What other headline could I possibly have used, after spending two weeks in the beautiful state of Alabama in the US. We went to the states to visit family, and had such a great vacation there. We didn't only stay in Montgomery, Alabama, but also traveled around, both to Georgia and New Orleans, Louisiana. The highlight of the trip was without doubt the trip to New Orleans, but the relaxing days by the pool together with the family was also just perfect. Should have stayed a lot longer, but University and work-life calls....
We traveled from Copenhagen on 17th og August, and flew via Amsterdam to Atlanta, Georgia. Actually the world's biggest airport! (We did not know that when we landed). From there we rented a car and drove to Montgomery, Alabama, which took about 2,5 hours. Slightly shocked by the temperature over there (35 degrees!), we were happy to know that the family had a swimming pool in the backyard! So most days were spent by (or IN) the pool with a good book and tons of sunscreen. It took us some days to even get used to the heat and humidity, but it was nice that everywhere we went had A/C.
One of the first days we went to Six Flags Over Georgia, outside of Atlanta. It was a huge amusement park with the craziest rollercoasters. Absolutely worth visiting, if you have the nerves and the stomach for it...
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| Six Flags over Georgia |
After the first weekend in Montgomery, we took a trip to New Orleans. It was my second time there, and Knuts first. The city was just as fun as I remembered it, with its good music, excellent food, and nice people. In New Orleans we stayed at the Scandinavian Jazz Church and Cultural Center (Which has now changed its name to
Scandia House), where they have apartments that they rent out for visitors of New Orleans. We were warmly welcomed (in Norwegian) in the church, and the apartment was very suitable for spending some days in the city. They have a store filled up with Scandinavian food and things, which you can't normally buy in the US, and we bought a home-baked bread, which tasted just like being back home in Norway. If I know anyone going to New Orleans, I warmly recommend staying in the Scandia House. It is nice, cheap and cosy, and not very far from the French Quarter (It took us 10 minutes by street car (tram)).
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Scandia House, which used to be a Norwegian Church,
is now a culture center for all Scandinavian countries |
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| Scandia House, representing the Scandinavian Countries |
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| The Street Car (tram) of New Orleans |
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| On the big Canal Street |
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| The Mississippi River |
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| Jackson Square |
The first day in New Orleans, we saw the Mississippi river, ate beignets at Cafe du Monde, listened to a band playing on the Jackson Square, and heard some lovely gipsy-jazz in The Spotted Cat, a jazz club on Frenchmen Street. In the evening, we went to Preservation hall, right next to Bourbon Street, and heard some good old trad-jazz.
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| Preservation Hall! |
On our second day, we ate lunch in the Scandia House, together with Swedes and Norwegians, and then we visited a new distillery, called
Seven Three Distilling. On our way back to the French Quarter, we walked through Louis Armstrong Park. It was a beautiful park, that had the historical Congo Square right at the entrance. Then we ate at a creole restaurant, and had Jambalaya and alligator on our plates - with a lot of lemongrass. Both typical New Orleans-courses. In the evening we heard some jazz out on the street, and walked through Bourbon Street on our way home.
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| The entrance of Louis Armstrong Park |
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| Congo Square |
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| A sculpture of Louis Armstrong himself. |
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| Beautiful Louis Armstrong Park |
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| Jambalaya (to the left) and "Swamp Plate" (the three bowls) |
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| A Hurricane drink on Bourbon Street |
Montgomery in Alabama is a city with a lot of history. Rosa Parks is one of the most famous people from Montgomery, and she was very important in the civil rights movement. During our second weekend in the US we visited the Civil Rights Memorial Center and the Rosa Parks Museum. They both made a huge impression on us, both because there have been so many people fighting for the civil rights, but also because the fight against racism and discrimination is still not won. The Civil Rights Memorial Center had made a lot of space in its exhibition for recent events, to show that there is still a long way to go before people are no longer being killed in the fight for civil rights; a picture of Heather Heyer, killed in Charlottesville on August 12th, was hanging in the last room we entered before exiting the museum.
On Saturday evening we went to a baseball game at the Montgomery Biscuits Stadium. We were not sure who the Biscuits were playing against, though! At the end of the game they had a huge firework, American style!
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| In front of Alabama State Capitol Building |
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| Rosa Parks |
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| Enjoying a baseball game. Go Montgomery Biscuits! |
On Sunday we went to the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King was Pastor from 1954-1960, and where he organized the Montgomery bus boycott (1955-1956) from the church's basement. The Sunday morning service was one of the craziest things I have ever experienced (at least in a church!). There was singing, dancing, praising, screaming for joy, and just so much life during those two hours, and the congregation made us feel very welcome. I think European churches should learn from the American baptist church, stop being uptight, and get some soul music and dancing into the cervices. Maybe more people will start going to church.
All together we had an amazing trip, and made some good memories. We are so thankful for letting the family stay for so long, even in the busy everyday life. But we also can't wait for them to get back home to Norway <3
