Cadillac, France

So you learn that France has a town named Cadillac. Should you have already known this? Do you know the relationship between the French city and the famous car company in Detroit? I sure didn’t. I will tell you, there is actually a relationship, but I’m not going to tell you what it is – ok maybe I will tell you at the end of this article.


Just an absolutely lovely medieval town right off the Garonne river near Bordeaux. Like many towns in this area, it has a good and bad history with the river. Prior to having modern river locks and dams, the towns along the Garonne would occasionally be inundated with the angry backwash and literally flood. At certain times in history, flood levels in the city were as high as 12 meters – that’s nearly 40 feet! But this is the same river that helps water some of the oldest vineyards in the world, and was the lifeline for supplies and commerce for the people living here. Today’s locks and dams keep the river at bay, for the most part, although some minor flooding does still happen on occasion.


As much as possible, the town has preserved the structures from the days of yore, some dating back to the 12th century. Much of the town is built around the 17th century castle. It was a party castle, meaning the famous duke that built it used it to entertain other aristocrats and politicians. It boasted 60 bedrooms, over 20 fireplaces, and had walls covered in gold and silk tapestries. Old Duke Epernon fell from the kings favor and died in disgrace. His son took over the castle and continued construction and decoration efforts. It eventually came to be plundered during the French revolution. The state took it over in 1818 and converted it into a women’s prison! This remained until around 1952, when it was converted into a tourist attraction. Just love the european history!

And that’s it. Oh wait, yes, the name Cadillac. The name of the French town was adopted by Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, the founder of Detroit and Governor of Louisiana, on his arrival to what is now the United States. The Cadillac division of General Motors, and Cadillac, Michigan are named after him. Pretty interesting!


Bordeaux Riverboat Cruise

Bordeaux Riverboat Cruise

Hi folks,

Just wanted to let you know, The Travelin’ Man is on the move! Later this week we will embark on a delicious riverboat cruise through the world renowned vineyards of France. Don’t worry, I´ll take lots of pictures and describe the beautiful vineyards, castles, and towns that we visit. Follow with us as we venture deep into the prestigious wine cellars and sample some of the best wine in Europe.

But despite the sound of that, I insist that I am not a wine snob. I hope to be some day, and trips like this will certainly help. So I will be documenting from a true layman´s perspective.

I will probably be submitting five or six articles total, mostly oriented around the towns you see highlighted on the map. These articles will be permanently posted up on the website. Just click on the Destinations button and select France. The articles will eventually be archived there.

So get ready, it’s going to be a great time!!!

-The Travelin’ Man

 

 

October Update

October Update

Hello from Sweden!

During their European vacation, the Pankows swung by from Paris to visit us for a week. We had a fantastic time! Great dinners in some of Stockholm’s finest restaurants, including B.A.R., Tradition, and the amazing Viking restaurant.

We had a magnificent brunch cruise aboard the S/S Stockholm to celebrate Wally’s birthday. This was just like the dinner cruise, but it’s brunch. The food was traditional Swedish and was exquisitely prepared.

We went to the Vasa museum followed by an elegant lunch at Wärdshuset Ulla Winbladh. We also did the Police museum and the National Museum of Technology. Somehow, we even squeezed in a boat cruise out to my favorite Swedish castle, the Drottningholm Palace.

The men spent a day in Skansen, while the ladies adventured up north and stayed in an ice hotel and journeyed for the northern lights.

And of course we had to have a traditional Swedish whiskey tasting. Notice how we got photo-bombed by Jack!

Joe had a great time in the parks, museums, the zoo, and of course, with Spooky!

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Thank you, Pankows, for coming all the way out here to see us. These were memories of a lifetime. We hope you will return next year since we hardly even scratched the surface this time!

Your Travelin’ Man,

-JC

Uppsala, Sweden

Uppsala, Sweden

Overview (stats courtesy Wikipedia):
Population: 149,245 (2015)
Density: 3,100/km2 (7,900/sq mi)
Elevation: 15 m (49 ft)
Weather: Cold winters, mild summers
Warm season: May – Sep
Language: Swedish, English is very common
Currency: Even though Sweden is in the EU, they do not accept the euro or any currency other than the Swedish crown (SEK).

Founded in the 12th century, Uppsala is 71 km (44 mi) north of Stockholm. Some scenes from The Girl With the Dragon Tatto were filmed here, and it is the hometown of the fictitious character Christine Daaè In Phantom of the Opera. There was also an episode of Vikings that took pace here.

But its biggest claim to fame is its impact on religion, especially during the 13th and 14th centuries, but still largely influential even today. It is also the locale where the famous Queen Kristina, daughter of Gustavus the Great, abdicated the throne in 1654.

The city is also home to the Uppsala Cathedral, where Gustavus Vasa is buried. And it is home to the oldest university in Scandinavia, built in 1477. There is a ton of additional history and sites here, so you can easily spend a day or two taking it all in.

Logistics

We took the train from Stockholm central station. You don’t need an exact time to rush to; there is a train that leaves about every 20 minutes. You do have to commit to a time when you buy your ticket.

The train cost was 190 SEK ($30) for both of us, one way. Different trains will make different stops and so travel time will vary. Ours got us to Uppsala in about 40 minutes.

It was a very grey, overcast day, so sorry if the pictures are a bit dreary.

The Castle and Botanical Gardens

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It´s a working castle and only has tours in the summertime, but the beautiful castle grounds and botanical gardens are open year round.

The gardens began construction under the rule of Queen Kristina (that’s not her in the pic, that’s my lovely wife Jana), but were turned over to the University in 1644 by King Gustav III as a botanical garden.

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While this is not the University itself, it is affiliated with the university. I just included it here because of the fantastic Scandanavian architecture (above).

The Uppsala Cathedral is much older than it looks. It was built (inaugurated) in 1435 and is one of the largest in northern Europe, with towers reaching 118.70 metres (389.4 ft). And as I mentioned, the crypt of Gustav Vasa is in this cathedral. He is considered the  Father of Sweden since it was he who raised the army that retaliated against and defeated King Christian for the infamous blood square. That battle was the catalyst that permanently separated Sweden from Denmark.

After the church, we walked around town some more. It´s a small and cozy town, easy to move around in and not over run by tourists (like us, haha).

Then we ended up at the nicest little Italian restaurant called Villa Romana. I had the pepper steak, and Jana had pasta with beef. Both were delicious! Great food and a good wine selection, highly recommend.

And that’s about it. We walked back to central station and took the train home. It was also around 40 minutes to get back. We want to go back in the summer to see the botanical garden in all of its beauty, but there is also a viking burial mound that we didn’t get a chance to see, so we will be back!

September Update

Hi folks!

I know you think The Travelin’ Man must’ve run aground and got stranded on some deserted isle out in the Swedish archipelago. Not so! We just had to let the wheels cool off a little bit.

Just wanted to check in and say hi, and to let you know we are going on a trip to Uppsala this weekend. Most of you are thinking, Uppsala? Where the hell is that? Well, stay tuned and I’ll tell you all about it on my next post!

Stay safe, see ya out there!
-JC

Copenhagen

Copenhagen

 

Copenhagen, Denmark
(stats courtesy Wikipedia 2017 data sample):
Pop City Proper: 1,295,686
Metro Pop: 2,036,717
Municipality: 86.39 km2 (33.36 sq mi)
Elevation: 1 m (3 ft) to 91 m (299 ft)
Weather: Cold winters, mild summers
Warm Season: Jun – Aug
Currency: Danish Kroner (DKK or kr), credit card friendly
Language: Danish, but good English in most areas

This article documents our 2017 (second) trip to Copenhagen. Our very good friend, Melissa, was visiting from the US and we all went together on this trip. We were there a total of three nights and four days. The weather was warm but cloudy most of the time, and we got caught in the rain a couple of times. But when you’re with people you love, a little rain doesn’t stand a chance of even putting a dent in your fun!

The journal below is organized by day, with the events of that day underneath. This is more of a diary format, not as formal as my write ups. Click on the underlined links to get the full details of that discussion. It will open the event in a separate page so that the journal will remain open for you and you can come right back to where you left off. All of the restaurants will be reviewed on a separate page, and the link for that, along with a quick review of the hotel are at the bottom of this article.

Day One

Central Station always feels like crazy hustle bustle to me. Everybody’s rushing around, most pulling luggage behind them, all going in different directions but all seemingly focused on where they’re headed. Shops and stores, restaurants, cafes and bars all around, all crowded. It’s like seeing the inside of a giant human anthill.

Jana has been here so many times she could navigate it with her eyes closed. Melissa and I were like country comes to town pacing behind a very confident Jana. Up, down, around, and eventually outside and down a long exterior walkway next to the rails. Since we arrived at central by subway, we couldn’t completely trust it being on time, especially with the summer schedule still in play, so we arrived pretty early. Nothing to do now but dig in and wait. At least it was a nice sunny day.

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Click here to come ride the train with me! This is my second time doing this. I just love a long train ride. And southern Sweden, in particular, has some of the most gorgeous countryside in Europe. We arrived at Copenhagen Central Station about five and a half hours later, a half hour later than expected.

We checked in at the Manon Les Suites hotel (see review of hotel at bottom of article). We were pleasantly surprised at the size of the room and overall swank factor of the hotel.

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After we checked in, we went over to the Tivoli Gardens. Click here to see the full write up of this magnificent park. We walked around the park and gardens for a bit. It was a pretty crowded, as you might expect of an amusement park on a warm summer evening, but the layout was done so well that you just didn’t feel cramped. Every now and then, this formal marching band would just appear on one of the main paths, then disappear after a brief show. Dreamy.

Once we had walked up a good appetite, we went to the Nimb Restaurant and had some drinks and a savory dinner on their private terrace as we watched the people go by.

Day Two

We went on the The Culinary Experience food tour. This was a four hour, four kilometer (2.5 mi) walking food tour.

It was delicious, even though the rain tried but failed to ruin it. We got to see some some very nice sights that most tourists never see, and our guide gave us a great historical perspective of the areas we went through and even how the food itself changed over time. It was very nice.

We did the one hour canal tour from Nyhavn. It was a guided tour that went up the main canal and around some of the smaller ones. It was fun and educational, plus we got some great pictures from the water.

After leaving a wine bar, we got ambushed by a really bad thundershower. We were all soaking wet, even though we had umbrellas. Returned to the hotel and ordered pizza delivery!

Day 3

Lounged around a bit in the morning, then went and had a great hamburger at Halifax Burger Restaurant for lunch. This is one of the places I formally reviewed on the restaurant list. You must go here if you’re in Copenhagen!

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We did the Urban Tour, which is a 3 hour 15 kilometer (9.3mi) bicycle tour. There were frequent stops for our guide to tell us the historical perspective of things around us. The clouds built up during the tour – did we make it without getting drenched? Click here to find out.

After the bike tour, we walked around some, did some more window shopping, then had dinner at Peder Oxe. Cool name for a restaurant, eh? It was a pretty unique place. Check out the review of it at the end of this article.

 

Day 4

Once we checked out of our hotel, we left our bags with the front desk and took the metro down to the National Aquarium of Denmark (Den Blå Planet). Very well done aquarium and media presentations.

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Click here to check it out. Also got lunch at the cafe, which wasn’t half bad, and was also included in the restaurant reviews.

Well, that’s it. We went back to the hotel, got our luggage, and walked over to the train station. A great visit with our friend Melissa. The rain tried to douse our fun a couple of times, but we didn’t let it ruin our good time!

Accommodations

Manon Les Suites – Good location. It was a 15 minute walk from the train, and we easily walked to all of our attractions.

Nice hotel suite. Around $400/night. Sounds pricey, but it really was a suite and it was very roomy for three guests. A private master suite with full bath. Comfy day bed in living room and half bathroom. Could even sleep another on sofa in living room. Refrigerator and sink. Full bath has no shower door, causing bathroom floor to essentially flood. Not a malfunction, typical European shower design.

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Awesome and unique pool, which we ooo’d and ahhh’d over but did not swim in, this time…

Restaurants

Click here to see the full reviews of all the restaurants we went to, complete with pictures, addresses, and The Travelin’ Man’s recommendations.

 

Copenhagen Restaurants

These are the restaurants we went to during our trip to Copenhagen with our friend, Melissa. First of all let me say right up front that restaurant reviews is an area in which I could use some improvement. As I indicated in the “About” section, I have very simple tastes. And I almost always forget to photograph the food before we all start digging in. But I do feel like I’m getting better, so thanks for hanging in there with me!

Aquarium Cafe

Location: Inside the aquarium.

Recommendation: Since this was a cafe, I won’t do a full review. But please note that once you’re out at the aquarium, you are a good ways off from anyplace else to eat. So either eat before you go, bring your own, or enjoy the cafe. I had the fish and chips and it really wasn’t bad at all. At least go get a cup of coffee and sit out and enjoy the spectacular view.

 

Fru Nimb

Location: Inside Tivoli Gardens

Venue: Excellent atmosphere, sat outside on their private terrace. They had table umbrellas and heaters. It looks and feels very swanky, and while it wasn’t cheap, it wasn’t nearly as pricey as I had expected. We had an excellent time and even had a surprise visit from a peacock (no, we didn’t eat him).

Menu: English translations on the menu. The menu is pretty fancy, with a French influence. Melissa and I both got the chicken. It was very delicious and cooked perfectly. I would have preferred a breast versus wrestling with the entire half chicken. I know, poor Travelin’ Man! There was also a roast beef dish, a tar tar, veal, lamb, etc. Jana got the fish, which was superb; kind of wish I had chosen that. Notice the little nicks on the top of the food, “Wait! Forks down I gotta get pictures…”

Drinks: We were a little overheated, so I started with a refreshing cider and switched to the house white for dinner. The wine list tried a little too hard to be diverse and ended up having a bit of an identity crises. But the prices were reasonable, considering the venue, and you will find something you like.

Recommendation: Our server was top notch, everything arrived hot, and there was no long delay on dinner drinks. So if you’re in the mood for a slightly more formal, sit down and take your time kind of dinner, then I definitely recommend this place. We would come back here again.

 

Halifax Vesterbrogade (aka Halifax Burger Restaurant)

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Location: Vesterbrogade 72, 1620 København V, Denmark. Literally right across the street from where we were going for the bicycle tour.

Venue: Fantastic burgers here. We were on our way to Copenhagen Cycles for our bicycle tour and stopped in here for lunch. Very cozy burger-joint style, sort of an American 60’s kind of flair. Big comfortable booths.

Menu: This is where they shine. Pick your burger option from one of many, then the bun, then any add-ones and sides. This is definitely a Travelin’ Man spot!

Recommendation: The service was very good and the staff was friendly. Food was delivered hot and delicious with a smile. We will add this to our must do list each time we come to Copenhagen.

 

Peder Oxe

Location: Gråbrødretorv 11, stuen, 1154 København K, Denmark. Literally inside the square at Gråbrødretorv.

Venue: It was raining so I wasn’t able to get a decent picture, but it is absolutely cozy and cool inside the square. Several nice bars and restaurants here. We got there early, so we had drinks at Huks Fluks, then just walked (stumbled) across the square to dinner. The rain was blowing around pretty hard, so we opted for a spot inside. The place is pretty cool inside, it used to be a monestary. It’s especially interesting downstairs if you can get a table there.

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This is a pic from last time we came and sat downstairs.

Menu: I would call it mostly Danish with a French influence, which is quite popular in Copenhagen. It’s a little on the pricey side, but not too much so. I had the Striploin steak, which was good, but Jana got the venison and it was outstanding. Melissa got the lobster soup, which was salty, but tasty.

Drinks: Very good selection of French, Italian and Spanish wines, with a few others sprinkled in. Prices were in line with other fine restaurants in Scandanavia, which is to say expensive. 😛

Recommendation: We actually came here last time we were in Copenhagen, and it was top notch both times. Service is excellent, food is delicious, and the wine selection is great. What more could you ask for?

Copenhagen Aquarium

Copenhagen Aquarium

Recommendation

The Travelin’ Man’s Overall Recommendation: VERY GOOD*
(surprisingly good, exceeding on some levels)

  • What did I like the most: Wide variety of exhibits and great interactive media.
  • What is the biggest area for improvement: Wish the free bus had more locations for pickup.

Logistics

The aquarium is located at Jacob Fortlingsvej 1, 2770 Kastrup, Denmark. This is a bit outside the immediate area so we had to take the subway to get here, which was pretty standard for subways. There were kiosks inside the subway stations where we were able to get our subway tickets. The tickets are time bound one way, so be sure to only buy what you need. There is also a free bus that goes to the aquarium, but the pickup location was not convenient to our hotel.

We paid 170 dkk ($27) for entry at the entrance. You could easily spend two or more hours here.

The Aquarium

This aquarium is up to expectations in terms of what you would expect for an aquarium in a major metropolitan area. The media types used throughout are very modern, and offered in multiple languages, including English.

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For example, the above is a touch screen info center located at each exhibit and is based on the actual fish in the respective tank.

As for the exhibits themselves, everything here is as you would expect including individual, specialized displays, even had one for piranha (above lower left). There really is a lot to see here.

And of course the humongous tank that had the more exotic fish and sharks. They also has a glass tunnel where you walked through the large tank.

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And I just love sea horses, but the sea horse dragons are even better! I could sit and watch these things for hours. Wait….where’d everybody go? Jana?

Yup, found Jana and Melissa sitting outside enjoying the fantastic view at the cafe. They serve up a pretty decent lunch and serve wine and beer. Of course I had…..fish!

All in all, this was a top notch aquarium experience. Come here. Bring your kids! Sorry that I don’t have a crazy Melissa picture here to finish with, she was on her best behavior here….

* Each area is rated on a scale 1-5, with 1 = poor, 3 = good, 5 = exceptional
How did this do compared to what I had expected: 4
How well were the logistics handled: 4
Was the staff helpful and friendly: 3
Overall execution and presentation: 4
Total score: 15
4 – 8 is POOR (was not at all what I expected and/or was not worth the time/money)
9 – 10 is OK (quality of the experience was a little low, but I enjoyed it)
11 – 13 is GOOD (met expectations, would recommend, would do again)
14 – 15 is VERY GOOD (surprisingly good, exceeding on some levels)
16 – 20 is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (outperformed my expectations, great value)

 

 

Copenhagen Bike Tour

Copenhagen Bike Tour

 

Recommendation

The Travelin’ Man’s Overall Recommendation: VERY GOOD*
(surprisingly good, exceeding on some levels)

  • What did I like the most: The tour itself was very thorough and original, did not overlap knowledge from our canal tour or food tour.
  • What is the biggest area for improvement: I didn’t care for the back peddle braking system.

Logistics

This was The Urban Tour  with bicycle tour company Cycling Copenhagen  (http://www.cycling-copenhagen.dk)

They are located at, and the tour started at: Cycling Copenhagen, Westend 4, 1661 København V, Denmark.

It was a 12km (7.5 mi) ride around the northwestern part of Copenhagen proper. The cost was 299 dkk, and it lasted about two and a half hours. There is a guide that leads the tour and stops at key points along the way to give you historical perspective on the area or particular landmarks.

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Our tour guide was Jacob, and he rocked it! He was friendly, energetic, and knowledgeable. Since the weather was a bit dreary, we were given ponchos….”just in case” haha. The owner of the tour company came out to wish us bon voyage, it was a nice touch.

The Bikes

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There were two different types of bikes. The white one in the previous section being displayed by our guide was a pretty standard three speed with front and rear brakes on the left and right handles respectively. Others had one like mine, shown here. Also a three speed, but it had the old timey rear brake system where you  reverse pedal to apply the rear brake, and the front brake was on the left handle. Not a big deal, really, although I prefer the models with both brakes on the handles.

Even though it was an urban tour, I didn’t have to use the bell one time! That never happens in Stockholm!

The Tour

We just love bicycle tours and try to take them when we can, mostly determined by the weather. What better way to experience an area than with the wind whipping through your hair, and with no windshields or obstacles blocking your view…

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You can see the exact route we took above. I tracked us using my Fitbit. While it is advertised as a 12km ride, my Fitbit tracked it closer to 14km (sorry, that last little blip was where I forgot to turn off Fitbit tracking). But this could just as easily be an error in the way Fitbit measures it, for example look at 3rd and 4th kilometer, looks kind of suspicious to me. I would trust the pros, but really, we’re only talking 2k here.

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Anyhow, we went through some really nice areas. Above is the front side of Christiansborg Palace. If you read my article on the canal tour, then you saw the back side of this from inside the canal. Yup, The Travelin’ Man gets around.

 

 

 

Jacob took us to a little known sort of private gardens where we got off our bikes and walked around a bit. Absolutely stunning, and the gardens aren’t too shabby either!

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This is a fabulous view of some of the downtown buildings. This just looks ultra contemporary to me. Even with the dreary, overcast weather, this view looks fresh and bright. Copenhagen has done an excellent job modernizing their skyline without compromising historic integrity. Case in point, look at the next picture.

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Definitely not one of my better pictures, but this used to be two cement silos (there is another one to the right). They were hideous to look at, especially in light of the city beautification project, but they were not able to take them down. So they built (high dollar) apartments around and through the silos. Absolute engineering genious!

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Jacob led us through a cemetery that is also a popular park. The idea being to celebrate life by making the cemetery a beautiful park that people can enjoy. And some pretty famous people resting here, as you can see.

And of course just a ton of other great things we saw on this tour. As you may have caught on, it was quite dreary during this tour, and the threat of rain seemed to be increasing as we neared the end of the tour. At one point, we were stopped at an intersection waiting for a light, and Jacob informed us we were only two minutes away from base.

Jana pointed down the street, “We’re not gonna make it”- you could literally see the heavy rain splattering down on the cobblestones AND you could see it moving in our direction! The light turned green and suddenly we were all Tour de France contenders in a every-man-for-himself race back to base!

But Jana was right, we didn’t make it….although it was very, very close and we only got a little bit wet. But it sure was an exciting way to end an already fabulous tour!

* Each area is rated on a scale 1-5, with 1 = poor, 3 = good, 5 = exceptional
How did this do compared to what I had expected: 4
How well were the logistics handled: 3
Was the staff helpful and friendly: 4
Overall execution and presentation: 4
Total score: 15
4 – 8 is POOR (was not at all what I expected and/or was not worth the time/money)
9 – 10 is OK (quality of the experience was a little low, but I enjoyed it)
11 – 13 is GOOD (met expectations, would recommend, would do again)
14 – 15 is VERY GOOD (surprisingly good, exceeding on some levels)
16 – 20 is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (outperformed my expectations, great value)

 

 

Copenhagen Canal Tour

Recommendation

The Travelin’ Man’s Overall Recommendation: GOOD*
(met expectations, would recommend, would do again)

  • What did I like the most: Historical perspective from guide was quite good
  • What is the biggest area for improvement: Some windows open from previous ride which made those seats by the window too wet to sit in since it was drizzling

Logistics

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This is The Grand Tour. You can pick it up from Gammel Strand or Nyhavn. It’s the same tour. The cost is 80 ddk ($13) and it lasts about an hour.  You’re in a standard flat boat, which is needed to get under some lower hanging bridges; there is no bar, snacks, or bathroom, and it’s non stop. It’s a guided tour, and it leaves every 10-30 mins (summertime).

You can book in advance online, but I recommend just walking over to one of the two boarding areas a half hour or so before you want to leave.

The Tour

Overall it is quite informative and covers many of the major landmarks in the area. The windows on the boat open all the way up and over your head, which makes for great views.

The Black Diamond, the Little Mermaid, Christiansborg Palace (from the back), and the Copenhagen Opera House to name but a few. It was a bit dreary when we went, so the pics aren’t my best work.

The captain drifted around behind the Little Mermaid for a bit so we could all get a good pic. I thought that was a nice thing to do.

Overall a great way to acclimate yourself to the area. Jana and I also did this tour last time we were here and we liked it then, too.

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And I guess Melissa didn’t see the sign under the window about keeping hands and arms inside the boat. Yes, it was in English! Punk.

* Each area is rated on a scale 1-5, with 1 = poor, 3 = good, 5 = exceptional
How did this do compared to what I had expected: 3
How well were the logistics handled: 3
Was the staff helpful and friendly: 3
Overall execution and presentation: 3
Total score: 12
4 – 8 is POOR (was not at all what I expected and/or was not worth the time/money)
9 – 10 is OK (quality of the experience was a little low, but I enjoyed it)
11 – 13 is GOOD (met expectations, would recommend, would do again)
14 – 15 is VERY GOOD (surprisingly good, exceeding on some levels)
16 – 20 is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (outperformed my expectations, great value)