DAY 1 IN SEATTLE - THE CITY IN THE US WITH MOST HUGE BUSINESS COMPANIES

Our train trip from Vancouver to Seattle was very spectacular. Not so much with mountains, as we had expected. But with great coast and sea landscapes almost all the way.  And the border crossing from Canada to the US was very easy. We were inspected by a US Coast Guard guy called Christensen !

 During the train ride - in an excellent train with a very charming and helpful conductor - I could not help wondering how many times I have visited the US over the years. I believe that this trip is my 9th visit.  I was here first time 52 years ago - in 1965.  I have visited 30 of the 50 states.  Very different and very exciting trips all of them.  Liselotte is this time on her 6th visit to "God's own country" as they are calling it.

 Seattle is a very lively city with water on 2-3 sides of it. You see the snow covered Mount Baker in the distance.  The city has its name from an native American  chief in this area. He was a warrior and a trader in the beginning and middle of the 19th century. Very respected by everybody. And he ended as a Roman-Catholic  with the name Noah.

 The city is in particular known for its huge, multinational corporations based here:  Amazon with 40.000 staff ( and right now 10.000 vacancies!), Microsoft with 30.000 staff and Boeing also with 30.000 staff.  All this contributes to a very international atmosphere here.  We profited from that by having dinner in a top French restaurant TOULOUSE just round the corner from our hotel.   The total number of inhabitants is 700.000.

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