until next time . . .

Are the Four of Us Still Speaking to Each Other After Seven Weeks of Travel? In European Vacation, the cinematic inspiration for our trip, there is a scene where, after several weeks together, the four Griswolds find themselves alone in a train car, having gotten on each other's last nerve. After a brief discussion, they all vote not to speak for the duration of that train trip. What ensues is cinematic gold, certain to resonate with anyone who has been on a long family trip. I am pleased to say that, although we had our moments, at no point did the Ecksteins entertain a vote of silence. That said, Owen and I had a few physical exchanges similar to the slap-fight between Clark and Rusty, although ours usually involved the classic soccer move where a player, who just took out an opponent at the knees, puts his hands above his head to demonstrate that he could not possibly have fouled anyone. In our use of that move, we engage in a series of hip checks and attempted trips, or at least Owen does.

How Damn Fortunate We Are. We are all very lucky. Me, Keri, our kids. Everyone reading this. To be born in the places we were to the families we were. We are, in most ways, the most fortunate human beings ever to live. It is easy to lose sight of that, given our daily struggles, but it is the truth. And I don't ever forget it. I really won the birth lottery, and everything in my life that has followed has resulted from that. Sure, I have worked hard, but a lot of people work hard, and there is no way to justify the differences between my life and theirs, other than pure, damn luck.

I am reminded of this now first, because it is absurd that I just got to spend seven weeks with my family, touring some of the greatest cities in the world. I am lucky to have a job that not only allows me to afford such a trip, but ensures that I have the necessary time off.

Second, we have spent a lot of the past seven weeks immersed in the histories of a set of diverse cities and countries from western and central Europe. Large and small, some peaked as regional powers in the 17th Century. Some are seeing their fortunes rise in the last 50 years. All have one thing in common -- that is, their citizens are living lives today vastly better than the ones being lived there pretty much any time in the past. We all are.

Europe is Getting Warmer. The objective data confirms it. The average daily temperatures have increased in Europe over the last six years. We experienced it first-hand in Prague and Vienna and, only by the grace of the calendar, did we avoid the second heat wave to impact Europe this summer this week. Everywhere we went, people were talking about the heat as the new normal. Whatever long-term measures may end up getting deployed to slow down climate change, it will not be reversed, so this problem will only grow, and Europe needs to come to grips with it and invest in some better a/c. Our experience shows that it can exist there -- Kudos, Vienna flat! -- so it really is a matter of conviction. Is Europe up to the challenge?

What City Did You Like Best? I am steeling myself for the inevitable, unanswerable "what city did you like best?" question. We visited some of the world's greatest cities, each where millions of people choose to live, and millions of others would like to. Everywhere we went had elements of good people, history, food, architecture, and charm. We enjoyed all of them immensely, and would recommend any of them as places to visit -- dependent upon your interests. Having said that, I can report that both Lauren and Owen have named Paris as their favorite place, so that's something. And, to show I am not a complete curmudgeon, I answer below a few "what did you like best" questions.

Best Breakfast. I'll divide this into flat and hotel categories. In the former is the Bakery Boulangerie Secco on Rue de Sevres in the 7th Arrondissement. Outstanding croissants and pain au chocolates that spoiled Lauren and me for all other items calling themselves croissants or pain au chocolates, but well worth it. Owen saved himself the fall-off by eating store bought cereal bars the whole week. On the hotel side, the Hotel Platzl in Munich. A massive and delicious buffet (including gluten-frei items), well organized and presented, with great service.

Best Indian Food (and a note about hamburgers). I felt compelled to include this category, as we ate it in pretty much every city, allowing for a good sample size. The winner, Mint by India Royale, is found on the Vesterborgage, about seven minutes from the central trial station. We all loved our dinners there, so much so that we ate their twice. (I must add here that, as suggested in several prior posts, the one area Europe has made the biggest strides in the last 30 years is in its preparation of the hamburger, having taken that which was once unrecognizable and made it on par with mid-level American burgers. Leaps and bounds, truly.)

Best Frozen Desert That Can Be Eaten with a Spoon. This includes both gelato and sobreto. Keri, the sobreto expert, declines to pick just one, noting outstanding experiences at Une Glace a Paris, Caffe e Gelato (Berlin) and Paradis (Copenhagen). I can't disagree with any of those on the gelato side. As a general matter, the Europeans do ice cream pretty well, not just the finished product, but the ease with which the whole process works is something to be admired, if not copied.

Best Tour Guide. We ran the gamut in our use of tour guides, from the "free" large group guide, to the paid small group guide to the private, pricey all-day guide. As I told the kids, tour guides are a lot like lawyers in this regard. You can do well with an inexpensive guide, but that is largely a matter of luck. If you really want to ensure that you get a great guide, you must put in the work, ask around, research, and be prepared to fork over a substantial retainer. It will be worth it. The two guides for whom we did this, Florence Goldenberg (Paris) and Gabe Fawcett (Berlin), were far and away the best. (We lucked out on our group guide in Munich, Mark.) They were extremely well prepared, knowledgable, and enthusiastic about their respective cities. Walking a new city -- or even one with which you have some experience -- with a great guide is as important as any other part of the travel experience, maybe more so, as they are able to help you see the city in a much more comprehensive way, not to mention point you in the direction of the best places to eat.

Best (and Worst) McDonalds. As noted in some earlier posts, Owen's primary objective of our trip was to eat in a McDonalds in every stop on our tour. The commitment to American values is admirable, and, as I told Owen, reminds me of the time his father, at age 21, spent four days in Paris and ate fast food at nearly every meal. You will be relieved to know that Owen accomplished this task, getting his standard order of chicken nuggets and french fries in nine different cities. Interestingly, the best and worst nuggets came from the same location, the Innsbruck train station (where we changed trains for Seefeld). I had one of Owen's nuggets the first go-around, and can confirm that something had gone wrong, most likely someone forgot to deep fry the processed chicken piece. Good grief, people, this is McDonalds! If we are not deep-frying anything that moves, what is the point of any of this? As to fries, Owen says they were all pretty good, but Amsterdam gets the nod as the best while Berlin, and its lack of salt (again, this is McDonalds!) distinguish themselves on the other end.

Best City, By the Only Real Objective Measurement. A couple days into our time in Paris, Lauren noticed that there were a large number of New York Yankee hats. (For purposes of this exercise, we treated as Yankee hats any baseball cap with the interlocking NY as it appears on the actual Bronx Bombers' hats, regardless of hat or NY color.) Lauren decided she would count how many hats she saw. And so she did, for every city. We talked about including a negative count for every Red Sox hat, but opted against it. Things got a bit sidetracked in Prague and Vienna when the heat sidelined Lauren for a couple days, but it likely would not have mattered, given how far ahead Copenhagen and Stockholm were in the final tally, finishing with 180 and 226, respectively. What to explain the proliferation of JAY-Z's favorite hat? Likely some appreciation for American fashion more than a love of Aaron Judge, I suspect. Either way, people of Stockholm, congratulations for putting in the hard work to become Europe's Best City, Summer 2019!

Final, Final Thoughts. This seven-plus week trip cemented my thinking on two important things. First, we are only really irreplaceable with our family and friends. We might be good at our job and do important work in the community, but we can almost certainly be replaced at either without much disruption. Only those close, personal relationships matter, when it really comes down to it.

And, experiences are better than stuff. If you are fortunate, you often chose between having things and doing things. Clothes, cars, jewelry. They can all be nice, and make you feel good in the moment. But that moment is fleeting, and the experiences you have, in particular those experiences you have with your family and close friends, they last forever. They strengthen your relationships and help you grow as a person. They form the memories and relationships that last long after the stuff has been thrown away. Here endeth the preach.

Thanks for putting up with me and thank you all for reading this blog and sharing this experience!

tim's travel tips, movie reviews, and other things you don't care about

What Has Two Thumbs and Loves a Trans-Atlantic Flight? The worst part of a trip to Europe is, as you might imagine, the long journey across the ocean. Between the long flight, the time zone change and the general dislocation, it is a grueling experience; one that deters some people from even considering a trip abroad. Having come from Stockholm to Phoenix, I can't disagree with any of this. I can say, however, that the upside of the vacation itself far outweighs the unpleasantness of the travel. And, there are a couple things one can do to mitigate the unpleasantness and uncertainty associated with such a trip -- food and movies.

Bring Something to Eat. This is critical. With more and more airlines cutting back on already suspect food and drink service and the uncertainty what any particular airport will have, you simply must bring something to eat. We had the advantage of a decent European breakfast at our hotel, one that included what we on this side of the pond refer to as sandwich fixins' -- bread (including some of the gluten-free variety), meats, cheeses, peanut butter and jelly, and the three of us not named Owen did the responsible thing.

When we got to the Stockholm Airport, and I was looking to get rid of our last bit of Swedish Krona, the food choices were somewhere between slim and none so Owen procured for himself a decorative tin of Skittles and a set of mini Chips Ahoy! cookies. Three days later, I don't think Owen has figured out how to open that tin, so it sits in our cupboard until, months from now, Keri will ask what the hell this thing is doing in her cupboard and throw it out.

The food options were not a whole lot better in London, where we changed planes, not because there are a lack of options at Heathrow, but because they are all located far from the gates and, given the time between our flights, we were unable to make use any of them. As it was, Owen found a vending machine ice cream.

I'm Not Sure What is Going on in England. We flew British Airways through London for the direct flight to Phoenix. We have been through Heathrow a number of times over the past six years, and the experience was always pretty good. This year, at both ends of our trip, the process seemed really inefficient, as we had to wait close to twenty minutes for a shuttle bus to take us between terminals. At the second terminal, our gate was located at the far end. When we got there, we realized there was no bathroom at or near the gate, the closest one back in the middle of the terminal. On top of that, the machine failed that usually provides air conditioning to the plane while at the gate, which ended up delaying the flight for some time, not to mention leaving us a really hot plane. I cannot imagine what would have happened if our flight had been several days later, when the temperatures approached triple digits.

We flew through London the day before Boris Johnson was "elected" new prime minister of the United Kingdom. Johnson, the primary political force behind the pro-Brexit vote, now gets the privilege and honor of steering the ship of state through some very treacherous waters. I am clearly making too much of this, but I can't help but be struck by the coincidence of declining travel experiences at Heathrow and the political and economic cluster our British friends have created for themselves.

How Does the Government Decide What to Regulate? I've always been intrigued in what the government decides what to regulate. My core theory, in a nutshell, is that the government over-regulates individuals and small businesses while under-regulating massive corporations. One area crying out for more and better regulation is in airplane cabin design, particularly when it comes to the space between seats. Much has been written about the reduction seating space over the years, and how we are slowly being turned into sardine profit-centers for the airlines.

That problem can be made worse, very quickly, when the person in front of you decides to put their seat in the full-recline position, as happened to Keri on our 10-hour flight. The ethics of seat-reclining, whatever they were ten years ago, have moved to the "no decent human being reclines their seat" stage. Maybe some day, when we all live under one global government that forces airplane design engineers and corporate executives to fly some amount of time in the very planes they design, this will all change.

Let's All Go to the Movies. One area in which trans-Atlantic travel has really improved are the in-flight entertainment options, now providing personalized screens with lots of movie choices. On our flight back, I got to see four films that I had wanted to see, and I'm absolutely the better for it. Creed II, the latest movie in the Rocky universe, is totally formulaic and overly-dependent on the dated plot from Rocky IV. But, as is often the case for Rocky films, it just works. The actors -- Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, and Tessa Thompson -- are all very strong and make you care deeply about their characters. You know where the plot is going at all times, but that in no way detracts from the experience. And I'll be damned if I wasn't tearing up at the end.

I liked, but did not love, On the Basis of Sex, the story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's and Martin Ginsburg's marriage and collaboration on a 1972 challenge to a provision of the Internal Revenue Code that allowed only women to take deductions for payments made for dependent home-health care. Much of the story is told from the perspective of the future Supreme Court Justice, including her personal experiences of gender-based discrimination at Harvard Law School and as a new lawyer in New York in the early 1960's. The movie does a nice job portraying the Ginsburgs, and Felicity Jones and Armie Hammer were good, but I felt like the movie could have been tighter and more focused. Worth seeing, for sure, but this will not be at the top of the current slate of RBG hagiographies.

The Favourite was superb in nearly every way, a black comedy about two cousins vying for the affections of Queen Anne, the last ruler from the House of Stuart. Great writing, production and acting. Olivia Colman was tremendous, and so deserving of her best actress award. Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz were terrific, as expected, playing so well off each other in their rivalry at the center of the plot. If you have not seen this film, stop reading this and do so immediately.

I wanted to like Vice more than I did. The subject matter, Dick Cheney, is compelling, and I am big fan of writer and director Adam McKay, as well as pretty much all of the actors in the film. The film does a lot of things well, for sure, but it ultimately fails in conveying a narrative of Cheney that rings true. I am no fan of the former vice president, who is surely responsible for many, many bad things, which makes baffling McKay's decision to put on Cheney things well beyond his control. For a subject like Cheney, a film really needs to explore that person in all their complexity, helping us see what really motivates someone making the choices they have. This film had the potential to do that, but fell short. Worth seeing, still, but I had hoped for more.

That Took a While. Even with four good to great films, that was one long travel day. The guy in front of Keri ultimately was forced to raise his seat, and Keri was able to exhale. We were all allowed to exit the plane, step into the jetway and experience the familiar blast of heat that feels like home. Our bags were not quick in coming off the plane, but they all came, and, a Lyft home to two family members who we have missed terribly for the past seven weeks.

from stockholm to homeward bound

We have seen the future, and it is hot. It sounds like the United States has been on fire the last couple days. And Europe will be the same next week, as Paris is supposed to reach 106. Mon dieu! I cannot even imagine how people are going to get through that. Tomorrow we head back home and "normal" highs of 110 degrees. (That this number sounds manageable tells you all you need to know about the import of air conditioning.) Knowing it would be a couple months before we could venture outside, we spent Saturday enjoying the great Scandinavian weather. We have been extremely lucky post-Vienna, and our good streak continued to the end, as it was in the low 70's our entire time in Stockholm. So, what better way to round out our time here than a long walk through a different part of the city, this one with great views.

Taking a cue from our guide, Alex, we walked south from our hotel through Gamla stan and over the bridge to Sodermalm, the large island just south of the city center. From there, we made our way up to Skinnarviksberget, a rocky-hilltop area that provides wonderful views of the water and northern half of the city. Pictured here is me saying the name of the place three times fast. Or maybe I am dispensing some more invaluable life advice. Either way, Lauren and Owen are clearly hanging on my every word. Lucky kids.

We crossed the bridge to Kungsholmen Island. At the bottom of that bridge was a large park overlooking the water. Between the hundreds of sunbathing Swedes and the row of curry and felafel-based food trucks, it was yet another reminder of what an idyllic place this is in the summer. I have no doubt that the biting cold and seven hours of daylight make December miserable around here, but damn if this is not a good place to spend a summer.

At the east end of the island is the Stockholm City Hall, a 20th century building built to look several hundred years old. The building is most famous as the site for the annual Nobel Prize banquet. As a functioning city hall, it also serves as a wedding site. That is particularly true on a Saturday, as we saw more than ten couples who had just gotten married, posing in the courtyard or on the plaza overlooking the water.

This Does Not Add Up. Owen found a McDonalds two blocks from the hotel, so we agreed to allow him to go back without us, with only the fries and nuggets to protect him. (Again, do not tell Keri's mother.) The three of us continued our walk, only now in the city center, as we got Lauren her trip souvenir, a Fjallraven backpack for school. We also found a candy shop, where Keri and Lauren loaded up on lactose-free, gluten-free, sugar-full items for the trip home. Keri and Owen embarked on a similar venture in Prague and, somehow, managed to spend $30. Saturday's tab was only six dollars. That's quite a difference. As should be clear by now, Stockholm is not cheaper than Prague, so I am starting to think that Owen may have gotten an obscene amount of candy.

If it's Sunday, We Must Be Going to a History Museum. The Swedish History Museum is quite small. It reports to have tens of thousands of artifacts and, from what we saw, it does a really good job of hiding most of them. That said, the museum was worth a visit. It's telling of the last thousand years of Swedish history is broken down by century, each hundred years getting a separate area. Each area has a couple paragraphs of big-picture narratives, tens (or hundreds) of individual artifacts and a few multi-media exhibits. No individual section is overwhelming and, as there are only ten of them, you can get through all of them well under an hour.

The museum also has a very interesting in-depth exhibit on the Battle of Gottland (1361). The exhibit weaves together myth, the archaeological record (including human remains), and first-person narratives to tell the story of the Danish army's slaughter of 1,800 farmers who lived on this Baltic island. The story is a common one -- invading army in search of wealth and plunder -- but the well-preserved state of the human remains allows historians and museum-goers to get a unique appreciation for the brutality and violence that led to their deaths.

We also stopped by the Medieval Museum, built around some ruins, including the 16th Century city wall, that were uncovered when the city was attempting to build an underground garage. The museum tries to describe what life was like in Stockholm from its 1250 founding up to the Reformation. It accomplishes that goal adequately, but it is not worth a special trip.

Free A$AP Rocky, or At Least Let Him Pending Trial! Just outside the museum was a Free A$AP Rocky poster. There are a number of these around town. In case you have missed it, A$AP Rocky is an American hip-hop artist who was arrested in Stockholm a couple weeks ago on an assault charge. The Swedish criminal justice system does not employ bail (good), but apparently allows individuals to be held for some period of time while an investigation is ongoing (bad). In recent days, President Trump, at the behest of the First Lady or Kayne West, has involved himself in the situation, speaking directly with the Swedish prime minister about the case. He assured us by tweet this morning that the prime minister told him that A$AP Rocky would be treated fairly. I wish the president make such calls on behalf of my clients.

Final Thoughts on Stockholm. Another great city, and a wonderful place on which to end our seven week tour. Stockholm has natural beauty that matches any other place we have been. What it lacks in history, it makes up for in charm and general hospitality. Owen continued his love affair with Indian food, save the thumbs down on a mango lassi, and we found another decent burger place, Prime Burger, as well as a local ice cream place with excellent dark chocolate sorbet and caffe latte gelato, Stikki Nikki.

People want to live in Sweden, and it is not hard to see why -- at least in July. We did not venture out of Stockholm and we were only here four days, so there would be plenty to see if we were to come back to this part of the globe -- on the next sabbatical.

I will probably write a couple more entries, one documenting the trip home and the grand welcome we will get from our dogs, and another with some closing thoughts and observations. For now, I am both ready and sad to be ending this trip.

a spring-loaded mattress and three little piggies

Take the Last Train to Stockholm. We had a bit of an adventure getting to the Swedish capital. After our train from Copenhagen was cancelled, we found ourselves in an overcrowded commuter train going over the border to Malmo. Our car was one of those with fold down chairs along the side facing the middle where wheel-assisted passengers and their wheels -- strollers, wheelchairs, bicycles -- are given priority. The car was filled with non-wheel-utilizing people and their luggage, much to the chagrin (or was it joy?) of one bad-ass train conductor who reminded me of Frau Farbissina. This woman had a thick accent and a strong will. At every stop, she hopped off the train, eager to find on the platform people in wheelchairs, families with strollers, cyclists with oversized recumbent bikes. I'm not sure any of these people actually wanted to get on our train, but the good Frau was all-too-happy to direct them to our car and, all the more excited to order people out of their seats, sending them scrambling with the roller bags. I was relieved to be at the other end of the car with our ridiculously large bags, out of the line of fire.

One other notable item about train travel to Stockholm is that nearly all trains from the south stop at Stockholm South, a station outside the city center, and not directly connected to most of the city. One can then take a separate train to the central train station, at least on days when that line is open, which did not include Wednesday. It is odd that someone would have designed the train service in this way. Perhaps it reflects that most people get to Stockholm by some means other than train. I'm still unsure.

Stockholm is Easy on the Eyes. Stockholm is stunning. It sits on fourteen separate islands and separates a large lake and the Baltic Sea. It dates back to the 13th Century, and is now home to 2.4 million people. It feels much bigger than Copenhagen, but our hotel is centrally located so we have been able to see a good part of the city by foot.

What Do You Mean We Can Flip These Things? We are staying at the Sheraton Stockholm, which is on the water between the central station and the historic Gamla stan. This is the only time in our seven-week trip we have stayed at a large hotel chain. We had two issues with our room the first night -- a bed with springs impinging into various body parts and an air conditioner that passes muster only with someone who does not know how air conditioning works. Keri tried to raise the bed-spring issue with the hotel the next morning, and was told that the problem was unsolvable as that every king mattress in the hotel was purchased at the same time from the same place so a defect with one was sure to be a defect common to every damn one they had. This seemed implausible. Thankfully, a well-placed email led to the intervention of a hotel manager who determined that the mattress was wrong-side up and needed to be flipped. As for the a/c, cold air indoors, apparently, is not of the highest concern in a city this close to the Arctic Circle, but they did find a fan, so we both slept like babies our second night here.

We spent the first day on a small group walking tour through Norrmalm and Gamla stan. We were with another couple who had to leave early to catch a cruise, so our poor French-graduate student ex pat guide Alex was stuck giving us a private tour for the last hour-plus. He pointed out the key historic sites, newer government buildings and helped us decipher between medieval and faux medieval structures.

A Dynamite Museum. We finished our tour in the main square on Gamla stan, where the Nobel Prize Museum is housed, so we gave it a try. A good decision. The museum is not that large, but does an effective job presenting background on Alfred Nobel, his success as an inventor (of stable explosives) and businessman, and his endowment of these awards for those whose work in several areas benefits humanity. The museum displays a number of artifacts from winners, including an original Albert Einstein manuscript, Malala Yousafzai's scarf, and Erwin Schrodinger's steamer trunk, replete with stuffed animal cat (spoiler alert: it's alive). The museum also runs short films highlighting the work on a number of prior winners. Humbling and inspiring.

The Nobel Prize museum currently has a special exhibition on Martin Luther King, Jr., who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. It was admittedly strange, as an American, to go through this uniquely American story in a foreign land. The exhibition is excellent, capturing not just King's life, but setting out for his civil rights struggle the larger context of the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. The exhibition also touched on King's work post-1965, including his active opposition to the Vietnam War and his focus on the Poor People's Campaign. King has almost saint-like status at home, but that is almost exclusively devoted to his civil rights work, and often only his transcendent 1963 I Have a Dream speech. King was so much more than that, and kudos to this museum for documenting that.

Vasa Ship, I'm Telling You (said with Yiddish accent). I promise you have never seen anything like the Vasa Museum. Long story short -- the Swedes built a massive ship, Vasa, which set sail on its maiden voyage in August 1628. A few minutes after it left the dock, a light wind pushed the ship to one side. It started taking on water through the gun ports on the lower of its two gun decks. The ship began to tip, taking on more water and, within minutes, it capsized and sunk. An inquiry found no one at fault, as the true blame likely lay with the king, whose specified dimensions and specifications for the ship were a primary contributor to its lack of seaworthiness, In any event, the Vasa sat where it sank until the 1950's, when it was located and Swedish archaeologists began the delicate process of recovering it from the bottom of the harbor. The brackish water left the ship incredibly well preserved, and allowed the crew to recover and later place in a museum a largely intact 17th Century war ship. It is really amazing. The story, the ship, the museum. If you see nothing else in Sweden, see this.

"That Was Kind of Boring." Keri Eckstein, on leaving the ABBA Museum. Perhaps it was that we had just seen a fully-recovered and preserved centuries old massive ship. Maybe it was the comparison to all the great museums we have seen over the last seven weeks. Or, maybe, it was just an objective recognition that it is hard to build an entire museum around a pop group that wrote and performed a few catchy tunes over a five-year period, now more than 35 years ago. One may quibble over the merits of ABBA. I find their stuff enjoyable, for sure, but not horribly significant or influential, which makes the museum slightly awkward or, boring, as Keri found it. Lacking a broader context, the museum focused entirely on the personal biographies of the four seemingly decent people who made up the group, as well as their songs and costumes. The museum includes some interactive exhibits which museum-goers seemed to be enjoying but, unless you are really, really into ABBA, you need not put this museum at the top of your list. Let's just say if I had told Keri before visiting the ABBA and Vasa museums that she would have vastly preferred the recovered war ship, she would have called me an idiot. I'm speaking in hypotheticals, of course.

Reindeer, Mini-Pigs and Bears, Oh My. The Skansen Museum described itself as the world's oldest open-air museum, whatever that means. The description reflects, in large part, the strange but effective mishmash of things that fit into Skansen -- part old-town living history museum (featuring a replica 19th Century town with traditional craftspeople happy to tell you about their work), part amusement park, part botanical gardens, part zoo. Whatever it is, the place has been around since 1891, so they are doing something right. We, and by we I mean Keri, were most excited about seeing some of the animals. Most of them were sleeping in the late afternoon, but we did catch a few minutes of a brown bear eating some greenery, a reindeer walking around and a moose hanging about. Keri's highlight was three adorable baby mini-pigs. Keri has several hundred photos of the three little darlings, which I am sure she would be happy to share. Our Skansen visit was cut short by an unexpected rain storm. By unexpected, I mean not only was the weather forecast for mostly sunny skies and a zero percent chance of rain, I mean that, thirty-minutes into a fairly strong downpour, my phone was still telling us that the weather, in that moment, was sunny with a zero percent chance of rain.

The clock is ticking down, as we have only two days left in Stockholm, the last stop on our trip. Plenty more to see, to do, and to eat.

what a piece of work is copenhagen!

This Above All, To Thine Own Self Be True. We just finished out a really good week in Copenhagen. With two day trips, seven days here may perhaps have been a day too long, or maybe
our sense of time is totally warped, having just passed the six-week mark on our trip. In any event, we have been really lucky with the weather here: no rain and high 60's/low 70's every day. We did pretty well with our flat, too, in terms of location and spaciousness. The only issues with our rental was a bit of late night or early morning noise and the showers. We first thought the showers were poorly designed, but later learned that it is a preferred feature of Danish bathroom design that a shower should spread water about the entire bathroom. I know I have complained about the prices here and I won't take any of that back, as it is still tough to swallow. A little research shows that, in part, a 25% value added tax is to blame. That money, in turn goes to provide free health care, education and promote a high standard of living for this beautiful country. So, Denmark, I appreciate you being true to those values that help you build and sustain this country and its people.

Plunder, Then Write. Danish National Museum traces the history of peoples in this place going back to the stone age, through the Viking period and up to present day. The museum is large, and we could have devoted a couple days to it. The section on "modern" Danish history of 1600 to the present was quite good. We also liked the Meet the Vikings exhibition, an effort to provide some depth into the lives and deeds of the people that dominated this part of the globe between 800 and 1050. What stands out from this exhibition is how little we know about the Vikings, which is largely a result of their having left virtually no written record about their lives -- their beliefs, their system of governance, their reliance on trade and plunder. We need to rely almost entirely on the archaeological record and the accounts of those with whom they interacted to figure out who these people were. This exhibit does a good job of it, leaving an impression far more nuanced and complicated than I had going in.

A Nation of Righteous Gentiles. The Danish Jewish Museum is small, a testament to the very small Jewish community here, but in no way reflective of the depth of courage and humanity shown by their fellow Danes under Nazi rule. The museum, like the Jewish museum in Berlin, was designed by American architect Daniel Libeskind. And like his Berlin design, this one promotes the aesthetic over the factual, with intersecting slanted hallways designed to disorient and remind you that the dimensions of Jewish life here were always a bit off kilter. I thought it worked extremely well in Berlin, where there are many other museums that document Jewish life in that city. Here, I wish the museum had gone a more traditional route, as there are few, if any, other museums here that tell the incredible story of Danish heroism between 1939 and 1945.

The history of Denmark's Jewish community before 1939 is typical for western Europe -- a few merchants invited in the early 17th century to help bolster the local economy, emancipation for the Jewish community in the wake of the Napoleonic Wars, and refugees from the east in the early 20th Century. What happened after 1939 is quite different. Where Jewish communities in western Europe were substantially impacted and those in eastern Europe murdered almost in their entirety, ninety-nine percent of Denmark's Jews survived the Holocaust. A truly remarkable fact. There is a lot of historical debate about why this is so, but all historians seem to agree that the collective support of the Danish people for their Jewish citizens was the predominant factor. When faced with opposition to their anti-Semitic policies received elsewhere with ease and often enthusiasm, the Nazis backed down. This history is important, not just for the Jews and the Danes, but for all peoples, as an abject lesson in how communities can act collectively to do the right thing. A lesson we all need to take to heart.

Look Out Ladies, The Fleet is In Town. The Danish War Museum is part of the national museum, but is housed in a separate building and (of course) charges a separate entrance fee. As you might imagine, given Denmark's location and geography, much of Danish war history is focused on the Danish Navy, which was once one of the world's better naval fleets. That ended sometime in the 18th Century. As is told in this museum, things started to go south for the Danish army in the 17th Century. A number of failed battles and lost wars left a lasting impact on this nation, causing an understandable aversion to armed conflict. This museum has an impressive collection of artifacts over the last 500 years, including a number of model ships that were used in ship design and construction. The museum also tells the details of Denmark's involvement in armed conflicts, from religious fights after the Reformation to various wars for Scandinavian dominance to an ongoing tug of war of Schlesweg-Holstein to Denmark's neutrality in World War I and its transition from German protectorate to rebellious territory in World War II.


Get thee to Hamlet's Castle! As much as anything, Denmark is associated with Hamlet, Shakespeare's masterpiece about a young prince confronted with the horror of learning his uncle murdered his father, married his mother and became king himself. Although fictional, the play is set at Elsinore, the city in which sits Kronborg Castle, which itself was built around the time the play was written. From the outset, Kronborg has been known as Hamlet's Castle. About a 40-minute train ride north of Copenhagen, the castle is impressive in its own right, a massive Renaissance building on an island at the tip of a peninsula, a short ferry ride from Sweden. The castle served as fort, a royal residence and later as an army barracks before, in the early 20th Century being entirely renovated and opened to the public. It is regularly used for theatrical performances of Hamlet and other plays, and has even served as the set for some, but not all film adaptations of the tragedy. The castle, and Elsinore, are worth a visit even without the Hamlet connection, but if you are a Shakespeare fan, you really do need to experience the place.

Alas, Poor Owen! Walking through the castles courtyards, chambers, and ramparts, one cannot help but think of that immortal play. And, to its credit, the castle embraces the connection, having every afternoon a group of players, in character, acting out vignettes from the broader story. Among the things we saw were Hamlet and Laertes bantering with word and with sword in the courtyard, Polonius leading the assembled audience in paying respects to the new king, Claudius and his queen, Gertrude, and Yorick (a court jester from Hamlet's youth who, pictured here, does not appear in the play, but is spoken of) sharing with us his frightful encounter with the ghost of the slain king. The actors were fantastic, staying in character as they interacted with the tourists in their audience. Three of us were enthralled. The fourth, who we will call Owen, was less impressed. Maybe someday he will look back on his 13-year old self with regret for the time he did not soak in the Hamlet at Kronborg experience. Regardless, the castle is a true gem, and a must-have experience for any serious Shakespeare fan.

Though This Be Madness, There's a Method in It. Just outside of Kronborg Castle is the Maritime Museum of Denmark, a seemingly excellent museum of all things Danish seafaring. I say seemingly because our time there was short. Somewhere along the line, I'm not sure where, but definitely before we walked into this museum, the Eckstein children ran out of steam. We have done a good job of avoiding art museums and keeping the focus on history-related places, which they like. But, everyone has their limits, and theirs had been reached. This museum looked interesting, given the depth of treatment it gives to the subject, so I tried to coax my children back into the game. I was game for all manner of bribes. I allowed Lauren to get a tattoo. (Don't tell Keri's mother.) I even promised to drag my sea sick-prone self on a cruise around Kronborg Castle. To no avail. The kids were done and, we can only hope they get their second wind, as we still have another week to go.


Sweets to the Sweet. (Last Hamlet reference, I promise.) Among the gems we learned on a walking tour of Copenhagen was that, in the basement of Magasin du Nord, a large department store near Nyhaven, there are a number of local candy shops, selling their wares, most providing free samples: Yes, please. I'll have one of those. We stopped in twice, helping ourselves to samples of strawberry-flavored marshmallows, dark-chocolate with sea salt and finely chopped almonds, orange-chocolate and coffee-chocolate coated licorice, and coffee and chocolate-flavored hard candies. I don't think these sorts of local delicacies get enough attention in the typical tourist publications. Indeed, we would have missed it but for a thoughtful guide, and Keri's keen ear and keen memory for such important things. On our second trip back, Keri could no longer resist the siren call of chocolate coated licorice at Lakrids by Bulow, and bought jars of red and coffee-covered.

Final Thoughts on Copenhagen. We had a great visit here. All the things you look for when traveling -- nice people, compelling history, delicious food, good weather and beautiful country. There is lots of world still to see, but it would not be hard to talk us into a return trip here some future summer. I'll just need some time to save up so we can eat.

copehnagen: don't forget your wallet

There's Something Expensive in Denmark. I had written and published a very long post last night. Keri tells me it was my best work yet. I published it and linked it to Facebook, only the link did not work, so I went back in to Blogger to fix the problem, and the post was gone. I still have no idea what happened, but I am pretty bummed, and lacking the three hours today it would take to re-do the whole thing, I'll provide here the highlights along with a number of photos.

As indicated in the title here, things are pricey in Copenhagen. In particular food. Like the Czechs, the Danes are EU members with their own currency. Where I took issue with the Czech policy, I totally get Denmark's decision, as the confusion caused by having to convert krone to dollars (or Euro) is the only thing that allows one to spend the $100-plus that is required for even the simplest dinner of burgers or Indian food (two of the three Eckstein staples in Europe).

Denmark is Like Europe, Only Smaller.  Denmark is about the size of Maryland -- both geographically and by population (just under six million). And unlike the two smaller countries we have visited -- the Czech Republic and Austria -- Denmark is not smack dab in the middle of Europe. By virtue of all that, Denmark's history is quite different. It was never a world power or the seat of an empire. It was, for a long time, the most important place in Scandinavia, but that it like saying Maryland is the most important mid-Atlantic state between Pennsylvania and Virginia. (Suck it, Delaware!) Copenhagen and its environs feel smaller than the other places we have been. That is true both in regard to the city center -- which is quite compact -- and the buildings themselves, in particular the palaces, which are just smaller. The Danish people are keenly aware of their place in the world and seem to have a good, mostly-self aware sense of humor about it, as their prime point of national pride seems to be that theirs is the world's oldest flag. Put aside the fanciful nature of underlying story (god sent the flag down from the sky), you can really do better than a flag.

Great Public Spaces. We have been impressed by the public parks and open spaces in Copenhagen. Much of this has to do with the city's history, in particular that on its western edge, outside the city walls, the city developed a number of natural water-based barriers. When, in the 19th Century, the walls came down and the city expanded westward, they had the insight to transition many of those water barriers into parks, including a set of four rectangular lakes surrounded by walking and biking paths and a number of grassy parks with ponds and hills that used to serve as ramparts. Copenhagen also benefits from the King's Garden, a park just outside the Rosenborg Castle, through which King Christian IV used to stumble home drunk on his way home. For a couple hundred years, Danes of all kind, even those of non-noble birth, have been free to do the same. The Danes are also creative in their use of public spaces, creating "beaches" out of small grassy areas and tiered levels on the waterfront of Copenhagen's inner harbor and canals. As seen here, Owen was so moved by the beauty of this city, he forgot for a brief moment that his primary directive is to give his father a hard time. Thank you, Copenhagen!

Big Ticket Tourist Items. We arrived in Copenhagen on Wednesday and have had plenty of time to walk the city, including hitting some of the most popular tourist destinations. We have several times walked through Nyhaven, a waterfront area lined with colorful houses. Contrary to its spelling, the word is pronounced as nee-hown. (We were told that the the basic rule of Danish pronunciation is to eat the second half of every word.) The area is certainly worth a visit, but probably only a short one as it is overrun with tourists and overpriced (by which I mean really overpriced) cafes and restaurants.

The Round Tower is a 17th Century astronomical tower in the middle of the city center. It does not take long here to figure out that much of the city was built in the 17th Century, during the 60-year reign of King Christian IV. He is fairly well-regarded around these parts, although his social stance on witches (he was for burning them) and his military adventures (primarily, the Thirty-Years war) necessitate some pause. As to this tower, it is a fairly unremarkable structure with one significant feature -- a rooftop viewing deck with great sight lines around the city. It also features a gradual sloping spiral staircase. Apparently, there is a name for these things -- equestrian staircase. That name makes little sense, as no horse could be coaxed up or down this non-ADA complaint ramp.

Rosenborg Castle was built by the aforementioned Christian IV in the early 17th Century. Construction was completed about 50 years before Versailles. Much as Camden Yards put to shame all ballparks built before it, Versailles did for European palaces. Rosenborg is no exception, as it just feels incredibly small, unbefitting an absolute monarch. The Danish Crown Jewels are housed in the castle's basement. Keri has made clear that at her coronation she would like a tiara similar to the one in that set.

A Commune in Copenhagen. A family friend, Kathy, turned Keri on to Christiania, a thousand-person commune east of the city center. Like most great communes, this one started with a few squatters in an abandoned building. Over time, the population grew, and the commune's disregard for the Danish criminalization of drugs caused some distress. Apparently, the two sides reached some sort of agreement in 2011. Our tour of the area showed that the locals are openly selling cannabis-related products, apparently, without interference from local law enforcement, who we hope are out policing real crime.

Roskilde: Copenhagen Before Copenhagen. About 25 minutes west of Copenhagen sits Roskilde, a 50,000 person town that for hundreds of years was the seat of power for Danish kings, and the most important city in Scandinavia. After Christianity came to Denmark in the 12th Century, an archdiocese was established here. After its founding in 1177, Copenhagen grew slowly, but over time began to replace Rosklide as a trading center. Rosklide's fate was sealed with Denmark's formal adoption of Lutheranism in the 1530's, removing what power existed in this very Catholic city. Roskilde has a small museum on its history and the larger, popular Viking Ship Museum, which features five partially-reconstructed Viking ships, a brief history of the Vikings in this area and a boat building section where a large bearded man with big metal things explains to gawking tourists how they are building today using thousand-year old techniques ships capable of sailing to North America. Pictured here is a more peaceful Viking, one more focused on trading apples and other goods than on pillaging far away lands.

Third Time's a Charm? Bishop Absalon founded Copenhagen when he established a fort here in 1167. As the town grew, that fortress became Copenhagen Castle and, in the mid-18th Century, the Christianbourg Palace. This palace served as home to the royal family before burning to the ground in 1794. The palace was rebuilt, apparently with some but not sufficient fire-prevention measures, as the second version was destroyed by fire in 1884. The royal family had the good sense to have moved in the interim. The third version of the palace was completed in 1928, and houses the Danish Parliament and Supreme Court. The royal family uses it for state affairs. This palace is far more impressive than Rosenborg, and is worth a visit, in particular to see the Great Hall and its 17 tapestries that trace Denmmark's 1,100-year history. The tapestries were completed in 2000 and are themselves works of art that I wish we had more time to study.

We Found a Local Cuisine We Can All Eat, Sort Of. As readers of this blog know, the Ecksteins have their food issues. Between various food allergies/issues/sensitivities and the picky tastes of a thirteen-year old boy, we struggle to find places where we can all eat, in particular food specific to the places we are visiting. Problem solved, mostly, by Lagkagehuset, a local-chain bakery that has perfected the sweet pastries we call danishes. We were told that the Viennese are mostly responsible for this, as a team of Austrian bakers had to come here to deal with a strike of local bakers. When the Viennese left, the local bakers kept their recipes and improved on them. Whatever happened, things seem to have worked out, and Keri and I have agreed that we could every day eat at this local bakery -- cinnamon roll for me, some chocolate-based decadence for her -- and be just fine. The kids approve of the chocolate chip cookies, as well. As with all food items, these pastries ain't cheap, but that combination of sugary dough, cinnamon and icing helps it all go down.

pretzels for breakfast, a fairytale castle, and the white rose resistance

Munich and Bavaria. Three days in Munich was probably not enough, in particular when we lost an entire day going to and from the Neuchwanstein Castle. Although short, our time here was productive. We saw a good amount of the city, including its beautiful park, enjoyed some good meals and, for the most part, were the beneficiaries of some outstanding July weather.

Hotel Platzl. We stayed at the Hotel Platzl, located in the center of town, next to the original Hofbrauhaus and a few minutes from Marienplatz. This is the first traditional hotel we have stayed at on our trip and, as much as I like the spaciousness, washing machine and freedom of a flat, as Keri says, it is hard to beat fresh towels and someone else making you breakfast. That is true here, where the Fruhstuck is so well done -- a regular European breakfast spread plus a honeycomb, lactose-free cappuccinos, gluten-free bread, and, much to Owen's liking, a pretty good soft pretzel. Our only complaint about the Platzl is the somewhat smallish rooms and bathrooms, made to feel all the more so with the only clothing storage two smallish wardrobed without any shelving or drawers.

Jewish Museum (Munich). We started Sunday with a visit to the Jewish Museum, one of several Jewish community buildings that opened in 2007 in the center of town. The museum building is modern and comfortable, with a very small permanent exhibition commemorating the local Jewish community. Unlike Berlin, whose Jewish population made up close to five percent of the city at one point, there were never more than 12,000 Jews here, a real pittance. In part because of that, there is relatively little to document. The most interesting parts of the museum are Batman and haggadah illustrator Jordan Gorfinkel's Everything's Relative cartoon series and the temporary Say Shibboleth! exhibit, which presents artistic approaches to global trends toward increasing borders, walls and other barriers.

The Munich Requisites. We walked through and around all the must-see items, including the gothically-cool New Town Hall, which includes the Ratskeller restaurant, famous in our family as Keri's grandparents for years owned a Wilmington restaurant of the same name. We walked through all the plazas, the Karlsplatz, the Odeonplatz and the main town square, the Marienplatz. We walked through several churches, including the Frauenkirche, the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Munich and the most recognized landmark for the locals, along with its two towers that, by law, are to be the highest structures in the city. Perhaps more than any of the cities we have visited, Munich really packs so many important buildings into a small space, making it easy to see a lot -- as long as you don't mind navigating the hordes of humans trying to do the same thing.

Third-Reich Walking Tour. We took on Sunday afternoon a three-hour tour of the city focused on Hitler, the Nazis, and their place in Munich's history. Our guide, Mark, was really quite good, providing the right balance of facts, stories, photos and landmarks to keep a large group of people engaged. He really covered a lot, far more than you want to read about here. Mark's general thesis is that Munich, and Germany more broadly, for years has done an inadequate job in coming to grips with what happened here between 1933 and 1945. As Mark describes it, the people who lived here during that time would rather not talk about pretty much anything that happened over that time. As those people have  died, and their children and grandchildren have taken on responsibility, including for how to account for their parents' and grandparents' role in history, we are finally seeing real progress. Whether in the form of the 2007 establishment of three Jewish buildings in the city center, the 2015 founding of a museum on the origins of the Nazis in this city or having plaques or other signposts explaining with some degree of detail of what happened at specific places to give people a sense of the history, progress is being made.

Neuschwanstein Castle. If you don't know the name, Neuschwanstein Castle, you certainly know the image, the iconic romanesque revival castle sitting atop a hill at the edge of the Bavarian Alps. The castle is a little more than a two-hour drive from Munich, generally speaking, and an extremely popular place for day trips from Munich. For reasons neither Keri nor I can recall, we signed up months ago for one of those day trips, despite knowing pretty much nothing about the castle. With the benefit of hindsight, it was not the best use of our time. The day was prolonged with a traffic jam and our time outside the castle was shortened by a steady rain. (I know, I was the guy complaining about heat last week.) And, although the outside of the castle is iconic, that view is not worth a whole day.

The story behind the castle, although interesting, makes you feel worse about the whole enterprise. The castle was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria as a tribute to operatic composer and rabid anti-semite Richard Wagner, in particular Lohengrin, a medieval German romance story about a knight of the Holy Grail, the duchess he defends and falls in love with, before it all goes horribly wrong. Story aside, Ludwig, whose life otherwise was a bit of a mess, was obsessed with these medieval romance stories. Not satisfied with buying a set of romance books or commissioning an opera of one such story, he decided to build two castles that were to resemble medieval structures. As a recluse, Ludwig was not planning on sharing these with the public, or really squeezing out any public purpose. They were simply things he wanted to build and live in. Did I mention this was the late 19th Century? The whole thing is really so self-indulgent and profligate that, the more you hear of the story, the worse you feel.

Ludwig's story also has a tragic end -- an involuntary admission into an asylum followed quickly by a suspicious drowning death that, to this day, is the cause of much intrigue in Bavaria. Read the story and hop on-line to see the photos, but don't spend a whole day on this Opera Man.

The English Garden. Tuesday was gorgeous -- high 60's with sun -- so we started out with a walk through only a small bit of the English Garden, a park that starts in the middle of the city and runs nearly to its edge. The park has miles and miles and biking and walking paths, plenty of playgrounds and open grassy areas where, on warmer days, the locals often sunbathe German style. It also has several beer gardens and a couple places where fast running water serves as a wave pool that locals come out to surf. I only regret that I did not make time to run in this great public space.

The White Rose Memorial. Our walking tour guide, Mark, mentioned a group of students who resisted the Nazis, were caught and ultimately killed. The students became known as the White Rose, and there is a memorial to them at the Ludwig Maximillians University which they attended. We sought out the memorial, and found a nice little museum, in addition to a plaque to the group and Sohpie Scholl, one of its members. The one room museum does a good job of telling the group's story, providing background on the group's members and their acts of resistance -- primarily pamphleteering in opposition to various aspects of the Nazi regime. The courage of these young people is remarkable, particularly when set against a much broader community -- including university community -- that saw them as treasonous.

The Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism. In the building that used to serve as the Nazi party headquarters now sits the NS Dokumentationszentrum, which traces the history and consequences of the Nazi party, which always maintained Munich as its base. The museum opened in 2015. It is thorough and thoughtful in its approach, providing not only a detailed history, but anticipating and responding to many of the questions and objections that get raised in an effort to narrow the pool of responsible parties. This museum makes a compelling case about the total integration of the Nazi program within German society -- civil servants, law enforcement, teachers, judges, religious institutions. Most Germans by the mid 1930's had wholly committed themselves to this dictatorship. There is just no way the Nazis could have succeeded without this near-unanimous support.

Munchin' in Munchen. Beyond the really outstanding hotel-breakfasts, we ate well in Munich, having two great Indian food dinners and finding a great ice cream place. The second Indian place, Goa, was remarkably busy for a Monday evening, a testament to the great food. Somehow, we found ourselves in a somewhat lengthy conversation with the proprietor at the end of our meal. He had a warm smile and a heavy accent, the combination of which left my family convinced he was a lovely man. Only after we were a safe distance from the restaurant was it clear they did not understand most of what he was saying, some of which was unduly harsh as to his own people (i.e., 98% of Indians are corrupt) and some just generally harsh (several comments about the spate of rapes of teenage girls in India). It was probably for the best I was the only one who made out was he was saying the moment.

In addition, Keri found at the Gelateria Garda her biggest frozen dessert success to date, a double chocolate sorbet. The coffee gelato was pretty good, as well, among the best we have had. Pictured here is Lauren and her friends, sachertorte and apfelkuche.

Final Thoughts on Munich. I wished we had spent another day or two here, as I would have liked to spend more time in the English Garden and see a few more museums, and explore some more city neighborhoods. I am not sure we will come back here though, for largely the same reasons we will not go back to Berlin. As mentioned above, our hotel is right next to the Hofbrauhaus, best known for its beer, but whose banquet hall also served as the spot where the Nazis unveiled their 25-point plan in 1920. It is no fault of the people who enjoy the Hofbrauhaus today what happened there nearly 100 years ago, and by all rights they should enjoy their beer. Knowing what we know, however, a shadow looms over this place, and probably always will for us.