We only had an afternoon to look around Stockholm. However, we did our best to get the most out of it given our limited time. Although we didn't see much, I still really liked Stockholm; it was a really beautiful city. So all we saw was a street performer doing a dance with a glass globe, then the Palace, then we walked around the Old Town of Stockholm and went for dinner there. And that was all. We had to leave the next morning to get to Kopenhagen.
We arrived in Kopenhagen late afternoon and then headed into town that night to take part in the Midsummer/Summer Solstice festivities. We sat by one of the beautiful waterways with a crowd of people and watched as a stack of floating wood was set aflame. As it burned out a couple of hours later, people broke out singing a song in unison. I can't quite remember exactly the purpose of this, but I think the idea is welcoming in the light of the longest day of the year. It was a really lovely atmosphere.
The next day, we witnessed the changing of the guard outside of Parliament. Actually, on the way to the Parliament buildings, we ended up walking alongside the group of soldiers who were also on their way there. However, while we walked on the sidewalk, they walked in one of the traffic lanes--they even stopped at the red lights and everything. After that, we went to the Royal Museum (Denmark is still under a monarchy) and learnt about the Danish Royal family. Following that we went for lunch beside the Gefion Fountain then visited the museum of Danish Resistance against Nazi Occupation. This was the first war museum that I've been to in while in Europe and it was really powerful. Such hard history, and yet so important to remember. That afternoon we took a boat tour along Kopenhagn's waterways, which was a lovely ride, then went up the Round Tower, and then we went up the four-hundred steps of the tower of Vor Freslers Kirke. This was an interesting tower and unique from the other towers we've climbed. You see, most towers have a platform at the top from which one can feel safe while looking over a city. Now this tower did have such a platform, but in addition, it continued going up beyond the platform. It spiraled up and up until the spiral just wound into itself. I squeezed myself up to the top, where the spiral stairs curved into the peaked roof. It was really windy, but I was able to get a really great view of the city. Later on, we went and saw Water for Elephants in the theatre. I really enjoyed it. I read the book awhile ago, and the movie turned out to be exactly how I had pictured it would be. It's always nice when that happens. Rare, but very nice.
The next day was our last day, so we dropped our bags at the train station, then went to see the National Museum for the morning. It housed many viking-related artifacts which were all very interesting. The last thing we saw was Denmark's National Gallery which had some incredible works from numerous Danish artists, as well as others. However, since we're not very good at time mangagement, we only had twenty minutes to look around before our train was going to leave. Remarkably, we managed to catch the train, but only because we ran most of the way there.
From Kopenhagen, we went to Hamburg, where we stayed with a friend of ours who had done an exchange to Nelson last year. We took a bus tour of the city with her the following day, ate a hamburger since it seemed appropriate, then took a train from there to Berlin.
Sunday, 3 July 2011
Rudesheim, Köln, then way up to Norway
The Long Way Up:
From Rüdesheim, we took a river boat up to Koblenz. The river wound its way around the green hills and past the small villages. Old castles overlooked the small houses. It was a really beautiful ride.
Once we got to Koblenz, we took a train up to Köln (Cologne), where we met a friend. We stayed with her the night, and then went for breakfast with her before going to see the Gothic Cathedral in Köln, which turned out to be partly under construction because apparently bird poop is corrosive.
After that we boarded the first of six trains for our thirty-three hour journey up to Norway. On our last train, we actually had to take a bus part of the way because the day before a train had burnt while going through a tunnel. We were heading for Arna (about ten minutes from Bergen) where my friend, Lauren, is doing a rotary exchange. We spent the next four days with her, laughing and taking in the Norwegian countryside.
Some eating, some hiking, and lots of laughing:
Upon our arrival, we ate a 1:30am dinner with her host family.
The next day we went into town, looked around at some of the shopping centres, and the only thing we ended up buying was a huge bag of candy.
The next morning we hiked a mountain (had to work off that candy somehow) and ended up taking the bike route. It was threatening rain, so no bikes came along. We had to run some of the way back down in order to catch our train and apparently running downhill makes Annalea laugh uncontrollably. This created decent entertainment for Lauren and me.
That night we ate an amazing meal with Lauren, her host family, her host family's son and his family. As we all sat around the table, they all began to converse in Norwegian. I found this very interesting because despite my knowledge of the Norwegian language being nonexistent, I still wasn't entirely lost. Through the universal language of hand motions, facial expressions, and tones of voice, I could follow the mood of the conversation, even if I didn't know what they were talking about. When I stopped focusing on the individual words, I almost felt like I was in an English-speaking home.
So, after the delicious feast of two differently seasoned fish, some potatoes, a broccoli/cauliflower dish, a dessert of canned plums and sugared red currants with vanilla cream sauce, we all sat and chatted for awhile. Soon after we had tea and coffee accompanied by homemade heart-shaped waffles with butter, jam, a sweet cheese, or sugared red currant berries. Soooo good!
The following day we slept in until noon. This was a splendid novelty after a month and a half of getting up early for either sightseeing or train connections. We spent the afternoon back in Bergen, hoping to do some clothing shopping that would be successful, ie. actually buying some clothing items. However, despite trying on some shirts, which was more progress then the previous shopping attempt, we didn't buy anything. Well, that's not true. We did buy a bucket of ice cream and shared it between us, and since it was kind of rainy outside, we ate it inside, huddled on a couch in the corner of the mall courtyard, still decked out in our rain jackets. But, really, who needs clothes when you can buy chocolate brownie ice cream with caramel swirls instead?
There are strange things done in the midnight sun...and stranger things done under Norwegian street lamps:
Later that night, we all went for a hike at 10:00pm with the sun still up. By the time we reached the top around 11:00pm, the sun was just setting. It was pretty cloudy, though, so we didn't see a bright sunset like the one we had witnessed the night before. Instead, we were engulfed by thin clouds and mist while we looked out to the surrounding mountains, whose tops were also blanketed in cloud. It was very cool, almost mystical, a little bit eerie, and reminded me of something from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. We ate some chocolate at the top (kind of failed there on the healthy part of hiking) then headed back down. It was pretty dark by that point, but still only looked like dusk despite it being 11:30pm. Once we reached the road, we stopped under a street light because our sleep-deprived, sugar-pumped minds decided it was a great idea to dance in the quiet street and try to pull off the worst, most ridiculous kind of dancing we could think of...and record it of course. So, several "music videos" later, after laughing our abs to the point of pain, we continued walking back to Lauren's.
Sun, Sadie, and setting off for Stockholm:
We packed our bags the next morning and also cleaned up the mess we made of Lauren's room. It still baffles me how Annalea and I manage to completely cover people's floor space with our stuff when we stay two days or longer. At least we clean it up when we leave, I suppose, which then helps that person appreciate cleanliness to a whole new level, so we are really doing them a favor when we spread out.
Wow, that was just a slight diversion. Ok, so back to whatever I was talking about before. Oh, right, that morning. Ok. So after cleaning up, we went and laid in the sun! After three half sunny, half rainy (still beautiful) days, we saw and felt the warm sun. This called for bathing suits, towels, and laying on the lawn to try to soak up the rays.
Later that day, while on Skype with our mom, we found out some sad news. Our cat Sadie, who had been sick for the past two months was doing very badly. Annalea and I sat at the screen while my mom held Sadie in her arms. Through falling tears we said our goodbyes, and although we couldn't be by her side, we were with her as she breathed her last labored breath. Death is a strange thing. In one moment, something that was living was no longer. I realized as she left, that she wouldn't be there when I get home. I won't walk in my front door and have her greet me with familiar meows like she always used to do. I will never hear her purr again, or feel her warmth, or see her beautiful green eyes. She is just gone. Tears fell down my cheeks as I watched her body heave for breath in her last moments. Words stopped in my throat. Something I loved so dear was leaving and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I knew that day would come eventually, but part of me naïvely wished that she would last forever. But, even the best things in life must pass. I was glad that I had spent a lot of time with her before I left. I was glad her suffering was short. I was glad I had the privilege of having her in so much of my life. Still, it was hard to say goodbye.
A couple hours later, we parted ways with Lauren and then boarded a train to get to Stockholm.
From Rüdesheim, we took a river boat up to Koblenz. The river wound its way around the green hills and past the small villages. Old castles overlooked the small houses. It was a really beautiful ride.
Once we got to Koblenz, we took a train up to Köln (Cologne), where we met a friend. We stayed with her the night, and then went for breakfast with her before going to see the Gothic Cathedral in Köln, which turned out to be partly under construction because apparently bird poop is corrosive.
After that we boarded the first of six trains for our thirty-three hour journey up to Norway. On our last train, we actually had to take a bus part of the way because the day before a train had burnt while going through a tunnel. We were heading for Arna (about ten minutes from Bergen) where my friend, Lauren, is doing a rotary exchange. We spent the next four days with her, laughing and taking in the Norwegian countryside.
Some eating, some hiking, and lots of laughing:
Upon our arrival, we ate a 1:30am dinner with her host family.
The next day we went into town, looked around at some of the shopping centres, and the only thing we ended up buying was a huge bag of candy.
The next morning we hiked a mountain (had to work off that candy somehow) and ended up taking the bike route. It was threatening rain, so no bikes came along. We had to run some of the way back down in order to catch our train and apparently running downhill makes Annalea laugh uncontrollably. This created decent entertainment for Lauren and me.
That night we ate an amazing meal with Lauren, her host family, her host family's son and his family. As we all sat around the table, they all began to converse in Norwegian. I found this very interesting because despite my knowledge of the Norwegian language being nonexistent, I still wasn't entirely lost. Through the universal language of hand motions, facial expressions, and tones of voice, I could follow the mood of the conversation, even if I didn't know what they were talking about. When I stopped focusing on the individual words, I almost felt like I was in an English-speaking home.
So, after the delicious feast of two differently seasoned fish, some potatoes, a broccoli/cauliflower dish, a dessert of canned plums and sugared red currants with vanilla cream sauce, we all sat and chatted for awhile. Soon after we had tea and coffee accompanied by homemade heart-shaped waffles with butter, jam, a sweet cheese, or sugared red currant berries. Soooo good!
The following day we slept in until noon. This was a splendid novelty after a month and a half of getting up early for either sightseeing or train connections. We spent the afternoon back in Bergen, hoping to do some clothing shopping that would be successful, ie. actually buying some clothing items. However, despite trying on some shirts, which was more progress then the previous shopping attempt, we didn't buy anything. Well, that's not true. We did buy a bucket of ice cream and shared it between us, and since it was kind of rainy outside, we ate it inside, huddled on a couch in the corner of the mall courtyard, still decked out in our rain jackets. But, really, who needs clothes when you can buy chocolate brownie ice cream with caramel swirls instead?
There are strange things done in the midnight sun...and stranger things done under Norwegian street lamps:
Later that night, we all went for a hike at 10:00pm with the sun still up. By the time we reached the top around 11:00pm, the sun was just setting. It was pretty cloudy, though, so we didn't see a bright sunset like the one we had witnessed the night before. Instead, we were engulfed by thin clouds and mist while we looked out to the surrounding mountains, whose tops were also blanketed in cloud. It was very cool, almost mystical, a little bit eerie, and reminded me of something from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. We ate some chocolate at the top (kind of failed there on the healthy part of hiking) then headed back down. It was pretty dark by that point, but still only looked like dusk despite it being 11:30pm. Once we reached the road, we stopped under a street light because our sleep-deprived, sugar-pumped minds decided it was a great idea to dance in the quiet street and try to pull off the worst, most ridiculous kind of dancing we could think of...and record it of course. So, several "music videos" later, after laughing our abs to the point of pain, we continued walking back to Lauren's.
Sun, Sadie, and setting off for Stockholm:
We packed our bags the next morning and also cleaned up the mess we made of Lauren's room. It still baffles me how Annalea and I manage to completely cover people's floor space with our stuff when we stay two days or longer. At least we clean it up when we leave, I suppose, which then helps that person appreciate cleanliness to a whole new level, so we are really doing them a favor when we spread out.
Wow, that was just a slight diversion. Ok, so back to whatever I was talking about before. Oh, right, that morning. Ok. So after cleaning up, we went and laid in the sun! After three half sunny, half rainy (still beautiful) days, we saw and felt the warm sun. This called for bathing suits, towels, and laying on the lawn to try to soak up the rays.
Later that day, while on Skype with our mom, we found out some sad news. Our cat Sadie, who had been sick for the past two months was doing very badly. Annalea and I sat at the screen while my mom held Sadie in her arms. Through falling tears we said our goodbyes, and although we couldn't be by her side, we were with her as she breathed her last labored breath. Death is a strange thing. In one moment, something that was living was no longer. I realized as she left, that she wouldn't be there when I get home. I won't walk in my front door and have her greet me with familiar meows like she always used to do. I will never hear her purr again, or feel her warmth, or see her beautiful green eyes. She is just gone. Tears fell down my cheeks as I watched her body heave for breath in her last moments. Words stopped in my throat. Something I loved so dear was leaving and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I knew that day would come eventually, but part of me naïvely wished that she would last forever. But, even the best things in life must pass. I was glad that I had spent a lot of time with her before I left. I was glad her suffering was short. I was glad I had the privilege of having her in so much of my life. Still, it was hard to say goodbye.
A couple hours later, we parted ways with Lauren and then boarded a train to get to Stockholm.
Familiar Friend
So I thought I already posted this, but I didn't, so let's pretend I posted it on June 16, ok?
Last year we had a wonderful German student named Domi come and stay with us. Before she left we said that we'd come and visit her one day. Well that day was Monday (June 13). She met us at the train station in the small, beautiful town of Bad König and drove us to her house. Her family owns a hotel (the only hotel in Bad König!) and a restaurant, and they let us stay in one of hotel rooms. The time we were there also happened to be the same time that the fair was in town. Domi was waitressing at one of the restaurants there so she took us along to check it out. Before her shift started we all went on a ride called XXL. It was crazy. It was kind of like a gravitron, but it swung back and forth eventually reaching a height of 45 metres! It was so much fun! Then Domi went to work, so Annalea and I went on one more ride, bought a couple souvenirs, then headed back to the hotel. Once we got there, Domi's mom invited us to eat dinner in the restaurant. We happily obliged and were first served an asparagus mousse with caramelized sugar on top of it. We also were given bread, like most restaurants do, but instead of the standard olive oil and balsamic vinegar to accompany it, they served homemade honey butter and tomato butter. Then we both had an asparagus soup. For the entrée I had wiener schnitzel with fried potatoes and mushrooms, and Annalea had a slice of pork and dumplings (apparantly a very German dish). For dessert, they brought a slice of a pastry with cherries and cranberries with ice-cream on the side. Around the edge of the plate, in chocolate drizzle, was written "Wonderful to have you here Marlies.":) Everything was unbelievably delicious!
The next day, Domi took us into Michelstadt (the next town over) to look around there. We walked down some of the old streets and then went to a little cake and ice cream shop. Apparently, this place won the world pastry championship for the best cake and ice cream in Europe. So, of course we tried both the cake and the ice cream. I had chocolate and rhubarb ice cream, Annalea had vanilla and cherry, and we shared a piece of raspberry chocolate cake. It was all very delicious. After that, we all went to a health spa/swimming pool and hot tub where Annalea and I each got a massage. It was so relaxing and a perfect remedy to aching back muscles from carrying heavy packs.
After that, we all went for dinner back at the restaurant. It was once again incredibly delicious. We were first given a very flavourful meatball. It was small, but so delicious; Annalea claimed it to be the best meatball she's ever had. Then we had bread with honey butter and tomato butter. I had an asparagus soup again, and Annalea tried the pumpkin soup. For the main course I had an amazing bacon dumpling with fried mushrooms, all sitting in a creamy mushroom sauce. Annalea had some marinated beef with mashed potatoes and gravy. For dessert, we had some refreshing orange sorbet with caramelized sugar on top of it. Everything was amazing!
I couldn't really get over how incredibly generous it was of them to give us all this delicious food, which her dad cooks himself, as well as let us stay in their beautiful hotel all at no charge! It felt very strange (and very nice:) ) to be so spoiled after a month and a half of backpacking.
The next day we had to head off, so we said goodbye to Domi and her family, then took the train to Rüdesheim.
Last year we had a wonderful German student named Domi come and stay with us. Before she left we said that we'd come and visit her one day. Well that day was Monday (June 13). She met us at the train station in the small, beautiful town of Bad König and drove us to her house. Her family owns a hotel (the only hotel in Bad König!) and a restaurant, and they let us stay in one of hotel rooms. The time we were there also happened to be the same time that the fair was in town. Domi was waitressing at one of the restaurants there so she took us along to check it out. Before her shift started we all went on a ride called XXL. It was crazy. It was kind of like a gravitron, but it swung back and forth eventually reaching a height of 45 metres! It was so much fun! Then Domi went to work, so Annalea and I went on one more ride, bought a couple souvenirs, then headed back to the hotel. Once we got there, Domi's mom invited us to eat dinner in the restaurant. We happily obliged and were first served an asparagus mousse with caramelized sugar on top of it. We also were given bread, like most restaurants do, but instead of the standard olive oil and balsamic vinegar to accompany it, they served homemade honey butter and tomato butter. Then we both had an asparagus soup. For the entrée I had wiener schnitzel with fried potatoes and mushrooms, and Annalea had a slice of pork and dumplings (apparantly a very German dish). For dessert, they brought a slice of a pastry with cherries and cranberries with ice-cream on the side. Around the edge of the plate, in chocolate drizzle, was written "Wonderful to have you here Marlies.":) Everything was unbelievably delicious!
The next day, Domi took us into Michelstadt (the next town over) to look around there. We walked down some of the old streets and then went to a little cake and ice cream shop. Apparently, this place won the world pastry championship for the best cake and ice cream in Europe. So, of course we tried both the cake and the ice cream. I had chocolate and rhubarb ice cream, Annalea had vanilla and cherry, and we shared a piece of raspberry chocolate cake. It was all very delicious. After that, we all went to a health spa/swimming pool and hot tub where Annalea and I each got a massage. It was so relaxing and a perfect remedy to aching back muscles from carrying heavy packs.
After that, we all went for dinner back at the restaurant. It was once again incredibly delicious. We were first given a very flavourful meatball. It was small, but so delicious; Annalea claimed it to be the best meatball she's ever had. Then we had bread with honey butter and tomato butter. I had an asparagus soup again, and Annalea tried the pumpkin soup. For the main course I had an amazing bacon dumpling with fried mushrooms, all sitting in a creamy mushroom sauce. Annalea had some marinated beef with mashed potatoes and gravy. For dessert, we had some refreshing orange sorbet with caramelized sugar on top of it. Everything was amazing!
I couldn't really get over how incredibly generous it was of them to give us all this delicious food, which her dad cooks himself, as well as let us stay in their beautiful hotel all at no charge! It felt very strange (and very nice:) ) to be so spoiled after a month and a half of backpacking.
The next day we had to head off, so we said goodbye to Domi and her family, then took the train to Rüdesheim.
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