Stockholm

Tuesday, 18 November 2014Tuesday, 18 November 2014 Starr2 Comments

We only had 5 hours in Sweden’s capital. It was August 3, 2013 (haha ohmy how late these posts are) and it was easily one of THE nicest days we were able to enjoy, weather-wise. Essentially, we only had time to:

Take our necessary ho/ho tour (on a hop-on/hop-off bus)
Walk around town
Browse the Nobel museum
Eat Swedish meatballs

However, there were so many things that we didn’t get to do in that teeny amount of time, like:

Visit the ABBA museum
Check out the famous metro station art
Go to the giant flagship IKEA at the border of the city

But enough about what we missed out on. I still had a really good time during my 5 short hours in Stockholm!

One of the reasons I was supremely sad at how short our stay was in Stockholm was the fact that the weather was absolutely perfect. It may have been the most perfect day of the entire trip, even.

Just look at how gorgeous it was! And there’s a VIKING LINE, come on.

We spent most of our time on the ho/ho bus, learning about Stockholm and taking in the sights, because our time was so limited. (Fun fact: Yo, Stockholm is a very wealthy city. There are some residents who pay 51% income tax. Officially, more of their income goes to the state than into their own pockets. And they still live like ballers.)

By the time we reached Stockholm, I really wanted to live by the water. A lot. Almost desperately.

Oh man, Stockholm was a beautiful city, it truly was. But let’s not forget those highlights! Like Swedish non-IKEA meatballs:

Verdict: Not really great, from this shop. Honestly, I prefer IKEA’s plates more but the IKEA has its own zipcode and was far away so.

I also got to visit the Nobel museum!

We weren’t able to stay long enough for a guided tour, but you know, all in all, I had a nice time in Stockholm. It was a beautiful city that I cannot afford, but I’d love to spend a little longer there next time. (And see the ABBA museum!)

Helsinki

Friday, 17 October 2014Friday, 17 October 2014 StarrLeave a comment

I left St. Petersburg feeling sad, to be quite honest. I was leaving my motherland (let me hold onto this possible lie my mother told me about my ancestry) and going to Finland, a country I really didn’t know anything about.

I am so glad I was proven wrong.

In short, I simply loved the feeling of Helsinki. I’m so fond of the city now. You know how every city has its own vibe, its own energy? Whatever that feeling was in Helsinki, I drank it up and reveled in it, despite the drizzly weather. (If it wasn’t so drizzly, we would have seen the sun rise at 4:30 AM and set at 10:30 PM. WHAT.)

Helsinki is where we started getting real with hop-on/hop-off buses, aka ho-ho buses. We got off our cruise ship and were greeted with this fun pink butterfly campaign for tourists, which I thought was SO cute.

Little pink butterflies were painted onto the asphalt. Helsinki certainly is welcoming to tourists!

Being greeted with this view of the sea helped boost my first impression of Helsinki as well. It was such a perfect day. I just remember… loving the feeling of Helsinki. The energy of the people, the personality of the city. I loved it much more than I thought I would, and I came away so pleasantly surprised by how wonderful Helsinki is. Maybe it was the result of having such loooooong daylight hours in the Scandinavian summer. The day we were in Helsinki, the sun rose at 4:30 AM and set at 10:30 PM. Imagine going outside at 10 PM and the sun hasn’t even begun to set. I remember thinking that the people were incredibly friendly but kept the thought in the back of my mind that they might be a lot grouchier in the winter, when the sun comes up around after 9 and is down before 4. But on this magnificent day, everyone smiled and was extremely friendly.

A lady making giant bubbles in the park for the beautiful little Finnish children? YEP, I love this city.

We visited the 1952 Helsinki Olympic stadium, and got to go up to the very top of the very tall tower.

The stadium tower stands at 72.71 metres (238.5 ft), which is the distance that Finnish javelin gold medalist Matti Järvinen threw in the 1932 Olympics.

Definitely can’t complain about the view…

We also spotted people waiting in line for audition for Finnish Idol? Or Finland's Got Talent? — We also spotted people waiting in line for audition for Finnish Idol? Or Finland’s Got Talent?

After a trip to the weirdly fancy and nice bathroom (can’t quite describe how it was fancy but… it was), we got to go into the stadium and it was awesome.

After proving the theory that a delayed bus only comes after a) I have walked away b) far enough that I have to run back to catch it (this theory has been proven right every time so far), we explored some of the sites that we saw on our first loop of the ho/ho bus.

Climbed allllllll these steps to enjoy a peaceful moment in Helsinki Cathedral while it sprinkled just the barest bit of rain outside.

We walked the quiet but still lively streets of Helsinki and grabbed some lunch at an open-air market. It seemed to be catering mostly to tourists but eh, I didn’t mind at all and was more than happy to be a tourist.

Grabbed myself a mad yummy lunch of little fried fish, veggies, and potatoes. MAN I still remember how this hit the spot on one of our few dreary days.

Also, I saw maybe one of my FAVORITE churches of the whole trip, and as you recall, I saw a lot lot of churches. I mean, I already saw the Helsinki Cathedral.

This, my dear friends, is Temppeliaukio Church, aka Church of the Rock. It was carved out of solid rock. It feels like you’re in a cave, except there’s daylight pouring in from all sides. The roof is copper coiled around itself thousands of times.

Easily one of the most unique churches I’ve ever seen in my life. Also, the acoustics are amazing in here because of the rock walls.

DEFINITELY visit if you are in Helsinki. While you’re there, you should also visit the Sibelius Monument, dedicated to composer Jean Sibelius.

Also, random thing, but I noticed a lot of cafes where you could eat al fresco had all the chairs facing the road? I saw this a few other times in Europe but it was definitely super apparent in Helsinki.

Here’s a few more photos from my time in Helsinki, including a lot of STRANGE Helsinki-ans in the streets I spotted.

Alexander III wasn’t only popular in Russia

So fond of Helsinki, truly. I hope I get to go back someday.

Vancouver

Friday, 26 September 2014 Starr3 Comments

It was sad, but eventually we ha to say goodbye to Alaska and to our home-away-from-home.

Run Sarah, Run postcard -- "You Betcha!" — Oh yes, this was a postcard I spotted in Alaska.

We disembarked in Vancouver, where I promptly lost my cabin card (thus delaying my getting off the ship) and saw a million children coming off the Disney cruise docked next to us. I’ve been really looking forward to visiting Vancouver because, although I’ve made a few visits to the West Coast

Our first stop was Stanley Park, which is definitely one of the most beautiful parks I have ever seen.

We didn’t have enough time to explore the entire park, but we were able to stop by and see the Rose Garden. It was gorgeous.

I wish I could really capture how beautiful this garden is.

We spent a bit of time in downtown Vancouver, which I enjoyed. The downtown area is more urban than I think I was expecting it to be, but it wasn’t overwhelming or dirty. (Although there is a small chance that there was an exchanging of drugs across my chest at one point, I cannot confirm this.)Read More »

Before I Die…

ImageMonday, 15 September 2014Tuesday, 23 September 2014 Starr1 Comment

If you’ve seen those “Before I die” chalkboards, you should check out the one in Juneau, Alaska.

Alaska: The Last Frontier

Tuesday, 9 September 2014Tuesday, 23 September 2014 Starr2 Comments

Last time on “Starr blogging regularly and in time with actual current events in her life”, I had started telling you guys about my family trip to Alaska by telling you about the cruise ship where I spent most of the vacation.

Let me tell you about Alaska itself. In brief, I loved Alaska. It left a really deep impression on me that I’m going to attempt to summarize in a 3 key points.

1) There’s something incredibly patriotic about visiting Alaska, our last frontier. I felt more American coming home. Seeing the vast expanses of untouched land out there and thinking about the folks who came out here in search of a better life really helps you think about the history of the state and of our nation. This is the same pristine beauty that people beheld during the gold rush. Even though we think of the United States in terms of the cities, seeing Alaska makes me think of the scenic beauty in this country that many Americans will never see outside of a calendar or screensaver. I was seeing a side of America that seemed unmarred by modernity. I felt connected to the grandness that Americans before me had fallen in love with.

Seeing bald eagles soaring everywhere definitely lends to the overall feeling of AMERICA.

2) Another thing that lent itself to my increased feelings of American identity was how much respect there was for the First Nations people. Each state has its own culture, and the culture of Alaska seems very much connected to the cultures of its First Nations people. I learned as much about the Tlingit during this trip as I did about the Lenni Lenape (the First Nations people of New Jersey that we learned about in the fourth grade). I saw more Native American art on this trip than I have maybe ever seen, and a great deal of it wasn’t in a museum. From the totem pole outside the governor’s mansion to the sculptures in the airport, it was clear to me that the First Nations people of the region are held in reverence, and I can only hope that the rest of the country can follow suit.

The Tlingit story of the Eagle and the Raven features very prominently in Alaskan decoration

Totems at the Totem Heritage Center in Ketchikan, Alaska. These were over 10 feet tall and you can see the years that have tolled on them

Decoration on the glass roof of a bus stop

3) A very uniquely Alaska point in American history is its rich gold rush history. Most towns/”cities” in Alaska started out as prospecting towns, so I learned an immense amount about the incredible pasts of these towns. The preparation that went into going out to Alaska was massive. To leave home and go thousands of miles to live in this cold frontier, you had to bring literally one year’s supply of food with you. Think about people making multiple trips over mountains and ice fields with pounds and pounds of cans and sacks so that they could feed themselves and their family for possibly an entire year. One big takeaway is that where there is gold, you will find so many saloons and brothels, oftentimes more than there were prospectors!

Creek Strete in Ketchikan, the most picturesque Red Light District I saw on this trip.

Dolly’s House: where both men and salmon swim upstream to spawn

Other fun tidbits from my trip:

I went ziplining for the first time in my life with my brother — on North America’s fastest, longest, and highest zip-line. It was GREAT.

A rather unattractive photo of me coming back to the ground
The state flower of Alaska is the forget-me-not. I’ve always liked forget-me-nots but I think I came home loving them.
I wasn’t able to see any live salmon but Alaskan salmon is a big deal and you likely already know that
No aurora activity while we were there, but remember the great thing about summers farther north in latitude: crazy early sunrise, crazy late sunset.
This photo was taken our first evening in Alaska at dinner. It was 10 PM.

Sunrise: 4:33 AM Sunset: 11:22 PM
I tried reindeer meat via reindeer sausage included in some dishes. I don’t really eat non-Chinese sausage but it was pretty good!
Seafood étoufée from Simon & Seafort’s in Juneau, Alaska, featuring some REINDEER SAUSAGE

FUN BONUS: Finding my name in random places!

One of the Tlingit totem poles was carved for the STARR family

Walter A. STARR, U of Cali graduate who went out to Alaska in search of gold

All in all, I had a great time in Alaska and was so rejuvenated by the time we made it to Vancouver for the last leg of our trip. Here are just a few random fun photos from our trip: