Tag: travel

Skol! Our Trip to Scandinavia Day #13 “Adjø (goodbye) to Scandinavia”

by reissmd, posted in Bergen, Norway, Norway

Today was our last full day in Norway.  Tomorrow I will finish up as usual with a collection of photos that speak for themselves (but of course, I will speak for them).  Today we started with another massive buffet.  That has been the recurrent theme of this trip.  Small rooms but massive buffets.  

We then met the group for a bus/walking tour of the city.  One thing I have learned from this trip is that I don’t like to be led around by a guide hearing tons of facts about a city.  I prefer to explore by myself (with Patrice of course) and meet locals rather than hear about things that happened 1000 years ago.  Sorry if I sound like a heathen but that is who I am. 

We are in Bergen, which as I mentioned yesterday, is the 2nd most populated city in Norway.  We found out today that it is a sister city with Seattle.  You might know that Seattle averages about 37 inches of rain per year.  Well its Norwegian sister averages 89 inches.  I wonder if they know about Sitka, Alaska which receives 100 inches of rain per year?  My Los Angeles friend, Linda, tells me she loves rain.  I think relocation to one of these 3 cities would be in her best interest. 

We were on our own for lunch and the afternoon.  Patrice and I only ate a snack for lunch (bringing our average lunch calorie count for the trip down to about 1800). We then walked the city and decided on going to the Kode museum.  It was a worthwhile stop so I would recommend it.

At night, we met the entire group for a farewell dinner.  This has been a really good group of travel buddies.  It is hard to imagine that you would get 24 people together and not one of them would be a jerk making the trip less enjoyable.  Patrice pointed out there was one jerk on the trip and she had to room with him. 

Tonight we toured a local farm with the group and saw some interesting animals.  Have you ever seen a Fjord Horse?  See below.

Fjord horse mommy and her 4 week old son.

I was not looking forward to this dinner since I thought the main attraction was the farm and the dinner would not be very good.  I was wrong.  I would say this was the best meal of the trip. 

A lovely trout for dinner.
Wait, what’s this? The trout was just a starter? This is veal for your main course. I decided just to have one bite but it was AMAZING and I ate the whole thing.
A swan for dessert? No, sorbet with meringue and whipped cream with raspberry sauce. I’m not a big whipped cream or meringue guy but the sorbet was yummy.

I always have mixed emotions about an end of a trip. I love traveling but it will be good to be home. I always like to learn things on our trips. I definitely learned something on this trip. See below.

I NEED A HAIRCUT!

I will send you my photo post from the airport or possibly from the plane. 

Adios, oops, I mean adjø

Skol! Our Trip to Scandinavia Day #12 “Bergen”

by reissmd, posted in Bergen, Norway, Norway, Uncategorized

Our trip is almost over.  We left the fjords this morning and the beautiful scenario that every way we turned looked like a picture used in a jigsaw puzzle.  Yes, beauty that you would think only existed in someone’s imagination. If you think this is just my imagination, come to Norway, experience the fjords, and see for yourself.  Here is one last fjord for the road.

Fjord with a salmon farm.

There has been some downtime during the trip during which I have read my book group selection for the month. It is a non-fiction tale about about Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the Diesel engine.  At first glance it might sound like a boring story.  In reality it’s quite interesting and what’s more, it is very pertinent to the trip. 

Diesel was a peer of Alfred Nobel from Nobel prize fame.  As you might recall we visited Stockholm where the majority of the prizes are awarded and Oslo where the peace prize is given. This tidbit was a footnote in the book and was very illuminating: 

[When Ludwig Nobel (Alfred’s brother) died in April 1888, French newspapers incorrectly reported the death of Alfred, who was in fact alive and well. Alfred then read his own obituary, which was a scathing critique of his life and work. The obituary named Alfred a “merchant of death” and declared that his invention, dynamite, “killed more people faster than ever before.” Alfred was so disturbed at this potential posthumous reputation that he later changed his last will and testament to bequeath his entire fortune to a new foundation that would award a series of prizes to “those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.”]

I’m sure this was horrifying for Nobel but I’ve often mused that funerals are a waste because the one person who would really enjoy hearing what was being said is dead and can’t enjoy it.  That’s why I’m planning to have my funeral long before I die.  

We left the Fjord country and headed to our last stop, Bergen (of course not before stopping for bathroom breaks which just happened to be in gift shops). Bergen is Norway’s second largest city, with a population of about 292,000 with about 20,000 of those people being students at the University of Bergen.

We arrived late and only had a chance to use the funicular to see a panoramic view of the city.

A view from the top.

I also was excited to to see someone with a nose bigger than mine. See below.

Handsome chap, isn’t he?

In addition we saw one of my favorite travel sights. See below.

Oh yes, another bird on a statue’s head.

After returning from the furnicular we found an excellent Spanish restaurant for dinner and then on to home.

Tomorrow is our last full day of the trip. Until then adjø (goodbye).

Skol! Our Trip to Scandinavia Day #11 “W.T.F. Waterfalls, Trolls, and Fjords”

by reissmd, posted in Norway, Uncategorized

Travel can sometimes make me confused.  Yesterday I said TGIF but it was only Thursday.  Well today was (is) Friday and we had a another great day of looking at the fjords.  We had an early start, lots of great food, and transportation to lots of great sights.  In other words we are on a Tauck tour.

Our coach driver (by that I mean our bus driver, not someone who is telling our driver what to do) did a great job transporting us from location to location.   Our coach is large and comfy, but the roads are at times a bit narrow. 

This is a two lane highway. Luckily traffic coming the opposite direction was light and drivers were very considerate (in other words they weren’t from Los Angeles or New York).

Our first stop was Dalsnibba where supposedly the view is breathtaking unfortunately for us, all we could see were clouds and snow flakes. 

Except for the coach, is there much you can see?

But then we had a series of stops where we saw lovely waterfalls.

Patrice posing with me in ‎⁨Oppstryn⁩, ⁨Norway⁩.
Together in front of a fjord. ‎⁨Geirangerfjord⁩, ⁨Norway⁩
In front of a run off from another waterfall. Also in ‎⁨Geirangerfjord⁩, ⁨Norway⁩
And another. Also in ‎⁨Geirangerfjord⁩, ⁨Norway⁩

Finally Patrice had enough and told me to go take the picture by myself. I asked our guide if Tauck would give me a substitute for me to use in my picture. I was told, they would send a young thing to pose with me instead. YES, I LOVE YOU TAUCK.

Tauck, that was not exactly what I had in mind. With travel buddy, Matt, in ‎⁨Hellesylt⁩, ⁨Norway⁩

Back in the hotel now and getting ready for a lecture on the history of Norway (just the first 10,000 years) followed by…….. DINNER!

Talk to you soon. But since this was entitled Waterfalls, Trolls, and Fjords, I feel obligated to give you at least one Troll (other than me). See below.

See you tomorrow as our trip rapidly nears its end.

Skol! Our Trip To Scandinavia Day #10 “TGIF: Thank God It’s Fjord-day”

by reissmd, posted in Loen, Norway, Norway

Today was totally devoted to experiencing the fjords of Norway. As I mentioned before this was one of the main reasons I wanted to take this trip.  I hate to say this but in spite of today providing some beautiful sights I have to say I was a bit disappointed.  

My vision was that I was going to see mountains of ice extending from a water base all the way to the heavens. I was thinking about what we had seen in Alaska and Patagonia and that this would be similar or hopefully even more spectacular.  Today reminded me of when we saw geysers in the Atacama desert in Chile.  The guides prepared us to see spectacular geysers but instead we saw things that guides at Yellowstone or Patagonia wouldn’t even bother to point out.  

The day started out with me being cold on a ferry. Do I look happy?

Cold and alone.

That being said it was still an enjoyable day. It warmed up after the morning and we didn’t have any rain. I even had to take off my jacket because it was warm. And we got to hang out with 22 new friends who are all wonderful travel partners.

Warmer and happier in front of one of the glaciers and fjord.

Heading to one location we met with a delay. Traffic was blocked by some locals crossing the highway.

Line of cars waiting for goats to clear the highway.
A close-up of our new travel buddies.

But more fjords were to follow.

In the coach passing by a lovely fjord.

Our next fjord/glacier was a bit more spectacular (see below).

Nice view of a glacier.
Same glacier but close-up view to better see the snow and ice.

We also had the opportunity to see two Norwegian movie stars.  I only got their first names.  They were obviously special since numerous people were among their entourage.  Here is a photo of Sven and Ingrid.

Such gorgeous movie stars. Her English was amazing. His needs a lot of work.

We then returned to the hotel to be greeted by another massive dinner buffet. Good thing my pants were loose fitting when we left Los Angeles. They feel just right now but I predict they will be snug by the time we get home.

I did another magic trick tonight asking one of our travel mates, Jayme, to assist me and it worked like a charm. They are a great magic audience.

See you tomorrow.

Skol! Our Trip to Scandinavia Day #9 “Fjords Ahoy!”

by reissmd, posted in Balestrand, Norway

We had an early morning start today.  The buffet at the Grand Hotel was fantastic again. I noticed some chocolate chip cookies.  I had one and later went back for another.  A fellow traveler (Deb) asked me if they were good.  I told her they were excellent “…but not as good as my sister, Annette’s”.  Deb said “Oh, how sweet, you should put that in your blog.”   So there it is. 

The early start required us to have our bags ready for pick up at 7 AM and we had to be on the bus by 8 am.  Tauck is quite militaristic when it comes to the schedule.  Some vacationers might not like that but I love it.  If our schedule calls for us to leave at 8 and I’m on the bus at 8 it would irritate the heck out of me if we don’t leave until 8:15 because someone else is late. 

That reminds me of one of our fellow travelers, Marshall, who has been very fun to talk to.  He told me the 3 main life lessons he has tried to teach his children, grandchildren, and apparently anyone else who will listen.  That would include me so here they are:

1.  If you’re not early you’re late. 

2. Leave things as you’ve found them. 

3. Don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story (my personal favorite)

All good lessons to live by. And here is a picture of the sage person who shared them with me. 

I’m taking life advice from this person?

Today we headed to the fjords.  This was one of the main reasons I wanted to take this vacation. During today’s road trip, our tour guide, Dean, relayed a number of interesting facts and stories.  For example did you know the name Bjorn means bear?  Or that the Vikings didn’t wear horns? (I guess Marshall isn’t a Viking after all).    

Today’s trip was very long so we had some bathroom stops.  The first was at 10:00 AM at this roadside restaurant with a very interesting roof.  

This is called a sod roof and I don’t think it will become popular in Southern California.

Lunch was in Gol, Norway where the  average high temperatures in July are 60° and in August 58°.  In spite of these “high” temperatures they have this in Gol. See below. 

A water slide when the high temperatures in the summer reach 60°? No thank you.

We finally approached the fjords and then we were just two ferry rides and a short drive away from our hotel for the night. I could not believe the ferries. They were incredibly stable and exhibited no sway at all. I didn’t realize we were moving and then saw we were about to arrive. Very nice.

We are staying at the Kviknes Hotel (Kviknevegen 8, 6899 Balestrand). The hotel looks just average and the room is nothing special either but the buffet was something of which I don’t think I have ever seen before. We were told to get to the dining hall 15 minutes early for a lecture. I was prepared to hear a boring lecture about vikings or some celebrity who spent a night at the hotel 25 years ago. Oh no, not at all. Instead we were introduced to the head chef who walked us around the entire buffet and explained every dish. I am sure you are thinking, no big deal, he described 4-5 dishes and said “Bon Appetit!”. Uh, no. I can recall the following: Herring in mustard sauce, tomato sauce or pickled. Crabs legs, shrimp, seafood salad, Caesar salad, potato salad, cole slaw, tomato and cheese salad, crayfish soup, smoked and 2 other types of salmon, trout, halibut, venison stew, cold cuts (ham, roast beef, salami, et.al.), grapes and other fresh fruit, cauliflower, broccoli, root vegetables, olives (yuck), potatoes, a variety of cheeses, blueberry pie, ice cream, cheese cake, eclairs, creme brulee, flan, panna cotta, cookies, crackers, brownies, etc. Just writing this sentence is making me feel stuffed.

I am tired and need to get to sleep. We have another early start tomorrow. Speak to you then.

ACP Meeting in NOLA Day #1 “On the Road Again”

by reissmd, posted in New Orleans, New Orleans (NOLA), Uncategorized

We are off.  After a relatively long hiatus we are traveling again.  I must admit it has been quite gratifying to hear from numerous people “When will you be traveling?  I miss your blog.”   Well that day has come.  At my previous job, I was only working 1 day per week and had 8 weeks of vacation.  My current job with UCLA is a bit more restrictive so other than a couple of weekend trips to visit the grandsons we have stayed at home a fair amount of the time. I recently found out that I’m allotted educational leave that doesn’t count against vacation.  When I realized that the American College of Physicians meeting was in New Orleans this year I had to go.  Patrice agreed without hesitation since some of our best meals on trips have been in NOLA.  Some of our friends heard about our plans and said they look forward to hearing about the trip when we get back.  I told them, I’d send them an email everyday instead.  Just check out REISSTRAVELBLOG.COM 

As usual the trip to the airport was a breeze. We use the Ride Yellow app for trips to LAX. The Yellow cab drivers almost always arrive early (as opposed to Uber drivers who seem to have trouble finding our house).  They don’t charge you extra for reserving the taxi in advance. They also know how to get to the airport.  The charge is quite reasonable so I suggest you use them. 

The flight to NOLA was uneventful except for some occasional mild turbulence.  I have to admit I was a little unnerved when I saw this. 

737 MAX? Yikes!!!

In spite of being on one of the most dangerous planes in the sky at least we weren’t going to one of the most dangerous airports. That being Reagan in DC. And I am not talking about the air traffic issues in DC. Oh well, we landed safely in NOLA, got our bags and headed to the hotel. 

People have expressed concern about my blogging.  “Aren’t you worried that someone will rob your house knowing that you are out of town?”   Not at all, I tell them.  The reason is that we have Bruce and his pet dog, “Daisy”, house sitting for us. 

Here is a picture of Bruce.

And here is a picture of his sweet dog, Daisy.

Isn’t Daisy a dear?

Tonight’s dinner was at Muriel’s (801 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70116).  We’ve eaten there twice before and tonight was just as wonderful as we remembered.  They had a wonderful offer that we took advantage of. You could choose an appetizer, main course and dessert for $55. The meal was amazing. I don’t think we could recreate the food we had for twice that cost in Los Angeles. Just take a look at our choices.

My appetizer was the wedge salad. It was perfect.
Patrice had the Tasso Carbonara. She thought it was great.
My main course was Shrimp and Grits.

I have a rule never have Shrimp and Grits north of the Mason Dixon line. Well we are south right now, and this meal did not disappoint me. The only thing I thought was odd was that there were only 5 shrimp. Don’t they usually serve 6 shrimp with an entree?

[Patrice here. Don’t say anything but as you can see in the picture there were 6 shrimp. Someone grabbed one when Robert was busy using his phone. Serves him right.]

Patrice’s entree was the Pecan Crusted Drum.

I never had heard of a fish called a Drum. I Googled it and found out that Drum are members of the Sciaenidae family. Sorry but that did not help me at all.

Bread pudding for dessert. Patrice’s favorite. Almost as good as Massa in Los Angeles.
I had the Crème brûlée 

The crème brûlée was delicious. It was just as good as the crème brûlée that I make and a lot better than my friend, Gary’s. By the way, as a doctor I am a bit embarrassed to promote and make crème brûlée. After all it has to be one of the most unhealthy desserts ever made. It has sugar, heavy cream, vanilla (that’s not bad), and egg yolks. The healthiest part of the egg (the white, which has all the protein) is discarded. Very unhealthy but oooohhhhh soooo good.

After all that food, I am exhausted. Talk to you tomorrow. 

New York City Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation Day #3 “Lobster” 3/25/19

by reissmd, posted in New York City

I have not adjusted to Eastern time yet and not sure if I am on Pacific or still on Australian time. Whatever time zone I am on doesn’t matter since my usual pattern continues, not getting enough sleep while Patrice sleeps like she is an Olympian sleeper.

Last night we were looking for a place for dinner and Patrice said let’s go to someplace close to the hotel. That sounded good but then she said “How about “Palm Too”, it is very close?”. The last time I remember eating at The Palm in Beverly Hills it was in 1979 to celebrate finally selling my 1974 Fiat. The car was a wreck and I was happy to unload it. As I recall the dinner pretty much wiped out most (if not all) of the money I got from the sale of the car. I asked if the Palm Too was related to the The Palm in Beverly Hills and when I was informed that it was I started to get severe pains in my back pocket where my wallet is stored. I remembered that I still need to convince this woman to travel to Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee for baseball so I quickly said, “Sounds great!”.

When we went to the Palm in Beverly Hills we saw Kareem Abdul Jabbar. We saw him again at Palm Too but this time it was just a picture on the wall. No other celebrity sightings except for these guys.

Two orders of 4 pound lobsters.

The menu was great but there was one item that was like a light burning into our retinas and that was of course the lobsters. We had a choice of either 3 or 4 lbs. Patrice opted for the 3 pounder but our waiter said that they only had 4 or 5 lbs to offer us tonight. We both chose the 4 pounders and neither of us were disappointed. We had Brussels sprouts to add something green to the table and were not at all impressed by those guys. I am happy to report that Patrice and I have replaced our search for the perfect bread pudding with a search for the perfect Brussels sprouts. We have declared Masa the winner in the bread pudding search and so far the leaders in the Brussels sprouts derby are Zane’s, The Standing Room, and Tin Roof (the first two are in Hermosa Beach and the later is in Manhattan Beach). The Palm Too had excellent lobster but their BS (Brussels Sprouts) needs some work.

Today Patrice suggested we go for a walk. We heard that the Vessel at Hudson Yards was worth a visit. After 16,000 steps we are back at the hotel. The structure is made of 154 interconnected flights of stairs and almost 2,500 stairs. It just opened days ago (March 15, 2019) and you need to get a timed entrance ticket which is free. I am glad they stagger entrance to the structure because having crowds up there would be scary. The views of the city are great. You also get a great view of the Hudson River but I hate to be a negative kind of guy, but who wants to look at it. It is not a very pretty sight from this direction.

The Vessel as viewed near to the entrance.
Patrice and I on the Vessel. Much too close a photo for me. I need a selfie stick. Do they make one that extends about 10 yards?
We stole this idea from a couple of guys from Massachusetts. For a guy like me who is frightened of heights this was a major sacrifice for the enjoyment of my followers.

After the Vessel we headed to the adjacent Hudson Yards mall. This is very upscale, with stores like Cartier, Van Cleef and Arpels, Kate Spade, Tiffany’s, Neiman Marcus, et al. They have some beautiful artwork including this wall piece where you were encouraged to move the sequins to create your own art.

The picture of our art was a blurry. So we stole someone else’s artwork.

The mall also had some upscale ice cream. We loved Van Leeuwen and found out they had a number of outlets in our area of the country.

Good thing we walked 16,000 steps today. After this “lunch” we will need another 30,000 steps to break even.

Today would have been the 103rd birthday of my loving mother, Irene Reiss. Without her, this blog wouldn’t exist. Gone but never forgotten. Today and every day is dedicated to her. xoxoxo