Kiki's WIDM trip through Portland & Oregon

Hey, you there. How are you? After spending a good ten hours on my favorite part of life, flying (not) I'm back in Holland. Still bouncing around from a trip that I can honestly call the coolest ever. A Wie is de Mol? press trip to Portland, Oregon. If you followed me on social media, then you know exactly what’s up (yes yes, I Insta-spam more often than an average political party during election time #sorrynotsorry), if you’re not such a social freak, then let me catch you up. Should I grab my mini diary from the first two days? Here it comes.

“Here I am. On the famous carpet of PDX (a.k.a. Portland airport, which has been named the best airport in America for the last 5 years). There have already been tens of thousands of foot photos taken on this carpet. No idea why, but the famous green pattern is apparently worth a ‘shoefie’ (a selfie of your feet), so I do it too. Pisa has the tower, Paris the Eiffel, Portland the carpet, okay? Long story short: I’m in Portland. You know, the American city where Wie is De Mol? was filmed last season. The city I’ve always wanted to visit and then suddenly this invitation landed on my doormat which made me spontaneously blow into a bag.

Portland is in Oregon. If you have no idea where Oregon is: in the west of America. Let’s just say it’s near California for convenience. About 3.8 million people live in the Beaver State, as Oregon is nicknamed. What can you find there? Everything to unleash your inner America gurlll. First of all, nature so beautiful that you wonder if you’ve landed in a postcard. Little cowboy towns, waterfalls, lakes, mountains, the greenest forests ever, and then suddenly total desert-like situations. Get in the car for a road trip through the state and you really stop every half hour because the landscape around you changes so much that you just HAVE to take a photo.

‘Yep, you crazy Portland, you’ve captured my heart’

We (I’m with four female journalists and one man) start our trip in Portland. Think of it as the new hipster hotspot of the US with a pleasant, alternative vibe. Coffee fans and vintage lovers, this is the place to be, just so you know. The Portland I only knew from one of my favorite shows. Where the participants of WIDM totally messed up the traffic light task. Never made it to the world-famous Powell’s bookstore. And suddenly you find yourself among those traffic lights. You’re standing in that bookstore. So weird. It fits perfectly with one of the city’s slogans by the way: ‘Keep Portland Weird’.

Because weird, that’s what it is, yes. Were it the people from Rivella who once said: a little weird, but nice? That’s Portland. At some moments when we wander through the city, there’s a pretty serene calm. Where are all the people? On the other hand: you can still walk down the street normally without being overwhelmed by tourists and trash. Actually quite nice. We check in at Hotel Modera (where the WIDM participants also slept, yes), have breakfast at the Farmers Market, stroll around the city to get some fresh air with the jetlag head and then meander to the Peninsula Park Rose Garden. Portland has several nicknames and The City of Roses is one of them.

In the afternoon we rent a bike, for which we absolutely don’t want to wear a helmet because duh, Dutch and stuff. But those Americans are terrified that we’ll get run over in traffic or hit a curb. We casually say that we come from Holland and are bike pros. Not even an hour and a half later, I crash hard on my face because vlogging + biking = not a good idea. No kidding. Aside from some bruises and a scraped knee, I’m still alive and thank god you see nothing wrong with my bike. In the afternoon we eat fresh sushi at the Yama Sushi & Sake Bar. About the food: Simone, you would have gone completely wild here. Hip Portland is a paradise for vegetable lovers. Vegan, organic, hip the shizzle; you find it all there. Soon I’ll list the best hotspots in town.

Then about the people in the city. Nicer and more helpful than ever. American fake doesn’t exist in my mind. Here, people don’t walk away after asking ‘Hi, how are you?’. They are genuinely interested. They even come up to you on the terrace to ask where you’re from because they don’t often hear a Dutch accent. Men, women, young, old; if you walk down the street in a nice dress, they’ll say to you: ‘Wow, nice dress!’ Isn’t that too cute? Just for fun, stand on the street with a map and a confused look and within thirty seconds, five people will be standing next to you, no joke. Order a cup of coffee in a restaurant and you’ll be addressed with ‘Hi, sweetie’. I find it sweet. Yep, you crazy Portland, you’ve captured my heart.

 
Oh man, I’m lying in bed but can’t sleep at all, so I just opened my laptop. It feels like I’m participating in the show myself. Suddenly dropped with five strangers in the middle of nowhere looking for adventure. I just love it. In the coming days, we’ll also visit Bend (where the outdoor people go wild), Pendleton (an old-fashioned cowboy town) and what am I most curious about? The Painted Hills. Wie is de Mol? locations, I’m coming aahaaanaaaan, joeeejoeee (okay, exaggerating is also a profession, but you should know that mole fans are actually very normal people for the rest of the nine months of the year). Really, such a game does something to you, doesn’t it?”

P.S.: In part two tomorrow, of course, all the places in Oregon that you must visit as a WIDM freak.

Photographer: Nienke Zondervan