Denmark, land of Danes

I’ve left Norway after a nice long visit. There is still so much to see there but my bank account can’t handle an extended visit in that country. Now I head to Denmark which is almost as pricey.

My plan for Denmark is to start north and then eventually end up in Copenhagen. My itinerary started busy with many city changes but I do eliminate at least one overnight location because I very much need to start scheduling more downtime. After my friend who never sleeps left me in Norway I joke that I took at least four naps the next day (two of them were on flights but I never nap like that back home). Not getting a full night sleep for multiple days hits me hard….but I did have fun.

Now I’m in Aalborg, a quiet town in northern Denmark. Right before I get off the airport bus I slam my leg into something. I am always smashing into things but this pain is so bad it debilitates me for a second, luckily the driver doesn’t take off right away because it takes me a second to get my composure and bags. As I hop off the bus a bike almost runs into me. Apparently part of the sidewalk is a bike lane. I am loving the bike friendliness but I just am not prepared. I drop my bags and take a couple more seconds to breathe through the pain. This is going to be a huge bruise later (note: the bruise resulting from this injury stays with me months later – no exaggeration).

I find my hotel on this unseasonably HOT day and there is no AC but they do include a fan in the room. Bonus points for them. I have no real plans within the town only a day trip tomorrow but the front desk is very helpful with suggestions.

After my bag drop at hotel I go out to explore and eat lunch. All the places I had picked to eat at are either empty or not open yet. I settle on a place that has smørrebrød, a thick heavy dark bread topped with any number of ingredients. I order the eel because someone says eel is good in some online review. There is bread, some sort of aioli, cold eel and topped with tomatoes, chives and dill. It is good but I find myself eyeing my neighbors plates instead. Smørrebrød is popular throughout Denmark so I am sure I’ll try it again.

I walk down to the water to admire the action down there. It is Saturday and beautiful and many are out enjoying it. A DJ plays techno music in a park while people sip on beers they can purchase from a trailer.

Also nearby is a very large USA coast guard ship. It is available for touring but I have missed the visting hours. After chatting with my cousin he tells me that it was docked in London years ago and he learned it used to be a German ship that USA acquired in WW2.

I walk down the party street Jomfru Ane Gade. I am not in the mood for partying but I do come across this interesting tapas chain on the corner of the street. My smorrebrod from earlier didn’t quite fill me up so I head in for a snack and a drink. The food isn’t too exciting but I am able to get some vegetable tapas to fill my veggie quota for the day (although the asparagus is swimming in bacon, not quite as healthy).

The next morning after breakfast I take the train to Skagen. Google somehow had the times wrong and I had to wait an additional half hour – perhaps I was looking at Saturday times and today is Sunday. Anyway the train runs every hour most days and is about a slow 2 hour ride to Skagen. It is slow because there are a few stops where it just sits and waits for about ten minutes. Without those waits I believe the route could be faster.

After I get off the train I head first to a bakery. I walk down a shopping street and am tempted by all the adorable sundresses on the racks outside. At the bakery I try a very large danish (but it is technically a half serving). I can tell you what we get in the USA should be embarrassed be called a danish. It is nothing like what I’ve been getting in the Nordic countries.

I head over to the bike rental place closer to the water. I realize later there is one right outside the train station but because I didn’t walk by it I never realized it was there until I caught the afternoon train back. The bikes are rented for the day which is fine because I have no idea how long I will need the bike anyway. I head in the direction of Grenen. I stop to admire the ocean views along the way.

When I get to the parking lot for Grenen there is a large area for parking bikes. Luckily these bikes have locks built in. I make sure the bike is locked and take the key with me.

It is a 3km walk to and back to the tip of the beach that contains the point where the two oceans collide into each other: North Sea and Baltic Sea. You walk past old German bunkers used by the nazi’s in WWII when they occupied Denmark. I then walk along the beach where dozens of jellyfish are pushed onto shore by the waves. I try to avoid them but do end up stepping on one when I am on my phone and not paying attention. Luckily there are no stingers involved since I am barefoot and enjoying the cold water. We are told no swimming is allowed because of the strong currents but I do occasionally let the water cover my feet.

I get to the tip of the peninsula where the oceans meet. You can see the waves occasionally head toward each other. I think the effect is more pronounced at low tide but now it is closer to high tide. There is a crowd at the tip as well as unclothed children running around. It is my understanding that Denmark is pretty liberal with its stance on nudity but I am struggling to get pictures without these kids in it. Thankfully they soon get clothed and leave.

I enjoy the view for a bit and then walk back to my bike. Except for the high tide I timed my visit correctly because it seems like it is going to start to rain soon. I get on the bike and head back to Skagen. I ride around a bit and get a seafood lunch. I order a plate of peel and eat shrimp and Norwegian lobsters (similar to langostinos).

It does start to rain a bit while I eat but I decided to ride around town a bit anyway. I return the bike and head to the train station to take the 2 hour ride back. When I arrive in Aalborg I take a quick stop at the singing trees. There is a park behind the train station that has boxes in front of rows of trees. Each box represents a musical artist that has visited the city. You can push a button and listen to samples of their music. It is a very unique art installation. The park seems safe enough but toward the edge of this exhibit there are some people sitting at a picnic table acting erratically (drugs maybe). Every place I’ve been in my recent travels has been very safe but I also have good instinct so I get far away from the group…..no need to chase trouble.

I fortunately bought snacks this time and decided I wasn’t hungry enough to go eat dinner somewhere tonight. This might be a good time to catch up on some much needed rest again.

Tomorrow I head to another city in Denmark.

Oslo Norway

This morning we have a quick flight back to Oslo where we finish up the trip. For our next accommodation I have booked a two bedroom apartment in the nice Frogner area of town. We visit the rental office to drop off our bags because we are too early to check in. From here we take the bus to the Norsk Folkemuseum. Did I mention we are here in a heat wave? The highs are in the low 80°F (average 70°) but the sun is very intense since we are located much closer to the sun at summertime. It gets quite warm when you are not in the shade. Most places have no air conditioning so it is getting warm indoors during the day. From what we have been told its unseasonably hot right now. Even Bergen is more hot and sunny than usual. We caught no rain at all there.

D has another friend in Oslo so we meet her at the Norsk Folkemuseum, an open air museum that shows life in Norway during different historical periods. I knew nothing about this museum until my friend A suggested it. We spend a few hours here going from exhibit to exhibit. D has time to catch up with her friend she hadn’t seen in many years so this is an especially good time for her. We even see the church that inspired the Norway church at Epcot.

We walk to catch the ferry to town after the folk museum. We joke that we end up on the popeye tug boat route instead of the large fancy ferry we see in other routes.

We have one more dinner together and decide to head back to our very nice apartment to unwind for the evening, plus my friends need to pack for tomorrow. Both are flying home tomorrow (T is staying local because she lives in Oslo). A was supposed to spend one more night in town with me but is flying standby and the flights only look good for her tomorrow in order to return home on a timely basis.

The next morning I walk them down to the train and say my goodbyes. I don’t mind traveling alone but I really do appreciate having the company.

I think this is it for travel companions for me during this bout of travel. I might meet up with other people briefly but no one else has signed on to do multi-day travel with me. It’s understandable; I know it is a privilege and not easy to do what I do. All the things aligned in a sense (good and bad) for me to be able to adopt this travel lifestyle, at least temporarily.

After I leave my friends I go see the statue of Freya, the poor unfortunate walrus that was killed because she was a nuisance in Oslo by boarding boats and chasing tourists that get too close to her. She was euthanized because humans couldn’t handle her.

After my visit to Freya I plan to visit a sculpture garden a couple miles away. Tired of walking I decide to utilize the Lime bikes nearby (bike rental). I already have an account with Lime in the USA so it should be easy enough for me to rent. I have a short discussion with a local who is irritated that he can’t park his car because lime bikes are in the way. I tell him I am not parking them as I am trying to rent one myself. He thinks they are a nuisance but I think they are great for tourists like me. It is a short ride to the sculpture garden; it is slightly a pain to park the bike because it will not release the bike from you if you are not located in a legal parking area (strange how I was able to rent the bike from a seemingly illegal area). Eventually I find a suitable place to park and walk the rest of the way. My bike ride is mostly uneventful with the only conflicts being locals trying to pass me up and almost causing an accident in the process.

The sculpture park is small with only a couple statues one being provocative. The park is located outside the modern art museum that is currently closed because they are switching out the exhibits.

My plan for the rest of the day is to make a sandwich and have a picnic in a nearby park. I get some groceries and return to the apartment but it is another hot day and I am not sure I am up for another day in the sun. Temperatures are normally much more mild this time of year. It is just my luck that I am here the hottest time of the year.

Since I am switching countries tomorrow I decide my time is better served following up on upcoming travel arrangements. I still have over a month left of travel and not all of it has been finalized yet. Being used to staying up late with my friend I do not get to bed until after 11:00 PM. The windows are open to keep me cool and I still hear partying outside. The next morning the party is still going outside. Even after I clear out of the rental there are people in the streets in their night clothes who obviously not been home yet.

The train ride to the airport is easy and quick but the Oslo airport is the busiest airport I’ve checked into since I’ve been flying in Norway. Today there are travelers who don’t understand Norway’s self-service check in and it slows things down considerably. Luckily I am very early so I don’t sweat the extra wait time.

Now I am at the gate trying to stay awake until I board my plane. Looking forward to a nap on the way to Denmark.

Exploring Bergen

Today is our full day in Bergen. Even though I have stayed out late I still wake up early as always. I catch the included breakfast at the hotel as we wait for our companions to wake up. Today people want to sleep in; I wish I could sleep in. We finally all meet up and I get a second breakfast where I enjoy some Norwegian pastries in the historic Bryggen area of Bergen. The pastries are amazing.

We start our sightseeing with a visit to another Stave church, this one moved from Sogn. Fantoft Stave Church was dissembled and moved to its current place. A fire destroyed it in 1992 but it is now rebuilt as it would have been. We had a challenge finding it since all our maps seemed to be sending us in different directions but we eventually get there.

We head back into town and have a goodbye drink with our friend T who has to head back to Oslo this afternoon. She is a new friend to me but I am very grateful that I got to meet her this trip. Hopefully we have time to meet up when we return to Oslo.

Those of us left get an early dinner then head to the Fløibanen, the funicular that will take us up the hill overlooking Bergen. We enjoy the views at top and listen to the music from the concert going on in the fortress below.

Loving these old phone booths turned into free library

We also have fun looking at all the trolls in the park at the top.

We are ambitious and decide to walk back down. Someone tells us it takes 45 minutes but I am pretty sure it is more like 1.5 hours for us. It is a beautiful walk down. Between the lush greens we also periodically hear the music below as we get closer to town. My friends don’t quite trust my navigation skills when I direct them back toward Bryggen, the historic area, but we make it there alive.

Two of us marvel the quiet wooden alleys of Bryggen. Some of it is destroyed, some of it is being restored but most of it exists in a form to give you a feel of how things were in this historic part of town. I love it.

We meet our other friend in a bar in Bryggen that has a singer playing cover songs, We hear many USA hits along with Norwegian and even Swedish songs. I desperately want to go to bed but I try to muster enough energy to stay out with my friend who has endless energy for a bit longer. Eventually it is time for me to leave too.

Tomorrow we head back to Oslo to finish up our travels together.

Aurlandsfjord and Nærøyfjord

Fjord Cruise

Our fjord cruise doesn’t start too early so we have time to have a relaxing breakfast at our hotel. It is always nice to not have to rush in the morning.

We board the cruise from Flam to Gudvangen and find comfortable seats as our base downstairs where we have a panoramic view. There are a few floors of decks outside that are standing room only so we alternate going inside and out to admire different things during our cruise. Some of us already saw some of this journey the evening before during our RIB boat tour but it is nice to have more of a panoramic view from the large ferry – which is electrical thus reducing the emissions.

We arrive at the even smaller town of Gudvangen. I cannot believe it is even smaller than the town Flam but it is. The major attraction here besides boating is the working Viking village you can visit. We drop off our bags at the Viking village to go get lunch at one of maybe two restaurants in the town. I end up ordering a very large dish of meatballs.

We walk back to the Viking village and wait for the 2:00 PM tour. My friend tries ax throwing as we wait.

The tour guide takes us around the village which acts as a living village. People come from all the world to live and work here, in fact the girl from the entrance is from Minnesota. We learn about metal working, textiles, weapons, and boat making among other things. It is a very educational day in a charming Viking town. I even try archery. I am not great at it but perhaps in time I could be better.

We try one of the local beers and go to catch the bus that is the next leg of our journey. The bus will take us to the train that will take us to Bergen. We have one stop along the way to admire the views.

Finally we are on our train to Bergen. We are getting in later than I’d like. We find a restaurant still serving meals later. It is our splurge meal. I decide to take a chance and order the reindeer steak. I am pleased with my choice. It is similar to beef and not gamey at all. I also order a rhubarb trifle for desert. This is probably one of the best meals I’ve had in Norway so far, and I am paying a good amount for it.

My friend talks me into staying out for one drink even though it is close to midnight (way past my bedtime). It is difficult here because even at midnight, the darkest it will be, it isn’t even fully dark. I would be tricked into thinking it was earlier than it is if my body wasn’t so tired.

Tomorrow we explore Bergen a bit.

Olso and train to Flam

I have an early morning flight this morning from Alesund to Oslo to meet up with some friends for a fjord adventure. I book a flight too early – I am disappointed with myself because now I have to take a $60 cab ride to the airport because my flight time is too early for me to take the airport bus. I find myself not getting enough sleep last night and it is imperative I rest up so I have energy to hang out with my friends. Not much downtime is expected in this upcoming week.

I arrive in Oslo contemplating waiting two hours or so to meet up with my friend “A” at the airport who will be coming in on her international flight. I decide to wait and find a cafe open at arrivals. I order breakfast and take advantage of WiFi to get some planning done.

Eventually A arrives and we take the airport train into central Oslo. It takes a couple minutes longer than it should to find our hotel that is very close to the train station. It seems that google doesn’t give us the best directions in this area.

Our room is ready early so we are able to check in. We drop our bags and head out to lunch. We eat at a cool street food area called barcode. “A” enjoys a vegan burger while I try a mix of street tacos. After lunch we walk around by the water. One might consider this mild weather back home where I live but here they are experiencing a heatwave and everyone is out sunning along the piers near the water. It is Sunday and everyone seems to be enjoying the day. We admire the modern architecture and nicer cafes in the area. We still have some time to kill before our other friend arrives so we visit the Munch Museum.

The Munch Museum (Munchmuseet), named for the famous Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, has exhibits that displays his famous artworks as well as interactive exhibits about his life. I am impressed with this smaller museum. We enjoy our time here. Apparently the museum has multiple Scream paintings and they rotate them in and out from time to time.

We head back to the hotel to briefly rest until our other friend D arrives. She has an even harder time finding the hotel so we go on a rescue mission to find her. She unloads her bags and we meet up with one of her friends T; T lives locally and met D many years ago while she was on an exchange program in the USA. We walk down the popular Karl Johans Gate and have a nice Italian dinner at an outdoor cafe. We watch seagulls bang their big beaks on the plates of the non-bussed table next to us while others shoo the birds away. We have a good conservation getting to know the new friend. Being all jet lagged (me not really but I woke up too early this morning) we head back to our hotel. We are meeting up early in the morning to go on our two day tour of the fjords.

The next morning

The plan is to meet in the train station about 45 minutes before our train is to leave. We all have assigned seats but 2 of the group booked later and have individual seats elsewhere. We want to try to move all together. When we get on the train we realize this just isn’t possible because the train is very full. The first train is about 4 1/2 hours. We spend the time talking, visiting the cafeteria car and looking at some of the views. Our next train is supposed the be the best scenic train but there is still plenty to see out our windows.

The next train we have from Myrdal to Flam is the old style train where there are no assigned seats. We rush onto the train to try to get seats together. Jury is still out whether there is a good side or bad side to sit. We feel like there is a good view and you’ll feel like you are missing stuff no matter what side you sit on. The only bad thing is the train gets a little stuffy and you are not able to leave the windows open due to the train being really loud, especially in the tunnels. The breaks have to work hard on this steep train.

We do cool down at our stop at a large waterfall. We feel the water and the mist on us while we take photos. All of sudden music plays and a woman comes out to do a siren dance. It is a show of Huldra, a siren who lures men into the mountains. It is quite unexpected and entertaining.

Huldra

We eventually get to the town of Flam and check into our charming hotel. We grab a quick meal because we are all heading out to excursions this afternoon. We eat at the local brewery in town.

Two of us ride an RIB boat around the fjord. Our enthusiastic guide stops the boat frequently to point out sights along the way. It was expecting a rough ride but it ends up being calming. I am toasty and cozy in my suit that is provided to protect again cold and possible capsizing. I find the boat at times almost putting me to sleep.

At the end we stop at Undredal a town famous in real life for its brown goat cheese and in the fantasy world it is said to inspire the movie Frozen. The goats free roam along the mountains and come in at set times to get milked. A couple different common cheeses are made but one local cheese stands out because it is cooked and caramelized to make a distinct brown cheese. Many say it tastes nutty to them. I think it does taste nutty a little but still seems like a cheese to me. The only difference is the texture is vastly different from any other cheese you’ve had. We got to try these local cheeses as well as one sausage.

We head back from our cruise and our entire group meets up again. We decide another meal is in order. It seems like the places that still serve food at this time is extremely limited so we end up back at our trusty brewery. I share a hummus platter with my friend. It is very good.