildings dating back to before the 13th century that have been moved onto the site. It took us about an hour to get to Ballenberg from Interlaken (both a train and a bus) and we spent about 6 hours at the museum, including grabbing a very tasty lunch at one of the restaurants inside the museum grounds.

The museum is divided up into different Swiss regions and they give you a helpful map to help navigate the grounds. Most of the buildings are farmhouses but there are themed areas (hair salons, hat making, apothecary) and activities (petting zoo, wood carving, rope making) with little farms and animals (including a lot of baby animals) throughout. It seemed like an amazing museum for children and we really enjoyed it!

After visiting the museum, we briefly went to Trauffer World of Experiences, which was a 10 minute walk away. We didn’t go into the exhibit but I did buy a few of the small wooden cows as presents before we headed back to Interlaken for a relaxing evening.

Day 6: Exploring Basel & Bern

The weather was OK in Bern and Basel today so we took the direct 2 hour train from Interlaken to Basel (through Bern), spent some time exploring Basel, and then took the 1 hour train to Bern.

In Basel, we walked around the Old Town area for a while (it was fine) and then ended up going to the Kunstmuseum Basel. The museum had an impressive collection including works from Degas, Dali, and Reinhardt and had an exhibition on Picasso and El Greco that explored how Picasso had been influenced by El Greco and showing some side-by-side comparisons. We ended up being a bit rushed near the end and nearly jogging through the last floor of the second building.

We took the train to Bern for the afternoon and unfortunately didn’t float down the river like I wanted to (next time we’ll bring a dry bag and do it!) but walked around the city taking in the sights. Bern continues to be my favorite city in Switzerland and just has such a modern, vibrant energy and reminds me a lot of Portland, Oregon.

We started off by going to the Menta Festival, an annual vegan festival near the main Bern train station. The festival had great food and we grabbed some pita wraps with vegan smoked salmon that were amazing. We also grabbed some beer and a mojito for me! The festival was located next to this very punk area with graffiti, skaters, and kids hanging out on old couches outside of a grungy building. I was in love.

From there, we wandered around the city, visiting the titular bears of Bern, going to the University’s botanical gardens, a rose garden, and along the river walk – before wrapping up with gelato from Gelateria Di Berna, where I grabbed the same amarena (cherry) and grapefruit flavors that I’d gotten previously. I got the small size and should have gotten a large (next time!) and the grapefruit was even better and fresher tasting than I remembered.

Day 7: Hiking Hohenweg Hohbalmen in Zermatt

This was our one guaranteed nice weather day in Zermatt, so we took advantage of it to do a long hike along the Hohenweg Hohbalmen to get some Matterhorn views! It took us 2.5 hours to take the train the Zermatt (3 legs) and the hike took us 8 hours in total (including a 1.5 hour break) and was 12 miles with 3,600 ft of elevation gain.

The trailhead is quite difficult to find at the start but you start by heading up to Hotel Edelweiss Zermatt (where you can stop and grab a drink), then up a rocky hillside next to a river, before heading to Trift where you can stop at Hotel Du Trift. This was one of my favorite stops last time as well as it’s so picturesque and everyone there was getting the apple pie/cake and the house-brewed iced tea (which contains fruit juice as well) so we grabbed those both and some beers for a nice long stop with a gorgeous view. This was one of our favorite parts of the day and even if you ended your hike here (which some folks do), it’s definitely worth the climb!

From here, you go up to Hohbalmen (a high alpine meadow) with fantastic panorama views of the mountains and then pop into a flatter part of the hike with views of the Matterhorn. This is one of my favorite parts of the hike and I can never get over how striking the mountain is.

After passing by a glacier on your right, you begin the long and somewhat bone-crunching process of climbing down off the mountain and into the valley.

We wanted to go back into Zermatt through Zmutt (a small medieval hamlet) and I was trying to replicate what I did last time but accidentally stayed on the left bank of the river instead of the right, so we added another 30 minutes of walking into the route and walked far above the dam instead of next to it. (I would recommend trying to stay on the right bank.)

We ended up leaving Zermatt shortly after getting back in but did stop at the Montbell store, which is one of the 4 Montbell stores not in Japan (apparently Montbell is a Japanese company, which I didn’t realize).

Day 8: Exploring Lucerne

My boyfriend wanted to get a dose of history in Lucerne (or Luzern, depending on whether you’re spelling it the French or German way) so we took the 2 hour train to Lucerne from Interlaken. We decided to take the boat to Vitznau (you don’t need to buy a ticket if you have the Swiss Rail Pass – you just walk onto the boat and then show your pass when they come by) and then the cogwheel up to Rigi Kulm like I did last time and didn’t add in the extra gondola portion to Weggis since that involves a little more walking and my boyfriend’s knee was acting up. This is, however, all included with the Swiss Travel Pass whatever route you take.

In total the trip from Lucerne, grabbing some lunch at one of the restaurants at the top of the mountain, and coming back Lucerne took us 5 hours, so I would plan on budgeting at least that much. The view from the top is literally mind boggling and doesn’t photograph that well since it’s so panoramic but you truly feel as if you’re at the top of the world.

When we returned to Lucerne, I walked along the city wall and climbed the towers, which affords some great views of Lucerne, and leads to the Lion of Lucerne – an impressively large monument to the Swiss Guards killed during the 1792 French Revolution carved directly into the sandstone quarry. The lion is next to the Glacier Garden of Lucerne – a rather odd museum reviewing in part the geological effects of glaciers, as well as some rather philosophical musings on the nature of man and a really trippy house of mirrors.

Day 9: Exploring Montreux – Chillon Castle & Wine Tasting

My boyfriend wanted to experience the French region of Switzerland and see some castles, so we headed to Montreux on the eastern edge of Lake Geneva. Very coincidentally, we ran into someone else from my boyfriend’s program in Ohio who was honeymooning in Switzerland and told us a harrowing story about a large hornet in their hotel room and how it’s illegal to kill hornets or bees in Switzerland and can result in thousands of francs in fines.

Montreux itself doesn’t have the most to do (though it does feel like the French Riviera – but with pebble beaches) but it is a 30 minute walk from Chillon Castle, which is touted as one of the most impressive castles in Switzerland and has entry covered by the Swiss Travel Pass.

We did a self-guided tour through Chillon Castle for several hours (and grabbed some food at the cafe just outside) and then caught the train to Lavaux Vinorama – a prime wine-tasting spot in the area.

Lavaux Vinorama is surrounded by vineyards and the view from the top of the vineyards is quite beautiful (with a walking path up). Generally, I found the price of the tasting to be a little pricey but not outrageous (ranged from 15-25 CHF for tasting 3-5 wines with light snacks).

Day 10: Exploring Zurich

Day 10, we packed up our suitcases in Interlaken and headed to the Zurich Youth Hostel just outside the city center where we were to spend our last night in Zurich before flying out.

I’d highly recommend this hostel if you’re looking for a place to stay in Zurich. The breakfast is great with lots of food options and included fancy coffees from the machine, towels are included, and the inside is quite modern compared to the plain exterior of the building. We again got a private 2 person room for just 10 CHF more per night and they actually gave us a private 4 person room with an attached bathroom and shower, which was pure luxury.

After dropping our bags in the 5 CHF deposit lockers, we grabbed a late lunch of raclette at Raclette Factory. Raclette is an alternative to fondue where the cheese is melted and then placed on top of items like potatoes, meat, bread, or pickles.

After our late lunch, we walked around the city for a few hours, checking out the Anne Frank exhibit at the Zurich Landesmuseum (Swiss National Museum), eating a Mont Blanc, and visiting the University of Zurich Botanical Garden (which I loved) and the China Garden along the lake, which was nearby a biergarten where we grabbed a last drink before heading back to the hostel to drink our leftover wine and watch the first episode of House of the Dragon.

Conclusion

We concluded our 10 day stay with a mid-day flight out the next day that got delayed and then resulted in more sprinting through JFK with the real MVPs of the trip being Global Entry and TSA Pre Check, which allowed us to smoothly sail through the checkpoints to narrowly catch our flight back late Friday night.

I loved Switzerland in 2019 and I loved it this trip as well! I would highly recommend Switzerland to anyone who loves hiking and enjoying view of the Alps (and who is willing to spend a bit more than usual).

3 Days in Victoria, BC

I hopped back to Seattle for the next two weeks and decided to loop in a trip to Victoria, since Canada and the US have lifted most of their travel restrictions!

I’ll include some details in here about what the current travel policies are and the process of getting from Seattle to Victoria. As a bit of a spoiler alert, I spent 3 days in Victoria and I think that is likely too much time there unless you’re doing some longer activities (Butchard Gardens, high tea at the Empress Hotel, whale watching, or other water activities). I think Victoria would make for a great 1.5 day trip from Seattle but a lot of the things I found charming about it are also elements you get in Seattle.

COVID Travel to Canada and the US (August 2022)

As of August 2022 when I’m writing this, COVID restrictions are the lightest that they’ve been.

To gain entry to Canada from the US, you just need to fill out ArriveCAN 72 hours or less before you enter Canada and include your travel details and vaccine information. It was really easy to do and there were even some folks doing it at the terminal before we departed the US (though I wouldn’t recommend that). I printed out my confirmation page but they just looked at it on my phone at the terminal.

The US currently has no COVID restrictions for re-entry, so I didn’t need to do anything to get back into the states.

This makes it the perfect time to do a Canada trip if you’ve been considering it! I’m wondering if they might lock things down a little bit more in the future with the current COVID spike and with the Seattle Monkeypox outbreak.

Travel and Lodging

Victoria is on Vancouver Island, which is not connected to the mainland with any bridges, so the only way you can get there is by boat. There are several ferry routes to the island but the easiest one for a weekend trip from Seattle is taking the FRS Clipper – a pedestrian only clipper from Seattle to Victoria (USD $219 roundtrip). It only leaves Seattle once a day (7:30AM PST) and Victoria once a day (5:00PM PST) with a travel time of 3 hours each way, so you could either do a short day trip or I’d recommend staying at least one night in Victoria.

For lodging, I picked the cheapest option – Ocean Island Inn, which was CAD $103.50 for 2 nights in a bunk in a 6 person room (I did a female-only room). I wasn’t in any way blown away by the accommodations, but they were cheap and in easy walking distance to everything downtown and clean and secure enough. They did have breakfast and dinner included in the lodging, but I ended up eating out for all meals. They also had towels and locks available for just a returnable deposit.

BONUS: Cell Phone Information. My American plan is with AT&T and they have the ability to add an international day pass onto your phone that you only pay for when you use ($10/day during use). I ended up going with that and just turning on data roaming on my phone but I got pretty unreliable data and cell service throughout my whole weekend, as something to be aware of.

Day 1 – Hitting the City Highlights

On Day 1, I focused on seeing the top sights that were within easy walking distance. If you only had one day in Victoria, I think this would make for a good itinerary!

INNER HARBOR. This is the area that includes a lot of the big flashy Victoria buildings like The Empress Hotel (built in 1908) and the Legislative Assembly Building (which I didn’t go into but did free tours throughout the day). The Inner Harbor area was too touristy for me, but it’s where you’ll likely enter Victoria from anyway, so it’ll be the first thing you see.

View of the Inner Harbor with Legislative Assembly

CHINATOWN. Within a short walk of the Inner Harbor is Victoria’s Chinatown, which has several alleys with shops – the most famous of which being Fan Tan Alley. This area was also a little touristy but had some very cute shops and some breweries (especially in Market Square, which is where Whistle Buoy Brewing Company is located), so it’s definitely worth going to! I grabbed a killer BBQ pork bun at Wah Lai Yuen. Vintage After Death (a vintage clothing store) and Flavour were two of my favorite shops in the Chinatown area. Flavor particularly was very cute and included a downstairs portion that sold new clothes, while the upstairs sold vintage clothing.

BEACON HILL PARK. This is a little bit more of a trek from downtown but relatively close to Inner Harbor and is a large public park. It has some gardens and ponds contained within it, The Moss Lady (a stone statue in multiple pieces covered in moss that’s designed to look like a half buried giant woman), and apparently the World’s Tallest Free-Standing Totem. It was a beautiful park and includes a lot of flora and fauna – even some peacocks! I spent a lot of time wandering the park and even did some impromptu yoga in a sunny spot. As a warning, The Moss Lady is not quite as big as you might imagine from pictures and in a very small wooded area, so very easy to miss even if you’re looking for her (I wandered around for a good 5 minutes before I found her).

GRAB FISH AND CHIPS. Like the rest of the Pacific Northwest, Victoria is well-known for having great seafood options! I ended up going to Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub, which was across the bridge for dinner (a longer but very nice walk) and they had several fish and chips options. I ended up just getting truffle fries and a beer and honestly had really slow service, but the food was very good and the view of the harbor is lovely.

Day 2 – Saturday Markets and lots of walking

On Day 2, I resolved to hit several Saturday markets within walking distance and do a huge loop to hit Fisherman’s Wharf, Ross Bay Cemetery, Gonzales Bay, and Abkhazi Garden, which was about 8 miles. I don’t know that I’d actually recommend walking all of this but it was fun going through the more residential neighborhoods. I would definitely describe this as more of a “secondary sights” day with miss-able places but would recommend hitting the Breakwater Lighthouse.

CRUST BAKERY. I started out my day by hitting this bakery and I would also call this something you CANNOT miss. They have a few locations around Victoria but I walked to the one downtown and after standing in line for a while and drooling over the pastries in the window, I was able to buy a killer cappuccino and a swoon-worthy rose-raspberry-lychee pastry. The pastry was so crisp, buttery, with great lamination and you could absolutely taste all of the flavors in the filling – just insanely well balanced.

SATURDAY MARKETS. James Bay Market was a super cute craft and farmer’s market open on Saturdays May-September. It’s basically just behind the Legislative Assembly building, so a very close walk from the other sights in downtown Victoria. I was obsessed with this one booth (Where Wild Things Glow) that sold the most delicate resin jewelry and ended up picking up a silver necklace with a fern in it and a gold ring with a forget-me-not. Moss Street Market was a bit further out in the Fairfield area. It was a much larger market with lots of produce and snacks, including some food trucks and multiple ice cream options.

WALK ALONG THE WATER. Fisherman’s Wharf was a short walk from downtown but was skippable in my opinion. The area has several houseboats and shops on the water but was pretty touristy. Breakwater Lighthouse was a really cool area! It’s a 0.5m walkway over the water to the lighthouse and had lovely views of the Olympics. Ross Bay Cemetery was a pretty beach-side cemetery and Gonzales Bay was another beach in this area! I thought all the beaches were nice if a bit pebble-y so I didn’t think this one was particularly nicer than any others. The houses in this neighborhood were cute though and the neighborhood housed both the Gonzales Observatory and Abkhazi Garden, which is a free garden in a smaller residential plot (cute, but not worth going out of your way for).

MORE THRIFTING AND VINTAGE SHOPPING. Upcycle Clothing Collective, WIN Resale Shop, and Value Village are all in the downtown area and had a good mix of vintage options (though most didn’t have dressing rooms). Any Value Village will always be my favorite thrift store just based on their size and selection. It’s a bit higher priced than some thrift options but much less than vintage shopping.

MORE BREWERIES. I really liked Whistle Buoy Brewing that I hit the day before but wanted to try some other options so went to Phillips Brewing, which is the other big brewery in Victoria and had really good beer, and Herald St. Brew Works in Chinatown which also had some great options.

These all look exactly the same but I swear they’re different.

Day 3 – Hitting the Further Away Sights

Day 3 was really licking the plate clean by hitting the tier 3 sights in Victoria. These were definitely all skippable items (though I did really like Government House and the adjoining gardens) but good if you’re looking to use up some time (like I was). I probably wouldn’t recommend walking to all these spots since it was a 7 mile loop and the area between my stops was very residential.

FERNWOOD. I decided to check out this “quirky” neighborhood and it was so cute! They had a lot of painted telephone poles, some folks had boxes outside their house to sell home-grown produce (with lists of prices), and the Fernwood square was adorable with a theater inside an old church.

OAK BAY. This ultra-bougie neighborhood gave me ‘wealthy retiree’ vibes with an older population and a golf course. It’s along the water and has a marina where you can get a very nice views of Mt Baker.

GOVERNMENT HOUSE & CRAIGDARROCH CASTLE. These two sights are very close together in the Rockland neighborhood. Out of the two, I’d recommend Government House, as it’s free and has large gardens (to enter the building, you have to register in advance and they only give two tours on Saturday). I loved the gardens! I didn’t end up going inside Craigdarroch Castle as I was pressed for time and entry for adults is CAD $20.60.

BOOKSTORES. As my last activity before I caught the clipper back, I hit up Russell Books and Munro’s Books in the downtown area. Russell Books was by far my favorite. It looks very unassuming on the outside but has a second lower level and a wide selection of new and used books (reminding me of Powell’s in Portland). Munro’s Books was in a picturesque space with vaulted ceilings but the bookstore was actually quite small and I wasn’t particularly impressed with it.

All in all it was a great weekend and I’d definitely recommend checking out Victoria!

Day Trip to Lexington, KY

I’ve been meaning to go to Lexington since it’s just an hour and a half drive from Cincinnati so today I did a little solo adventure!

Lexington was the perfect day trip location and had a lot of beautiful old houses, iconic Kentucky rolling hills, horses, and fun places to grab treats.

Here were some of the places I hit off my list:

Third Street Coffee: This was such a fun & funky spot to grab coffee!
Lexington Farmer’s Market: They have a few farmer’s markets around the city but the downtown one is held on Saturdays all year.
Lexington Public Library: Weirdly this has the world’s largest ceiling clock? (Which seems like a very specific superlative.)
West Sixth Brewing: It was super good but my favorite beer was the Italian Pilsner that they actually didn’t brew. They’re also connected to a place you can get food and have both an indoor and outdoor area.
Sorella Gelateria: This was pretty good and was perfect for a mid-afternoon pick-me-up!
Lexington Cemetery: Not my favorite cemetery but it was nice for a little walk!
Mary Todd Lincoln’s House: I didn’t end up going inside but it’s very walkable from downtown.
Blue Door Smokehouse: They had excellent really cheap and SUPER tasty BBQ!
Raven Run Nature Sanctuary: This made for a non strenuous but nice hike! I did a little under 5 miles doing their longest trail (the red loop) that circled the whole sanctuary and I liked the Evans Mill area best (the Palisades overlook wasn’t anything special in my opinion).
Windy Corner Market: I hit this last on my way out of town and didn’t grab any food here but it seems like a great spot to grab a more informal bite, though it’s a bit out of the way.

And some places I didn’t get a chance to hit:

Greyline Station: I believe this is a shopping area in an old bus station.
McConnell Springs: I believe this is a state park and has natural springs throughout.
Arboretum State Botanical Gardens: This is a free arboretum and looked really nice!
Shaker Village: This is outside of Lexington but it’s a Shaker town and I thought that seemed fun to visit.
Versailles: This is a historic cute town outside of Lexington and the coffee shop The Amsden looked adorable.

I’ll have to make another trip out to the area to hit the things I missed and try some of the other breweries in Lexington!

Cincinnati Spotlight: Hilton Netherland Plaza Hotel

This Sunday, my friends and I did a “DIY” architectural tour of Cincinnati! We each picked a building in the city to research and present on. Our picks were: Cincinnati and Suburban Telephone Company Building, Taft Museum of Art, Contemporary Art Center, and Hilton Netherland Plaza Hotel (with some bonus info on Dixie Terminal from a stranger on the street who was very in the spirit of our activity).

I couldn’t do the other buildings justice in a write up (I’ll see if I get notes shared with me and OKed to post) but wanted to share my research on the Netherland Plaza as it has a long and very interesting history (and I spent a few hours putting info together already). Forgive my lack of in-article citations (and a few direct sentence lifts) but I do have references listed at the end!

Picture of Carew Tower in 1930s (Historic Hotels image)

General Information

The hotel (originally St. Netherland Plaza) debuted in 1931 as part of a 49-story, 574-foot (175 m) multipurpose commercial structure known as “Carew Tower.” Carew Tower is the second tallest building in Cincinnati (tallest 1931-2010), after the Great American Tower at Queen City Square (i.e. the crown of Cincinnati), which is the third tallest building in Ohio. The Carew Tower replaced the late nineteenth-century Carew Building (home to the Mabley & Carew department store), a nine-story structure built in 1891 in the Romanesque style that was purchased by Thomas Emery following J.T. Carew’s death in 1914.

History: 1929 – 1931

John J. Emery, who purchased the site and funded the new building, hoped the building would function as “city within a city” – with the original idea being that it would include a department store, a theater, an office accommodation, and a hotel to rival the Waldorf-Astoria. John Emery hired Walter Ahlschlager and Colonel William Starrett to begin construction on the hotel. Starett had previously designed the Lincoln Memorial and the Empire State Building, while Ahlschlager had been involved in the design of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis and Hotel Intercontinental in Chicago.

Emery and his partners drew up $33 million (equivalent to over $500 million today) to fund the project; this included Emery liquidating his entire stock portfolio weeks before the 1929 stock market crash.

Emery initially decided to name the hotel the St. Nicholas in reference to a previous luxury hotel that had been the center of Cincinnati social life, but the Cincinnati Realty Company filed an injunction claiming that they had acquired the rights to that name. As the hotel had already monogrammed its linens, china, silverwave, and stationary with the initials “NP,” Emery selected a new name, St. Netherland Plaza, a reference to the location of the hotel in the space between the surrounding hills and the Ohio River as the word “netherlands” literally means low-lying country.

Construction on the hotel began in 1929 and took 13 months (with crews working 24 hours a day and 7 days a week) with the hotel opening in 1931 with a ten-course meal for the 1800 opening night guests in the hotel’s seven restaurants with critics raving that the hotel “challenged the splendor of King Solomon’s Temple.”

Staff of bellmen in Palm Room; Rookwood Pottery seahorse and ram’s head in background (Hilton image)

The hotel featured 800 guestrooms with all of the most modern comforts (high-speed automatic elevators, an internal broadcast system, and an automatic electric garage) and Art Deco design elements that utilize rare Brazilian rosewood, marble, custom nickel-silver fixtures, stylized Egyptian and floral motifs, murals, Rookwood Pottery fountain, and Hall of Mirrors (inspired by the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles).

History: 1931 – Present

From 1930 until 1960, the Carew Tower was the home of the Mabley & Carew department store.

Disaster struck in 1942 when a fire and the resulting water damage from the effort to extinguish it destroyed much of the hotel’s interior, including the Hall of Mirrors.

From 1967 to 1980, Carew Tower was featured in the opening and closing credits of the soap opera The Edge of Night (produced by P&G), which used Cincinnati as the stand-in for the fictional location of “Monticello”.

From 1978 to 1982, the building was featured in the opening and closing credits of WKRP in Cincinnati.

The hotel was remodeled in the 1960s to match the modern appearance of many newer hotels and a more significant remodel in the 1980s to bring it to its current state. It took $28 million ($74 million today) to transform the Netherland Plaza back to its glory days. The hotel saw a decline in business in the 1970s and 1980s as business moved away from the center of downtown and travelers opted for hotel chains located near the interstate.

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 (sources conflicted with some noting it as 1985 but 1994 was confirmed by a plaque in the lobby) and was operated by the Omni hotel management company until 2002 when it was acquired by Hilton.

Today, the building is home to a mixed group of tenants, including a shopping arcade, Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, and offices. Visitors can access the observation deck located on the 49th floor (temporarily closed).

Design

The building is widely considered to be an early prototype of an urban mixed-use development – a “city within a city”. New York City’s Rockefeller Center, built around the same time, is a more famous example of this concept.

The building was originally designed with three towers: the tallest housing offices, the second the hotel, and the third serving as a parking garage which had an elevator rather than traditional ramps for access (demolished in 1980 due to corrosion from road salt).

Art Deco stylistic motifs can be found throughout the building, particularly in the metalwork and areas surrounding the elevators and lights. Sculpture on the exterior and interior of the building were executed by New York City architectural sculptor Rene Paul Chambellan.

Chicago set and theater designer George Unger hired European craftsmen for the elaborate deco design in the interior of the hotel, but at least one Cincinnatian, Rookwood Pottery decorator William Hentschel, left his mark on Netherland Plaza. Hentschel, a New Yorker who started at Rookwood at age 15 and taught at the Art Academy of Cincinnati for 35 years, is credited for creating five front-and-center sculptures in the hotel: two three-foot high, floral and geometric urns flanking the marble steps up to the lobby; two kneeling, web-footed seahorse torch lights flanking the grand staircase in the bar at Palm Court; and the ram’s head fountain behind its stage.

Eighteen Louis Grell murals can be found throughout the Hilton Netherland Plaza Hotel on the bottom floor: 10 wall-to-ceiling murals in the hotel’s original lobby, now the Palm Court; four murals in the Continental Room; two above the side entry staircase. The staircase mural says “Welcome Travelers” and the four in the Continental Room represent the four seasons of the year. The 90-foot long Apollo Gallery includes an “Apollo on Chariot” mural and a large “Hunt of Diana” mural by Grell. These subjects echo similar ones that appear at the Palais de Versailles.

Hauntings

Several accidents occurred over the course of construction, the most notable being a painter that fell to his death while working on the ceiling of the Palm Court. After the hotel opened the painter’s widow checked into a room on one of the upper floors, put on a green formal gown then jumped out of a window and landed firmly in hotel legend as the ghostly Lady in Green. (Other tellings of the story say his body was never found and she’s still searching for it.) Popular sighting spots are the lobby, the overlook, Hall of Mirrors, and the old chapel. She was spotted several times during the 1983 renovations. In more recent years there was a server delivering room service that was sharing an elevator with a pleasant woman in a green dress. Their conversation was going just swimmingly until he turned away for a moment, only to look back and find no one there. The incident left the server so shaken that he took two weeks off to process the implications of his encounter.

In 1956, another tragedy occurred at the hotel. A 25 year old woman named Norma Jean Haller had recently been released from a mental sanatorium. Three weeks earlier she had attempted to kill herself by throwing herself in front of a moving bus, but the bus driver reacted quickly enough to avoid her suicidal attempt. Although the sanatorium felt that she was ready for release, she remained determined to end her life. She went to downtown Cincinnati in order to find a tall enough building to jump from. She found the site of her suicide at the Netherland Plaza Hotel. Instead of taking the elevator, she climbed the stairs to the 28th floor of the building, and she wrote a note on a napkin she had picked up in the lobby. It said, “My name is Jean Haller, call my husband. Children will be better off.” She gently placed the note in the stairwell and climbed out of a window onto a small ledge between the 28th and 29th floors of the hotel. While on the ledge, she wrote another note and placed it on the ledge from which she planned to jump. It read, “please call my husband and tell him I’m sorry.” She jumped at 6:55 PM. She was five months pregnant and left her husband and two children. To this day people will sometimes hear screams and sobbing coming from the stairwell between the 28th and 29th floors.

Employees have also said to hear footsteps in the lobby, even when there is no one there. Perhaps these are the footsteps of a businessman from New York who died unexpectedly of a heart attack in the lobby.

Over the years there have been a slew of other deaths at the hotel. In 1945 author Helen Eustis’ father committed suicide at the hotel by way of gunshot and in 2011 a beloved security guard was stabbed to death on the 6th floor stairwell on his 58th birthday.

Notable Guests

Notable guests of the hotel include:

Sir Winston Churchill – He loved the bathroom so much he had it copied at his country house at Chartwell. The suite in which he stayed has since been called the Churchill Suite.
Eleanor Roosevelt (frequent visitor)
John and Jackie Kennedy, who actually hosted a political gala in the Hall of mirrors in 1959
Richard Nixon
George H.W. Bush
Elvis Presley
Bing Crosby
Doris Day – this Cincinnati native made her professional debut in the hotel’s big band Pavilion Nightclub at age 15 in 1939

Doris Day’s debut in 1939 (Historic Hotels image)

References

Historic Hotels, https://www.historichotels.org/us/hotels-resorts/hilton-cincinnati-netherland-plaza/history.php#:~:text=It%20opened%20under%20the%20name,after%20it%20opened%20in%201931.
Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/place/Netherlands
Marshall University et. al. “The Netherland Plaza Hotel .” Clio: Your Guide to History. December 14, 2019. Accessed July 8, 2022. https://theclio.com/entry/13569
Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carew_Tower
Haunted Rooms, https://www.hauntedrooms.com/ohio/cincinnati/haunted-places/haunted-hotels/hilton-netherland-plaza
Ocoosaws, https://www.ocoosaws.com/me/haunted-travels-usa/hilton-omni-netherland-plaza-hotel-9184.html
WCPO, https://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/hilton-cincinnati-netherland-plaza-hotel-among-finalists-for-elite-national-award
Anomalien, https://anomalien.com/real-ghost-stories-of-the-hilton-netherland-plaza-cincinnati/

5 Days in Sedona, AZ

This June, I visited Sedona, Arizona for a girls’ weekend! Sedona was super fun and we had a great long weekend full of hiking, visiting vortexes, and wow-ing over the red rock mountains. I didn’t find that there was tons to do in Sedona beyond hiking, but if you’re looking for a spot for a quiet nature weekend, it’s a great location!

Image from Sedona Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau

Tips for Sedona

Buy the America the Beautiful National Parks Pass. I get this pass every year anyway but it was particularly worthwhile in Sedona. It’s $80/year and gives you access to national parks, national monuments, and parking in most national forests. In Sedona, it works in lieu of the Red Rock Pass, which is required for parking at most of the trailheads. As a note, it doesn’t work at state parks, so you still need to pay admission to get into Slide Rock State Park.
Check out some vortexes! Vortexes are places where the energy supposedly either flows upwards out of the earth or down into the earth. There are several scattered across Sedona and they often correspond with some really spectacular views, so I’d definitely recommend checking some out!
Lots of sunscreen and water (and morning hikes). Sedona is cooler than Phoenix but still gets pretty hot, especially in the afternoons, so try to plan your schedules accordingly.

Day 1: Arrival in Phoenix

We flew into Phoenix on Thursday for the start of our long weekend and immediately doubted our choice of Arizona. Phoenix in June is HOT and we were greeted by a toasty 104F.

As we drove the 2 hours north to Sedona, the landscape gradually changed from flat desert to scrubby brush and saguaro cacti and finally to mountains and the beautiful town of Sedona, nestled in a valley between red rock mountain ranges.

I wouldn’t say that there was much to do on the way to Sedona (we bypassed Jerome, a historic mining town, and Montezuma Castle National Monument, a set of Native-American cliff dwellings). We did stop briefly at Rock Springs Cafe in Black Canyon City, AZ (1 hour north of Phoenix, 1 hour south of Sedona) for some food and some amazing deals on rocks. Seriously, if you’re in the market for crystals, I’d recommend Rockshop in the same parking lot.

We didn’t do much after getting into our Sedona Airbnb but I did grab some pizza at Pisa Lisa, which has several locations around Sedona and was great!

Day 2: Boynton Canyon and Exploring Sedona

We kicked off our day bright and early and hit the Boynton Canyon trailhead by 7:30AM. Boynton Canyon was probably my favorite hike of the trip! It was a little over 8 miles (minimal elevation change) with the slight detour of going to the vortex at the beginning and Subway Canyon.

Subway Canyon was really cool in itself; it’s a bit of a scramble to get up to but has a killer view! The trail off to it is unmarked, so it helps to have a GPS. The end of the Boynton Canyon trail isn’t really anything, so I’d recommend just hiking to Subway Cave and turning back.

After our early morning hike, we tooled around the town for the afternoon and checked out Center For The New Age, Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village, and grabbed some food at Pump House Station Urban Eatery and Market. I thought the shopping was skippable but we had some great sandwiches at Pump House and they had a beautiful outdoor space!

Day 3: Devils Bridge and lots of food

We had another early start with a 7:30AM trailhead start at Devils Bridge (4 miles, minimal elevation change). Like Boynton Canyon, the trailhead was very crowded, even at 7:30AM and, as a word of caution, Google Maps will suggest you go another 1 mile past where the trailhead parking actually is. This would be where you might be able to park if you had a VERY high clearance vehicle. I would recommend walking along the “road” on the way to the real trailhead, otherwise you’ll tack on several miles to an already very exposed and hot hike.

I liked Devils Bridge OK but it was very crowded, very exposed, and the line to take pictures at the bridge was long, so we ended up passing on it. I think it could be a trail you easily passed on, especially if you’re not a fan of crowded hikes.

After the hike, we got treats at Sedonuts and Karen’s Gluten Free Bakeshop and ended up joining up briefly with a Women’s Rights March!

We tried to go to Slide Rock State Park but their lot was full (and tried parking along the road and walking in but were turned away) so we ended up grabbing drinks at Indian Gardens Cafe & Market (which was awesome!) and finding another swimming area also along Oak Creek.

After some late afternoon chilling, we grabbed yet more food at Hideaway House. I loved Hideaway House! It was maybe my favorite spot for food on the whole trip and we got a killer peach pizza and they have a multi-level outdoor deck for seating with a great view of the mountains.

Day 4: Grand Canyon and Flagstaff

Sunday was our Grand Canyon day and we started the day again around 7AM for our 2 hour drive to the Grand Canyon from Sedona.

The drive was beautiful (it felt very northern California forest) and we stopped in Flagstaff for some great coffee at Macy’s European Coffeehouse & Bakery.

We did some brief hiking around the Grand Canyon (0.75 miles down the Bright Angel Trail, which goes from the rim down to the Colorado River) and the weather was starting to turn, so we headed back to Flagstaff.

Back in Flagstaff, we grabbed some food at Red Curry Vegan Kitchen, went to Bright Side Bookshop (which might be my new favorite bookstore?), and did some light thrifting at the local Savers.

Day 5: Cathedral Rock, Slide Rock, and Airport Mesa

Continuing with our early morning hike trend, we started at the Cathedral Rock trailhead at 7:30AM. This was another popular hike but afforded some great views and was short (2 miles roundtrip) but was also a steep, hot climb. You get some spectacular views and it’s another vortex spot!

After our hike, we hit Slide Rock State Park around 9AM, which meant that we actually got parking this time, and spent a fun few hours either dipping into the freezing water, sliding around on the natural waterslides, and sunning ourselves on rocks. It was lovely and definitely worth the visit!

We then grabbed some more food and drinks at Indian Gardens Cafe & Market (we liked it so much the first time), had a rest, and then went back out to the Airport Mesa to watch the sunset! We went to a paid parking area, which was a fine place to bring some food and watch the sunset but we should have watched it from the Airport Mesa Vortex, which is where we went after the sunset and has an even nicer view (with free but limited parking).

We wrapped up our night (and trip) with a bit of stargazing outside of our airbnb! Arizona really is a great place for stargazing with super clear skies and it was a new moon as well, so we got to see a lot!

Bonus – Day 6: Flying out of Phoenix

As a quick last note about our last day, we stopped at Black Potion Sedona to grab some coffee on our way out of town and it was so cute! A perfect ending to our witchy Sedona weekend.

One Long Weekend in Playa del Carmen, Mexico

After the long awaited COVID times, we return to international travel with my first trip to Mexico!

This last weekend, I flew into Cancun and spent 3 days at a (work-sponsored) all-inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen. This was both my fist time in Mexico AND my first time at a resort, so it was exciting times!

This will be a shorter post since we just stayed at the resort for the full weekend (with one “adventure” excursion – ATVing, ziplining, and swimming in a cenote) but I’ll share a few tidbits about my trip and tips that I received before traveling.

Travel Tips for Mexico

This is going to be a pretty “lite” version but I found this guide by Travel Lemming helpful!

Some of the top recommendations from the guide and other sources were:

Don’t Lose the Paper Slip (FMM) You Get at Customs
Never Drink the Tap Water (and be suspicious of ice cubes)
Toilet Paper Goes in the Trash Bin

I will add as an additional recommendation, I brought my backpacking water filter to treat the tap water – which DID work well to make it safe to drink but still tasted awful, so we just stuck to bottled water.

Fauna – A Surprising Highlight!

I saw SO many different animals even just on the resort grounds, which I was really surprised by! It felt even more different than animals I usually see on trips to Europe or Asia.

Some of the animals I saw were:

Mammals
- Bats
- Coati
Birds
- Swallow
- Flycatcher
- Common Grackle
- Yucatan Jay
Reptiles
- Turtle
- Iguana
- Spiny lizard

Somewhat thankfully we didn’t see any crocodiles, though some other people did around the resort, as well as a few deer.

The coati was my favorite! It was VERY cute.

We saw a terrifying number of bats looking at an underground cenote; our guide shone his flashlight into the cave and there were thousands of bats in the cave, which will be great nightmare fodder.

Other Highlights / Things I Would Have Changed

It would have been nice to go to Tulum or Chichen Itza but we didn’t have the time or mental capacity to get that planned out.

The cenote (nature swimming pool resulting from a sinkhole) we went to was amazing and it would have been great to go to more! Definitely was a magical part of our trip and we wished we had some pictures (but weren’t allowed to bring our cameras and were being too cheap to buy $70 of pictures).

Also we ate SO much ceviche – but also if I could go back, I would have eaten even more. I LOVE ceviche.

A Long Music-Fest Weekend in Atlanta

Well, we’re back at it!

After over 2 years of dormancy (not entirely due to the pandemic), I’m going to try to officially re-launch this blog, starting with a post on my most recent trip to Atlanta.

I may go back and try to resurrect some memories for retrospective blog posts on other trips I’ve done since my last post back in 2019. Just before the pandemic, I went to Iceland and Ireland but never got the post up. In 2020, I did a week-long backpacking trip around Mt Rainier and, in 2021, my travels included Cincinnati (where I’m now living), Boston, Rhode Island, DC, Baltimore, San Diego, LA, Chicago, Maine, and NYC – in addition to a cross-country drive from Seattle to Cincinnati that included quite a lot of sight-seeing and a week spent backpacking in the Smoky Mountains. Not bad for COVID times!

Even this year, I’ve gone to Charlottesville, Atlanta, and Kaua’i; seen a variety of local concerts and shows; and we have some exciting international travel plans for later this year.

But, focusing back on the subject of this post, this last weekend I went to Atlanta to attend the Shaky Knees Music Festival! It was my first time in Atlanta (or Georgia at all, for that matter) and I LOVED it. Similarly to my trip to Chicago last summer, I left the experience ready to move to Atlanta.

Friday, April 29th

I started my day VERY early. It’s a 7 hour drive from Cincinnati to Atlanta, so I woke up at 6AM so I could get into Atlanta around 3PM when my Airbnb was open for check-in.

Since the festival was in Central Park, I stayed in the Ponce de Leon area, which had me just a 20 minute walk from the park.

I didn’t get to do much sightseeing on Friday as I got into town in the afternoon and almost immediately headed over to the music festival.

Shaky Knees seems to trend towards being a bit more of an “Alt” music festival and I was unapologetically there mainly for Green Day (seeing some friends in town was definitely an added bonus).

On Friday, my lineup was:

Mannequin Pussy
Highly Suspect
Spoon
Rainbow Kitten Surprise
Dropkick Murphys
Green Day

Of all of the bands, I thought Green Day put on the best show, though it was a copy of their Hella Mega show. I did LOVE Spoon (which gave me all the college nostalgia), Dropkick Murphys had some really intense moshing, and Rainbow Kitten Surprise had the band mostly in drag, which I was a little surprised by.

I ended up wandering around post-festival with some friends in search of food (options were bleak at midnight) and we ended up grabbing some late night eats and drinks at 8ARM, which was a really cute bar on Ponce de Leon (ostensibly claiming to be an izakaya, but that seems like a stretch).

I did, however, try a fantastic jasmine green tea rice lager, Ukiyo, from Three Taverns and now really want to visit their brewery!

Saturday, April 30th

I got up on the earlier side so I could wander around Atlanta and do at least a bit of exploring before the festival started.

I headed over first to Freedom Park and went to the Freedom Park Farmer’s Market, which is held every Saturday in the park year-round. It was adorable and I grabbed a kouign aman (my favorite pastry) and a blueberry lemon cookie from the Little Tart stand.

After wandering around the park for a while (awkwardly trying to eat the ultra flakey pastry without making a huge mess and while still walking), I headed towards the Little Five Points neighborhood. Little Five Points (as I was informed by my friend the previous day) is a super cute and quirky neighborhood with a multitude of trendy bars and vintage shops. I stopped in The Clothing Warehouse and Rag-O-Rama. Rag-O-Rama had a bit more of a Buffalo Exchange type feel while The Clothing Warehouse had an impressively well-curated selection of mid-price vintage clothes.

I headed over to the park mid-afternoon and caught the following acts:

Chastity Belt (I was super excited for them because this was a band from my college)
Phantom Planet (I didn’t know many songs beyond “California” but honestly they were super good)
Gang of Youths
Mt. Joy
The Regrettes
Kurt Vile and The Violators
CHVRCHES (SO good and I got pretty excited since one of their songs was featured in Heartstopper)
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard (honestly one of my favorite shows of the festival)
Japanese Breakfast
Nine Inch Nails (I only knew one of their songs and it wasn’t played, so…)

All-in-all a VERY long day of festival-ing and we called it a night immediately after Nine Inch Nails. My favorite show of the day was definitely King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. They’re a prog rock/metal band from Australia and I had SUCH a good time rocking out to their music.

Sunday, May 1st

Sunday I really put my nose to the grindstone in regards to sightseeing since it was last full day in Atlanta.

I started off my day by walking up to Virginia-Highland, which was an adorable bougie hipster neighborhood at the north-most part of my walk. I LOVED it and it would definitely be the area I would want to move to if I relocated to Atlanta.

One of the things that really struck me with Atlanta was all of the beautiful craftsman style houses, which reminded a lot of Seattle. I also loved all the tiny shopping zones surrounded by residential areas and parks – it definitely made Atlanta feel extremely walkable.

From there I headed south and passed through the Krog District area – in part along the BeltLine (a walking / biking trail along an old railroad track). The Krog District area had a cool food hall (Krog Street Market) and highly graffitied tunnel.

I then walked through Cabbagetown (I adored the area around Carroll Street Cafe) to Oakland Cemetery, a huge cemetery dating back to 1800s and one of my Atlanta highlights!

From there, I walked back up north towards the festival with my friends and we dropped by 97 Estoria to visit the Georgia Vintage popup market they had in their lot and Ponce City Market, a food hall and shopping area inside an old Sears on Ponce de Leon. At Ponce City Market, I grabbed a Death from Above (a coconut milk sour from TrimTab Brewing) from the growler shop and a cuban sandwich and seriously considered getting a shirt from Citizen Supply (a very cool store with work from local artists).

I was pretty tuckered out by the time we got to the festival, but we saw:

COIN (I didn’t know them before, but REALLY liked them)
Band of Horses
Death Cab for Cutie (I didn’t realize how many of their songs I knew!)
Khruangbin
My Morning Jacket (I thought I knew their songs and I realized that I really did not)

Before totally calling it a night, we grabbed a late-night bite at Fellini’s Pizza, an apparently quintessential punk slice joint with cheap drinks and tasty pizza.

Monday, May 2nd

This barely counts as a day since I spent most of it driving back to Cincinnati but I did stop by the Buford Highway area since I heard it had fantastic asian food. On my way out of town, I stopped at White Windmill Bakery where I grabbed some green bean paste manju, a few anpan, and a mochi azuki bean donut (all super good but this last one was definitely the best – almost a cross between a malasada and andagi).

In conclusion, a great trip to a super fun town! I definitely can’t wait to visit again.

36 Hours in Budapest

Since I was already in Europe for work (and have unrealistic expectations for my physical durability), I popped over to Budapest this last weekend for a very quick trip! Though I only had a brief time in Budapest, I felt like I got a good chance to sample the city, though I would have loved to spend a more time soaking in the culture!

Below is some background on Budapest and my top recommendations for a short trip.

Background on Budapest

Budapest is a very old city, tracing its history back to the Celts even prior to the Roman occupation around 50 AD. It was the co-capital of the Austro-Hugraian Empire, prior to the empire’s dissolution in 1918. The city of comprised of two components: Buda and Pest, the portions to the west and east of the river respectively. (Wikipedia)

Pest is the more trendy old town area and contains the Parliament Building (third largest in the world), St Stephen’s Basilica, and the ultra trendy Jewish Quarter, housing the largest synagogue in Europe and a multitude of “ruin bars” – a Budapest specialty of bars housed within dilapidated pre-war buildings that has popped up within the last 15 years.

Buda, on the western bank, contains the many of the popular thermal baths (excepting the most famous, Széchenyi, which is in Pest).

Budapest is a very walkable city and I wouldn’t recommend getting any transport passes unless you’re unable to to walk distances of 1-2 miles. You can buy bus tickets from machines at the major stops (I wouldn’t recommend the app, since it’s extremely confusing), but I would recommend paying in cash, though card is accepted. The 100E bus runs from the airport to the old town for the equivalent of $3 and I would highly recommend it.

I would highly recommend carrying cash since many places do not accept card. Be aware that Hungary has its own currency of the Forint, though you can often choose to pay in Euros. The exchange rate between the Forint and USD as of December 2019 is roughly 1 USD = 300 HUF.

Top 10 Things To Do in Budapest

1. Ruin Bars.

This was hands down my favorite activity in Budapest! I only went to Szimpla Kert, the most famous of the ruin bars, but I would have loved to go to more. The bar is set in a rundown, graffitied building and filled with second hand furniture and random street-side finds, like old bathtubs and playground equipment for seats. The bar is composed of several smaller bars (even a brewery), many small rooms, and an outdoor area. At night, it’s a great place to grab a beer and, during the day, they have vendor stands for things like comics and vintage action figures. On Sundays, it’s the site of a great farmer’s market and an excellent brunch buffet upstairs! The bar started in 2003 and while it used to be more of an “alternative” option, it’s a bit overrun with tourists now, though still very cool! Most of the bars are located in the Jewish Quarter and a quick Google search will turn up some other options.

2. Thermal Baths.

Thermal Baths in Budapest often date back to the 19th or early 20th century and are generally co-ed with a mix of indoor and outdoor baths. Bring a swimsuit, towel, and flipflops! The two most famous baths in Budapest are Széchenyi, which houses a large outdoor bath, and Gellért, located inside an art deco hotel.

I ended up not going to either of these options and decided instead to go to Rudas Bath. I found that the baths felt a bit “public pool” to me and the water wasn’t as warm as I was used to at a spa but it was still nice, though I prefer single gender nude baths. At Rudas, each person (or group) is given a private locker changing room, which is very comfortably sized. Rudas, to me, appeared to be comprised of a mix of tourists and locals, while the two main baths are more expensive and tourist dominated. There are many other baths in the area.

Left (Szechenyi Baths, picture from website), Middle (Gellert Spa, picture from website), Right (Rudas Baths, picture from Pink Budapest)

3. Christmas Markets & Drink Mulled Wine.

This is a seasonal activity but worth doing if you’re in Budapest in December! The area surrounding St Stephen’s Basilica has several markets and I found them to have more variety in vendors than the main Prague Christmas markets tourists visit. You can find mulled wine, alcoholic punch (stronger and more expensive), chimney cakes, and a large variety of gift and heavier food options.

4. Vintage Shopping.

I found Budapest to have a great vintage clothing scene! There were too many for me to visit them all, but I enjoyed the two Szputnyik shops and Retrock Designer Vintage Store. Prices were very reasonable for the options and the shops were very well curated!

5. Eat Hungarian Food.

There are many options for doing this but I found that the Christmas Markets and the Central Market had some of the best options. Central Market was too crowded for me generally but the second floor has many traditional Hungarian food choices. In particular, I would recommend trying lángos, a soft fried bread traditionally topped with sour cream and cheese. Synagogue & Explore the Jewish Quarter.

6. St Stephen’s Basilica.

The Roman Catholic basilica has free entry (donations suggested) and is located in a central location in the city. It’s certainly worth the quick stop to see its gilded and painted interior and I would recommend going earlier in the day to avoid crowds, and because its one of the few things open at 9AM.

7. Parliament Building.

Inspired by the British Parliament building, the Hungarian Parliament Building was built in the early 20th century and houses an impressive 691 rooms (Wikipedia). While I didn’t go into this building, I believe you can and it is at least worth looking at from the outside!

Hungarian Parliament, image from Get Your Guide

8. Great Synagogue.

As the largest synagogue in Europe, it’s one of the most expensive activities you can do in Budapest with an entry ticket coming in at around $13. If you’re interested in Jewish history, particularly during WWII, it’s worth the visit as it has a museum that tells the story of the Jewish people in Budapest and the sad story of the massacre of hundreds at Jewish hospitals in 1944, prior to the liberation of the city by the Soviets. The synagogue is the site of a mass burial ground of the victims of this attack.

New York Cafe in Budapest, image from AM Journeys

9. Go to a traditional cafe.

Another thing that I didn’t do while I was in Budapest, but Budapest houses some traditional Austro-Hungarian cafes, similar to those in Vienna. If you have not been to cafes in Vienna, I would recommend this.

10. Buda Castle / Fisherman’s Bastion.

These two tourist destinations are located close to each other in Buda and allow for some great views of Pest, though they get extremely crowded with tourists.

1 Month, 9 Concerts, 6 Venues

I made some strategic errors in October and somehow over the course of one month ended up with 9 concerts on my calendar, which was a serious overestimation of my stamina. Still, I had an awesome time going to the concerts and felt by the end that I had a great feel of most Seattle venues!

PSA on Hearing Safety

As a quick nag, if you’re going to a concert use hearing protection. It’s not cool to go deaf. Recently, I invested in a nice pair of reusable high fidelity earplugs, because foam ones turn music into mush.

I’ve tried a few but my favorite for comfort are DownBeats Reusable High Fidelity Hearing Protection ($14.95), which come with a teensy carrying case that I toss into my pocket before any concert.

Concert 1 (9/27): Vampire Weekend, WaMu Theater

It wasn’t my first time at WaMu but had been a while since I’d seen Die Antwoord there. It’s a medium/large venue that you just buy a general ticket to but has both a seated and standing area – first come first serve. I opted for standing, though I sat last show and you still get great views from the seats. The venue sells both food and drinks and there was a sizable merch booth. I don’t recall if you can bring drinks into the concert area but my recollection is that you can’t because it’s an all ages venue.

The opener was Soccer Mom (just OK) but overall it was a great show, with lots of energy and big inflated globes being bounced through the audience. I knew a lot of the songs (which in my experience is one of the key ingredients to a good time at a concert) and bopped my way through show. I did get aggressively two-handed pushed at one point but the people around me were very sweet and concerned!

Erza Koenig was also cuter than I had thought in pictures, to my sister’s credit (she had told me this before).

As a bonus after the concert, since the baseball stadium is next door and the Mariners had just won a game, we were greeted by fireworks and I grabbed a Seattle dog (a delicious cream cheese monstrosity).

Concert 2 (9/28): Macklemore (& Guests), Paramount Theatre

Paramount is probably one of Seattle’s best, most historic, most fancy venues (and the setting of the prom scene in 10 Things I Hate About You) – assigned seating through most of the multi level balcony venue – though the ground level is sometimes standing room. It’s an all ages venue but they sell alcohol and candy snacks you can take to your seat in re-usable STG cups you can usually bring back in later for a discount.

I seriously misinterpreted the intent of this show as it was a fundraiser showcase of the local Seattle youth hip hop mentorship program that Macklemore co-founded (The Residency) but the up-and-comers were pretty good (especially Parisalexa – keep an eye out for that girl, those pipes!) and Macklemore did perform as part of it. If you ever get the opportunity to see Macklemore perform in Seattle, TAKE IT. Seattle is crazy for their local god and singing “Can’t Hold Us” with a Seattle audience and Macklemore is practically a religious experience.

Macklemore had some cute comments to his mom in the audience throughout the show, such as “Will you grab me one of those cupcakes, before they’re gone?”

In addition to Macklemore and the youngins, Sol and Sir Mix a Lot both performed as well, two of our other resident rappers, who I’ve been hoping to see!

Concert 3 (10/6): Ashe, The Crocodile

This wasn’t a venue I’d been to before but it was very similar to Neumos, Chop Suey, and the other “larger” (but still pretty small) Cap Hill venues. It probably fits a couple hundred people into the small standing room space (uncomfortably) but you get the benefit of being jammed up very close to the performers, who are usually moderately big names, but not big enough to fill a stadium. There’s a bar as part of it and I’m not sure if you have to stay near the bar to drink.

I’d started listening to Ashe a few months ago when Moral of the Story: Chapter 2 dropped in August and she hoved into my field of view. I would describe her style as similar to Lorde – sort of sad female pop.

She had two openers, Gavin Haley (her younger brother) and Charley Burg. They were both pretty good, especially Gavin Haley who I thought was utterly adorable with his dimples, soft voice, and guitar, though he was unfortunately being talked over by some loud girls near the stage, who he specifically (and relatively unawkwardly, to his credit) called out in an attempt to shush – which would have worked if they were listening to him. Charley Burg wasn’t my cup of tea, though I did like his song “Instead of My Room.”

Ashe was good but a bit too “heartfelt”/”melodramatic” for my taste in a concert, though the crowd (mostly teen girls) loved it.

I think I actually liked her music a bit less AFTER having seen her live, but her song “Cold in California” is still one of my favorites and she performed it on stage with her brother, which was adorable.

Concert 4 (10/7): Lostboycrow, Neumos

I’ve been to Neumos before and it’s a great venue with a specific drinking zone. There’s a less crowded lofted area above the stage you can stand or sit in “if you’re an old person” (as one person around me remarked), though I stood up there when I saw Of Montreal. It’s a similar size to The Crocodile, usually attracts similar artists, and gets really packed.

This concert actually had the headliner of Flor, who I hadn’t heard before and I ended up not being super impressed by, so I peaced after the openers.

Lostboycrow, who I came to see, was actually the first opener but DAMN they’re good and I’d love to see them headline (though from a sleepiness perspective, I liked having them come on first). I would describe their music as somewhere between surf rock and Avicii – my ideal work music. I was worried I might think the frontman was a douche based on his picture but both he and the drummer looked like the nicest guys and dripped “California surfer.” They were amazing in concert and I absolutely have a crush on the guitarist/singer now, who cut his long hair into the cutest shoulder length flop that he kept tossing out of his eyes (*swoon*).

The second band, Joan, I hadn’t heard before either but I also liked them. They had a really Backstreet Boys sound in their vocals, lyrics, and 90s keyboard aesthetic, but I’m not mad at that.

Concert 5 (10/8): Dragonforce, El Corazon

I hadn’t previously been to El Corazon since it’s the “metal” bar and honestly, I think it’s a bit too hardcore for me (take that with a BIG grain of salt, this was my first metal show). This is probably a venue I’m going to avoid unless I have a concert buddy.

There’s a bar as part of the venue (apart from the actual bar) and I don’t know if you need to stay in that area to drink (it seemed like you might need to).

I arrived a bit early and, in spite of the sparse crowd, positioned myself against a wall at the back. This meant that I got smushed during parts of the show as people used the walkway in front of me but also that I wasn’t near the most pit, something I’m still not down for. The only injury I sustained was an elbow to the chin as a guy VERY enthusiastically raised his hand to the question “Who here has played Skyrim?” *facepalm*

The first opener was Starkill, who very much embodied what you might imagine a metal band to look like, complete with the X-treme eye makeup and goth aesthetic. They were pretty good (if not my usual thing) and I was pretty wowed by the the band’s headbanging (even emptying water bottles into their hair for the spray). I’m such a metal noob.

The second opener was Dance with the Dead and I really liked them! I don’t think there really any lyrics in their songs but they were a fun electronic band with easy dance beats. If I hadn’t seen them in person (and beyond the name), I wouldn’t have thought they were a metal band.

The headliner Dragonforce, who I came to see, was fantastic with excellent light show elements (though as a Laser Safety Officer I get a skittish about lasers, since I know they get misclassified often and have seen too many gnarly retina pics). I only know a handful of songs but I enjoy their old-school fantasy metal aesthetic. I stuck around for half of their set and then peaced so I could get a decent amount of sleep before my early morning meetings.

Concert 6 (10/15): The Regrettes, Neumos

This show was great! The band was just as adorable as I predicted – with everyone just fresh out of high school and still in their teens. They have a very 1950s and 60s aethetic mixed with a riot grrrl punk sound.

It was very weird just HOW MANY young girls there were there (and a plethora of hair clips and bucket hats galore, because this really is 1998 – 2001 again), even ranging down into the elementary school range. I got a great spot near the left side of the stage and could have touched the guitarist Genessa Gariano, who was 10/10 adorable.

The opener was Greer, a younger all boy band, and it was fully BIZARRE to see how many teen girls were swooning over these sort of mediocre guys. Definitely some shudders for my teen self, though I understandably reserved that kind of behavior for David Boreanaz.

Concert 7 (10/16): Babymetal, Paramount Theatre

The opener was The Hu (literally took me writing it to get it), a Mongolian rock band that meshed traditional instruments and throat singing – which was a unique experience.

Babymetal was a real trip. I started listening to Babymetal four years ago, shortly after the release of their self titled 2014 album. Babymetal is a “gothic lolita” Japanese metal band (see video below).

The concert was fantastic, though I had a hard time seeing any dancing because of the crowd. It also got really rowdy in the mosh pit, sending big push ripples through the crowd. I was situated on the ground floor (I think there were seated tickets available as well) where they’d cleared out all the seats for standing room. I saw one of Tom’s high school friends but didn’t get a chance to say hi to him during the chaos.

Concert 8 (10/19): The Brothers Comatose, Tractor Tavern

The Tractor Tavern is always a great venue (though I still prefer Sunset Tavern for a Ballard venue), usually attracting more country acts and fitting maybe 200 people uncomfortably. You can order at the bar and take drinks onto the floor.

I wasn’t planning to go to this show but I booked it so my sister and I could go to a show while she was visiting. The opener was Goodnight, Texas, followed by the headliner of The Comatose Brothers. Both were great with Goodnight, Texas being adorably folksy country music (filled with total cuties) and The Comtose Brothers having music catchy enough that I was literally stamping my boot.

The show started out packed but opened up a bit throughout the night (it ran until after midnight, despite of a 9PM start) and, by the end, there was enough dancing space that some couples were slow dancing for the quieter songs, which fully melted me into a puddle.

Concert 9 (10/27): Noah Kahan, Neumos

This ended up being one of my favorites of the month! The opener was JP Saxe, who I recognized partway through his set when he played “If the World Was Ending.” I’ve been listening to him a bunch since the concert with my favorite songs being “If the World Was Ending” and “Women Who Look Like You.”

JP Saxe’s vibe was WEIRD though and he made self depreciating jokes the audience would laugh at awkwardly and then he’d be like “so you’re laughing at me?” That combined with the content of his songs made me feel sorry for all the women he sang about.

JP Saxe (left) and Noah Kahan (right – far right in image)

Noah Kahan was really good! I didn’t think I was a big fan of his but then I knew every song. He talked a lot about how he got started and gave background behind songs that made them completely heartbreaking. My favorites are Young Blood (acoustic), which captures the sadness and uncertainty of your 20s, and Carlo’s Song, about his friend who died suddenly (the song doesn’t say it explicitly, but I’m assuming of suicide).

Since the concert, these have been two of my most played artists, so I would highly recommend checking them out!

10 Days in Japan

This November, I went to Japan with high school friend to visit a mutual friend living in Tokyo and, most importantly, to see the Japanese maple trees in fall! I’d been to Japan a few years ago in summer (strongly would NOT recommend – super hot and humid) and there was a lot of overlap in cities visited. This trip consisted of Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka.

Japan is a really easy place to travel to but I’ll include some of my top Japan travel tips at the end of this post!

This was a more expensive trip (for me), so I’d estimate my costs at about $900 for airfare, $200 transport, $300 food, $400 lodging, $150 museums & shows, $200 miscellaneous gifts and souvenirs for a total of $2150 for the trip, which actually matched my budget!

Summary

Day 1: Arrival in Tokyo
Day 2: Studio Ghibli, Vintage Shopping in Kōenji, Fancy Drinks in Shinjuku
Day 3: A Very Anime Day of Character Street, Akihabara, and the Naruto Musical
Day 4: Shopping in Shibuya, Teamlab Borderless, and a lot of Gundam
Day 5: Tsukiji Fish Market and Train to Hakone
Day 6: Hakone Loop
Day 7: Shinkansen to Kyoto, To-ji Flea Market, Kiyomizu-dera Night Illuminations
Day 8: Fushimi Inari and Kyoto Wanderings
Day 9: Nara & Arashiyama
Day 10: Osaka
Top Japan Travel Tips

Day 1: Arrival in Tokyo

You lose a lot of time flying to Japan from the US since you cross over the dateline, so even flying out mid-day Thursday we didn’t land until Friday afternoon.

Hopped up on adrenaline, we opted to do dinner with our friend after checking in to our hostel in Shinjuku, a big shopping and restaurant district in Tokyo.

The hostel, Imano Tokyo Hostel, was fine; I like staying in Shinjuku but the hostel is nothing special with only a free small security locker with a refundable deposit and a larger luggage locker available for rental. The rooms are clean and the location is close to the station, so generally no complains.

We went out to gyukatsu (beef katsu) for dinner and they had these table burners that you finished the meat on. Super good! I’m not totally sure where we went, but let’s say Gyukatsu Motomura, which looks about right based on the pictures online.

Day 2: Studio Ghibli, Vintage Shopping in Kōenji, Fancy Drinks in Shinjuku

We woke bright and early and spent an early morning wandering around a sleepy Shinjuku. We walked by the Robot Restaurant (still something I have to do!) and the Toho building with the giant Godzilla on it (I still have yet to see it blow smoke out of its mouth).

We met up with our friend for the Studio Ghibli Museum in the later morning and the museum was honestly pure magic. I cannot more strongly recommend it! It was one of the highlights of my trip and I really look forward to going back. Some of my favorite features of the museum were some spinning displays with characters in slightly different poses and strobed lights to create a stop motion animation effect that was incredibly striking. Unfortunately, pictures weren’t allowed within the museum.

After the studio and lunch at a conveyor belt sushi place on the top floor of a department store (very common), we headed to my friend’s neighborhood of Kōenji, which is known for its chic vintage shopping.

We grabbed some yakitori (grilled chicken on a skewer) at a casual local place near the station where they pulled down crates to make a quick table for us. My friend is awesome and fluent in Japanese so she ordered for us and we got a variety of chicken and pork options, including pork heart (which I loved) and pork tongue (also very good, and my friend’s favorite).

My travel buddy enjoying a St Germain Cocktail at the Spirits Bar

After our delicious yakitori dinner, we did some vintage shopping before hopping back to Shinjuku for drinks at the Spirits Bar (not Ben Fiddich, as we originally planned, but in the same building with the same concept, though weirdly American Southwest themed). This was my friend’s quasi birthday activity so drinks were more than I’d usually pay (about $20/each) but really tasty. They ask what your preferred liquor is and flavor profile and then craft you something original! I got an egg white drink with gin and gold flakes that I enjoyed in spite of not having great past experiences with egg whites. Plus I totally just ate the gold flakes on their own (spoiler, they taste like nothing).

We finished up the night with more katsu before parting ways, because you can never have too much katsu.

Day 3: A Very Anime Day of Character Street, Akihabara, and the Naruto Musical

I got up early again and headed over to the nearby Mister Donut for a morning mochi donut. Unfortunately, on the way, I got harassed by an incredibly creepy and persistent dude from Dubai who gave me an icky once over and only left me alone when I told him I was 28, instead of much younger, like he’d presumed. Super ick.

In the morning, we wandered around the Tokyo Station area to the Imperial Palace and Character Street (below the station). Character Street houses a variety of anime shops (even a Harry Potter store!) for children, and a lot of gashapon (Japanese vending machines for capsule toys).

In the afternoon, we met up with our friend in Akihabara, an area known for anime goods, manga, and waifu shops galore. My favorite stores were Robot Robot, a shop that houses multiple used anime goods stores (and TONS of Salior Moon merch), and Animate, which sells new merch.

Robot Robot was awesome and I kept finding Sailor Moon merch! I half blacked out in excitement, spent over $80, and walked out with a moon prism makeup replica, a handful of keychains, and a t-shirt, but that’s just how it goes sometimes.

In the evening, to finish off of our birthday festivities, we went to the Naruto Musical, which was an experience (sadly no pictures allowed, though you can check out the trailer below). I’m not the biggest Naruto fan (having been mostly exposed through fanfiction) and it was all in Japanese, so it was difficult to follow but mostly just felt like I was watching a very anime opera. The costumes and choreography were fantastic though and I would highly recommend checking it (or any of the other anime musicals) out if you’re in Japan! They do them in a few cities, so it’s best to check out the website. Tickets were about $70 each, and well worth it!

Day 4: Shopping in Shibuya, teamLab Borderless, and a lot of Gundam

We kicked off our morning with a visit to the Tokyo Metropolitan Building in Shinjuku. I’d highly recommend it because it’s one of the best views in Tokyo and totally free! I’ve never had much trouble getting in as the line moves quickly. The store at the top even sold Olympics merchandise, which was extremely tempting.

After, we headed over to Shibuya, a major shopping area, so my friend could get a pair of glasses at Jins and I could visit the Sailor Moon store.

Jins is a really awesome store where you can get glasses within 30 minutes. Literally. There are other similar stores in Japan but Jins was recommended to us for the English skills of the staff and the selection. You can try on glasses and either get your eyes tested for their prescription or, if you’re getting the same prescription as an existing pair, they can just test your glasses! You pay, leave for 30 minutes, they make your glasses in their on-site lab, and you get a beautiful new pair for the price tag on the frame! For my friend, that was about $80 for 1.61 index glasses, which is a fairly thin lens. She had a great experience and no issues! They do staple your receipt to your passport, which is a little weird, but I don’t think that caused any issues for her during border crossings.

After doing a bit of mall exploration, I walked over to the Sailor Moon Store through Cat Street, a cute shopping area with a lot of popular brands in America (though not strictly American brands) – sadly devoid of cats, to Harajuku, where the Sailor Moon store was. Harajuku is a “counterculture” fashion area, though I think it’s gotten really commercial within the last 10 years and is more targeted at teens. It’s still very rainbowy and fun and worth a stop if you’re interested in looking at shops with lolita clothes.

After an afternoon of shopping, we headed to Odaiba to go to teamLab Borderless, an interactive art experience. If this is something you’re interested in doing (which it should be!), I recommend buying tickets in advance ($35ish) and budgeting around 2 hours to walk around. TeamLab Borderless was extremely cool with different rooms that played around with light and projections. It’s a really tactile experience and super stunning for photos (which are allowed).

We were running very late meeting our friend for dinner but heard that Odaiba both had good views of the Rainbow Bridge, a replica of the Statue of Liberty, and a Gundam Statue, so we had to check them out. We ended up getting sidetracked getting there and cut through a Toyota center with a track and a car museum in a shopping mall? It was very confusing. When we did find the Gundam Statue, it started transforming and had a light show. It was incredible.

Not my video but I missed filming the first part of the transformation. Our music and light show was a lot more campy though!

In addition to the statue, we made a quick detour to the Gundam Cafe (there are many throughout Japan) and the Gundam Base, which had an insane amount of Gundam models for display and sale.

We ran over to the Statue of Liberty after this and that was as bizarre as expected – located next to a Kua ‘Aina Burger, a small Hawaii burger chain, which was delightful.

After snapping some pics, we rushed back to Shinjuku (very late) where we grabbed ramen with our friend at Afuri, a ramen shop that specializes in yuzu broth (yum!) and has konnyaku noodles (konnyaku is made from…a sort of yam? Sort of? Go read about it on Wikipedia). The shop was very cool with great food and you placed orders by making selections on a machine and handing the resulting slips to the host. It was honestly very confusing and I don’t think I would have figured it out without my friend who had been before.

Day 5: Tsukiji Fish Market and Train to Hakone

We started our day with a last minute trip to the Tsukiji Fish Market before leaving Tokyo. We grabbed lots of tasty snacks through the market, including fishcake, mochi with strawberries, grilled squid, and some incredibly fresh sushi.

After, we headed to Hakone with the Hakone Pass (an absolute essential – I talk about it in the “Tips” section) and took the 1 hour train over. We saw Mt Fuji on the way, which was nice because it was too cloudy the following day to see it from Hakone.

It was a steep 15 minute walk up to our hostel, K’s House Hakone, which I would highly recommend! The hostel was lovely with an indoor and outdoor onsen (hot spring bath) that rotated between men and women between different times and days. Our roommates were two really sweet girls from New Zealand who we had a great time chatting with that night! Lockers are spacious and the security of the rooms and bathroom availability was good. The hostel was really social and had a large lovely common room with a view and kitchen with fridges for communal use. The vibes were really conducive to socializing and we ended up drinking and chatting with some folks on our second night there.

Because it was 3PM by the time we dropped our stuff at the hostel, it was starting to get dark so we didn’t have time to do much exploring, particularly since Hakone buses have last pick ups around 5PM. Instead, we explored the area around the hostel, ate a lot of manju (a baked filled treat, often region specific), some fancy custard, and went to the onsen at Hakone Yuryo for a long soak, which was excellent!

Image of Hakone Yuryo off Klook since photos weren’t allowed (obviously), with my dream soaking tubs.

As some quick tips for onsen culture, it’s gender separated and totally nude. You can either bring a towel or rent (sometimes, though it wasn’t available here so we had to purchase some expensive towels). Having a “face towel” is key, since this is something that you’ll carry around with you between onsen and sometimes sit on for benches, etc. You start by undressing and putting your things in a locker and then take a shower. You then go nude with your face towel into the onsen area. Only real rules here are don’t get your towel in the water and tie up your hair if it’s long!

Day 6: Hakone Loop

Hakone’s whole deal is that: 1) you can go there to see Mount Fuji, and 2) you travel around the area in a loop using different forms of transportation. Since completing the loop was my top goal for the trip, we woke up bright and early to start the loop – kicking off with the Hakone Open Air Museum. This had been top of my list for the trip and it didn’t really meet my expectations (which were unreasonably high) but it did photograph well. Most of the collection is large outdoor structures that are particularly cool if you’re under 12, since then you can climb on and through some of the installations. I really came for the stained glass tower, which photographed really well but, again, unreasonably high expectations.

After the museum, we took the cable car and ropeway up through the loop – stopping to grab some eggs that they cook with the volcano (black, but otherwise totally normal hardboiled eggs).

At this point, my friend and I split up so she could go to the grasslands in the north (super lovely pictures but she had some trouble navigating the buses back) and I took the pirate ship across the lake south! You can usually see Fuji from the boat, but it was too cloudy.

From there, I wandered around the Hakone Tokaido Checkpoint (honestly skippable), Onshi Hakone Park (a nice nature walk), and the Ancient Cedar Avenue (fine) – all in the same area. At this point, feeling pretty cold and tired, I grabbed a mix of craft beers and other drinks from a conbini (the Japanese beers were weirdly about the same $2/can that they are in the states?) and headed back to the hostel to warm up!

Day 7: Shinkansen to Kyoto, To-ji Flea Market, Kiyomizu-dera Night Illuminations

I woke up the next morning feeling pretty stuffy, likely not assisted by the drinking the night before, but otherwise feeling good!

We took the short train back to Odawara and then the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto. This was our most expensive train of the trip and came in at about $120 and took 2 hours. We ended up having some Mt Fuji views from here too!

Autumn was actually started in Kyoto, which afforded us our first real taste of fall leaves (peak leaf season is usually mid-November through early December, so it was running late).

We checked in to our hostel, Len Kyoto Kawaramachi, when we arrived and this hostel was seriously adorable. The bottom floor is a cafe/bar (a bit too hopping for my taste), decorated in a reclaimed wood and plant-filled way that wouldn’t look out of place in Seattle. The beds were comfy and we had nice sized lockers!

I checked to see if any local events were happening while we were in Kyoto and it turned out that To-ji Temple was having it’s monthly flea market that day, so we headed over! It was really fun, definitely one of the highlights of my trip, so I’d highly recommend it if you’re in Kyoto on the 21st of the month! The market was massive with a lot of used kimono and food booths (I got an adzuki filled pancake with yam – OMG, so good).

After, we headed to the Pokemon Center (personally I think the ones in Tokyo and Osaka are better) and Nishiki Market for some treats. I got octopus stuffed with quail egg, dango on a stick (a type of mochi made with rice flour), and hojicha (roasted green tea) soft serve, which I had been on the prowl for since I couldn’t find any in Tokyo.

After more food, we headed over to Kiyomizu-dera Temple for their nighttime autumn illuminations. Entry was $6 and had great Japanese maples leaves in full force autumn and a nice reflecting pool (my favorite part of night illuminations!). We also stopped at the Ghibli store on the way, which is cutely decorated like a forest.

Day 8: Fushimi Inari and Kyoto Wanderings

We got up early for Fushimi Inari shrine because it gets crazy busy. Fushimi Inari shrine is the inari (fox) shrine with thousands of torii (red gates / arches). It’s a prime photo destination in Kyoto so the area near the bottom of the mountain is very crowded, though you can usually easily get some open spots as you get further up. I think it look me about 2 hours to get to the top (with a few detours to side shrines) and less than 1 hour to get down, but I hike quickly and jogged down. It’s a beautiful area and I would say well worth the time to climb to the top (though the prime lookout is about 20 minutes from the top). It’s a loop, so you don’t go up and down the same way and there are many shrines to see along the way!

While I was waiting for my friend to finish the hike, I walked down Yokai Street near Kitano Tenmagu Shrine. Yokai are Japanese spirits, often from discarded or broken household items, like broken umbrellas or a lost slipper. The street had shops with yokai of each appropriate type in front of them (like a doughy lady in front of a bakery). I also stopped at the Marry France bakery, where I snagged a truly sick matcha anpan with a 10:1 filling to bun ratio (ideal), before meeting up with my friend at the Imperial Palace. We wandered around shopping for a bit and both accidentally bought kimono while debating whether I was “Japanese” enough to get away with wearing it in the US.

I wandered around a bit more that night and passed by Yasaka Shrine, the Gora Shirakawa area (quaint willow tree lined waterway on a restaurant street), and Shoren-in Monzeki Shrine, where they were also doing autumn illuminations. Their attraction were blue LEDs on the lawn that looked like a starfield. That was pretty cool but then I saw a tanuki in the parking lot. I was insanely stoked but my camera kept jamming as it was drinking from a bucket and I only took some cryptid level pics as it was scurrying away. Tanuki are Japanese “raccoon-dogs” and I always thought they looked cute in pictures but this bugger was scruffy and very weirdly proportioned.

I ended my evening on a pedestrian path in the middle of the river and sat listening to the guitar music from the bridge. It was a lovely evening and I stayed until I got too cold, just looking into the restaurants along the water.

Day 9: Nara & Arashiyama

Nara and Aarashiyama are both easy day trips from Kyoto (about an hour for each, or less) and ambitiously we squeezed both in to the same day.

Nara is known for its bowing deer and big Buddha statue and Arashiyama has an excellent bamboo forest and monkey mountain. We managed to fit in all of that except the monkeys, which I saw last time (definitely worth it – you can feed them!).

We started the day in Nara, where I scored two kinds of mochi before we even reached the deer park. The deer in Nara are a lot – both in terms of sheer numbers and also persistence in being fed. You’re allowed to feed the deer special crackers ($2/stack) and pet them but the real attraction is that the deer will bow for crackers. They’re very cute, usually pretty tolerant of being pet, and will try to eat your clothes if you’re not feeding them quickly enough. My top tip is to buy some crackers, hide them, go to an area with only one deer, and then just feed that one. If you have multiple deer in the area, you will inevitably not feed them quickly enough and they will start munching on you.

After taking a gratuitous number of deer pictures and videos, I headed over to the Buddha statue at the Todai-ji Temple. I’d been too cheap to see it last time and it is big. Pictures honestly do not adequately convey how large this Buddha is but it is a whopping 49 feet in height. Y’all gotta see this Buddha.

I wandered around the park a bit and grabbed some ume (plum) favored soft serve before heading to the station to wait for my friend.

We hit up Arashiyama later than planned, so we had to cut the monkey park, but still got to the bamboo forest. It was really crowded because we’d forgotten it was the weekend, so I’d recommend coming on a weekday instead. I found a path up the mountain by the pond and following it up a short but steep path to several lookout points. It was a lovely little hike and took me about 20 minutes up and 10 minutes down (sprinting). We stopped at a cafe on the way back to the station to grab a hot honey yuzu drink and headed back to the hostel to prep for our last leg to Osaka in the morning.

Day 10: Osaka

This was our last full day in Japan and we spent it in Osaka since we were flying out early the next morning.

Osaka isn’t my favorite city, and I’d recommend sticking with Kyoto and Tokyo as your two cities if you have a limited time in Japan.

We took the hour-long train over (I think less than $10 – a really good deal) to Osaka and dropped off our luggage at the hotel. This was our one hotel of the trip, Eins.Inn Umeda Higashi, and it was fine. We picked it for the location (I would highly recommend staying in Umeda) and because the price was reasonable split between two people but overall the room was very small and nothing fancy.

We started out our sightseeing by wandering around Osaka Castle, which we planned to go into but didn’t want to brave the queue for tickets and entry. There was a ramen festival happening near the station, but lines here were also long and we weren’t feeling it.

From there, we wandered around the shopping areas of Shinsekai and Dotomburi. Shinsekai seemed to be the Akihabara of Osaka with a lot of anime stores, though I did see a very cute business filled with old men playing go (my heart was about to burst) and a lot of places where you could play carnival-style “shoot to knock over boxes” games. Dotomburi has a lot of street food, shops, and a plethora of really big signs, but mostly we just snapped some pictures.

We wrapped up our afternoon with a trip to the Pokemon Center and to Don Quixote to pick up flavored kit kats to bring as omiyage (travel gifts) for friends at home.

I finished up my evening by wandering around looking at the winter illuminations (Osaka goes all in for Christmas, and there were a lot of decorations up) both on the island south of Umeda and the Midosuji Illumination, which is a 4km stretch of illuminated trees down a main thoroughfare, one of the longest illuminated streets in the world. These are all part of Osaka’s Festival of the Light, which takes place every holiday season. Unfortunately, the Osaka Hikari Renaissance portion of the festival wasn’t yet started, but the pictures look fantastic with intricate projections against city buildings.

Thus concluded my trip to Japan! I’m glad I could cross off seeing the Japanese maples trees in autumn from my bucket list. I don’t plan on returning soon since I’ve now been twice within three years, but I want to come back next during spring for the sakura (Japanese cherry blossoms)!

Top Japan Travel Tips

You don’t need an adapter (or a visa, at least in 2019) if you’re from the US. Though I’ve never seen a three prong outlet, so watch out there.
For easy conversion calculations, just divide by 100 to get to a rough cost in USD.
Your GPS will work with some success in Tokyo. It’s about the same issue you have with other big cities of buildings blocking the signals. Businesses also get to pick their own street numbers (so confusing!) and streets aren’t really labeled.
Know your cell coverage before you go. Some providers are better than others in Japan, particularly when it comes to network availability!
If you want to buy flavored kit kats, go to Don Quixote. Don Quixote is sort of the Walmart of Japan and a great spot to go if you need to buy…anything. They usually have a floor that’s just luxury goods too, in case you need to stock up on Prada.
A JR Pass might be worth it, but you should crunch the numbers. It’s easy to find the cost of transport online and when I ran the numbers it would have been twice as expensive to get the JR Pass for this trip. If you’re going to many cities that are far apart and taking several Shinkansen, it’s likely worth it to get a JR Pass (though you’ll still need to pick up Shinkansen tickets at an office) but we only took one Shinkansen, so it wasn’t. The pass doesn’t work everywhere – only on the JR trains, so it’s probably still worth following my tip below on the Suica card, even if you do get a JR Pass.
Get a Suica card. Thanks to my friend for this tip! This is a loadable “travel card” you can use on most forms of public transportation across the country. This will just spare you the headache of buying dozens of train tickets from the machines. For Shinkansen (the high speed) train, I would still recommend going to buy a ticket from the office because they often will either want you to reserve a seat or sit in special unreserved cars and, since this is an expensive purchase, you don’t want to mess it up.
Have a well-practiced “sumimasen” (sorry / excuse me) ready for when you inevitably have to push your way out of a crowded subway car.
Conbini. Japanese convenience stores (a.k.a. “conbini”) are the absolute best thing about Japan in my opinion. Conbini are everywhere in the major cities (honestly, averaging about one per block) with the major chains of 7-Eleven (my personal favorite), Lawson, and FamilyMart. They’re an excellent option for picking up a small snack (like musubi or anpan – MY FAVORITE), bottle of tea or water (also easily purchased from the plentiful street vending machines), or shirts/socks/razors/sewing kits – basically anything you might need. The food is healthy, tasty, cheap, and regularly restocked!
Just face the reality that you will be creating a lot of extra waste. Japan, while awesome, is not on the waste minimalism bandwagon and be prepared for your purchases to be wrapped in individual bags and put in a bigger bag, sealed shut with a piece of tape. The packaging is immaculate and adorable and incredibly wasteful.
If you want to go to Studio Ghibli in Tokyo (which you absolutely should), buy tickets from a third party, and do it EARLY. It was a total nightmare trying to figure out how to buy the tickets and we ultimately just ended up buying a “tour” (meaning they walked us from the station to the museum) from Klook for $40ish, which included entry. It’s really hard to buy from Ghibli directly and you can buy from a conbini in advance but it was a confusing process we ultimately abandoned.
Bring a coin purse. Japan, like many countries, uses a lot of coins (from 1 yen up to 500 yen) and I found it helpful to keep my change is a separate pouch to keep it easily accessible.
If traveling in summer, bring an umbrella and a small discreet face towel / handkerchief. These are both items you’ll find locals carrying. The umbrella keeps the sun off you and the handkerchief helps with the gross amount of sweat you’ll be generating. We loved these PackTowels in the “face” size off Amazon two summers ago – they dried quickly and were blessedly absorbent.
If you’re going to Hakone, get the Hakone pass. The Hakone pass (about $60 for a 2 day pass, depending) is great and can even save you money coming from Tokyo, so I’d recommend getting it before departing for Hakone. It covers all the transport in Hakone, which is very convenient and I’m pretty sure saves a lot if you’re doing the ropeway, cable car, and pirate ship. The buses are also covered and work fine besides the poor and confusing labeling and early stop times.