France

I had booked a little mini vacation of 2.5 weeks and had planned to head to the southwest of Europe.  My trip started with the usual Copenhagen flight, slightly complicated by the ongoing train strike from Malmö to Copenhagen.  I managed to get to my flight on time, and after arriving in Paris, I found a new strike waiting for me on the French trains.  With a bit of wandering, I got to my hostel anyway and checked in.  I met some new friends and headed out for dinner.  After dinner we went to a random little bar that one of the girls had heard about, called Pop In, that always has live music playing.  After climbing up to the attic then down the back steps to the cellar, we found what had to be the most random show I have ever seen.  A guy from Texas beat boxing while wearing big masks and playing multiple characters. 

 

Sacre-Coeur

The next day I did my standard walking tour and enjoyed the huge amounts of famous locations in Paris.  It was really neat to see and visit so many iconic places that I've seen in movies, or read about.  That evening I managed to meet up with my old roommate Mathias and we had dinner, then watched the French world cup game at a little bar by his place. Afterwards we headed out for a beer at the same crazy little bar from the night before. 

 

The Eiffel Tower

The next morning me and Mathias met up and headed over to the Eiffel tower area to take some pictures.  We spotted a little grocery store about a block from the Eiffel tower and picked up some beer and picnic food and relaxed in the park.  Which is a great way to enjoy the area without spending too much.

Out enjoying Fete De La Musique with Anne-Laure

That evening was the "Fete De La Musique" and so we met up with my friend Anne-Laure and her friends to go and enjoy the music and the street parties.  It was awesome! 

The next day I met up with one of my old high school friends, Alysse, who happened to be in Paris at the same time as me by coincidence.  After a couple of drinks I headed back to my hostel, met up with Mathias and we found the most amazing little Chinese restaurant that had just opened 3 weeks before.  

That evening I took the train to Lyon with Anne-Laure, who's house I would be couch surfing at for the next few days.  

Lyon

Lyon is a beautiful city and is very peaceful and fun to explore for two reasons.  The first reason is that it lies between two rivers the Saone and the Rhone which makes for many kilometers of parks and pathways to walk through.  The second reason it is so fun to explore, is the traboules which are small passages that run between buildings everywhere.   Originally designed for carrying silk to market, without getting rained on, today they are concealed by the doors of Lyon.  To find them you can get a map at the tourist center, or you can just wander through Lyon trying doors and pushing unlabeled buttons hoping they unlock the doors.  I'm sure that about half of Lyon was annoyed by me wandering by shaking their door and ringing their doorbells!  

One of the courtyards I found in the Traboules

After a fun day of exploring I met up right Anne-Laure and we headed off for dinner at a traditional restaurant and a little exploring around town.  The next day I explored a different area of town and enjoyed a bit of time relaxing near the river.  After meeting up with Anne-Laure we cooked dinner and enjoyed sitting with her roommate on the  patio, drinking wine, and enjoying a few lovely french cheeses.

 Me enjoying smelly french cheeses.

The next day I slept in a little before getting a lovely email telling me my flight from Lyon scheduled for that evening, was canceled.  After a little scrambling I got that sorted out and was off to the mall, where I bought a new book and a drink and lay by the river enjoying the sun.  After Anne-Laure got off work she cooked a lovely seafood dinner and I was off on my next adventure!

A few more pictures from Paris:

 Notre Dame

 Outside the Louvre

 Arch de Triomphe du Carrousel

 Place de la Concorde

 Av des Champs-Elysees

A few more pictures of Lyon:

 Ancient Roman Theater up on the hill.

 The Cathedral

 One of the many beautiful courtyards discovered while exploring the Traboules

 Hotel de Ville

 The river, and Cathedral by night.

The Netherlands

The 2nd weekend of June was a long weekend in Sweden, and so I had planned a trip to Amsterdam and the surrounding area. 

 

Alkmaar

I started out with a quick visit to Alkmaar to visit my friend Kintija, who I had met in Latvia and Lithuania. We explored the town and enjoyed the old fashioned cheese market, before meeting some of her friends for ice cream.

 The cheese market

Funny running guys with cheese

 Me and a Windmill

That night I checked in to my hostel next to the Van Gough museum in Amsterdam, and headed out to wander the town.  Amsterdam is a really interesting city with attractions ranging from the red light district and pot cafes, to famous museums and parks.  The downtown core is divided by canals and small streets hiding lots of little bars and restaurants.  After a great wander through town avoiding being run down by crazy Amsterdamers on two wheels, I found an amazing little bar called Hansel and Gretal to enjoy a beer next to the canal.   From my safe vantage point in the bar I was able to enjoy watching all of the other pedestrians trying to avoid being hit by the cyclists. (Its far funner to watch when it isn't you!)  

People plotting how to run me over.

The next morning I headed off on the free walking tour where I met a new friend to go for a beer with.   We went back to the same pubs from the night before and did a little people watching before going past the I Amsterdam sign.

 The I Amsterdam Sign

That night I was staying with my buddy Vincent in Haarlem, so I headed off on the train and we met up.  Haarlem has a nice little brewery so we headed there, sat down, started working from one end of the taps to the other while enjoying some traditional dutch snacks.   After that we headed by the restaurant and had a great dinner before hitting the store and then moving on to a relaxing night of beer and snacks.

 Vincent in Haarlem

The next day I headed back to Amsterdam and my flight home with enough time for a relaxing lunch on a patio.