Day #149 - Copenhagen to Sweden

The lake in Alingsas -- a little like northern Minnesota (with moose as well)

Great beach

The perfect Lake House

A look out from the balcony of my little cottage

Tuesday, August 10th

I'm currently sitting at a McDonalds in a small town in Sweden called Alingsas. I'm waiting for this extremely kind Swedish family to pick me up.

So, the money thing (both conversions and overall cost) has been on my mind. I just talked with a couple guys on the train and they had told me how Norway and Denmark are 2 of the most expensive countries in the world. I had to do some searching on this.

According to the 2010 City Mayors Report, the most expensive cities in the world are (I'll only list Europe and US):

(4) Moscow, Russia

(5) Geneva, Switz

(8) Zurich, Switz

(10) Copenhagen, Denmark

(11) Oslo, Norway

(15) Milan, Itlay

(17) London, England

(17) Paris, France

(22) Bern, Switzerland

(26) Rome, Italy

(27) NY City

(28) Vienna, Austria

(30) St. Petersburg, Russia

(31) Helsinki, Finland

(35) Amsterdam, Netherlands

(37) Bratislava, Slovakia

(40) Athens, Greece

(42) Dublin, Ireland

(44) Istanbul, Turkey

(47) Prague, Czech Republic

(49) Barcelona, Spain

(50) Frankfurt, Germany

I think this list is fascinating. It says alot. I haven't researched this topic at all until today and I couldn't agree more with it. I felt things in Switzerland were crazy expensive - now I see why. I felt like Copenhagen was outrageous - now I see why. Before the end of my trip, I'm hoping to have visited every single city listed above. It's going to be interesting to see if my take-away is consistent with the results shown.

You could make alot of assumptions from this list. Only 1 city in the US (NYCity) is in the top 50. Switzerland and the Nordic countries are extremely expensive. I'm looking forward to travelling in Germany - Berlin, Munich or Hamburg did not make the list. A city missing is Stockholm - I wonder why. I can tell you just from the cost at McDonalds right now - a family of 3 bought dinners in front of me. Remember how it cost roughly $15/meal in Copenhagen. Here, it was about $9-10. If that says anything - you can see maybe why Swedish cities would not be on the list. But why is Copenhagen, Oslo, and Helsinki in the Top 50 -- but not Stockholm --- inquiring minds want to know?

When folks from Europe come to the US - it must be like kids in a candy store. They have to be throwing money around like it's playtime. It would be the equivalent of us going to Kilimanjaro, Africa. The guys on the train also said that people make more on average in the Nordic countries. I'm assuming this would need to be true - just to survive in the economy.

Good stuff - I'm just fitting things together.

__________________________________________________________________

LATER

I was picked up by Jan at McDonalds at 5:45pm. We drove back to their lake house where I met his wife Ulla, and his 2 sons - Henrik and Staffan. What a tremendously nice and friendly family. I felt right at home. They live the summer months on this beautiful lake - the look and feel is very similar to northern Minnesota in my eyes.

We shared some stories and had a great dinner. It all reminds me just how small the world really is sometimes. I worked with a fanatastic lady in Minnesota, who opened her home up to Jan many years ago as an exchange student, and now I'm here visiting them through this connection. Additionally, their son Henrik will be coming to the states within the next month as an exchange student himself. Hopefully I can hook him up with some contacts on my end. The circle keeps going around. As Jan stated, you just keep 'Paying it Forward' and things may just come back in your favor one day. Outstanding!

After dinner, we had more conversations. I've come to realize how little I know about today's popular music or even the popular TV shows. I generally watch sports if I watch TV, sometimes the occasional reality show (Amazing Race) or some reruns of the half-hour sitcoms of the past. I'm a huge fan of music and listen to everything - but am not so great on the new pop groups. I learned that most music in Sweden is performed in English. This dffers from many of the southern European countries. Staffan and Henrik are huge golf fans. We talked alot about the British Open and St. Andrews. Why I didn't realize Annnika Sorenstam was from Sweden - I don't know. It was fun to hear about Jan and Ulla's travels to Hawaii and New Zealand. I can listen to travel tales all night - it provides insite into areas and places that maybe I'll get to one day. By the end of the night, I was convinced that Sweden is more similar to the US then I could have ever imagined. Really, when it comes down to it, most people in the world are very similar - it's just the little differences that make us unique.

We called it an evening about 11pm. I stayed in their 'guest house' - a small little cottage right by their place. How great would it be too have a place like this?

Here's to a great first day in Sweden and a big "Thank You" for the hospitality of my new friends.

Day #148 - Denmark - Odense

The Daemon Roller-Coaster -- Tivoli Gardens

Walking to Egeskov Castle

Waiting outside a small, middle-of-nowhere train station

Fairy-tale house ouside Hans Christian Anderson's Museum

Birthplace home for Hans Christian Anderson

Monday, August 9th

Today I took a train to the island of Funen,Denmark -- specifically, to the town of Odense. It was about a 1-1/2 hour train ride from Copenhagen. Not too bad. Denmark is pretty accessible to all parts of the country. This differs from Norway, Sweden, and Finland - whose long-bodied countries stretch near the North Pole.

I wanted to see a new part of Denmark. I walked around the city for some time. Pretty low-key. Although the 3rd biggest city in the country, it felt small. I toured around the streets and made my way to the Hans Chrisitan Anderson house. Born in 1805, HC Anderson is best known for his children stories. 2 of the stories that I've read are: "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Little Mermaid".

They had a museum and across-t0wn was the home he grew up in. I toured around both sites. Pretty interesting and very focused on kids. The coolest thing about the museum was this story-book type house outside along this small pond. I guess Anderson was a big traveler. He has published a number of long travelogues. Interesting.

After touring around Odense, I took the train south to the small town of Kvaerndrop. When I say small, this would be in the middle-of-nowhere. I walked a couple miles to the Egeskov Castle. I didn't give myself enough time and I had arrived close to 5pm. The place was closing at 6pm so I didn't pay to get inside. This was a really neat site. I'm disappointed that I couldn't see more. Unlike other castles I've toured, this place was much more than that. It had over 30 acres of ground. It had mazes made of shrubs. I've always wanted to do one of these. Wouldn't that be pretty cool? The castle itself was much more interesting in appearance than many others. It was an island castle accessible only by a suspension drawbridge (unique). It was constructed in 1554 - known to be Europe's best preserved Renaissance island castle.

So many interesting things to see - you could spend a day at each site. I'm in 'stick and move' mode however - so I pick my battles and where I can spend the time. I took the train back into Copenhagen.

I had a free ticket to get into Tivoli Gardens. The park is across the street from the train station so I decided to check it out. Character. That's the word that comes to mind. This place has it. Old, genuine, filled with alot of character. I walked throughout the park first. Then, I went up to one of the younger guys working a booth and asked: "I'm wondering who the best is - the best roller coaster in this park". His respone: "Dude, it's the Daemon man, it's awesome, you gotta try it man - it's awesome. You gotta do it". Solid - with that sales pitch, how could I not try it.

I'm a huge fan of roller-coasters. The taller and faster they are - the better. Some buddies and I went to Cedar Point several years ago. This is a legendary park outside Sandusky, Ohio (along the shores of Lake Eerie) which houses some of the best roller-coasters in the world. I don't think the Daemon could match - but I had to try it anyway. It was this twisty, upside-down, type coaster. You were seated but your legs were hanging free. It was an awesome ride. Way too short - but still awesome. I didn't hang out too long in the park. This is one of those things that you just don't do by yourself. It was definitely fun to see. It was a Monday night - the place was completely packed. All good.

Back in the hotel. Tommorrow I exit Denmark and head to Sweden. Plus, I have some great news. I'm meeting up with this Swedish family I was telling you about. I'm meeting them at a McDonalds at 5:45pm tomorrow night. They have 2 sons, 1 of which will be coming to the US in a couple weeks as an exchange student. This should be great sharing stories providing some perspective of US life while also hearing all about Sweden.

Day #147 - Copenhagen, Denmark

Sunday, August 8th

So last night I signed up for the Iceland - Reyjavik Marathon on August 21st. I haven't run over 13 miles in a couple months. Today I needed to get some confidence by going long.

I slept in longer than I had planned. It wasn't going to matter as far as heat goes, it was raining when I awoke. I headed out to the 4 long rectangular lakes (actually 5 lakes - the first one is separated by a road). The temperature was perfect - so the rain didn't bother me. I actually enjoyed it. I ran 3 loops around the lake - each taking about 45 minutes or so. I wanted to run without stopping for the first 13 miles. I then walked another 5-7 miles. It hurt - but I made it through. I won't be breaking any records in Iceland - but I think I can do it.

After running, completely drenched from head to toe, I headed to church (which started at 6:30pm). I've missed the last couple weeks because of travel, but I wanted to get there today. It was on the other side of town. I was cold and wet, so I stopped in and grabbed a large coffee for the walk. Denmark is pretty expensive when it comes to food and drink. I had ducked into a Burger King for the coffee - 15 Danish Frank for a small cup ($3). Sodas are 28 Danish Frank ($5). The lady in front of me ordered three meals, 2 for her kids and herself. Cost = 260 Danish Frank ($50). Should a hamburger, fries and a drink cost $15 at Burger King? Anyway, I walked the few miles to the church. I couldn't get in. It was crazy. I could hear the music inside but couldn't find the door. Maybe I was out of it from the run (I don't doubt this). But, I circled the place 5 times, checked every door, and even went through some alley ways. Not successful. It was in a little remote part of town, maybe they lock the doors after the mass starts. Hopefully the thought counts. I had good intentions - I just wasn't able to make it happen.

On the way back, I stopped by a 7-11 and got some groceries for the night. It's strange - there are 7-11 stores all over Copenhagen. I don't think I've seen a single one of these in my 140+ days in Europe. Here - they are everywhere. They don't have any Super Big Gulp cups however.

I'm currently vegetating in my room. All good. I moved hotels yesteray - this is my second place in Copenhagen (much better). I'm actually staying in the Tivoli Hotel. It's about a 15 minute walk from the amusement park. They give you free tickets to the park for 1 day with your stay. I had planned to go this evening, but with the rain, I'll do it tomorrow.

Tomorrow I head to the island west of Zealand - the island of Funen. Let's see what the birthplace of Hans Christian Anderson has to offer.

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.