Day #146 - Denmark - Roskilde

Viking ship

Viking Ship - Roskilde, Denmark

Smaller simulated Viking ships

Harbor - Denmark flags in background

Harbor in Roskilde

Saturday, August 7th

Today was a pretty relaxing day. I took a late morning train 20 miles west of Copenhagen to a town called Roskilde.

Roskilde is the location of the nation's best Viking ship museum. I thought this would be pretty special to see. Coming from the land of the Vikings in Minnesota, it's only appropriate to learn a little more about this culture and 'raiders of the north'. The museum displays five perfectly preserved longships discovered and reconstructed in 1957. Dating from approximately 1000, they were presumably sunk in the Roskilde Fjord.

The Vikings were primarily from Scandanavia (Denmark Sweden, Norway). They were known as harsh barbarians that invaded many of the nations to the south, including Ireland, Britain, and France. I tried to absorb as much information as possible - but there was so much.

Roskilde was also the royal capital of Denmark until 1455. There's a Gothic cathedral in town that houses the tombs of 38 Danish kings.

I spent a few hours walking around. The train station was probably 2-3 miles from the Viking museum. The town must have been having some kind of classic car show. It was cool to see all the antique cars driving around.

I headed back into Copenhagen. I walked around some more and called it a day. Tomorrow I'm going to do a long run so I need the rest.

Day #145 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Hamlet's Castle

Looking into Sweden from Hamlet's Castle

One of the walkways in the castle

Hamlet's Castle

Louisiana Modern Art Museum

Brilliant!

Friday, August 6th

Since I spent so much time in the city of Copenhagen yesterday, I decided to go for a day trip today. I took a 30 minute train north to the city of Helsingor, Denmark. My target destination -- Kronborg Castle (Hamlet's Castle).

I was just reading about Hamlet 3 days ago in my Shakespeare book - arguably the best play written by Shakespeare. I knew the setting was based in Denmark. I just didn't realize I would be here days later.

Once off the train, you could see the castle standing prominently at the edge of the water. Kronborg Castle was built in the 1420s. It was a fortified castle - circled by a moat. There is a line of 17 cannons that are still displayed. They could fire up to 3,000 meters away. It was impressive to walk around. The central courtyard was amazing. This is the place where the play Hamlet is shown periodically. You can walk out to the waterfront and look over to Sweden. Legend states that a Viking hero named Holger Danske slumbers comfortably in the casemates of the castle - he will awaken to defend Denmark against invading enemies. A neat place to visit and it meant more to me because of my recent readings.

I next took the train 15 minutes south to the town of Humleback, Denmark. I decided to tour a modern art museum called Louisiana. Stated in my book, I haven't really seen many modern museums on the trip to date. Most of my time has been from the past. New perspective. But - similar results. Walking through this museum brought back memories of Bilboa, Spain - the Guggenheim. There were a number of abstract art pictures. Not so much sculptures - but just abstract pictures. I do enjoy these museums now. I actually walk through most of the displays with a smile on my face wondering where these people came up with this stuff. There was one whole wall dedicated to pictures of people sleeping in a bed. This guy supposedly had a bed, and just had different people come sleep there. One at a time. he would take there picture and add it to his display. These people did nothing but just lay there. Clothes on - nothing bad about it whatsoever. Just bizarre. Who would think of this? Tomorrow, go put up a lawn chair. Ask people to come over and sit in it. Take their picture. Put the pictures together in a frame. Then send it to the Guggenheim.

After my stroll through the modern art museum, I headed back into Copenhagen and called it an early night.

Day #144 - Copenhagen, Denmark

Central Square

NY Carlsberg Glyptotek Museum

Ship leaving the harbor

Stroget Street

Fountain next to harbor

Thursday, August 5th

Today truly starts my tour of the Nordic counties. (Yesterday was more less a rest day). First off, I've already corrected myself by saying Nordic countries. This is because the term 'Scandanavia countries' is used to refer to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Whereas, the Nordic countries include these 3 along with Finland and Iceland (plus the territories of Greenland, Faroe Islands, and Aland Islands).

The largest country in population is Sweden - 9.3 million. Followed by Denmark (5.5 million), Finland (5.3 million), Norway (4.8 million), and Iceland (320,000). My knowledge of the Nordic countries is pretty poor right now. If you would have asked me to rank the 5 countires in order of population before the trip, I would not have picked this order.

I also have more of an interest in this region because I just lived in Minnesota for 7 years where many of the people have Nordic ties. This will be a cool experience to learn about the area - hang with me.

Denmark - the Danish. (I used to think they were the Dutch). Denmark is located north of Germany and has the closest geographic location to central Europe. Denmark consists of 3 main islands: Zealand, Funen, and Jutland. Zealand is the furthest east - and is where Copenhagen is located. Therefore, it's the most populous and where most of my attention will be placed. Jutland is the furthest west - with the second largest city of Arthus. Funen is located in the middle - with the third largest city of Odense. Odense is the birthplace of famed story-teller Hans Christian Anderson.

Copenhagen. I'm going to write out general thoughts about the city and my day (versus paragraph format - shaking it up a little).

- Get me a coffee and a danish. Yes, there are danishes all over the streets. You can stop in at many of the local shops and buy a pastry, donut, whatever.

- There are amazing bike trails throughout the city. The brochure states that Copenhagen is 'the world's first official Bike City' - with bikers accounting for 36% of the city's traffic. I found this to be superior to Amsterdam. I felt like the bikers knew what they were doing and kept on the clearly defined paths.

- The Little Mermaid - synonymous with Copenhagen. This statue has sat for 96 years in the harbor. This year, however, it has been temporarily moved to the 2010 World Expo in China.

-Tivoli Gardens -- opened in 1843. One of the world's oldest amusement parks and the 3rd most visited in Europe.

- The city has a number of lakes and harbors. There are 4 major rectangular-shaped lakes that divide the 'city' with the suburbs

- Stroget street is a kilometer long pedestrian-only street. This is where the mobs of people walking the city can be found going in/out shops, eating, etc.

- Interesting museums. I visited the NY Carlsberg Glyptotek. Known to be northern Europe's largest and most important repository of ancient statuary, mosaics, and artifacts. It also has a unique interior garden and cafe in the middle of the museum where people relax and rest during their visit.

- Carlsberg Beer - the brewery is located in Copenhagen.

- I walked through some of the elite areas and saw some of the fancy hotels and restaurants my book had pointed out.

Well, that's a general summary of some of my high points. I walked around the city for hours just observing. So, why is it the happiest place? Here's what I came up with. First off, with 36% of the population biking to work, this has to help. Regular exercise can lead to healthier and happier people. The train and bus system are great. People are not waiting in traffic to get places. The city is just big enough to feel like there are things to do, but you also have your space as well. An amusement park sits right smack in the middle of the city. They have a major beer brewery in the middle of town. There's a lot of blond women here.

Alright, I just read this 60 minute article from 2008 addressing this 'happy' ranking. It seems that Denmark has free schooling - all the way through univeristy. They also have free health care, subsidized child care and elder care. The average work week is 37 hours and the average vacation time - 6 weeks. A middle income person does have to pay about 50 percent in taxes to make up for these benefits however. The basic jist of the story was that people in Denmark generally have lower expectations and are more content. As they stated, if you don't put the added pressure on yourself, it relieves the stress and therefore creates a more happy, healthy environment.

Oh boy - I think they've nailed it. But -----------

Day #143 - Hamburg to Copenhagen, Denmark

Streets of Copenhagen, Denmark

Lake I ran around

Entrance to Tivoli Gardens (Amusement Park)

Wednesday, August 4th

This morning I took a 9:28am train out of Hamburg to Copenhagen, Denmark. It was a 5 hour journey - arriving at 2:12pm. It's really not that far but there were a few stops along the way. We also had to take a boat at one point. I've never done this before. We actually took the train onto the boat - where we were required to get off and go atop the boat - for a 45 minute cruise. Exactly like a car ferry - this was a train ferry across the waterway. Very interesting. I couldn't really tell how they did this. They must have connected the rails to the boat in some way.

One thing I wanted to mention is how the names of the cities in Europe are often spelled differently than what we are familiar with in the states. For example, I'm currently in Copenhagen (or Kobenhavn). Cologne is Koln. Vienna is Wien. Munich is Munchen. Rome is Roma. Milan is Milano. Generally it's pretty easy - but sometimes is can throw you off.

I really took it easy today. I got off the train and booked a hotel within walking distance. I chilled during the afternoon and then went for a run toward the evening and grabbed a couple pictures. The city is impressive. Neat. Clean. Alot of the action is right near the main train station. Across the street is the famous Tivoli Gardens. This is the fabled amusement park. It sits on 20 acres of land and includes carnival games and amusement rides. I didn't go in today - maybe later in the week - but it appears more like a small town carnival atmosphere. Tivoli is said to have inspired Walt Disney to create Disneyland. Disneyland being light years ahead in technology. Right next to Tivoli Gardens is the Hard Rock Cafe. A ton of restaurants and pubs lined the streets. People seemed to be extraordinarily friendly. I even turned 2 people away asking to help on map directions.

Denmark has different money - the Danish Krone. 1 US dollar is roughly 5.7 Krone. My hotel bill for 3 days was $1600 Krone. I found out quickly what the exchange rate really was in this place. I'm not a fan of continually changing money I must admit. I used my credit card all day today - but will need some money to effectively get around the next few days.

The temperature here is perfectly comfortable. I haven't seen numbers - but I'd put it at 60-70's. Comfortable for me to run in shorts and a t-shirt. I plan to take the next couple days at a leisurely pace in Copenhagen. I know there are some spots I want to get to on day trips - but this will be over the weekend.

Goodnight for now. Much more to come from Denmark.

Day #142 - Travel Day & Hamburg, Germany

Hamburg, Germany

Great views of the buildings lining Lake Binnenalster

Awesome!

Fancy!

My restaurant

Tuesday, August 3rd

Major travel day for me today. I took an 8am train out of London to Brussels, Belgium -- arriving around 11:30am (only 2 -1/2 hours as Brussels is 1 time zone ahead). I then took a train from Brussels to Cologne, Germany. I then took yet another train from Cologne to the 2nd biggest city in Germany. Do you know what it is? Three guesses. Nope - Hamburg. Before this trip, I would never have said this. Maybe you guys are alot better than me. The largest cities by population in Europe from the biggest to smallest: Moscow, London, St. Petersburg, Berlin, Madrid, Rome, Kiev (Ukraine), Paris, Bucharest (Romania), Budapest (Hungary), HAMBURG.

I was going to take a train from Hamburg to Copenhagen, but I would have arrived after midnight. With no hotel booked, I chose to stay in Hamburg for the night. I'm currently writing this blog at a McDonalds next to my place - about midnight.

One thing that's so hard for me on this trip is managing hotels/hostals/places to stay. It's really the most challenging thing I do. I can't get away from it. It's not easy as a single person to keep cost down. With 2 or more, a $150 room -- no problem. I can't swing that high. Some nights I'll pay $150-200, then another night I'll pay $15. Booking the 'low-rent' places is an art. You have to be very careful - else you'll be putting yourself in danger. I've walked the lines a few times on the trip. It's all good - but the amount of time I spend finding a place, and then locating it once I arrive in the city -- large quantities of time. Any advice? I don't want to give up my flexibility on moving locations. And, rolling into a town and walking up to a place is generally 'way more' costly than booking on line. Plus, the places near the trains are always booked. Anyway - just something I was thinking about earlier.

I got to my place in Hamburg about 8pm. Just in time to dump my gear and go out for a walk through the city. Money. A photographer could have made some magic today. The skies were amazing. Unlike you ever see. The white clouds were brighter and more pure. They were gathered in these very unique formations. I took a 1-2 mile walk to the 2 main lakes in Hamburg - Lake Binnenalster (smaller) and Lake AuBenalster (larger). Large buildings lined the banks. I wanted to see a specific place - a hotel mentioned in my book. The Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten - it's supposed to be ranked as one of the greatest hotels in the world (strong statement). I just wanted to see what it was all about. I wasn't able to get inside, but the views the guests must have from their balconies, and the exterior furnishings, both screamed "high-class". I don't think I'll be staying in a place like this anytime soon.

A great evening to walk around - I'm glad I stopped off in Hamburg. It's amazing how things change in 1 day. I was in an English-speaking country - very comfortable with my surroundings - and generally in smaller towns the past couple weeks. Then, BAM, I'm off the train in rush-hour traffic in the 2nd largest city in Germany and the 11th largest city in Europe. It's like - OK - now - perform. I switched from pound to euro, booked a hotel, and was in the game in about 1 hour.

Here's to German folk - a good bunch.

Day #141 - Oxford & Blenheim Palace

Unbelievable views

Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace - place where Winston Churchill was born

Great lake pictures

Awesome!

Monday, August 2nd

Last night I went up to my room about midnight to get some sleep. I opened the door very quietly and entered in stealth mode - hoping not to awake the Barcelona ladies. I had my headlight on but was blocking most of the light with my hand. The room was completely dark otherwise. I slowly turned around and walked toward my bottom bunk on the right side of the room. 'Eyes are looking up at me'. Then I look up and there's another pair of eyes staring down at me from the top bunk. Alright, I had about 2 seconds to process this information. It's either (A) I'm in the wrong room (B) These people are in the wrong room (C) The ladies from Barcelona are looking for some late-night activity.

A quick look to my left - both Barcelona ladies are sleeping on their side. I'm very confident I didn't have the wrong room. Option B has to be the correct answer. My mind was turning. I decided to go with the absolute most direct approach possible. I said to the person in the bottom bunk: "You're in my bed". I now realize it's 2 young girls in the bunkbeds. The girl says back to me: "Room 422, Beds 3 & 4, my friend and I checked in this afternoon." I then said: "Room 422, Bed 4, I checked in 4 hours ago". Stalemate. I didn't think going with the "Do you want to share the bed" approach was appropriate at the time, so I said: "I'll go check it out, I'll be back"

I went back downstairs and found out that the hotel had made a mistake. Not 5 minutes after I arrived at the desk - the 2 girls showed up as well. I was correct in my stay but they had put the 2 girls in the wrong room. I told them that I would move - it was just easier that way. The night manager followed us back up to the room to get things straight. I went in and had to move all my gear. Up to this point - this was just a funny situation - no worries. Then, I noticed that the girl had just thrown all my stuff on the floor. Everything - including my wet running clothes I had hanging up to dry from my earlier run. I was less than pleased with this performance. This girl was snotty anyway. I understood the hotel's mistake, but I had left all my gear laid out on the bunk and even put my toothbrush and contact stuff under the pillow. If the girl would have just asked the reception desk if they had double-booked -- all potential problems would have been eliminated. I actually called her out on it - she just said that she thought it was the other people's clothes. Really? I had no response. But - it's hard to lie to yourself. This is a prime example of a young person only thinking about themselves. I've been there - I'm trying to get better - I find myself more aware in recent years of how my actions can affect alot of people. The fact that the girl had no 'scared emotion' whatsoever when I entered the room, confirms they expected someone to enter shortly.

Any which way - live and learn, I moved down the hall into a room filled with a couple Asian dudes. When I walked in, the room was 90 degrees+. First thing I did was open the windows. I dumped my bags and prepared for a semi-sleepless night (I talked with the manager and got the room 1/2 price the next morning)

I got up on Monday morning and had some errands to run first. I went over to the post office that I had past during my run last night. I shipped a few things back to my parents house. I had accumulated items I wanted to keep from my golfing trips, etc. I next went back to the VISA place and got my passport. Beautiful - a full page Russian VISA inside. I can now travel in Russia anytime between Sept 1-30, 2010.

It was still early in the day. I decided to take a train west. I first went to the small town of Taplow. There's a country-house hotel here - called the Cliveden. This is a place mentioned in my book. It was built in 1666 by the second Duke of Buckingham. It was located 3-4 miles from the train station. I took a cab on the way over because I wasn't sure where I was going. I then walked back. I actually just walked the grounds but didn't pay the $15 entrance fee. A wealthy place - impressive - in an unexpected area.

Back on the train, I decided to head further west to Oxford. I wanted to see the Blenheim Palace. This is the place where Winston Churchill was born in 1874. (British leader duing WWII). This was a great call and the highlight of my day. I got into Oxford and walked across town to the busstop. Did I mention that I really like Oxford? This in itself was worth the trip to see again. I took a 30 minute bus to Blenheim Palace.

The place was spectacular - It's regarded as the finest true Baroque manor in Britian. The actual palace was impressive, but the 2,000 acres of land where it stood was even better. There was a huge lake down in this valley with a walking path circling it. I made my way around. I captured some of my best pics of the trip thus far.

I give this place my 5 star seal of approval. Start the day in London. Get a train from the Paddington station. Head to Oxford - witness the history and grandeur of the town. Next, take the bus and explore the grounds around Blenheim Palace. Take a train back into London for a late-night stroll through Hyde Park. Cap it off with a great dinner and drinks at your favorite restaurant/pub. Now that -- is a good day!

Anyway - about 6:30pm, I left the Palace and returned to Oxford - then back to London. I got some food and hit the 'common lounge' for an hour before turning in. There was someone in my bed again tonight when I entered the room. This time there was a free bunk in the room. I just used that one. It would be a quick night for me. I had a train to Brussels at 8am. Here's to Scandanavia - bring on my 'happy place'.

Day #140 - Wales - Tintern Abbey

Tintern Abbey - the western front

Tintern Abbey

Only remains are left - Tintern Abbey

The 'Common Lounge' in the biggest hostal in London

The entranceway to the biggest hostal in London

Sunday, August 1st

I started the day in Cardiff, Wales. I'm now in London - another pretty aggressive travel day. I first took a 30 minute train to the city of Newport, Wales. This is the place where Celtic Manor - the golf course hosting the Ryder Cup this fall - is located. I couldn't see the actual course, as it was blocked by trees, but I was able to get a look at the clubhouse and the grounds. It looks like a pretty impressive place. Note to my sister, the 2016 Ryder Cup is in Minneapolis at Halzeltine - grab some tickets - I'll be over if you're still up there. The Ryder Cup is a prestigious golf tournament always held in the fall between the Americans and the Europeans. It's very unique in that it's a team competition. It's well recognized among the players as one of the elite golf events in the sport.

I spent only a short time in Newport. I walked through the town on my way to the bus stop. I took a 1 hour bus to my destination for today - Tintern Abbey. Tintern Abbey is an old monastery. It was founded in 1131 by monks of the Cistercian order. Often known as the 'White Monks' because they wore habits of undyed wool, the Cistercians practiced a life of strict austerity, rejecting possessions and unnecessary ornament In a desire for poverty and isolation, they chose for their new foundation remote places 'far from man'. Unlike other monastic orders, farmland provided their main source of upkeep.

Tintern Abbey is now only a reflection of what once stood at the site. It was neat to see. I walked around the ruins and took in the history of the place. Whenever I visit areas like this, where people once lived long ago, it really makes you appreciate the efforts put forward in building these amazing structures.

I took the bus back into Newport and then the train to London. Before I leave England, I need to retract my previous statements made on the UK train system. I've grown to appreciate it over the past couple weeks. Specifically, the Britrail pass is great. I am able to literally jump on any train I want - no questions asked - and get off when I feel like it. I don't need to make reservations like in mainland Europe. In this way, I actually like the UK system better. It's still pricy and there can be delays and cancellations sometimes stemming from the lack of consistency in the rail companies - but it's not all that bad. I just wanted to set the record straight.

I'm staying in a hostal the next 2 nights in London - the absolute biggest hostal in London. It's a place called Generator Hostal. Supposedly it holds up to 800 people - wow! I'm staying in a pot-luck 4 person room. I just met my roommates - 2 ladies from Barcelona - I'd put them at 50+. It's their first hostal ever and their first time in London. Interesting. They called it a night at 10pm. I'm down in the 'common area'. This place is enormous. There are roughly 30 people in the computer lounge. They have 8 computers for people to use. Most everyone else has their own laptops like me. There is a bar down the hall - I'd say there's another 100 people partaking in some drinks. This bar is only accessible within the hostal. There's another 30-40 people in the kitchen area and hanging out in the halls. Security guards are located outside the building. They have a staffed information booth inside the hostal - where you can also book tours. They have a restaurant and snack shop. Hostals are an adventure - you never know what you're going to get.