Seattle

Snowy Mountains @ Seattle Arrival, United States, Washington

2005-11-20T15:47:00.000Z

The plane from D.C. to Seattle was empty, so I had a whole row of seats to myself. After writing up a couple of slides for my talk in Redmond, I made good use of all of them. I woke up on the plane just before landing in Seattle's Tacoma airport. The view was amazing. Magnificent snowy mountains rising out of the foggy valleys that surround them.

I picked up a car at the airport and drove to the hotel in Bellevue. I was surprised at how easy it was to find my way there. I must admit, however, that Google did help a little here.

Hotel @ Redmond, United States, Washington

2005-11-21T02:42:00.000Z

The hotel in Redmond. Redmond has a sort of suburban atmosphere. Everything is nice and well maintained, but lacks character. The hotel was quite nice though.

Seattle Center @ Seattle, United States, Washington

2005-11-22T18:57:00.000Z

Enjoyed the cool view from the Space Needle before taking a ride to Seattle's downtown on the Monorail. Both the Space Needle and the Monorail were built for Seattle's world fair in 1962.

Pike Place Market @ Seattle, United States, Washington

2005-11-22T20:27:00.000Z

Pike Market is possibly Seattle's biggest attraction. If you're into seafood, Seattle is a good place to be. Enormous quantities of fish caught off the shores of Alaska are on sale here. Giant Alaskan King crabs with legs about a meter long, great smoked Salmon, and more.

In addition to the main seafood theme, fresh fruit, vegetables and local delicacies can also be found here. Above all, its a lively market and a fun place to be.

Evening Seattle @ Seattle, United States, Washington

2005-11-22T22:36:00.000Z

I really wanted to visit the Experience Music Project (EMP) before leaving, but it turned out to be closed. I had about two more hours to waste, so I just strolled around the neighborhood. The space needle is the dominating feature of the Seattle skyline, especially by night, so we had a short photo-session.

Before leaving, I stopped at the 5-point caffe/bar/restaurant for dinner. This is an excellent joint that I would recommend to anyone visiting Seattle. Home-made food, good old-school rock'n'roll (the kind I used to love in high school), and a view of the Space Needle through a periscope-like device installed in the gents toilet. Freaky-looking but friendly customers, too. Anyway, they make a great burger and fries. I especially liked their marketing slogan: "We cheat tourists 'n' drunks since 1929" (see picture).