Category Archives: Trip Reports

Oslo Trip Recap: Day 3

Trip Reports,

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Our third day of our trip to Oslo was a very busy one. We wanted to make up for over-sleeping the day before so we planned on doing quite a few things. Also, this would be our second and last full day using our Oslo Pass, so we wanted to maximize its value.

We started off by taking the train around 30-40 minutes out of the city to visit the site that we had missed the day before. After getting back to downtown Oslo, we spent the rest of the day walking around, visiting a good variety of sites.

Here is what we did:

  • Holmenkollen Ski Jump & Museum
  • Stopped by the Royal Palace
  • The National Gallery to check out works by Edward Munch
  • Akershus Castle
  • The Nobel Peace Center

IMG_0424 Continue reading Oslo Trip Recap: Day 3 →

Oslo Trip Recap: Day 2

Trip Reports,

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The second day of our trip to Oslo got off to a later start than originally planned due to a case of over-sleeping. Apparently our baby alarm Lucas wasn’t ready to get up either.

We made up for the things we had planned to see later on during the trip due to our visit being extended thanks to an upcoming winter storm.

Sleeping the extra hour or so got all of our sleep schedules back on track and we still had a very productive day.

We headed on over to Bygdoy peninsula, home to many great museums about a 20 minute bus ride from the city center.

Our Oslo Pass went to great use covering our roundtrip bus rides as well as admission to the three (very different) nautical related museums that we visited during the day.

Here are the museums we visited:

Oslo Trip Recap: Day 1

Trip Reports,

Screen Shot 2014-01-15 at 1.47.36 AMWe got home from our first trip of 2014 to Oslo, Norway in the middle of last week. Our trip was extended by a day when we got stuck in Oslo thanks to an approaching winter storm back home.

Our flight to Oslo went well and was comfortable, especially for being in coach. This was Lucas’ first time flying in his own seat, not as a lap baby. He did great during take off and we highly recommend the CARES Safety Harness for anyone flying with a baby/ toddler that fits the weight requirement of 22 pounds. (A review of the CARES Harness will be coming soon.)

Getting from the airport to our hotel in the city center was easy as can be. There are two options for airport trains, an express train (Flytoget) or the NSB regional trains. The express train only gets in about 5-6 minutes faster and costs close to double the price so if you’re visiting Oslo don’t throw your money away!

Continue reading Oslo Trip Recap: Day 1 →

Dallas Trip Recap: Day 3

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For the last full day of our trip to Dallas we decided to leave the city to visit a couple of other areas close by in Texas. We stopped in Arlington for tours of two big time sports stadiums and then headed to Fort Worth for a late lunch and to check out the Stockyards.

Check out my Dallas Trip Recaps:

Here is a list of some of the things we did:

  • Dallas Cowboys Rally Day & Self-Guided Stadium Tour
  • Tour of Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
  • Lunch at Tim Love’s The Woodshed Smokehouse
  • Wandering around Fort Worth’s Stockyards
  • Zoli’s NY Pizza 

Continue reading Dallas Trip Recap: Day 3 →

Flashback Friday: Shop For A Hat, Get in the Local Paper- Vienna, Austria

Flashback Friday, Trip Reports, World Hats, ,

FlashbackFriIt’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted a look back into the past on Michael W Travels with a Flashback Friday.

Today I’ll be posting the first Flashback Friday of 2014. The topic has to do with one of my favorite things to buy while traveling- local & traditional hats. Besides buying a little something for Lucas on our trips, I try to avoid buying souvenirs. The only thing that I will still seek out are hats.

Here is the post:

  • Shop For A Hat, Get in the Local Paper- Vienna, Austria

This post was originally published on April 27, 2012.

a man wearing a hat
Authentic Alpine Hat

Dallas Trip Recap: Day 2

Trip Reports,

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The second day of our trip to Dallas started off in a tasty and sweet way. We then dedicated most of the day to JFK before going for a late lunch at an awesome drive-in. Thanks to a fun evening, I can now proudly say this isn’t my first rodeo, literally.

Check out my Dallas Trip Recap: Day 1 here.

Here is a list of some of the things we did:

  • Glazed Donut Works
  • Various JFK Sites
  • The Sixth Floor Museum
  • Lunch at Keller’s Drive-In
  • The Mesquite Rodeo

Continue reading Dallas Trip Recap: Day 2 →

Dallas Trip Recap: Day 1

Trip Reports

Screen Shot 2013-12-20 at 1.30.42 AMWe got back from our trip to Dallas last week and now it’s time to write about our time.

Dallas was a very good choice for our final trip of 2013. Although it was a quick visit, we packed in lots of fun and interesting things to do. This was our first time getting out of an airport in Texas,  and we had fun experiencing some things that the state has to offer.

Here is a list of some of the things we did:

  • Frontiers of Flight Museum
  • Lunch at Maple and Motor
  • Ross Perot Museum & Animals Inside Exhibit
  • A visit to a unique McDonald’s
  • Dinner at Cane Rosso

Continue reading Dallas Trip Recap: Day 1 →

Ridiculous Street Signs #18: The Correct Way To Use The Bathroom In Japan

Ridiculous Street Signs, Trip Reports,

IMG_2711In late June Kim, Lucas and I visited Japan and had an amazing time traveling around the country. Kim and I had transited through Tokyo a few times previously but never made it out of the airport before.

It was finally nice to get out and have the chance to explore the country. It was a whirlwind trip and thanks to the amazing and efficient Japan Rail, we got to see quite a few cities in a short period of time.

Japan was never high on my list of places to go but it was still a country that I had to visit at some point. We were also happy to find Japan to be a great place to travel to with a toddler. Along the way, Lucas made lots of friends and many of the “seniors” even gave him little toys which was extremely nice.

Continue reading Ridiculous Street Signs #18: The Correct Way To Use The Bathroom In Japan →

Ridiculous Street Signs #17: Bird Droppings- Tokyo

Ridiculous Street Signs, Trip Reports,

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Back in July I wrote about visiting Senso-ji Temple during Day 1 of our trip to Japan. Senso-ji is Tokyo’s oldest temple and was very busy with tourists. While we enjoyed seeing the temples, we found the people watching to be at its finest!

While walking in and around the temple grounds we came across a couple of odd signs. Since Kim and I do not speak or read Japanese we couldn’t figure out the exact meaning but we had some ideas.

P1080856 Continue reading Ridiculous Street Signs #17: Bird Droppings- Tokyo →

Flashback Friday: Visiting Santa’s Quarters

Flashback Friday, Trip Reports,

FlashbackFriWith Christmas just days away I thought of the perfect post to share for this week’s Flashback Friday.

I’m not exactly sure where people shop for their Christmas decorations and other items associated with the holiday. However, while visiting New Orleans back in May I think we found possibly the best Christmas store in the world.

Here is the post:

  • Visiting Santa’s Quarters- New Orleans

This post was originally published on August 2, 2013.

a man standing next to a statue of santa claus