If you have read my previous posts, you may already know that I lived in the Seattle area 8 years ago. That’s why I had to include this city in my USA 2019 trip. I wanted to visit my old friends and bring back some great memories I cherished from the past.
Arriving in Seattle
The views from the airplane during landing were extraordinary. Although, I remembered this city to be very green with a beautiful nature, I did not remember it to be this beautiful. This became even more visible after staying in LA and Reno, which in comparison are very dry cities. Seattle looked so beautiful from the air that I could not stop gazing outside the window. The blue waters, the green trees, the green hills, the wooden houses, the whole scenery was like a painting! And the funniest thing is that it looked a lot like Stavanger, Norway! Maybe I was unconsciously already missing my home town?
From the airport, I took the train to Downtown, which only took about 30 minutes. I did not even remember there was a train going from the airport straight to Downtown, but I liked the idea! It was very easy and convenient.
Hotel Seattle
I stayed the first night in probably the worst hotel that I have ever stayed in. I do not know why hotels and Airbnbs are so expensive in Seattle in comparison to other cities. It was just insane! I found nothing costing less than 100 USD a night. Not even a room. Of course, there were some cheaper options in worse neighbourhoods or neighbourhoods further away, but it was important to me to be somewhere close to Downtown, otherwise I would have spent unnecessary time and money on transportation anyway! So I chose this “wonderful” Hotel Seattle, a very old hotel that probably has not been renovated since it opened for a 10 000 years ago. I had already seen the pictures posted by other hotel guests on TripAdvisor, so I had some idea of what was awaiting me, but I had a tiny hope that not all the rooms would look the same. Unfortunately, in the end, it was even worse than shown on TripAdvisor. The roof was falling apart and I kept the bathroom door open at all time to hide the really disgusting, rusty pipes. Luckily, the sheets looked clean, but I must admit that I even bought sleeping pills to make sure I would fall asleep that night. I know I might sound extremely picky, but it really was bad. I must say, however, that the people working here were extremely nice! From the receptionists to the housekeeping staff, everyone did all they could, and they are really the only thing positive about this hotel.
For obvious reasons, these are the only two photos taken inside the hotel. I wish I had taken more photos to give you a better picture.
Downtown Seattle
As already mentioned, I have friends living in Seattle, so I already had planned to stay at a friend of mine’s the other two nights. However, the first night I decided to stay Downtown Seattle, because I was going to meet another friend for dinner, and I knew I would arrive quite late in the evening. That is the reason why I chose that amazing Hotel Seattle for the first night of my stay. I met my friend Naima shortly after I arrived at the hotel and we had an amazing dinner at Wild Ginger, a very good Asian fusion restaurant. Meeting Naima was so much fun. It is so funny how you can just meet with some people after so many years and it feels like no time has passed! This was one of those cases.
The next day, I walked around Seattle Downtown and tried to enjoy the city as much as I could. This was the first time I saw rain during my USA trip. Well, in the end it is Seattle, the “rainy city”, so it was no surprise. It is still nothing like the rainy Stavanger where I am from, and although it was a rainy day, it was still quite warm. The only downside was that I was expecting sunny and warm weather during my entire trip, so I brought no jacket with me. I only had one sweater.
I made an appointment to meet my friend in the evening after he finished work. He did not finish until after 8 PM, so I had the whole day to explore Seattle Downtown. Although I used to live in the area, I think this is the longest time that I have spent Downtown in one day! I must admit that I really fell in love with this city. I started regretting going back to Norway and not staying in this beautiful city longer. At that time, I was fed up with Washington State and my dream was to move to California. It was California or nothing. So that is how it went: no California so I ended up back in Norway. Now that I think of it, I think I should have given Seattle chance, because it actually has become one of my favorite cities in the USA. If it was not for the rain, it would have definitely been on top of my list! The cleanliness, the luxury restaurants, the crab houses, the nature, the atmosphere, there is just something about Seattle. It also has a Scandinavian feel to it. Although I have always tried to escape Norway, in the end it is still my home country. Therefore, I think that USA with a touch of Scandinavia could work for me.
Pike’s Place Market
One of the main attractions in Seattle is the Pike’s Place Market. I therefore decided to go there first. I walked around a bit and watched the fish throwing. Of course, I had been there many times before when I used to live in Seattle, but it is always nice to be back. From there I also went to one of the waterfront crab houses from where I had some really great memories, and I enjoyed some very delicious oyster shooters! Many people have asked me what there is to do at the Pike’s Place Market. Basically, it is just a seafood market with some souvenir stalls inside the same building and a restaurant or two. In the building next door, you can find all kinds of cheeses, some Asian streetfood and all the usual things you can find on markets. I prefer going to the oceanfront crab-houses and seafood restaurants. These restaurants are very casual and in most of them you will need to order and pick up your food by the counter. That is not really my style, but the atmosphere is very unique. Most importantly, the seafood tastes very fresh!
Rooftop bars
Seattle has many nice rooftop bars. I wanted to try the rooftop bar at the Thomson Hotel, because I had read that it is the best rooftop bar in Seattle, with the best view. It was indeed very nice, and I really liked this place. Just remember to bring your ID or they will not let you upstairs! Unfortunately, it was hard to meet people here, and the prices were quite high. Therefore, I decided to just stay for 1 (very good) glass of red wine and instead find a place that serves Happy Hour at this time of the day.
Happy Hour
I am absolutely not a shopping person. Besides, I could not really afford to do any shopping and neither would anything else fit in my luggage as I only traveled with hand luggage! So what could I do all day in Seattle? Basically, all I did was walking around the streets of Seattle, and stop after a couple of metres for snacks and drinks at different restaurants and bars. This is what I like the most: enjoying something good to eat and drink while people watching! I already discovered Happy Hour when I was in LA. I was not aware of that Happy Hour is a thing in the whole USA, and I wish we had the same concept in Norway too. By saying Happy Hour, I do not mean it as in buy 1 get 1 free, but the completely separate menus during the time of Happy Hour! Apparently, this is when the restaurants and bars are filled up with people.
I was told that meeting people in Seattle would not be as easy as in other parts of the USA. That might have been true to some extend, but I still met plenty of people during the Happy Hours so I am not complaining. People are still so much more open here than in Europe. I specifically enjoyed a restaurant called Heartwood. Heartwood is definitely a must try during the Happy Hour! It was completely full of people and their food and drink menu is excellent! Luckily, I was alone and there was one spot available for me at the bar!
Happy Hour Steak Tartare at Heartwood 
Happy Hour at Heartwood 
Happy Hour at Heartwood
Safety
Another thing that I like about Seattle is that it feels quite safe. Well, maybe this is not really the case: 10 minutes earlier, one person was shot and another person was beaten up in the exact same place where I walked. I guess it is still better than for instance LA or Philadelphia, at least the crime rate seems to be much lower. Or maybe it just feels that way. Obviously, you should be careful wherever you are, because bad things can happen everywhere and when you the least expect it!
Moving to West Seattle
After my friend finished work, we went for dinner at a Sushi restaurant. More food and drinks! This night I could finally sleep in a better place than the horrifying Hotel Seattle, I thought. My friend had just moved to a new house with a friend of his in West Seattle. What a beautiful area (see my next post)! What I did not know, however, is that he literally had “just moved” to that place, and there were no other furniture than a couch! Although I was very happy and lucky to sleep on the very comfortable and long couch (I am 181 cm tall), I felt really sorry for my friend who sacrificed himself and slept on the floor. Had I only known earlier, then least I could have done would be to buy an air mattress! Regardless, it was so much fun to see my friend again. It was a fun evening!
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Anyah Mroz 