Rasmus Holmen

Rasmus Holmen

The Traveller Weiterlesen🇩🇰Copenhagen www.nirvanafanclub.com/

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Copenhagen
20. Oktober in Dänemark ⋅ 🌬 12 °C
Made it back to Denmark! 😊
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City of Industry & Whittier
19. Oktober in den USA ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
I started my last day by venturing out to an area called City of Industry where I visited the Puente Hills Mall. The parking lot of the mall was used for the scene in Back to the Future where we see the DeLorean for the first time, and where it time-travels for the first time as well. Inside the mall, they also have a reproduction of the Twin Pines Mall sign that was used in the movie.

The actual mall seems to be going out of business. It only has a few stores left that are still operating and it was mostly deserted. No people there at all. It was cool to see another lovation from the movie though.

I then continued my Back to the Future trek by going to Whittier High School, which is the school used in the movie - both for the 1955 scenes and the 1985 ones. Since it still operates as a school, it's not a place that outsiders can usually visit. Today, however, they had a special alumni event - mostly designed for former students, but I was able to join as well.

The event started with a light lunch and then an hour-long tour of the school. I saw basically all the areas of the school that they used in the movie, so that was really cool.

The event concluded with a Wurlitzer Organ performance - a very impressive instrument with over 2,000 pipes. The pianist played some classic Disney movie themes, and then they screened a silent film with the pianist playing along to it Very unique experience.

It was great to see another Back to the Future location to close out my trip.

Next week is 'Back to the Future' day and in connection with the 40th anniversary, there's a lot of activities related to the movie. One company is offering a 6-day fan event that visits all the locations, among many other things. I'm sad I can't join it since I'm flying home today, but I'm glad I was able to see some of the locations on my own. I also picked up a copy of the new book by Michael J. Fox which came out just a couple of days ago.

Now, it's time to get ready for the long flight back to Copenhagen!Weiterlesen
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Hollywood & Santa Monica
18. Oktober in den USA ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
The last two days of my trip will be a bit themed around Back To The Future. Today I visited a gym that is part of the United Methodist Church in Hollywood.

This particular gym was used for filming the pivotal 'Enchantment Under The Sea' dance in the first two movies. They sometimes do reenactments of the dance, so the gym is often set up to look the same way as it did in the movies.

When I visited today, they also had some props and signed guitars, and stuff related to the movie. So even though in real life, it's used as a gym connected to a church, they still embrace the significance of the history of the movie, even 40 years later.

Normally the location is not open to the public, but after reaching out to them, I was lucky to be invited to visit today. It was really cool to see this iconic location in person, especially since it mostly looks the same today as it did in the movie.

Later, I went on a two-hour guided tour of film locations. There are tons of tours in Hollywood focused on going by celebrity homes and places like Beverly Hills and the Hollywood Hills. This is currently the only tour focused on movie locations which I'm really into. The tour was great and also included a lot of rock n' roll history. The guide previously worked in various jobs in the industry, for example as a journalist interviewing celebrities for E! Entertainment. So he had a lot of fun stories. We also saw some interesting locations along the way from movies like Lethal Weapon, The Italian Job, and Speed.

I had lunch at the legendary diner Mel's Drive In, and then checked into my final hotel of this trip - the historic Biltmore Hotel in Downtown.

Speaking of film locations - a big scene from Ghostbusters was filmed at this hotel (in the room which is now the lobby), and it has been used in countless other productions. Since there have been many Ghostbusters moments on this trip, it's coming full circle by ending at the hotel that is often associated with the movie.

In keeping with the Back to the Future theme as well, I spent the evening in the company of Crispin Glover who played George McFly in the first movie. He is a very ... peculiar man in real life. He is still an actor, but also makes his own films almost entirely, and he was screening his latest one in Santa Monica this evening.

Before the movie, he did a slideshow of snippets from books he has made. I can't even retell what it was about, because it made no sense to me. Super weird. Then he screened his movie, which was also really weird.

After that, he did a Q&A which ran for over an hour and was the most interesting part for me. Aside from seeing George McFly in person, it was also interesting to learn more about how he works and his whole process.

Eventually, he did autographs and photos (at which point it was past 11 PM) but the line was so long that I decided to skip it. Fortunately, I met him when he did a similar event in Copenhagen a few years ago, where he presented his previous movie.

The only way to see his movies is by attending these events at a movie theater, which has a certain charm to it, in this on-demand streaming age.Weiterlesen
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Disneyland
17. Oktober in den USA ⋅ 🌙 19 °C
Most of today was spent at Disneyland in Anaheim. The original Disney park is celebrating its 70th birthday this year and Walt himself was heavily involved with it, and of course visited it many times.

It reminds a lot of the Magic Kingdom park in Walt Disney World in Florida, albeit this park has more rides and attractions. I was able to do about ten rides and watched a couple of live shows and fireworks.

I quite like the original park and it has some rides that the Florida parks don't offer, such as a ride themed after the Indiana Jones movies.

It was also nice and sunny today - the usual South California weather is definitely back!Weiterlesen
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Scenic train ride
17. Oktober in den USA ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
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Del Mar / Solana Beach
16. Oktober in den USA ⋅ 🌙 15 °C
After breakfast, I made my way from Hollywood to the Del Mar area, in Solana Beach, close to San Diego. The latter part of the two-hour train ride passed by a gorgeous stretch of the coast. The train tracks are literally right next to the beach and the ocean. Very surreal to be on a train, driving just a couple of meters from the Pacific Ocean.

In Solana Beach, I had some lunch and then relaxed at the hotel before going to a venue called The Sound for a show with the one and only Bill Murray!

Up until a couple of months ago, I didn't even know that he played music, but it turns out he's on tour with a band he refers to as his Blood Brothers. They play covers of old rock n' roll and blues songs by artists like Bob Dylan and the Stones.

Bill sings on some of the songs, and otherwise stays in the background, playing percussion. The band was really good, and while Bill isn't the best singer in the world, he was really enjoying himself, and it was cool to see him live on stage.

The highlight, however, was meeting him before the show. I had booked an expensive VIP meet and greet option, since there aren't many opportunities to meet such a legendary actor. He is notoriously reclusive and doesn't do conventions or anything like that, so this was a super rare opportunity.

It was also really cool to meet another main cast member of Ghostbusters - my 4th in less than a week!

Indeed, on this trip, I have been able to meet or see many of my childhood comedy heroes: Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Henry Winkler, Keanu Reeves, Arsenio Hall, Sigourney Weaver, and Jeff Goldblum, among others. Not to mention the beautiful John Candy documentary.

Now, getting ready for my last couple of days in the US!Weiterlesen
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Universal Studios Hollywood
15. Oktober in den USA ⋅ 🌙 13 °C
I started the day by relaxing by the pool at my lovely hotel in West Hollywood, and had some lunch there as well. Thankfully, the weather is back to normal again - warm and sunny!

Later, I went to a different hotel - the Magic Castle Hotel in Hollywood. Since my first visit to California in 2011, I have stayed at this hotel a lot of times and it's one of my favorites. For one, they have free ice cream, snacks, and soda! What else do you need?

After spending a little time at the hotel, I went to Universal Studios- this time the one in Hollywood.

I did the studio tour which is a bit different from the ones at the other studios, such as Sony and Warner Bros. While Universal is a huge lot with many TV and movie productions, it's also a theme park like Disney, with rides and shows. So the studio tour only passes by a small section of the actual lot, and it's more focused on entertainment - for example letting you experience a scene from Jaws and King Kong.

Several key scenes from Back to the Future were filmed at Universal, but unfortunately, this tour didn't pass by that specific area.

In the Halloween season, they have a themed event called Halloween Horror Nights. It features haunted houses, 'scare zones', and special live shows. I attended that after the 'regular' park features closed.

Each of the haunted houses has a specific theme. This year, for example, they had houses themed after Poltergeist, Jason from Friday the 13th, and the popular horror movie Terrifier.

When you enter a haunted house, for example the Poltergeist one, you walk through rooms that look like scenes from the movie, with actors or animatronics reenacting key scenes from the movie. Since it is a Halloween event, it is set up to be quite scary, with loud noises, gruesome scenes, and actors jumping out from the dark, dressed as characters from horror movies.

Since it is in Hollywood, it is quite well done, and the theming and the actors are amazing.

I tried 5 of the 8 haunted houses, the 'terror tram' where you walked through areas themed after movies made by the company Blumhouse, and a live stunt show based on The Purge.

One of the haunted houses featured new music by Slash from Guns N' Roses, made specifically for this event, which was really cool.

Overall it's a pretty fun event, but it is also very crowded with long lines, so I didn't get to see and do everything there.Weiterlesen
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Los Angeles
14. Oktober in den USA ⋅ 🌧 13 °C
Today, something quite unusual happened in Los Angeles: rain! It is very rare that it rains here, but we had a very rainy, windy, and cold day.

I started with a tour of Warner Bros Studios, which I've done several times before, but it's usually different every time. It's another huge studio, where countless movies and TV shows have been taped on the lot over the years.

So, inside the lot we passed by a number of the houses and locations that have been used in movies like Gremlins and Spiderman (the famous upside-down kissing scene), and more recently shows like Young Sheldon.

Of course, one of the most popular sitcoms of all time, Friends, was also shot there, and there are a lot of things you get to see on the tour related to the show. For example, the fountain from the opening sequence, the Central Perk set, and various props and scripts.

They also have sets from The Big Bang Theory which is really cool. I was lucky enough to attend tapings of two episodes of the show back in the day.

After Warner Bros, I made my way to the Pasadena area for a tour of the Gamble House. It served as a winter home for David B. Gamble, son of Procter & Gamble founder James Gamble. While the house is beautiful, I'm not a history or architecture buff by any means. The main reason I wanted to see the house is because it was used as a filming location in Back to the Future! This is meant to be the house where Doc Brown lives in the 1955 timeline. As a huge fan of the movies, it's always fun to see locations from them in real life.

Later, I went to Downtown Los Angeles and the fancy InterContinental hotel, where they have a rooftop bar on floor 73 called Spire 73. Apparently, it is the highest bar in the Western Hemisphere. Indeed, the view is spectacular from up there, but due to the aforementioned bad weather, it was a bit too cold for an outdoor bar, so I didn't stay very long.

After dinner, I went to the GRAMMY Museum for 'An Evening with Jeff Goldblum'. This event was only announced less than two weeks ago, so it was quite lucky that I heard about it and that it coincided with my trip.

I have followed Jeff's acting career for decades, with movies like Jurassic Park and Independence Day, among many others. This event was more focused on his music career though.

As a very accomplished jazz pianist and singer, they talked about the genre and his inspirations, and more about his background in general. He also performed a few songs with a bassist and drummer. It was in a very small venue, so it was an interesting and intimate event with one of the great actors of our time.

When I got back to my hotel in West Hollywood, I went to see another comedy show, this time at The Comedy Store just across the street. I didn't really know any of the comedians this time around, but most of them were pretty good. All the biggest comedians of the past 50 years or so have performed at this club, and frequently a big name will pop in for a surprise set, but I didn't get so lucky this time around.

A long day that took me to several different parts of the city!Weiterlesen
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Culver City & West Hollywood
13. Oktober in den USA ⋅ 🌧 16 °C
This morning I did a tour of Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City. Several of the big movie studios fall under Sony - including Columbia Pictures, TriStar, and Screen Gems. A lot of movies and TV shows have been filmed on the lot over the years, and its facilities have been used by countless artists.

I always enjoy visiting the big movie studio lots in L.A. and it's been a few years since I've done the Sony one.

The tour was really good, and coincidentally we saw a lot of Ghostbusters stuff on the tour, since it's one of the franchises that is part of Sony. I saw some props and costumes from the movies, and the cars used for filming.

As a special treat, and apparently something that happens very rarely on these tours, we visited Ghost Corps which is the office used by the people who are involved in the production of Ghostbusters movies, such as the one that came out last year. They had so much cool stuff on display, so it was really fun to visit.

We also saw the stage where major composers like Hans Zimmer and John Williams record iconic movie scores for the biggest movies. Apparently, I sat on Spielberg's favorite couch in the studio, haha.

In terms of sound stages, we saw the set for the American version of Wheel of Fortune which was also fun to see.

After the tour, I switched to my next hotel, which is in West Hollywood, right on the Sunset Strip, and across the street from the legendary Comedy Store.

I had dinner at the Rainbow Bar & Grill, a venue frequented by many rock stars over the years. Lemmy from Mötörhead hung out there all the time before he died, and it was used in a couple of music videos by Guns N' Roses. It's a really cool place, and the area has so much history, with places nearby like the Whisky A Go Go, the Roxy, and the Viper Room.

I was actually supposed to go on a rock-themed walking tour of the area, but unfortunately, the tour guide canceled because he got sick.

Instead, I went to The Hollywood Improv, another famous comedy club in the area. I saw a two-hour comedy show headlined by four legends - Jay Leno, Arsenio Hall, Jay Mohr, and Howie Mandel. All of them were pretty good, and it was a nice last-minute replacement when the walking tour was canceled unexpectedly.

Tomorrow - another studio tour and comedy show is on my schedule!Weiterlesen
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Los Angeles & Culver City
12. Oktober in den USA ⋅ 🌙 18 °C
Last night I arrived in Los Angeles after a long flight across the continent - apparently just before a major storm hit New York and many parts of the East Coast.

I didn't really have any plans for today, but I ultimately decided to check out the California Science Center, an interesting museum with various exhibits and an IMAX theatre. They also have one of the Space Shuttles, but unfortunately, it's not on public display at the moment. There was an interesting exhibit about the shuttle program though, including some artifacts from the shuttles.

Later, I went to Torrance (which involved three different bus transfers) to check out Torrance High School. This school was used as a prominent location in Beverly Hills 90210 (as West Beverly High) and in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I started watching 90210 well over 30 years ago, and have often rewatched it, so it was quite fun to see one of the most well-known locations used in the show in person. I also saw the little courtyard area which is shown a lot in both shows. Seeing locations from movies or TV shows is one of my favorite things to do whenever I visit California.

In the late afternoon, I checked into my hotel in Culver City and had dinner at Olive Garden :)Weiterlesen
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New York City - Day 4
11. Oktober in den USA ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
My last day in New York started with another visit to New York Comic Con. I first attended a panel about a new show based on IT - the Stephen King novel. They showed some clips from the series, and the cast and creators introduced the show.

Then I had photo ops with two more cast members from Ghostbusters - Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts. More recently, I have seen Annie in the show Young Sheldon, where she is also really good.

As for Ernie, he pretty much looks the same now as he did when they filmed the movie over 40 years ago.

Otherwise, I walked around the convention for a bit, and then made my way to the famous Grand Central Station where I took a train to JFK airport. I'm now on a flight all the way across the United States to Los Angeles in California, which is my final stop on this trip!Weiterlesen
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New York City - Day 3
10. Oktober in den USA ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
Another busy day in New York! This morning I went to New York Comic Con - one of the biggest pop culture conventions in the world. Apparently, more than 200,000 people are attending the convention this weekend, so you can imagine how crowded it is there!

There were only a couple of guests in the lineup for me, but today I met one of them - the legendary Sigourney Weaver. She's been in everything; Alien, Avatar, and Star Wars, to name a few. The role I associate her with primarily is Ghostbusters. It's always been one of my favorite movies, and it was filmed right here in New York.

I attended a panel with her early in the day, which was great, even though it was mostly focused on Alien. Later, I had a photo op with her, and otherwise I spent the rest of the day exploring the convention floor.

After the convention, I went to my new hotel right in the most touristy section close to Times Square.

In the evening, I had dinner at Planet Hollywood, and did a walk around the Midtown area, where I passed many landmarks like the Rockefeller Center and the Chrysler Building. I eventually went to Lincoln Center (another Ghostbusters location!) where I attended a screening of the movie "Is This Thing On?" which was this year's closing movie of the New York Film Festival.

The movie was directed by Bradley Cooper who was present at the screening to introduce it. Also present were the stars of the movie - including Will Arnett and Laura Dern.

The movie was okay, not the best I've seen, but it makes it an elevated experience when it's introduced by some of the principal people behind it. It was also interesting to watch it since it was filmed in New York City.Weiterlesen
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New York City - Day 2
9. Oktober in den USA ⋅ 🌙 7 °C
My first full day in New York on this trip was mostly spent walking around. In fact, I ended up walking about 22 km in total!

Manhattan is very walkable and there are so many cool neighborhoods to explore, and walking around in Central Park is always enjoyable when the weather is nice.

I started my walk in Downtown, right where the new World Trade Center is located, and where there is a 9/11 memorial. After walking around that area for a while, I had an amazing lunch at an Italian restaurant that is rated as one of the best in NYC.

I then walked all the way Uptown, passing many cool places along the way, such as Washington Square Park, Times Square, and the Empire State Building..

I then made my way to Carnegie Hall for a tour. I have never seen a show at this legendary venue, but I was always curious to see the hall itself, so this was a good way to do it, and also learn about its history. The tour guide was really good, and it was interesting to hear more about how it all started, and about some of the many legends who have performed there.

I then went for a walk in Central Park, passing some filming locations from Ghostbusters, which has always been one of my favorite movies. I also passed by the Dakota building where John Lennon was killed 45 years ago, and where his wife still lives to this day.

After dinner, I went to see the play "Waiting for Godot " on Broadway with Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter. Honestly, it was a very weird play and the plot was hard to follow. But it was great to see Keanu in person, and act on stage, reunited with Alex Winter some 36 years after they did a classic 80s comedy together (Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure). There was a fun reference to the movie during the play, which was cool. I also saw Keanu signing autographs after the show.

He is such a great actor and he's done so many amazing movies, so it was really cool to see him on Broadway.

Tomorrow - New York Comic Con!Weiterlesen
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New York City - Day 1
8. Oktober in den USA ⋅ 🌙 13 °C
Today, I left Orlando and headed on a plane to New York City. Since hotels in Manhattan are crazy expensive at the moment, I have a hotel in Newark instead, which is about a 20-minute train ride from the city. Newark is a bit sketchy, but I don't plan to hang out there very much.

Indeed, as soon as I dropped my bag off at the hotel, I went all the way to Brooklyn for a screening of the new John Candy documentary, "I Like Me."

I've been a big fan of John Candy since I was a kid, and I love his movies, so I was excited to see a film about his work and career. The documentary was absolutely wonderful and included so much amazing footage from behind the scenes, outtakes, and home movies from his private life. It also included interviews with many of the people he worked with over the years, such as Steve Martin, Martin Short, Dan Aykroyd, and Bill Murray.

After the film, there was an hour-long Q&A with Tom Hanks' son Colin, who directed the film, and Ryan Reynolds, who was one of the creative forces behind it. They also brought out Hugh Jackman, who, of course, played Wolverine, among many other roles.

They also played a clip from the new Deadpool and Wolverine movie, starring Ryan and Hugh. It was pretty surreal to watch the clip with them in person. I have followed both of their careers for decades, and Ryan especially is just as entertaining in person as he is on the screen.

It was a really cool event, and I'm glad I got to see the movie before it is officially released.

Otherwise, there is not much to report from today since it was mostly spent on traveling.Weiterlesen
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Universal Epic Universe
7. Oktober in den USA ⋅ 🌙 25 °C
Today I visited Epic Universe, a new Universal theme park that opened about 5 months ago. Apparently, it's the first new theme park in the US in over 20 years. Indeed, there has been much hype surrounding this park, so I was excited to visit it.

The park is visually impressive - with five distinct "portals" each representing various themes. There's a portal for Harry Potter, another for classic Universal movie monsters, and one for How to Train Your Dragon. Then there's an area dedicated to Nintendo and Mario Bros. and finally Celestial Park which is the center of the park.

Since the park is so new, it showcases brand new technology and innovations, and more interactive features than most other theme parks.

The downside of the park being new is that everyone wants to visit it! So the wait time for most of the rides was extremely long. The most popular ride, themed around Harry Potter, had a wait time of 4 hours all day - even more at times. As much as I wanted to try the ride, which experts have billed as the best theme park ride in the world, I didn't want to stand in line for over 4 hours.

I did try another one of the much-talked-about new rides though - Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment. "The groundbreaking ride features 14 of the most ambitious and life-like animated figures ever designed — each one depicting one of the legendary Universal Monsters."

The ride was really cool - and getting up close in a ride vehicle that spun around in all directions with Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula, Wolf Man and others was a lot of fun.

Later, I went to explore the Harry Potter themed land, which is designed to look like Paris in the 1920s, inspired by the Fantastic Beasts movies. It's quite well done and really impressive. I saw a live show called Le Cirque Arcanus, which is described as a "spectacular mix of live performers, amazing puppetry, dazzling special effects and more".

Like I mentioned before, I really wanted to do the main ride of this portal, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, but the wait time was just too long.

I did get to try one of the rides in the Nintendo portal, a cute slow ride called Yoshi's Adventure, where you were transported around the portal.

The last ride I tried was in the "How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk" portal, which was a water ride with fire-breathing dragons!

I also had lunch inside the park - at the Atlantic restaurant which had a stunning view of the lake. The food and drinks were good as well.

It was a very hot day, so I'm glad I was able to take a break sometime over the afternoon at my hotel, one of the official Universal hotels close to the park, and then return again later. Overall, the wait times for most of the rides were high during the entire day, so I'm sure it will be much more enjoyable to visit the park in a year or two, when the hype has died down a bit, and the crowds are hopefully more manageable.

I'm glad I saw the park in person though - a very different experience than going to Disney World which I've tried a lot of times now :)Weiterlesen
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Walt Disney World - Day 1 & 2
6. Oktober in den USA ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
Yesterday I took a train from Tampa to Orlando to visit Disney World once again. After getting settled into my hotel, I got some lunch at Disney Springs, which is an area with over 150 shops and restaurants, and part of the overall Disney area.

I then went to the Halloween event at Magic Kingdom - Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Basically, it is a special event focused on the Halloween season where you can "trick or treat" to get free candy, and there's a special Halloween parade and fireworks show. It's a pretty fun event, and one of the upsides is that lines are generally shorter for the rides, since the capacity is limited compared to a regular evening.

I was able to do 10 rides in total, and also tried the brand new bar called Beak & Barrel that opened just a little over a month ago. It's basically themed after Pirates of the Caribbean and has a fun and lively atmosphere. It's also quite popular, so it was lucky that I was able to get a reservation for it.

I got back to my hotel pretty late, since it's a bit further away from the parks than Disney's own hotels.

For my second day, I had indeed booked one of Disney's own hotels, the deluxe resort called Wilderness Lodge.

I started my second day at one of the other parks, Hollywood Studios, where I did four rides, two of which are themed around Star Wars. In fact, this park includes an area called Galaxy's Edge, which is a huge Star Wars land, including a ride where you board the Millennium Falcon.

I have seen this area several times now, but it's still super impressive.

After Hollywood studios, I went to the Epcot park and did two rides, and walked around a little bit. It's a huge park so there's quite a bit of walking involved in general.

I then went to my new hotel to relax by the pool a bit and get a drink. The Wilderness Lodge is really cool. Its style is described as "American craftsmanship and honors the beauty of the untamed wilderness".

Later, I went back to Magic Kingdom to get some dinner and check out a parade, as well as the evening fireworks show which is always very impressive.

Before ending my Disney World visit this time, I went back to Epcot once again to catch two of my favorite rides - Soarin' and Test Track. In the latter, it feels like you are riding a racecar really fast through a futuristic landscape. It was recently rethemed so it was fun to try the new version for the first time.

After two long days at Disney (and walking over 40,000 steps), it's time to get some rest before another long theme park day tomorrow!Weiterlesen
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Fort Lauderdale
4. Oktober in den USA ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
This morning I left my hotel in Hollywood, Florida, and went a little further North to Fort Lauderdale, which is also a popular cruise port and beach destination.

After getting settled at my new hotel, I explored a bit of the area, including the lovely Las Olas Street which is packed with cozy restaurants and shops. I had lunch at a really cool place right by the water. Fort Lauderdale is known for many canals - total Amsterdam vibes.

I also walked around the beach area a bit, which reminds me a lot of Miami, just without the Art Deco style.

In the evening, I went to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino for a show with comedy legends Steve Martin and Martin Short. I have been a fan of them since I was a kid, especially Steve, so it was really special to see them live in person. I also had a really good seat, about 4-5 rows from the stage, in the center of the huge venue.

Aside from various comedy bits, Steve also performed live music (he is a very accomplished banjo player and has won five Grammy awards). For some of it, he was joined by the very skilled band, Steep Canyon Rangers.

Martin Short also did impressions which he is famous for, and reenacted some of the characters from his long career. My favorite parts were with both of them on stage together. One of the things they do is insult each other (in a very playful way) which is always really funny.

This show was one of the reasons I wanted to do this trip, and I got the ticket all the way back in February, so it was great that the day finally arrived.

I was actually supposed to see them on my US trip two years ago, but the show was canceled due to Covid. In fact, their two most recent shows on the current tour were also canceled due to Covid! So I'm really glad it all worked out this time.

While they both seem to be in great health, and they were running around the stage for two hours, at ages 80 and 75, I do wonder how many years of touring and performing they have left.

The hotel where the show took place is quite impressive in its own right - the main building is shaped like a huge guitar! It was really cool to see it in person.Weiterlesen
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Miami + Hollywood, Florida
3. Oktober in den USA ⋅ 🌬 26 °C
Early this morning, the cruise ship made it back to Miami. I happened to wake up just as we were slowly drifting into the harbor, and got some amazing pictures of the Miami skyline in the dark. After my final breakfast on board, it was time to leave the ship. I really enjoyed the cruise so it was hard to leave!

After getting out of the busy port, I went back to the Bayside Marketplace to join a bus tour around Miami. We visited some cool places, and the guide was pretty good. Among other places, we stopped by the Cuban district, Little Havana, where we had a delicious lunch. I never knew how good Cuban food is!

I don't think a lunch stop was meant to be part of the tour, so the tour ended up being an hour longer than I expected. Fortunately, I had no other plans today, so it worked out well.

I then booked an Uber for the relatively long drive to Hollywood, Florida - not to be confused with the far more well-known version in California!

This area, and the drive here, is quite upscale, with many million-dollar mansions and condos nestled along the oceanfront road.

Otherwise, a relaxing afternoon and evening at the hotel, where I have a room with an amazing ocean view.Weiterlesen
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Wonder of the Seas - Day 4
2. Oktober auf den Bahamas ⋅ 🌧 27 °C
Today, we docked at Royal Caribbean's private island in the Bahamas, Coco Cay. It was only our ship, Wonder of the Seas, and Oasis of the Seas, which was the first one of the "mega ships".

I was really excited to visit Coco Cay, having watched a lot of YouTube videos from my favorite travel bloggers going there.

The island is really cool - offering both sandy beaches and a couple of large pools. There's also a huge water park that you can buy access to, as well as other attractions like a zipline and various excursions.

I mostly spent my time relaxing on the beach and occasionally exploring the rest of the island. Luckily, the weather was really good once again, at least until it started raining sometime over the afternoon, but it eventually cleared up as we were sailing away.

For my first dinner, I went to Hooked, another specialty restaurant - this one focused mainly on seafood. The food was really good, possibly the best I've had on the ship so far.

I then enjoyed a lonely sunset and made sure to see as much of the ship as possible - before we arrive back in Miami early tomorrow morning.

For my second dinner a few hours later, I went back to the main dining room for a very nice steak.

I finished the evening with another comedy show - this time at the Royal Theatre. It featured the same comedians as yesterday, but they were doing a different performance.

It's been a great cruise, so it will be hard to leave tomorrow morning!Weiterlesen
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Wonder of the Seas - Day 3
1. Oktober auf den Bahamas ⋅ 🌙 28 °C
Today we docked in Nassau, the capital city of the Bahamas. I have been here a couple of times before, so I didn't book an excursion or anything to go explore. After breakfast, I did briefly leave the ship though, just to check out the little marketplace in the port area.

It was also fun to see the other cruise ships in the port, including one of the big ships from the Disney Cruise Line.

We got very lucky with the weather again today. Nice and sunny, and very hot!

I had my first dinner at the Solarium Bistro, where they had a very nice buffet. Then a few hours later, I had another dinner (!) at the main dining room. Since they were both complementary, I figured it would be fun to try both.

I finished the evening with a comedy show, which was pretty good.

Tomorrow we will visit Royal Caribbean's private island, which I look forward to!Weiterlesen
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Wonder of the Seas - Day 2
30. September auf den Bahamas ⋅ 🌧 27 °C
The first full day of the cruise - and it was a day at sea. We have been super lucky with the weather for the first two days - very sunny and blue skies. It was rather windy this morning, and the boat was rocking a fair bit. Most people probably don't like that, but I think it's fun!

Right now is actually the height of the hurricane season, and, in fact, there are not one but two active hurricanes in the area right now. The first one, Imelda, actually hit the Bahamas over the weekend, with heavy winds and storm surges. Indeed, several cruise ships were affected, and mine was supposed to dock in the Bahamas today, but it was moved to tomorrow just to avoid the remnants of the hurricane.

The other hurricane, Humberto, will mostly hit Bermuda, so a bit further away than the Bahamas. Apparently, two major hurricanes in a week is a pretty rare thing, and ironically, it seems they have somewhat canceled each other out (see screenshot from a Facebook post).

Anyway, Royal Caribbean is obviously very experienced with the volatile weather in this region, and they do a good job of steering clear of the worst impact of storms and hurricanes.

Hopefully, the weather will be nice when we visit the Bahamas tomorrow and Thursday, and the hurricanes will be fully gone by then.

For breakfast today, I went to the Solarium Bistro, where they had a nice buffet with some good choices. Then, for lunch, I went to Giovanni's wine bar for some tasty Italian food.

During the day, I mostly relaxed at the balcony and enjoyed the sun (with over 30 degrees Celsius it was very hot, though!)

I had an early dinner at Mason Jar, another one of the specialty restaurants. I was still so full from lunch, though, that I couldn't eat much of the food. My body is not used to cruise ship style eating!

The first show of the evening, Voices, was at the main theater and is described as a "completely new style of musical production that brings together the world-class vocal talents and live performance skills of our most experienced singers". They included an Ozzy Osbourne cover, so that was cool.

The second show, inTENse, was at the outdoor aquatheater, and it was quite impressive. Imagine people leaping from the sky into a big pool. And dancing in said pool. They also blasted Rage Against The Machine at one point. Royal Caribbean likes rock n' roll, for sure!

I also tried the Bionic Bar, where you basically select the ingredients you want in your drink from a screen, and then a robot mixes the drink for you! Very futuristic.Weiterlesen
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Wonder of the Seas - Day 1
29. September, Straits of Florida ⋅ 🌬 29 °C
The day finally arrived! It's probably been about a year since I started thinking about doing a Royal Caribbean cruise. It's surreal that it actually happened today.

Around 11 am, I boarded Wonder of the Seas, currently the 4th largest cruise ship in the world (and the largest just until last year).

It's a very impressive ship indeed. Just a few quick stats:

- The ship can hold almost 10,000 people, including crew

- There are over 40 restaurants, bars, and lounges on board

- The 'Central Park' area has 20,000 real plants and trees

After boarding, I had a very nice lunch in the main dining room, one of the 'free' restaurants included in the cost of the trip.

I then explored the ship for a while and relaxed with a few drinks, before we sailed away from Miami. It's a pretty impressive sight to see the Miami skyline, as we slowly depart from the busiest cruise port in the world.

Before dinner, I went to the main theater on board (bigger than most theatres in Copenhagen or London) to see a show called "The Effectors II: Crash & Burn". It was a super impressive show with state-of-the-art effects and the latest technology. It also included some cool music, including an interesting cover of "Welcome To The Jungle" and even a brief snippet of a Slayer song! Hearing a cover of "Raining Blood" on a Royal Caribbean cruise was not on my bingo card.

I had dinner at the upscale restaurant 150 Central Park which was very nice. It's one of the specialty restaurants on board which you pay extra for, but it wasn't very expensive, and you can get as much food as you want. I opted to get two entrées just for the hell of it (lobster and duck), so after eating four courses, I could barely walk 😁

Following dinner, I watched the ice skating show "365 Seasons on Ice". Yup, there is an ice rink on the ship. Because ... Why not?

I don't have a lot of experience with ice skating, but the performers were extremely talented, and again we got some old rock classics in the soundtrack from names like Alice Cooper, AC/DC, and Green Day.

Very nice first day of cruisin'Weiterlesen
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Miami
28. September in den USA ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
Very early this morning I made it to Miami in Florida, after a four-hour flight across the country. Luckily I was able to check into my hotel very early and get my room. I have an amazing view of the bay from my balcony, and I can see a glimpse of the cruise ships in port as well.

After relaxing at the hotel for a bit, I made my way to the Bayside Marketplace, a lovely area with shops and restaurants, right by the water.

I had booked a Miami Skyline Cruise, a sail around the general Miami Beach area for about an hour. Unfortunately, there was a lot of rain during our sailing, so it was hard to properly see the places we sailed by, and it was too windy and rainy to sit on the outside deck for the first half of the trip.

It was still fun to see some of the huge mansions by the water, many of which are owned by the biggest celebrities, and some of the wealthiest people on the planet.

After the tour, the weather had improved a bit, so I walked around in nearby Bayfront Park and then I had lunch at Hell's Kitchen. The restaurant is the result of one of Gordon Ramsey's many reality shows, in his quest to find the best chefs in the country. The show has run for 24 seasons now, so it's quite successful, and it was fun to try one of these restaurants in reality. The food and service were good!

Despite the weather still being an interesting mix of rain, overcast, and sunny, I made my way to the world-famous South Beach area of Miami Beach. I have been there a few times before, but it's a really cool area, flanked by one of the most well-known beaches in the world.

I also stopped by the Versace mansion where the designer himself lived, and where he was tragically murdered right on the front steps to his home. It has now been turned into a high-end hotel and restaurant.

Overall a nice day before the cruise begins tomorrow!Weiterlesen
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Salt Lake City & FanX - Day 3
27. September in den USA ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
Third and final day at FanX. Another busy day where I was at the convention pretty much from start to finish.

After walking around the huge convention floor to see the vendors, I went to a panel with actress Dana Wheeler-Nicholson. She's been in a bunch of TV shows and movies over the years, but her most well-known is probably as the female lead in Fletch. Starring alongside Chevy Chase, it's one of my fav comedies from the 80s, so it was fun to hear about her experiences from working on the movie.

I stayed in the room for another panel - this one focused on the 1993 movie Hocus Pocus. Three members of the cast: Doug Jones, Vinessa Shaw and Omri Katz. While I'm not super familiar with the movie, it was a fun panel, and they talked about a lot of other projects as well.

I then had a photo with Beverly D'Angelo from the Vacation movies, followed by a photo with Melissa Benoist, whom I also met yesterday for an autograph.

In keeping with the Vacation theme, I went to get an autograph from Chevy Chase. Growing up watching his movies, it's always surreal to meet someone like him in person, who was such a big part of my childhood.

Then I attended a panel with Matthew Modine, another actor with a long and storied career, having starred in many blockbuster movies over the years. Most recently, he is probably best known for his stint on Stranger Things.

Next up, a panel with the lovely Emily Hampshire who played Stevie on the hugely successful Schitt's Creek. Fans of the show, affectionately known as shitheads, filled the room and even Emily was blown away by the love from the fans. Apparently, it took a long time for the show to really take off, so it was interesting to hear more about how it all started.

The biggest panel of the day was probably the one with the legendary William Shatner. The guy is 94 years old now and has been active in showbiz since 1951. He is sharper than ever and is such a great speaker. There was no moderator at the panel, so it was basically just a one-man show from Shatner, talking about complex topics - most of which were entirely unrelated to his career in TV and film. It was super interesting though, and he could have talked for hours.

The final panel of the event that I attended was a reunion for a show called Sliders. I have personally never watched it, but I was interested in seeing the cast members Jerry O'Connell, Cleavant Derricks, and the one and only John Rhys-Davies. John was also at the very first panel I attended at the con this year, so it's funny that he was also at the last one. He is always entertaining, and Jerry was also really good.

Later tonight, I have a very late flight to Miami and then it's almost time for my cruise!Weiterlesen
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Salt Lake City & FanX - Day 2
26. September in den USA ⋅ 🌙 21 °C
Quite a long day at FanX. I got there pretty much when they opened and stayed until early in the evening.

My first panel of the day was also one of my most anticipated - a panel focusing on the legendary comedy, National Lampoon's Vacation. Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo from the Vacation movies were present to talk about their memories of working on the films, the first of which came out over 40 years ago.

I've always been a huge fan of Chevy Chase, and of these movies in particular. He seems to have some health problems nowadays, and it didn't feel like he was very present for the panel, but there were some funny moments and interesting stories, and it's always a treat to see such a legend in person. Randy Quaid was also meant to be present, but unfortunately, he cancelled at the last minute.

Next up was a panel with the amazing Sean Astin from Lord of the Rings, Stranger Things, and so many other movies and TV shows over a very long career. He was a great speaker and eager to share stories from his career, and from his perspective as the new president of SAG-AFTRA, the union for people in this industry.

Then followed a panel with Supergirl herself, Melissa Benoist, and Tyler Hoechlin who has portrayed Superman in Supergirl and other shows, most notably Superman & Lois. I really enjoyed Supergirl when it aired for six seasons, and both Melissa and Tyler were great at the panel. I got an autograph from Melissa afterwards, and she was super nice.

Then I attended a panel with composer Danny Elfman, who has worked on over 100 movies. He is probably best known for his work with Tim Burton on classics like Batman, Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas and so many others. He was such an engaging and gifted storyteller at his panel, and super interesting to listen to.

I then went to one of the smaller rooms for a panel with Laura Prepon from That 70s Show, Orange is the new Black and October Road, just to name a few. She was great as well, and this was only her second convention.

Later, I went to a panel with Dylan McDermott and his adorable dog Otis. As mentioned earlier, he starred in the show The Practice that I really enjoyed, so it was cool to hear him talk about that, and other moments from his long career.

My final panel of the day was with two of the stars from Tulsa King, Frank Grillo and Garrett Hedlund. The show, featuring Sylvester Stallone in the lead role, is relatively new and I've only watched the first season so far. But it was a cool panel and a nice way to end my second day at the convention.Weiterlesen
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Salt Lake City - Day 1
25. September in den USA ⋅ 🌙 25 °C
After a layover in Amsterdam, I made my way to Salt Lake City in the US. The flight was a little over 10 hours, but it actually didn't feel that long. Service on board was great, the food was good and there were plenty of movies and TV shows to watch on the entertainment system. They even offered free WiFi, which is quite unusual for economy class on a flight across the Atlantic.

Upon arrival, it was time for the dreaded immigration control which can take hours of waiting in line, and with the Trump administration, you never know what they might do. This time I was able to get through in two minutes though, and shortly after I was already on a train headed to the city center.

After checking into my hotel, I was able to make it over to the FanX pop culture convention for the first big panel of the day. Featuring Miranda Otto and John Rhys-Davies, the panel was about the popular Lord of the Rings movies. I have seen John at several conventions before, and he is always very entertaining.

I also attended a Happy Days reunion, focused on the classic TV show from the 70s and 80s with the legendary Henry Winkler. I also got a photo with Winkler later, and he was super nice.

Earlier in the day, I got an autograph from Dylan McDermott, who has been in a wide range of movies and TV shows. I remember him best from The Practice, which was one of my favorite shows back 20+ years ago when it first aired.

Finally, I met Emily Hampshire from the immensely popular Schitt's Creek which won a boatload of Emmy's a few years ago. She was also super nice.

I wasn't able to explore the convention floor that much today, but I'm also attending tomorrow and Saturday, so there should be ample opportunity to see everything.

I finished the evening with a lovely dinner at an Italian restaurant by the hotel.Weiterlesen
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