Saturday, 18June-2022

It’s been a while since I’ve had an adventure like this, hasn’t it? One big adventure with a few different blog posts dedicated to it? Well… Here we go! Adventure to Seattle, solo-style!

A while back, I was granted citizenship to Austria, through an update to the Austrian Constitution allowing repatriation for descendants of those displaced by war. I compiled paperwork over six months, sent it all in, and then waited almost nine months. Then, out of the blue, I get a package in the mail – a very official package with my “Bescheid” included – my new citizenship!

Now that I have it, though, I need a passport… and the closest consulate is in Seattle. I haven’t been for a few years, and I’ve never had an opportunity to either explore the city on my own or to go backpacking in the Olympic National Forest… which happens to be right across Puget Sound from Seattle…


Of all my adventures and exploration around Seattle, the Aquarium takes the note as the one I wanted to dedicate an entire post to. Simply because there’s so many pictures!

I mean… how can you NOT stand and play photographer to a darling Giant Pacific Octopus? Or phosphorescent coral? OR THE OTTERS???

Anyways. I went to the Aquarium with my friend Nicole, and we had a blast! It was my first time there, but her second, so she played a bit of a tour guide for me… pointing out neat things as we wandered, and making sure to comment on my ability to poke sea cucumbers and urchins.

Yup. They let us poke things! Of all the parts of the Seattle Aquarium, I have to say the tide pools are my favorite… not just from an animal perspective, but from an engineering perspective… See, the Aquarium is right above Puget Sound, and they have pumps and channels that actually pull water directly from the sound into the building!

That water is then… somehow… turned into waves? And those waves feed the large enclosed pools that fill the first room you go into – all of which have animals safe for human contact! It’s so cool!

So, without further ado, please enjoy the many awesome sights!