Copenhagen

I leave Ribe on a regional commuter train and switch trains at Bramming and somehow get a direct train to Copenhagen even though it seems like most have switches in Odense. I purchase an assigned seat but the train I am on does not have the car I am assigned to so I just grab a seat anywhere (we are on a two car train for some reason). Fortunately no one makes me get up for my entire journey. I have no train snacks because none of the stores are open before I leave in the morning.

My original plans had an overnight stop in Odense, the home of Hans Christian Andersen. Because I really dislike rushing through cities I cut out this stop and added time to Copenhagen instead. This gives me an excuse to return to Denmark.

I didn’t sleep well last night because of the party outside until late. Luckily I nap on the train ride.

It’s a 20 minute walk to my hotel so I grab a croissant sandwich and coffee for the journey. My room isn’t ready yet upon arrival which is probably good because I can see myself lazily lounging in my room until it is time to meet a friend later. I had originally planned to do laundry during this time as well but the weather is too beautiful to be inside. Hopefully I can make my clothes last a couple more days (sorry Copenhagen about my smell).

From my hotel walk towards what looks like the center of town. I end up on a busy shopping street. I notice truckloads of high school graduates in mobile parties like the ones I’ve seen in other towns. These are loud and more high tech though. One truck backs up into the square I am in and loads of kids come swarming, stripping off their clothes and bathing in a fountain. What fun! I will continue to see truck after truck of party goers the next few days (you can always hear them coming with the music and whistles).

There is a mermen statue underwater that I try to get a look at but the water is cloudy.

My friend reaches out. She is biking down and will meet me at a beer bar around the corner. We grab some beers and sit outside in the nice cool air and chat. It is very warm in the sun but in the shade the temperatures are perfect.

She takes me around town and shows me landmarks and gives me advice. We stop for a cider across the street from a Scientology building where there is a desk for L Ron Hubbard, if he ever comes back.

From there we share a BBQ plate at WarPigs, a Mikeller location that has American style BBQ. The BBQ pork rivals what I can get in the USA. The location is in the Meat Packing District which is basically an old meat packing district home now to many hangouts in its unassuming blue and white color buildings.

We go down by the water and enjoy the nice early evening. Danes are all about soaking up the sun. I am very lucky to be here this time of year with the sun constantly shining despite’s my annoyance that I will sometimes sweat here.

I finally check into my hotel and there is no AC as usual but I have a fan so I feel lucky. There is noise outside but I am so tired that I sleep well.

In the morning I head out early to get coffee. I am meeting my friend for brunch but not for a couple hours.

She suggests this very funky cafe Bankeråt around the corner from my hotel. There are lots of animal heads and other things…very strange. Brunch is the Danish style where you can choose a number of items from a list and they all come out in little containers (similar to what I did the other day in AArhus). It is like tapas for brunch.

She has errands to run so I wander around town by myself, first stopping to check out the food hall TorvehallerneKBH near my hotel. I am full now so I make a note to return.

This is a bike centric town so one has to make sure you are not actually walking in a bike lane. Bikers are pretty good at avoiding tourists but its always good to watch out for them.

I rent a bike and ride out to Superkillen park, a funky park in the Norroborro district that was designed to incorporate themes related to nearby immigrant groups.

I get on a bike again but this time starting my search for the popular little mermaid statue. I make a pit stop in a park and the happen upon some historic housing.

I find the genetically modified version of the little mermaid first, a modern art take on the historic character. There is also other weird sculptures in this area that looks like it is also a cruise port.

I eventually make it to the actual little mermaid and it is crowded with tour groups lining up to take pictures with the mermaid. I sit aside for a while thinking if I wait in out the crowds will die but they never do. I eventually get up and go snap some pictures myself, doing my best to avoid the crowds in my photos.

I continue on along the water to a waterside seafood restaurant where I get some fish and chips and a drink and watch the boats pass by. It is a beautiful day which I guess are rare here. I am very lucky because most of my days are beautiful.

I walk to Nyhavn district, the distinct beautiful view of the city with the colored buildings. I watch the drawbridge as the boats pass underneath.

I’ve been warned about the pricing of the area so I stop in a cute bar that is on the way back to my hotel to get a carrot cake themed whisky cocktail that is quite good.

Tomorrow I plan to check out the historic theme park Tivoli and try to beat the upcoming rain.

More Aarhus, open air museum

The next morning I walk down to Den Gamle By, an open air museum. I am really digging these open air museums lately. I love popping into a historic town and seeing how people lived. It’s voyarism at its best.

They must have built this entrance later because it seems they actually have us start now in present day instead of old times. I can tell later there was another entrance in the back of the complex. So basically I start in present day times, exploring stores and apartments set up on how people in Denmark live today. The apartments they show are pretty large. I move onto the 1950-1970’s stores and apartments. Finally its the early 1900’s and 1800’s.

I slowly glide through businesses and apartments from 1974 (the year I was born!). Again it is fun walking through apartments, one of a hippie commune, and wondering how life was like. There is an apartment that is set up like it houses Turkish immigrants and I learn how much labor had to be imported because they could not find native residents who could fill the employment needs.

At some point I end up in a museum, it is easy to get carried away here.

1800’s

I know I have missed something so I head back to see the 1970s gynecological office. Seems a little out of a horror movie. But things have surely gotten better, Right?

After Den Gamble By I travel over to Dokk1 which is basically a library. There is a very interesting art work here by the car park which is a city upside down. The car park itself is pretty cool. People park their car into available docks or elevators and I am assuming the car gets taken below. They then retrieve it later.

I later walk along the harbor a bit and then past a historic theater near my hotel.

I head to dinner, during this time I notice a bunch of white captain hats. A quick google tells me that those wearing them are recent graduates from high school and it is a Denmark tradition. Watching the graduates party seems to be a regular thing during the rest of my time in Denmark.

The next day I let myself rest a bit only leaving briefly to get coffee, where I get temporarily trapped by the rain. I am woken up by fireworks at 11:30 PM and loud birds in the early morning, a pattern that repeats the next night. Why I decided to not wear ear plugs when sleeping with an open window is beyond me. I eventually get my motivation and walk towards the water to explore one of the newer neighborhoods. I had originally planned to bike there as one blogger suggested but it isn’t a far walk. Sometimes I prefer walking so I can catch things along the way. Today is summer solstice so I’ll have plenty of sun to explore today.

Watching bike commuters while I’m trapped by rain.

I make it out to a Danish brunch and I’m a fan. The menu lists a bunch of choices and you can choose from a list of items to make your own breakfast combination.

I walk by rows and rows of boats. It is windy but the rain has stopped and the sun is out, I wonder why people are not out today. I know it is a week day but I always had the impression that Northern Europeans disappear from the office when they begin to see sunny days. I round the corner and see some sailboats. It seems like they are practicing tacking (I believe that is the word for turning around a water craft with a sail a term I only know because I had an ex determined to teach me how to wind surf).

I admire all the architecture. With all the windows I am able to slightly see into some apartments. I am very jealous of this lifestyle. Due to me not working and blowing all my money on travel I doubt I’ll be able to afford this lifestyle during my lifetime.

I walk past a row of wooden loft like houses. I can see completely inside and there are no curtains in sight (again with the large windows). It appears they can be rented out for stays. They are the definition of hygge. I have already decided that if I ever own a home again at least one room will be inspired by this.

I walk to another pier that seems to be the place for water sports. There is an area for swimming and a place to practice wake boarding. I watch for a while.

I had decided to head back toward the Latin quarter when I spot a dome in the distance on another pier. There are square foot gardens, wildflower patches and a cafe. The cafe seems to be occupied by a private meeting so I wander around for a bit instead.

It is here I decide to finally rent the bike, although my ride back is pretty short. I guess I could have taken it out for longer but it seems that it is going to rain again.

After a break in my room I head to a nice cafe. I am not impressed with my meal but the atmosphere is nice. I even get chilly and need to use my jacket. I have a cocktail at a local bar and then head to 7-eleven to get a water and some snacks. While in line a very intoxicated high school grad caresses my arm. He isn’t trying to be a jerk, he is just very drunk and friendly, even telling the older lady in line next to me that she is beautiful. It is a very weird interaction. I witness broken beer bottles and cups of half empty alcohol randomly placed around town. I am sure it is not always like this, is it?

Tomorrow I’m off to Ribe, Denmark’s oldest town.

Testing the Sunrail Commute Part 2

Around six months ago they started a local commuter rail service in Orlando. I took advantage of a free trial period to test a commute to work. See Testing the Sunrail Commute for details.

Problems with the commute included not only timing of the trains but also lack of transportation options at either end of my train route. It was a big hassle to get to and from work.

Last week our local bus system, Lynx, started a test run of NeighborLink shuttle to take people from the Maitland Sunrail station to the offices in Maitland on the other side of I-4. This is great news since that was a very painful part of my commute.

I took advantage of this trial period to see if this could be a commuting solution for me. I chose a Thursday close to the slow holidays to test this out. I was slightly afraid there may be a hitch in my commute and I would end up later to work by accident.

The shuttle requires you to call a number 2 hours in advance of your ride to make sure you are scheduled for it. Because my expected ride time is at 7:05 am (which means a 5:00 am call!) I decided to call the day before. The person on the phone informed me that the shuttle will be at the station at 3 scheduled times in the morning so all I need to do is show up. She added my name and phone number to the system so my request call to get taken back to the station would be more efficient.

My plan for the next day is to get there early to catch the first train. I added some buffer time to figure out how to buy a ticket.

To make sure I was ready I did some preparations the night before:

Checked my tires for air. Pumped them up to recommended PSI.
Checked all my lights to make sure they worked.
Located my “lost” bike lock – it fell under my husbands rarely used car – doh!
Set clothes and supplies aside for the next day.

I woke up about 5:00 am and checked the weather. It was to be a chilly morning but I wasn’t worried, I can sweat in a snow storm.

Jeans and sneakers will do for this ride. Boy am I tired. I decide to tackle the makeup thing at work in case I end up dripping in sweat.

I removed my basket so I would have less hassle with parking and make it slightly lighter.

I turned on all my lights and I was ready to go.

The ride down to the Florida Hospital took me about 23 minutes. A couple extra minutes is dedicated to finding suitable bike parking. The ride is uneventful but my hands are pretty cold throughout the ride.

Bike parking is found within a Florida Hospital garage right next to the Sunrail Station. I locked it up and hoped all the parts would be there when I returned.

I wasn’t sure which way to go but I could see the sunrail platform right outside the garage so there should be a easy way to get to it from the garage right? Yeah no! I walked out the “exit”/staircase door only to find it was a dead end with no direct way to get to the Sunrail platform. The door shut behind me and there was no handle to get back in the garage. It was either go all the way around to find another way there or climb across a ditch. I chose the ditch because it was the shortest route. Things were dry so it was ok but I suppose this will not be an option for me on rainy days.

Dead end

The ditch

I still had almost ten minutes to get a ticket and get on the train. Buying a ticket was easy but I got help from an attendant since it was my first time. I decided on a round-trip ticket for this trip since I didn’t know when my next commute day would be. I chose my destination from the kiosk. I am traveling only one county so my fare is $3.75. I think the cost goes up depending on how many counties you cross in your commute. I am assuming the monthly passes are more economical.

Users need to tap before you get on and tap when you get off the train. I guess this is to activate the ticket.

The train arrives on time and I choose a seat upstairs.

I have time to pack my helmet away until this afternoon for my ride home.

An attendant checks my ticket to verify I have activated it.

Didn’t really test the wifi out but it seems to be available.

Two stops and 12.5 minutes later I am at my stop in Maitland. It is time to tap off.

We arrived at 6:48 AM. The shuttle was there waiting.

The lady driving the shuttle was extremely helpful and friendly. She gave me details all about the service. Unfortunately we were not scheduled to leave until 7:05 (over 15 minute wait). I suppose they wait for the southbound train to arrive before making the first trip. While I enjoyed the conversation I wish the shuttle could have taken off immediately after the train trip. It was already adding 15 minutes of idle time by having this waiting period.

While in the shuttle I found out that it will not service my side of Maitland Boulevard as of this time. I also learn how the shuttle has many places it cannot go (for example it is forbidden to go into Altamonte Springs which is in some places right across the street from Maitland office areas). I am lucky because they can drop off in front of RDV Sportsplex which is not a long walk across the busy street to my building. I will save the whining for those who work in building set much further behind on my side of Maitland Blvd. The shuttle has one other passenger to drop off and took about 15 1/2 minutes to get there from the station. I arrive at the office at 7:30 AM.

Crossing Maitland Blvd by foot.

Total commute time to work is 1 hour 30 minutes.

For the trip home the driver informed me that she already had scheduled pickups at RDV, one at 5:00 and one at 5:30. I could call 2 hours in advance if I wanted another pickup time. I decided the 5:00 pickup would be sufficient to get me to the 5:29 PM train and it was.

Pick up spot at RDV

The shuttle arrived promptly. Traffic was already starting to get backed up. It took us a little over 15 minutes to get back to the station.

I headed over to wait for my Southbound train (15 min wait).

The train ride back took about 13 minutes. I was happy when I arrived to find my bike locked up and safe in the Florida Hospital garage.

It had warmed up a bit but still cool enough to be only a slightly sweaty ride home.

The bike ride home is only slightly more challenging because there is more traffic. I feel the need to go faster to keep up with traffic. I chose to stay on the busy road for most of the ride home but I could easily subsitute cutting through the Audubon Park neighborhood to make it a more relaxing ride.
I commute that way most days and the big difference with being on the bike is that I had an urge to stop at a local business to shop or meet friends. Unfortunately no friends were out at the time and I couldn’t think of an errand that needed to be run that day. Being on a bike really exposes you more to a neighborhood and I think that is a good thing.

In my previous trip I was real frustrated with my riding experience. The train itself is clean and timely and the staff is friendly and helpful. My complaints then were about the lack of more frequent trains and lack of connection options. At least for now the connection options are getting better. The most frustrating part of the bike commute is now replaced by the shuttle. I still don’t know if this is a practical solution for me. Commuting each way took an hour and a half. When I traveled last time it was only a little over an hour each way. I didn’t like that I had to wait 15 minutes for the shuttle to leave the station. It is real hard to convince someone whose worse case car commute is 45 minutes (normal 25 minutes) to give up an extra hour and a half a day to take the train. Some areas that could improve even more: increase train frequency (allow commuters to time the shuttle better), have on demand shuttle trips from the station or as soon as a train arrives, expand the office drop-off area of the Maitland shuttle, and add more feeder shuttles (ummm…Baldwin Park).

Will I take it again? If the Maitland shuttle continues then yes. I won’t ride it every day, it isn’t practical for me sometimes due to the nature of the work I do. But I can attempt to ride a couple times a week. Adding some extra bike riding would be good for my overall health. I would like to try next to time the commute so I can attempt a 6:00 pm exercise class in either Winter Park or Mills 50 or try commuting with some baggage (laptop, lunch or change of clothing).
I am looking forward to what the future holds for Sunrail. I see so many areas where it can get better.
Hopefully I will have another happy update soon!

Testing the Sunrail Commute

Our local commuter service Sunrail started this week. They are providing free service for two weeks so I decided to take a day off to test how a commute might work for me.
Let me start by saying that I really want this train to work. I think Orlando (Central Florida) is in desperate need of some public transportation options for many reasons. Some reasons include to reduce traffic, to provide transportation for those who can’t or don’t want to drive, and to have the city be “greener”.
That being said, I am not sure the Sunrail is my solution. I am what one would refer to as a reverse commuter. I already live in the city limits and my office happens to be outside of the downtown vicinity in a suburban office park. This train was obviously made for people who do the opposite of what I do (live in the suburbs and commute downtown).
There is no train station in walking distance to neither my work nor my home. And any bus connectivity would require at least a mile walking on either end (acceptable) and up to an extra 2 hours added to the commute (not acceptable). Because there is no shuttle bus capability my only option is to do a bike and ride option. The bike and ride option is what I tested out today.
I started bright and early from my home in Baldwin Park a little after 6:00 am. I should have left a bit earlier to catch the first train but I couldn’t quite get out of bed early enough.
I pumped up my tires to the required pressure to make sure they were ready for the commute.

I turned on my bike lights and headed down the route to the Florida Hospital Station. There are two train stations almost equi-distance from my house. I just chose the Florida Hospital one for this morning’s commute because I have yet to see the station. Of course rain is coming later in the day so I decide I need to get this commute over with early.

Since I have biked the 4 mile route to the general area of the station before, it was a relatively event less ride.

The station was nice but relatively empty. I didn’t have to wait too long for the train to arrive.

Luckily the train northbound was not full. I had plenty of room for my bike and myself. I attempted to strap my bike in but it was awkward and I was afraid if I fully locked it in, I wouldn’t have time to unlock it at my stop. Unfortunately it ended up falling over twice – even once after I thought I correctly strapped it in. Maybe this will be easier with practice.

The train is very clean and pleasant. My stop is two stops away. I forgot to time the journey but it couldn’t have been longer than 15 minutes. Upon arrival I easily removed my bike and got off the train.

At this station I notice there is a place for bus pick up but no bus. It would be really convenient if there was a bus to take me the rest of the way.

I biked the rest of theway instead, and the safest route is a 4.5 mile route that back tracks to go around interstate 4.

There is a more direct route but it is super scary. You are basically traveling over a highway-type road with no bike lanes, no sidewalks and cars moving at very fast speeds. No thank you.
I chose the scenic route. The first part of it, Sandspur Road, was a easy but bumpy ride. However the bike lane only runs down one side of the road. What? On the way back I ended up taking the sidewalk (I know sidewalks aren’t safer but it relieves my anxiety on having pedal fast to not hold up traffic behind me).
After my turn on Wymore Road, I discover there are no bike lanes. Thankfully the lanes are wide enough that I am able to safely ride with the flow of traffic.
After crossing under I-4 I start my way toward the office buildings on Lake Destiny Drive. There are many problems with the road. There are bike lanes but the paint is worn on most of them so drivers might not be aware they exist. The lanes are poorly maintained: weeds grow into the lane, parts are broken up, tree debris exists in them, and at one point the lane fully disappears due to weeds.

Now you see it.

Now you don’t

And someone decides a dumpster can hang out in the lane…

However it is not all bad. There is a cute .10 mile trail.

There is some bike signage.

And there is even a cross walk at some point.

I finally see my office in the distance.

I arrive at the office. At this point I would lock up my bike and go shower upstairs (luckily we do have showers). However today I just enter the building to bathroom and refill my water. Plus I text my co-workers to let them know how sweaty I am.
I head back to the station to take the train home. But alas I am 5 minutes too late. The last morning train has just left and the next one does not come for two hours. But it is only 8:29 am! I am sure that made sense to some train planner but it makes no sense to me. Don’t you think people will still be commuting in the late morning? Are you really saving that much by eliminating trains every 30 minutes mid-day? What about people who want to commute to lunch? I guess that is not possible.
I don’t want to wait around two hours so I head down 17-92 to go home by bike. I am tired and do not wish to ride with traffic so I sidewalk it. Parts of the route are nice. I got to ride by Lake Lily Park and see some great views there.

I skipped breakfast to get to the train early so I decide to stop at wawa to get a breakfast sandwich and coffee. Then rains happens.

Luckily it is only a light drizzle all the way home. I guess I got lucky with the overcast skies; it could have been a whole lot hotter.

My bike commute experience ended up taking approximately 64 minutes to get to work (49 minutes by bike, 15 by train). My normal driving commute averages 25-35 minutes. My bike back home from the “work” train station took me 51 minutes (part of that was a stop at the ATM).
What have I learned from this experience? I learned that it might be easier than I thought to just ride my bike to work from my house. The route includes more sidewalk riding than I like but it is doable. Maybe one day a week and a shower at work?
One thing I have proved is a time saving/convenience argument is not going to get me to take the sunrail. If I choose to ride it now, it would be purely a exercise/tree-hugging hippie argument for me to take it. Or I could be forced into it when I-4 construction begins sometime soon. What I want to happen is that the Sunrail planners add in a shuttle at one end of my commute (preferably the work end). This would lighten the commute by bike. Only time will tell what route I will take in the future.

Walk Bike Spain

I have many interests. Some of my interests include biking, walking and running. I am delighted when I discover communities that are friendly to those interests. My current city is adopting bike and pedestrian friendly measures but we are not quite there yet.

On the other hand, Spain seems to have caught on to bike and pedestrian friendliness. Every city we visited took measures to be bike friendly. All of them were pedestrian centric (Perhaps because the cities were developed prior to the invention of the automobile-unlike many cities in the U.S.).

Madrid

In Madrid I failed to take pictures of the bike lanes in the city but I did snap some pictures of some of the evening paseo (walks). In Madrid many streets are pedestrian only. Families, couples, and groups spend most evenings walking the streets and socializing.

Puerta del Sol

Cava Baja, Madrid

Sevilla

Sevilla has some spectacular bike-only paths through its core. Easy bike rental kiosks are available if you don’t wish to have the burden of purchasing, locking up and maintaining your own bike.

Woman on a rental