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Trip to the US - October 2019
  • Rasmus Holmen
  • Rasmus Holmen

Trip to the US - October 2019

A 20-day adventure by Rasmus Read more
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  • Trip start
    October 10, 2019
  • Rasmus HolmenTrip to the US - October 2019Traveler

    Chicago Day #1

    October 10, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    This morning I left Copenhagen for a direct flight to Toronto, where I had a layover before my final flight to Chicago in the US. Unfortunately, my flight bound for Chicago was ultimately delayed by over an hour, and I already had a relatively long layover in Toronto, so it ended up being a longer Canadian visit than I had anticipated.

    Fortunately, the flight to Chicago was pretty short, and I finally arrived at my hotel in the evening.

    It will be fun to begin exploring the city with some sightseeing tomorrow!    Read more

  • Rasmus HolmenTrip to the US - October 2019Traveler
    Chris Hemsworth

    Chicago Day #2

    October 11, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    I spent my first full day in Chicago doing some various sightseeing and exploration around the Windy City (it lived up to that name, btw).

    My first stop was a location a bit outside the city, in a bit of a shady neighborhood! I wanted to see some of the places used on a popular TV series called "Shameless" which is set in the outskirts of Chicago. The main house used on the show is used in a lot of scenes, so it was fun to see that place in person.

    After that I went to a pizza place to have an authentic deep-dish pizza, something of a Chicago "must do". The pizza was indeed quite good so I enjoyed trying that experience.

    Next up was another very touristy Chicago landmark - the world-famous Sears Tower, now officially called Willis Tower. It was the tallest building in the US until the new Freedom Tower in NYC surpassed it a few years ago.

    Unfortunately, the usually impressive view from the top of the Willis Tower was not super impressive on this day, since the weather was terrible, and visibility was very limited. But still a fun experience and still great views.

    After Willis, I went to Navy Pier - another popular tourist attraction in Chicago. Again, the weather was pretty bad, and it's mostly the type of attraction that works best when it's sunny, warm and nice. There's a big Ferris wheel there, and various other rides, but they were closed due to the weather conditions. Still, a nice place in Chicago that was fun to see.

    Before leaving the city for the day, I had an early dinner at a restaurant that mostly serves seafood, so I had garlic shrimp which was delicious.

    When I got back to Rosemont, which is actually about an hour outside of Chicago where my hotel is, I went to the first day of the Ace comic con which takes place at a huge convention center in Rosemont. I had a photo shoot in the evening with one Chris Hemsworth, an actor very well-known for playing Thor in the Marvel movies.

    I will be returning to Ace in the next two days!

    Speaking of Ferris, after returning to the hotel I watched one of my favorite films, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", which takes place in Chicago, including some of the places I saw earlier in the day.

    Overall a great day! 😀    Read more

  • Rasmus HolmenTrip to the US - October 2019Traveler
    Tessa Thompson & Brie Larson

    Chicago Day #3

    October 12, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C

    This day was mainly spent at the Ace Comic Con, where I started off with a panel with Gwendoline Christie, an actress who has worked on Game of Thrones, Star Wars and The Hunger Games, among many other roles. She was a very interesting person to listen to, and it was fun to hear more about her work.

    I also caught a panel later in the day with Norman Reedus, an actor who is particularly known for his work on the popular show, "The Walking Dead".

    And finally I saw a panel with Tessa Thompson and Brie Larson, both of whom have also worked in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Brie played Captain Marvel in the movie of the same name, and Tessa played the character Valkyrie in Marvel's universe. She's also done the "Creed" movies with Sylvester Stallone, and the popular show "Westworld". So lots of interesting things to talk about!

    Before leaving Ace for the day, I was meant to see a panel with the new Spiderman, Tom Holland, and Jake Gyllenhall, who plays the villain in the latest Spiderman film, but he's also done a ton of other roles over the years. The panel was running late though, so I had to skip it, to catch a train back into the city for a concert with upcoming artist Dermot Kennedy. He's a very talented musician with a gifted voice, so it was great to see him live. Nice venue as well, close to the Aragon Ballroom where Nirvana played back in 1993!    Read more

  • Rasmus HolmenTrip to the US - October 2019Traveler

    Chicago Day #4 + Milwaukee Day #1

    October 13, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Another busy day 😀

    Around 10 am I made my way to the final day of the Ace Comic Con, held at a huge convention center just across from my hotel in Rosemont (outside of Chicago).

    It was a bit more quiet at the con today, at least in the beginning of the day, so I started by walking around the show floor, making sure to see everything. The con is not as big as some of the others I've been to, so it didn't take terribly long to get around everywhere.

    Around noon, I attended the first panel of the day - with Kit Harrington from Game of Thrones; Jon Snow himself. I have not watched the show yet myself, actually, but I know his character was popular, and Kit is very much a well-liked and respected actor. His panel was definitely fun and interesting, even without knowing much about 'Thrones.

    Later in the day, I attended another panel - with the stars of the new Netflix show, "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" - a remake of the story of Sabrina, the teenage witch. Again, it's not a show I've really watched, but the young actors made it a fun panel.

    While standing in a photo op line, I also watched a panel with Chris Hemsworth - the god of Thunder himself who plays Thor in the Marvel films, among many other roles in his career. He was great and very funny - so I'm glad I didn't miss the panel even though I couldn't be in the room itself.

    My final task at the comic con was getting a photo with Brie Larson who plays Captain Marvel in the movie of the same name. She also nabbed the Best Actress Oscar for her starring role in "Room" a few years back. It was nice to get a photo with her, at her first comic con, even though the process was delayed by an hour.

    Due to the delay, I missed my train that afternoon from Union Station in Downtown Chicago to my next stop Milwaukee, by just a few minutes. So instead I had to book a Greyhound Bus that left two hours later. To kill the time I had some dinner at a local restaurant, and then eventually made my way to the bus terminal.

    The bus ride itself was fairly comfortable and didn't end up taking much longer than the train would have. However, since I got into Milwaukee later than expected, I had to hurry quite a bit to make my next stop - a concert with the band Disturbed 🤘

    I have seen them live before, most recently in Copenhagen this year, but it was such a great experience that I really wanted to see them again, and it made good sense when I was going to Milwaukee anyway to catch them on the last stop of their world tour.

    The show itself was amazing once again - they are not only an incredible band, but they also make such an effort to help people who suffer from illnesses such as depression and addiction.

    Despite the delay getting into Milwaukee, I only missed a little bit of the show which was nice.    Read more

  • Rasmus HolmenTrip to the US - October 2019Traveler

    Milwaukee Day #2 + New York Day #1

    October 14, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 1 °C

    My first time in Milwaukee!

    I didn’t have a whole lot of time in this lovely city, but I did manage to catch some highlights: in the morning I stopped by the beautiful art musem by the waterfront where I had a walk around.

    I then saw the Fonzie statue, another local landmark, and made my way to The Rave Club, an incredible music venue that has hosted many artists and shows over the years.

    The Rave has a rich history; the landmark venue opened in 1927 and originally housed a social justice organisation that has had several US presidents in their membership roster. Very interesting place.

    After some more exploring, I had a great lunch at an amazing quaint Italian restaurant in the outskirts of the city. I also saw Miller Park, the local baseball stadion, and the nearby Miller breweries that produces the popular Miller range of beers.

    After a wonderful day in Milwaukee, I left for the airport for my flight to New York City. After arriving and travelling to my hotel, it was pretty late so I just had a quick walk around and then ended the evening with dinner at Red Lobster.    Read more

  • Rasmus HolmenTrip to the US - October 2019Traveler

    New York Day #2

    October 15, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    My first full day in New York City. Well, I've been to NYC a number of times before. This is probably my tenth visit or so. It's one of my favorite places to visit, so it's great to be back :)

    I didn't really have any specific plans for this day, so I ended up going to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum not too far from my hotel. This is a fascinating place, hosting a submarine, a retired Concorde plane, and a huge aircraft carrier/navy ship that has a number of exhibits, including a retired Space Shuttle!

    I've obviously never flown a Concorde (tickets used to cost as much as ten grand for a roundtrip flight between NYC and London) so it was fun to see one of them inside, and get a tour of the cockpit as well.

    I also saw the inside of a submarine used during the cold war, and of course the massive aircraft carrier Intrepid.

    There was also a number of aircraft on display, and an exhibition featuring an actual NASA Space Shuttle - the Enterprise (yes, named after Star Trek).

    Definitely an interesting experience - and one I haven't visited in NYC before.

    Later in the day, I went for a walk around Midtown New York, including a walk through the beautiful Central Park, and visiting some of the popular locations in Manhattan, such as 5th Avenue, Rockefeller Center, Times Square and Columbus Circle. While I've visited all those places a number of times before, it's always a great time.

    I had lunch from the infamous "soup nazi" of Seinfeld fame. In reality, the service is great and the soup is delicious.

    After walking some 20,000 steps around central Manhattan, I went back to my hotel briefly, and then visited a nearby Broadway theatre to see a play called Betrayal. Starring Tom Hiddleston and Charlie Cox (both of Marvel fame) the play was a very bare-bones experience with a basic set, and just the actors on stage. It was not a bad play by any means, but not super impressive either.

    Following my time on Broadway, I had dinner at a lovely restaurant close to the hotel.    Read more

  • Rasmus HolmenTrip to the US - October 2019Traveler

    New York Day #3

    October 16, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Another exciting day in the Big Apple! (And another 20,000 steps walked).

    This morning I decided to go for a long walk, from the Times Square West area on 42nd street all the way Downtown to Ground Zero.

    It was quite a nice walk where I passed by a number of attractions, such as Macy’s, The Empire State Building, the Flatiron Building and several of the smaller parks, like Washington Square Park with the famous arch.

    Eventually I arrived at Ground Zero where the new Freedom Tower stands (One World Trade Center), the tallest building in the US. Now known as The World Trade Center site, this is of course the place where the twin towers once stood.

    On the same site, they have opened the National September 11 Museum which I visited for the first time. It was very interesting, and fascinating to see debris, and a number of things recovered from the site. There was a huge exhibit inside that told the story of what happened on 9/11, second by second. And all of the aftermath.

    Definitely a sobering and interesting experience.

    After visiting the museum, I stopped by “The Oculus”, or rather the Westfield shopping center that is the centerpiece of it.

    I then took the subway back uptown and found an Olive Garden restaurant where I had some lovely Italian food.

    After the food, I went to see New York’s version of the Tussaud’s wax museum. I’ve been before, but they do rotate the exhibits so it’s never the same. It was definitely fun to see that museum again 👍

    It has been raining pretty heavily in the city today so I went back to the hotel to spend a little time before heading back out again.

    I eventually boarded a bus headed for a concert in Englewood, New Jersey of all places where I went to see Toto live once again! Funnily I think it was also in the New York area I saw them last time.

    It’s been over 20 years since I first saw Toto live, but it’s still a great experience, and the setlist offers selections from a career spanning more than four decades. Great live show!

    After Toto, I went back to Manhattan and finished my day in the hotel.    Read more

  • Rasmus HolmenTrip to the US - October 2019Traveler

    New York Day #4

    October 17, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Last day in New York!

    After leaving my hotel this morning, and checking into a different one for my final day, I went for another walk around the Midtown area primarily.

    Some of the stops I made along the way include: Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, Grand Central Station and other places nearby.

    Over the afternoon I went on a movie and TV location tour where we drove around for a couple of hours (from Midtown to Uptown and back), to see a bunch of different locations used on the screen. When we were stopped in a specific location, a TV on the bus would show clips from a show or movie filmed right there.

    While I had seen most of the locations before, the tour guide was very entertaining and made it a fun tour.

    Following the tour, I visited a museum with a James Bond exhibit. They had some props, one of the iconic Bond cars, and some storyboards and stuff.

    I then went back to the infamous soup place for, well, more soup! They have a lot of different ones so it’s fun to try different flavors.

    In the evening I caught another Broadway show: this time the show “Secret” by the British illusionist Derren Brown. He’s done a number of shows over the past 20 years or so, both for the stage and TV.

    Among other things he’s done is predict the lottery numbers (allegedly), convincing an innocent man to confess a (made up) murder, and another where he had students tricked into committing a robbery.

    Tonight’s show was less dramatic, but very impressive. He would pick random members of the audience and be able to tell their names, for example, or a word they would be thinking of. It’s hard to explain the show but it was really impressive and interesting to see it live.

    From the official description: “Derren Brown: Secret transports audiences into the startling world of mind-reading, suggestion and psychological illusion. This theatrical experience challenges audiences to take a closer look at the stories and beliefs that guide their lives.”

    That wraps up my last evening in NYC!    Read more

  • Rasmus HolmenTrip to the US - October 2019Traveler
    Rocky statue
    Rocky steps

    Philadelphia Day #1

    October 18, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    Early this morning I left New York City for the city of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. The train ride from Penn Station was less than 90 minutes and passed by in a breeze.

    It's my first time visiting Philadelphia, so it's pretty exciting. After visiting the local Hard Rock Café for lunch (a tradition when I'm travelling!) I walked around for a while in the city, exploring some of the historic neighborhoods. Ultimately I arrived in the most historic of them all, where I saw the Liberty Bell, and visited Independence Hall, the "birthplace of the United States" where the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were signed.

    Later, I walked some more in the city and eventually made my way to the famous Philadelphia Museum of Art. The steps leading up there are arguably more famous than the museum itself, since those steps featured in one of the most famous movie scenes of all time, when Sylvester Stallone runs up the steps in "Rocky" from 1976. To this day people still run up those steps to re-create the iconic scene from the movie.

    There is also a Rocky statue close by, another popular tourist spot!

    It was definitely fun to see both of these landmarks, and try to run up those steps myself ;)

    After exploring more of the city and walking back to my hotel, I had some dinner and called it a night.    Read more

  • Rasmus HolmenTrip to the US - October 2019Traveler

    Philadelphia Day #2 + Las Vegas Day #1

    October 19, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    After leaving the hotel this morning, I headed back to the historic district of Philadelphia to check out the National Constition Center. This a big museum with several interesting exhibits related to the founding fathers of the US.

    Among other things, the museum had various drafts of both the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, as well as letters exchanged between the founders, and much more. Very nice museum with so much history to explore.

    Following a short walk, it was already time to leave Philadelphia again, so I headed to the airport for my flight to Las Vegas.

    Flying all the way across the country to Vegas took a little over 5 hours, but I won back three of those thanks to the time difference.

    Once in Vegas, I went to the luxurious Waldorf-Astoria where I’ll be enjoying my two-night stay.

    My room is lovely and has a really nice view of the famous Las Vegas strip.

    After settling at my hotel, I went to the nearby T Mobile Arena to catch a live show with a living legend: Phil Collins. It’s the last show of his tour (perhaps his last ever?) so I’m really glad I saw it.

    The performance was great, and he had an amazing band with him, including his teenage son on drums, and Leland Sklar on bass, who ironically played with Toto when I saw them a couple of years ago. He played many of the big hits, and his voice still sounds great.

    A nice way to conclude my first night in Vegas!    Read more

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