Saturday, June 14, 2014

triple feature - skagen/aalborg/amsterdam

I wasn't sure if I wanted to do this as three separate blog entries or one. Rather than be annoying and post different blog entries one after the other, I decided to keep it as one. You're welcome :)

So, this "triple feature" features three places:

SKAGEN (pronounced "skane")- the most northern part of Denmark. It's Denmark's main fishing port and also where tons of Danes go on holiday. It is most known for being the location where two different seas (the Baltic and North) meet. We took a ferry and drove to get here. It's about 5.5 hours from Copenhagen. We stayed at a cool old manor house pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but it was a very peaceful area. Highlights were the long walk on the beach to where the seas met, seeing the fish houses along the old docks, and maybe the fierce round of "Dino Minigolf" we played in a completely deserted (but really nice) minigolf course. This was a very quiet town overall, but there was one street near the fish houses that had lots of nightlife and bars on it. It was actually pretty hysterical, as we are used to seeing teens and younger people around Copenhagen drunk as skunks. But in Skagen, it was all older people. And they were WASTED.



AALBORG- the fourth largest city in Denmark. It's culturally fulfilling and mostly known as an industrial and university city. We stopped and stayed overnight here on the drive back since you pretty much pass by on the way back from the north of Denmark. Aside from dinner and drinks, we didn't experience too much here. On the day we left, we checked out a cool round tower that offered a good view of the city.


SKAGEN/AALBORG PHOTOS (opens in new window)

AMSTERDAM- well, I don't think I need to explain! But just in case, this amazing city is the most populated area in the Netherlands. This was one of the places I wanted to visit the most during our European travels. And it was even more beautiful and amazing than I expected it to be! The Dutch people are incredibly friendly. Highlights were the Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank Museum (very powerful), seeing the many beautiful canals and taking a dinner cruise on them one night, an amazing vegetarian restaurant called Betty's, a super fun tour and tasting at the House of Bohl's (a distillery), and the very unique and interesting Red Light District. And before you wonder too much about it- no, Jason and I did not partake in any drug activity- though it was a little tempting with all the "coffee houses" around and the constant scent of marijuana in the air.


AMSTERDAM PHOTOS (opens in new window)






Thursday, June 12, 2014

noma



Let me preface this by saying that I didn't think this day would come. If you don't know about Noma, I will explain. You may have seen it on Anthony Bourdain's show. Or, you may have just heard it referenced as the "#1 restaurant in the world"...because, well, that's what it is. Officially, it has been rated the #1 restaurant in the world (by Restaurant Magazine) in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014. Count 'em...four years total. 


And here's a short video on Noma via YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4cJJs5bOfs

The deal with Noma is that you pretty much need several months to a year before you have even the slightest chance of getting a reservation. Jason happened to be prepared for the moment the system opened up for June reservations and was incredibly lucky to score us lunch reservations. 

It was an amazing experience. Everyone who works at Noma (people from all over the world) are incredibly passionate about their jobs...whether they are a server or chef. They are the ultimate experts in what they do and you could feel their energy radiating off of them. The food, while incredibly eccentric and experimental (hello...real ANTS), it all tasted amazing. They easily catered to me (the vegetarian) with a slightly different menu. 20 courses (yes, for real) came at pretty rapid speed. Most of them were quite small, so it wasn't too overwhelming. Still, I think we all felt pretty full (and us wine drinkers felt a little...well, you know) by the end of the experience. All in all, it took about 4 hours. But it flew by and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

This was an experience I never thought we would have while living in Copenhagen and am thankful for it. 

Enjoy...