Seattle, WA & The Olympic Peninsula

Contributed by Dani Klein | Last Date of Visit: August 2009

While a post on Seattle was posted this past January, my recent trip there was so great, I wanted to highlight some of the points from the previous post: http://yeahthatskosher.com/2009/01/seattle-wa

Kosher Info: Whilst in downtown Seattle, we had a late night dinner at Bamboo Garden, a great kosher vegetarian Chinese place in the Seattle Center, walking distance from the Space Needle. I highly recommend the corn chowder as an opening appetizer. I didn’t expect anything to be open late, but they were open until 10pm (not quite as late as in larger cities, but just late enough).

On Mercer Island there’s the highly acclaimed Island Crust pizza. Also on the island is Albertson’s ( what locals call “Albertstein’s” for their large kosher section), a large supermarket chain.

We also had an amazing dinner at Pabla Indian Cuisine in Issaquah. They also have a location in Renton south of the city.

Tourist Info: On our first full day in the area, we spent the day outside of Seattle, in the “Olympics” or the Olympic Peninsula or Olympic National Park. Getting there from Seattle is interesting. You can drive around the Puget Sound, or you can take one of many ferries across the sound which take about 20 minutes. It’s a really beautiful ride.

Driving through the woodsy Olympic Peninsula, we stopped in the small town of Sequim, WA (pronounced Squim). The town is known for its lavender farms, of which there were many. Our trip at the end of August was about a week or so after they had harvested the majority of their lavender. We visited the Lost Mountain Lavender Farm, which had a store for us to purchase lavender products, and many different types of plants unharvested. There are dozens of lavender farms in and around Sequim, and I definitely recommend checking them out. There is also an annual Lavender Festival in the summertime.

Our next stop was Port Angeles which is the largest town on the Olympic Peninsula. From there you can hop on a ferry to Victoria, BC or stop in the Olympic National Park Welcome Center. A 40+ minute winding drive uphill from the welcome center is Hurricane Ridge. From there you have beautiful views of the Olympic Mountain Range and multiple hikes ranging from 20 minutes to a few hours. . You can also see across the Puget Sound to the tip of Vancouver Island, Canada or find some wildlife.

Olympic National Park is known for it’s massive redwood trees which stand hundreds of feet tall and are hundreds of years old. The park also boasts a few waterfalls. Some are accessible right off the road, others after 30+ minute hikes. Lake Crescent is a crystal blue lake surrounded by mountains. We decided on a whim to just jump in – and boy what is it refreshing. Cold — but refreshing.

Further West toward the Pacific Ocean is the town of Forks, where the Twilight book series is set.

The next day we spent time in downtown Seattle. In the morning we had breakfast at the famous Pikes Place Market, home of the original Starbucks. We found tasty organic vegetables and vegan pastries. At the market we also found unbelievably beautiful flowers for super cheap – a great place to buy your Shabbat hosts a bouquet of flowers.

Other places in Seattle I recommend visiting:

• The Seattle Underground Tour – learn the history of corrupt Seattle
• Kerry Park – an amazing lookout point in a beautiful neighborhood
• Gas Works Park – a Gas Plant turned Park – strange but fun

Seattle is also know for its glass blowing studios. There are a few here and there, so if you find one, pop in and watch them make really cool glass. Just search for “Glass Blowing Studio Seattle“.

Jewish Info: The Jews we met in Seattle were so friendly and inviting. We spent the Shabbat on Mercer Island – which is absolutely stunning, with views of Mt. Rainier in the distance. We went to shul at Shevet Achim, which is in the middle of Mercer Island.

The largest Jewish community in the Seattle area is in Seward Park, which we did not get to visit.

We really enjoyed our visit to the Seattle area, and look forward to going back.

Tags: bc, forks washington, Gas Works Park, hiking, hurricane ridge, jewish travel, kerry park, kosher seattle, kosher travel, kosher washington state, lake crescent, lavender, lavender farm, lavender festival, Mercer Island, mt rainier, Olympic national park, Olympic Peninsula, olympics, pikes place market, port angeles, Puget Sound, Seattle, seattle underground tour, sequim, seward park, twilight books, vancouver island, victoria, wa, washington, waterfalls

Reykjavik, Iceland

Contributed by: Dani Klein | Last Date of Visit: May 2008

Kosher Info: Iceland has no official Jewish population, no Chabad, and thus no Kosher food. It is imperative to bring your own food with you to Iceland. If you are desperate to find something fresh to eat in Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital, there is a vegetarian restaurant off the main shopping street, upstairs. Additionally, there is also tons of fresh fish you can purchase and make yourself if you’re set up to do that.

Tourist Info: Iceland is definitely a different “off the beaten path” destination that I would recommend for nature lovers. A good chunk of the landscape is barren, snow or moss covered lava. The island was formed from a volcanic eruption, thus leaving little possibility for vegetation. Due to Iceland’s proximity to the Arctic, its summer months are very bright (albeit still cold) and its winter months are extremely dark with only a few hours of daylight.

Reykjavik itself is not a large city. A few hours walking around the city is more than enough to get everything in. The highlight of Reykjavik is its 7 public geothermal pools. The entire island is heated by underground geothermal hot springs, so conventional heating methods for homes or showers are unnecessary. Take a dip into 100F+ degree waters while it is very chilly outside. Extremely refreshing… there is nothing like it. This is also a great way to meet the locals.

The real attraction to visiting Iceland is to venture out of the city into its nature. The most popular sites in Iceland can be found on the “Golden Circle” tour. This includes a visit to Thingvillier national park: where you can view the divide in the American-Eurasian continental plates; Geysir: where you will view first hand the geothermal waters and the original “geyser” which spurts every 5 minutes; and finally Gulfoss: an awesome waterfall untouched by tourist attractions (see Niagara Falls). Nothing will complete your day better than taking a dip in the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa similar to the pools within the city, however this is entirely within nature, with steam rising off the hot waters in the chilly air. While roaming the lagoon’s waters you’ll be able to apply white silica mud to your face, and shvitz in a sauna or steam room.

A good chunk of these attractions are open late since the sky doesn’t really get dark in the spring/summer time, and the waters are always hot, no matter how cold it is outside.

Additionally, there are many day or multi-day trips one can take away from the capital. In the south you can visit 2 amazing waterfalls, the glaciers, hikes and farms. The north offers more untouched nature including Europe’s largest waterfall, Dettifoss. The Northwest region is filled with wildlife and fjords.

My recommendations if you are visiting Iceland are to: bring an eye mask to sleep (during the warmer months), rent a car to save money on tours, and go after the winter season but before July when the tourist season gets hectic. Prices in Iceland are high, so be prepared. If you can only spend one full day in Iceland, see the Golden Circle tour, and finish it off with an evening dip in the Blue Lagoon.

Other things to keep in mind:
On June 21, the sun does not set whatsoever and you will be able to watch the midnight sun. Walking around at 11pm between May and September will feel like 6pm in most other countries.
During the winter months you will be able to see the Northern Lights or the Aurora Borealis.

Jewish Info: There is no known Jewish community in Iceland.

Tags: glaciers, Iceland, jewish travel, kosher travel, nature, reykjavik, vik, waterfalls