Oslo - Norway

Oslo is a very ancient city dating back to the 11^th century and is situated on the Oslo Fiord. Today it is still growing – there is a lot of redevelopment happening plus they are building several thousand new apartments. Oslo is surrounded by 40 islands.

I did play tourist here as there is a lot to see and do. A visit to Holmenkollen National Ski Arena was very interesting – the actual ski jump is enormous and they do train all year round. It is also a training centre for cross country skiing and the biathlon. The facilities are first-class and it is a well used facility.

The Nobel awards are presented in the Oslo City Hall. The City Hall looks quite modern but in fact the building commenced in the 1930’s and was delayed during WW2 and was finally opened in the early 1950’s. I had not planned on going inside, but it did start to rain so I did go in. What a surprise!  There is more than 20,000 square feet of murals on the walls. The murals celebrate Norwegian society – and they are so beautiful. So glad the rain came down!

There are at least 2 museums in Oslo that are a must see.

·        The first is the ‘Kon-Tiki Museum’. The museum houses the original ‘Kon-Tiki’ raft and the reed boat ‘Ra 11’. When you see these crafts it is just so amazing that they sailed to the destinations they were. The museum is basically about the recreation of pre-historic voyages – well worth a visit.

·        The second museum is ‘The Viking Ship Museum’ – this was an incredible place to visit as the Vikings were only around for a short period in history, but we do hear a lot about them. The museum has two 9^th century Viking Ships. They are amazing to see and have been well preserved. One ship belonged to a Viking Queen and was found in a burial mound in 1904. They also uncovered a carriage and several sleds, plus many other items such as shoes, pieces of cloth, buckets, household items etc. The ships were all built of Oak.

I had heard about ‘The Vigeland Sculpture Park’ and was not really sure what to expect as I was told it was a place you either love or hate. I really enjoyed the visit – we had a good tour guide who explained very well the message the Sculpture Artist telling. The Park is one of the world's largest sculpture parks made by a single artist. The artist is Gustav Vigeland and this was his lifelong work. There are more than 200 sculptures in bronze, granite and wrought iron. Work on the park and the sculptures started in the late 1920’s and took over 40 years to complete with the assistance of other artists. Basically the artist tells the story of the ‘Circle of Life’.

Oslo has a new Opera House and the locals are comparing to the Sydney Opera House as both are built by the water. They are very different and the one in Oslo is meant to resemble an iceberg melting into the water – and yes, you can see what the architects are trying to achieve. I went back on my own after the tour and walked up the sloping walls to the roof area and the view was amazing. The inside is stunning with a lot of wood on the inside. They have used a lot of Italian marble both indoors and outdoors – makes me wonder how much marble if left in Italy?

The Oslo Folk Museum was also a good place to visit. It is huge and you could easily spend a whole day here. I went there with the tour group and we only saw a very small portion of the centre. We did see the section about how the Norwegian National Costumes have developed over the years and why they are all different. Each region has its own version of a national costume and the Norwegian Saami’s have a similar national costume to the Sammi’s in Finland and Sweden. We did manage to visit some of the old buildings that have been relocated here. These did include a very old Stave Church.

This article does sound a bit like a travelogue – but Oslo is a wonderful place to visit.

I did mention that during the past 3 weeks I have been with a tour group. During those 3 weeks we travelled from Copenhagen to Stockholm. We then went onto Helsinki and then North Cape in Norway and finally to Oslo. All up we travelled 5993 km’s – not a bad trip!!

A carriage found in a Viking Queen's burial ship.

The new Oslo Opera House - meant to resemble an iceberg melting into the sea.

The Kon-Tiki raft - the original.

On to Oslo

The final few days of the tour were spectacular to say the least.

As we travelled towards Geiranger we passed through many mountains, crossed several fiords by ferries, saw many more frozen lakes and lots more snow. And among all this the wildflowers were simply stunning.

Norway has more than 1100 fiords. The meaning of fiord is ‘a valley filled with water’. And there must be millions of waterfalls. Everywhere you look there is a waterfall. Some are huge others much smaller. Two-thirds of Norway is covered by mountains.

We had a lunch stop at Lom which is a UNESCO town in a UNESCO National Park area. The town was delightful and there is a Stave Wooden Church here. The Stave Churches are very old and this one dates back to the 1100’s. Most are built from oak and are quite dark inside with some simple decoration. There are still a few of these scattered around Norway. Some are still used for weddings especially when people dress wearing their National Costume.

On arrival in Geiranger we took a cruise on the fabulous Geiranger Fiord (also listed as a UNESCO area). This was a lovely cruise despite the weather being a bit overcast. As you would expect lots of huge waterfalls, huge mountains, many covered in snow and several farms where people used to live and farm.

When you look at where people used to live and raise families in these old farmhouses you do wonder how they ever got there. The cruise director did tell a couple of stories: one family used to tie their young children to a rope to prevent them from falling down into the fiord! Another was about a tax-collector who simply gave up as he could not manage to reach the farms to collect the tax that was owing!

After such a wonderful cruise I did not expect the drive on the “Trolls Road” to equal the cruise – how wrong I was! 

To give the road its correct name it is called - Trollstigen Mountain Road. The road has 11 hairpin bends up a very steep mountainside. Encircling the road are huge snow capped mountains. Many huge waterfalls gush down the mountainside towards a beautiful green valley called ‘Isterdalen Valley’. The Trollstigen Mountain Road winds its way up to 858 metres above sea level. Thank goodness we had a great bus driver who had driven this road many times before. Sometimes even taking photos in this area has been challenging due to the very black coloured mountains and all the white snow. Some photos look quite eerie! This trip has certainly been a highlight of the tour.

After spending 2 nights in Geiranger we travelled towards Oslo via Lillehammer – site of 1994 Winter Olympics. We did visit the ski-jump at the original Olympic site. These days the ski-jumpers can train all year round as they have a special surface they put on the jumps.

The next part of the tour was sightseeing in Oslo and I will report on that in my next blog.

The tour I have just completed was called “The Grand Tour of Scandinavia” and it was exactly that a ‘grand tour’. Many thanks to Insight Vacations – this was the first bus tour I have done and would certainly consider another bus tour. We had a great Tour Director and a fabulous Bus Driver.

A typical scene of the black mountains, a frozen lake and snow.

The cruise on the Geiranger Fiord - just beautiful.

The Trolls Road Norway - so many hairpin bends! A wonderful experience.

 

On to Trondheim

I am not sure just how you describe several days travelling along the Norwegian fiords between snow capped mountains, waterfalls, picturesque farms, beautiful forests and several frozen lakes, I guess magnificent plus.

Our stay in Alta was a memorable one. We had an option to take a ‘Wilderness River Trip’ and most of the group decided to take the tour. What we did not realise was that the river trip was in open wooden canoes with outboard motors! Yes, they did move rather fast, but the scenery was again incredible and we saw a reindeer herd grazing in the forest. After the river trip we had afternoon tea by the river and that was lovely, tea or coffee and some home-cooked waffles, homemade strawberry jam and sour-cream, just delicious.

On the way back to the hotel we called into a husky dog place as two members of our group asked if they could do a husky-dog ride. The dogs were all very friendly and used to people coming to see them. In the winter they take people for sled rides and in the summer they have a buggy where you can ride through the forest.

We then travelled onto Narvik – again wonderful scenery. That night was a clear blue sky (almost) and this was out last chance to see the midnight sun. So we all went up to the top floor of the hotel and we did finally see the midnight sun! This is an incredible site, but in some ways rather bizarre as it is fully daylight. So glad I have seen it, as I may never travel to this area again.

The journey from Narvic to Mosjoen included a ferry trip. Again the scenery was wonderful – lots of snow capped mountains, homes and farms where people live all year round.

To get to Mosjoen we had to cross the Arctic Circle again. Where the Arctic Circle is, there is a roadside stop and there was a lot of snow on the ground. There is also a monument to the soldiers who passed away building this highway during WW2. Like most stories during WW2 this one is especially tragic and partly due to the horrific weather conditions.

Mosjoen is a very attractive small town. We had a couple of long travel days so we did get the opportunity to have a wander around the town. Because of the long hours of daylight, this is the time of the year when the locals have lots of music concerts out of doors and you see many families taking their children to playgrounds or walking in parks.

On our drive to Trondheim we stopped at Laksfoss Falls. These were huge falls and you can sometimes see Salmon jumping up the falls to breed. This was the wrong time of the year, but the falls were beautiful anyway.

On arrival in Trondheim we visited the Lutheran Cathedral – again a very old cathedral. Part of the cathedral was built in the 1200’s and finished in the 1700’s. It was a lovely cathedral, similar in architecture to St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne. The interior was very dull and quite dark. I would imagine in the winter months it could be very dark and cold.

When you travel through Norway you do see piles of stones near the side of the road or at roadside stops and camping areas. These are ‘trolls’ that people build, there are several versions of exactly why people make these. But, in general terms they are to bring people luck in their travels and to keep bad things from happening to them. You do see them everywhere. There is one basic rule – if you see a troll, you must leave it, and if you want to build a troll you must find your own stones.

Another custom is, that very often in homes you see lights hanging in windows or, people have a lamps in their windows – this again is to keep bad sprits away from their homes.

I am looking forward to more magnificent scenery in coming days.

Midnight Sun at Narvik, Norway.

Roadside 'trolls' in Norway.

The Arctic Circle roadside stop in Norway.

The North Cape & Honingsvag

As we were leaving the beautiful country of Finland, the tour leader said “folks, you will see some more big lakes today” – and he was right. I cannot believe how many lakes, streams & rivers there are in Finland. It is a magnificent country, so different to Australia and it has a really interesting history.

When you want a glass of water you turn on the tap and the water is ice cold, like you have just taken it out of the fridge. The water is also very pure and clear.

We did learn some interesting facts relating to the Chernobyl Nuclear disaster that happened in 1986. The accident was not originally acknowledged by the USSR. The Saami reindeer herders noticed that many reindeer were ill. They could not work out what was wrong with them. After many reindeer dying and with tests being done it was discovered they had radiation poisoning.  The rest is now, sadly history.

We had a stop at Karasjok which is the seat of the Saami Parliament. The “Samediggi” is an elected body for the Norwegian Sami, with representatives chosen by direct elections in constituencies all over Norway. Only registered Saami’s can vote.

The Sammi people have an excellent museum here as well. It is very informative and they have an wondeful display of traditional buildings. The temperatures in Lapland & this area of Norway are very severe – quite frankly I have no idea how people have survived over the many years and still survive today.

The annual temperatures vary from +20°C in the summer to -20°C in the winter. There are not many very hot days in the summertime. In the wintertime the temperatures may fall to minus thirty degrees a number of times, and the wind chill factor makes it feel even colder.

Usually about the 21^st December the daylight hours are only 2¼ hours per day!

You see many people travelling to this area at present in campervans, cycling holidays and many people go hiking. The weather is quite cold and there is a lot of fog around.

As we drove into Norway the geography and vegetation changed a lot. We crossed the border it seemed like only minutes and we saw our first fiord. Around the fiord and everywhere we have been since there are many smaller mountains that have huge drifts of snow still. The snow should melt in the next couple of weeks. The drive along this huge fiord was stunning – we think our Great Ocean Road drive is fabulous (and it is) but this is equally as good.

We did drive up to the North Cape which is an excellent viewing area for the midnight sun. However as we were driving up the fog came in and it was like ‘pea-soup’. Needless to say we had no hope of seeing the midnight sun at North Cape. There is however, an excellent information centre there and they show a film all about the area and the people and how they live and survive in the harsh climate.

We will have a couple of other nights when we may see the midnight sun!

As you drive to the North Cape the scenery is a bit ‘moon-like’ a lot of rocks and slate everywhere with some patches of the tundra grasses and many large snow drifts. You do see reindeer grazing along the roadside.

Before leaving the North Cape we were asked if we would like to do an optional tour – to take a boat ride from a small fishing village near the North Cape and see some bird nesting areas. This was a great tour and everyone who went said it was one of the best we had done. Even if we had not seen a bird, the scenery alone was magnificent. The birds we saw included Puffins – these were lovely, they have a white belly and black backs – other that a large beak you could be excused for thinking they were small flying penguins! We saw a huge variety of birds including the rare white-tailed eagle.

All through this area you see many racks where the locals dry fish. The dried fish is eaten as is and not cooked – presume it is a bit like jerky.

We have moved further into Norway to Alta – we have a couple of days here so we can catch our breath and have a sleep-in!

The racks used for drying fish. Nearby mountains still have drifts of snow.

A Puffin - could be a flying penguin!!??

At the Saami Museum, Karasjok.

Into the Arctic Circle

We have arrived in Lapland, northern Finland. The vegetation is starting to change a little. But, we are still driving through all the beautiful Silver Birch and Pine Forests. The trees are a bit smaller and there is more open land and you do see reindeer grazing on the new grass or looking for moss and lichen in the forests.

I cannot believe how many lakes and rivers there are here. Because the weather is good the reflections on the lakes are just beautiful.

We had a lunch stop at a lovely small market town called Oulu. I enjoyed wandering around and looking at the many stalls. Many of them sold food, traditional clothing & handcrafts and Reindeer skins.

Later that afternoon we arrived in Rovaniemi which is located on the Arctic Circle. We have had some really good tour guides on the trip, but the one here was exceptional.

*   We visited the Lutheran Cathedral that had the most beautiful fresco painting behind the Alter. It told the story of the people from this region. Next door to the Cathedral is a War Cemetery and we learnt about the role of Finland and the Finnish people during WW2. I did not know very much at all about this and I did find it very interesting.

*   Next stop was the City Hall and again it was very interesting to learn about the National & Local Government systems here. We had seen many people walking around dressed in their National Costumes – apparently there had been a large political conference in town and they were having a parade to celebrate the election of a new Party Leader.

*   A visit to a Pioneer Museum was really interesting and I do wonder how people survived here in past years.

*   Next on the agenda was a visit to the ‘Arctic Museum’ – a great place to visit and learn about the local Lapland people who are called Lappi’s and the Saami people. We saw a really good film that was all photographs of Lapland in all seasons. There were also a number of photos of the ‘Northern Lights’ (aurora borealis). You can only see the Northern Lights during the winter months. The colours were amazing. Our guide did tell us that even the locals, if they are out driving often stop and look at this amazing spectacle. We will not see these sadly, but we are hoping for a good clear weather night so we can see the ‘midnight sun’.

*   Later in the day we went to a Reindeer Farm. Reindeer farming is all done by the Saami people. They are the native people of Lapland. Lapland is a wide geographical area that covers Norway, Sweden & Finland and there have been Saami people in Russia too. We were met and greeted by a Saami family who took us to see some reindeer. These ones were very friendly as they are used to people coming to see them and during the winter they also pull sleighs for people to ride in. Their fur is very soft and their antlers were covered in velvet like skin. We were given some moss to hand feed them and they were all very friendly even the 2 reindeers who each had a baby. The reindeer are let loose in the forests this time of the year and they do fatten up. During harsh the winter months the Saami people handfeed them if food is scarce. The reindeer are used for meet and their skins are used for a number of products including shoes, clothing, handbags etc. We then had dinner at the Reindeer centre, and yes we did eat reindeer meat and it is very nice.

*   We are staying at the most wonderful hotel here. It is located about 28km out of Rovaniemi but in the most beautiful location. In front of the hotel there is a large lake that you can walk around and there are several chalets that families stay in during the winter. It is called Bears Lodge. Our cameras got a good workout here as the reflections in the lake were incredible.

Before leaving Rovaniemi we visited the Santa Village. This is a fabulous place for everyone but especially for children. It is Christmas all year round. Santa is of course there, as are his helpers. You can have your photo taken with Santa, and you can arrange for Santa to send special letters to children at Christmas. And, of course a great place to shop for anything Christmassy. The village is located exactly on the line of the Arctic Circle.

We have just arrived in Saariselka which is a few kilometres from the Russian border.

There are not that many large mountains in either Sweden or Finland and most of the skiing here is either cross-country or ski-jumping. However in Saariselka there is a smallish mountain that does have a ski lift and people do, do some downhill skiing. At the top there is a cafe and information centre and a lookout tower and you can see snow on the mountains in Russia from the lookout. You can drive into Russia from here there is a border crossing not far away. This is the region in Lapland where it is not unusual to have temperatures in winter anywhere between -20 to -40 degrees! Thank goodness it has been about +14 degrees today.

We are all hoping for a clear night tomorrow (with a blue sky) so we can see the ‘midnight sun’.

Oh - by the way, there is a pile of snow outside by room!

Beautiful reflections in Lapland.

Bear Lodge Hotel - a wonderful place to stay - great location.

Fresco in the Lutheran Cathedral in Rovaniemi.

Saami men in their National Dress.

En-route to Kuopio

We arrived in Helsinki at 10.00am and it was a beautiful sunny day. It was 9 degrees when we arrived and by the end of the day it was 16 degrees.

Helsinki Harbour is a very busy harbour as ferries run to and from many places including the Baltic States, Sweden and Russia.

The harbour has many small islands not that far from the shore. In the winter the sea freezes. The locals often ski on the frozen sea over to the islands. They can’t skate as the surface is too rough. People also walk to over to the islands.

On arrival in Helsinki we did a half day tour of the city area:

§  First we went to Temppeliaukio Kirkko - otherwise known as the “Rock Church”. This is unlike any church I have ever been to. It is an underground Rock Church and is built inside a massive block of natural granite in the middle of a residential square. The structure is barely visible from outside. You can only the copper dome poking out of the rock. Inside, the church is circular and enclosed by walls that are all bare rock. The ceiling is a giant disc made of copper wire that does resemble a basket. It is a normal church, but because of the quality of the acoustics they do have some music recitals and concerts there – an unusual but stunning building. There is a website so if you are keen to know more, just Google ‘Rock Church Helsinki’.

§  Sibelius Monument – this monument honours a famous Finnish composer. The monument is a contemporary sculpture that did create a bit of controversy when it was completed. It does however resemble the pine forests where the composer used to walk to get inspiration for his music – I thought it was a really nice contemporary sculpture

§   We did see the magnificent Lutheran Cathedral that is located on a high point in the city. It did remind me a bit of Sacre Coeur in Paris – a very large beautiful white building. On the square below the Catedral there was a promotional market. Each region in Finland was promoting food and goods from the different regions. It was interesting to see Reindeer skins, reindeer sausages, and many different kinds of biscuits and traditional cloth to make into traditional clothing.

§  We then walked about a block towards the harbour and there was a traditional weekly market that sold a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables and other food stuff. There were many food stalls that were popular with both the locals and the many tourists. You could eat things like salmon soup, fried whitebait, reindeer sausages etc. There were also stalls that sold some traditional handcrafts. Some of these were quite different and interesting.

§  Helsinki was where the 1952 Olympic Games were held. The stadium is used now for many sports and they do have a couple of statues there, one being of the “Flying Finn” Paavo Nurmi and one of Lasse Viren – he is the athlete who at the Munich Games fell over, got up and then won a Gold Medal.

The following day we travelled to Kuopio which is located in what they call ‘The land of 1000 lakes” but in fact there are more that 1.5 million lakes in Finland. Yes, the number is correct – some large and some small. It was not until we reached Kuopio and went up into a viewing tower that we could see just how much water there is in this area. This is a lovely town and we had the opportunity to walk down by one of the lakes that is also a harbour. People to do live on some of the islands and there are regular ferries that run like taxis or buses to and from the town.

Since arriving in Sweden and Finland I have been surprised by a few things:

(1) The roads are in very good repair. Considering the amount of snow they get they must work hard to keep them like they are.

(2) Along the freeways in both countries there is a solid wire fence about 2 metres in height that runs parallel to the freeways on both sides of the road. This is to keep the deer from running onto the road. 

(3) Travelling along one of the freeways, it suddenly became much wider with large yellow lines down the middle. Several freeways in Finland double as runways for planes. They can, and are sometimes used by the Military and also by emergency planes (e.g. ambulances, police etc).

(4) Driving into Kuopio we noticed in car parks besides apartments blocks a number of ‘power poles’ similar to what we see in caravan parks. In the winter people need to plug their cars into these overnight to keep the motors warm, otherwise the motors freeze. When they do bus tours here during the winter months, they need to plug the buses into a power outlet, but they also need to keep the bus motor running all night as well!

Where I am now, it is almost light 24 hours a day. Because the sun has been shining the locals are really making the most of it.

In this area the winters are very long, very cold (sometimes up to minus 40 degrees) and very long dark days. Children do attend school on a Saturday mornings. This is to make up for the hours when they cannot attend during the long dark winters. We have been told many people suffer from depression during the winter and I am not a bit surprised.

I have woken a couple of times during the night and it is daylight, at 3.00am! You do think you won’t go back to sleep, but so far I have. The hotels here all have dark curtains, but the light does seem to come in.

Fingers crossed that the weather continues to be kind to us.....

The 'Rock Church" - Helsinki, fabulous!

The Lutheran Cathedral - Helsinki.

Entry to the Helsinki Railway Station

  

Sweden / Stockholm

After the Ferry crossing from Denmark to Sweden it was a long drive (about 600km) to Stockholm. The drive was on a freeway but you did drive through a lot of forests (mainly beech & silver birch trees) and a lot of farmland. The wildflowers were lovely and again there are lots of lupins growing everywhere.

Most of the farm houses and farm buildings are painted a brownish red colour with a white trim. The reason for the colour is they mix a formula into the paint and that keeps mosquitoes and other small insects away from the windows. Buildings here do not have screens on windows.

We had a lunch stop at Lake Vattern and that was lovely as the sun did come out. The restaurant overlooked the lake and it was pleasant sitting out in the sunshine and enjoying the view.

Stockholm is a magnificent city situated on 14 different islands. The harbour area is very picturesque and you do see lots of people out and about soaking up the summer days and some sunshine. The winters here are very long and dark so as soon as the sunshine comes everyone takes advantage of it.

In the evening we went up to the TV tower on the edge of the city. It is 155 metres tall and there is an elevator that takes you to the top of the tower. The view is wonderful as you can see most of Stockholm from the top.

The next morning we had an excellent sightseeing tour of the city:

§  The ‘old town’ is just lovely and the old buildings are all intact. Sweden did not take part in either WW1 or WW2.

§  The Royal Palace does have guards and a changing of the guard ceremony a couple of times each day. The Royal Palace was open if you were prepared to queue up you could go inside.

§  It was a ’flag holiday’ in Sweden, in other words a public holiday so there were plenty of people out and about and lots of street entertainers.

§  We went to the Lutheran Cathedral and this was a very ornate but beautiful cathedral. There is an amazing wooden (oak) statue there of St George and the Dragon, it has been in the cathedral since 1489.

We had an optional tour to go to the Wasa Museum. My brother had mentioned this to me and said it was well worth seeing – and how right he was!

The ship (The Wasa) is a huge wooden oak ship that was built in 1628, but after sailing for about 1300 metres it sank. In April 1961 the Wasa was finally brought to the surface after years & years of planning. There has been much preservation work done on the ship but a very high percentage of what you see is original. This is a wonderful venue and was well worth visiting.

We did have time to stroll through the old city areas before getting on an overnight ferry to Helsinki.

Sailing from the Stockholm Harbour was an incredible sight as Sweden is located on a huge archipelago and the scenery was magnificent. I did wake during the journey at 3.00am, looked out my window and it was still light!

So far the weather has been kind to us - I just hope it continues......

The City Square in Stockholm.

A typical Swedish Farm house & farm building.

The magnificient Wasa Ship.

Copenhagen

Denmark is a much smaller country these days than in past times.  Originally Denmark took in both Norway & Sweden, however over the centuries there were many wars. Nowadays Denmark is made up of several hundred islands, plus Greenland.

Copenhagen is the capital city and means “merchant's harbour” because for centuries it has been just that. The harbour has changed a lot over the years and these days it is a modern container harbour, a departure point for many cruise liners, and the Danish Navy has a base on the harbour. The city also has a large canal system. In past years the canals were used to deliver goods and transport people. These days many people moor their pleasure boats on the canals and there is a tall ship harboured in one of the side canals. I took a canal tour and I think this is a wonderful way to get an overview of a city like Copenhagen.

I have joined a tour group here and it looks like being a busy 3 weeks.

The first evening of the tour we went to ‘Tivoli’ – in the days prior the 2^nd WW, ‘Tivoli’ was a garden with some entertainment there. During the German occupation they destroyed a lot of the garden to disillusion the people of Denmark. After the war years ‘Tivoli’ was redeveloped and today it is a mixture of stunning gardens, water-gardens, some great restaurants and a theme park. It is a popular place for locals to dine out and for the people of Denmark to visit and enjoy the large theme park.

Day 2 – we visited some of the ‘must see’ sights in the city including:

·        The ‘Little Mermaid’ statue. This represents one of Hans Christian Andersen’s stories. The poor little mermaid has suffered quite a bit of vandalism of recent years; her head went missing and then an arm! She has been restored.

·        The Royal Palaces – these are very different to what we see in the UK. There are no fences around the 2 palaces in the centre of the city. However armed guards do patrol each palace. When we walked into the square, we did notice a man riding a ‘transport bicycle’ with 2 children in it. No one took much notice as you see these everywhere, however our guide pointed out it was Prince Frederick taking the 2 older children to pre-school! Apparently he and Princess Mary try and live a normal lifestyle as possible.

·        The Danish Crown Jewels – these are quite different and not at all what I expected to see. There is a very ancient crown there that it is very intricately woven with fine gold threads. There were many jewelled swords and 2 amazing horse saddles that had gold threads woven through them and decorated with diamonds & pearls. The most recent crown jewels were beautiful – gorgeous crowns and several other jewels worn by the Royal Families. These days the Danish Kings or Queens do not have an official coronation like in the UK.

·        Frederiksborg Castle – these days this castle is the Museum of National History. It is a very interesting place to visit and quite different to what I saw in the UK. The ceilings here are nearly all very decorative plaster ceilings. The Chapel here is stunning and is still used as a church. At one end of the Chapel there are many shields dedicated to all the former Kings and to Heads of States from many countries (including Winston Churchill, The Emperor of Japan, Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandella and many more). Princess Mary does have a shield there. On her shield there are two, seven pointed stars that represent her former country (one point for each Australian State and 1 point for the Australian Territories). And as you would expect there were many of tapestries, paintings and furnishings were very old and quite beautiful.

·        Last on the list was a visit to the Royal Summer Palace. It s located in Northern Zealand – meaning ‘Land of the Seals’.

Because of road works, the bus was diverted and we had to drive through some gorgeous Danish country side and I was amazed to see Lupins growing wild everywhere. Many of the houses in the country areas have thatched roofs. The thatch is quite different to what you see in the UK. The northern side of the thatch needs to be replaced about every 20 years; however the south side will last for up to 30 years. If you need to rethatch your home, you need to book the Thatcher at least 2 years ahead. There is a shortage of Thatchers, so the government encouraged younger people to train in this trade. Apparently the campaign has been successful and there are now many apprentices. The material they use here are the reeds that you see growing around the many lakes and waterways.

The Beech Tree is the Danish National Tree, and we did drive through several beautiful Beech Forests. We saw a couple of very old Copper Beech Trees – these were a deep coppery red in colour and stood out from all the green trees that surrounded them.

When we finally reached the Summer Palace we found it was located it a delightful village and the grounds go down to one of the larger lakes. This is where Prince Frederick & Princess Mary had their wedding party and where the family lived until the Palace in Copenhagen was ready for them to move into.

One thing you do see in outdoor restaurants & coffee lounges is either (as I saw at Tivoli) sheepskins covering the chairs for warmth, or most places provide both outdoor heaters and blankets to keep you warm. Quite different to what we in Australia are used to!

On the last morning in Denmark we took a 20 minute ferry trip across to Sweden. There is a bridge and a tunnel, but it does have a very expensive toll so most trucks, coaches and cars still use the ferry service.

Tivoli in Copenhagen

The canals in Copenhagen

Where the Danish Crown Jewels are kept.

On to Denmark

As I type part of this blog - I am sitting on an ICE train (Inter City Express) to Copenhagen. Compared to the trains at home, this train is quite luxurious. I do have a Eurail pass, that entitles me to a first class seat and I must admit the seats are far more comfortable than most airline seats I have travelled in! I have just had my ticket checked and been handed a voucher to use in the buffet car. It is about a 5 hour journey from Hamburg to Copenhagen.

Travelling north I have already noticed several changes: the design of houses & farm buildings; different crops; many farm animals; and the change in vegetation. We have passed through several small forested areas and I am starting to see more Spruce Trees. I do love all the deciduous trees; everything is just so green compared to our often ‘burnt’ Aussie landscape.

Since I have been travelling people have asked about the Australian landscape and climate. Rather than try and describe it or even explain it, I have on several occasions recited the first few lines of Dorothea McKellar’s poem. “My Country” ....

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.

Lots of people know about the floods in Brisbane and other places in 2011, and are aware the long drought we had for many years, so the lines of the poem are just so true.

The train journey was very interesting. An announcement was made about 2 hours into the journey and I thought I had misunderstood the announcement!

And, no, I hadn’t – in about 20 minutes the train was going onto a Ferry!

My first question was “my goodness, how big is the ferry?”

There were two more Aussies in the same train carriage we were all amazed!

Yes, the train did go onto the Ferry, so did numerous cars, coaches, semi-trailers and smaller trucks.

Once the train was on the ferry, all passengers had to go up to the upper decks. The train was locked so all out luggage was quite safe. The Ferry went through the Danish Straits which is part of the Baltic Sea. The journey took about 45 minutes. On the upper decks of the Ferry there are numerous cafes, shops, money exchanges and a duty-free shop. All the shops seemed to do a roaring trade. The sea was a bit choppy. I did spend a bit of time outdoors as there are hundreds of wind turbines in the sea as well as many on land.

After the 45 minute crossing it was back on the train, the coaches, cars and trucks all moved off and there was queue of more vehicles lining up the return trip.

It almost seemed as the rest of the 2 hour trip was a bit boring after that bit of excitement!

I arrived in Demark about 6.30pm and it had started to rain a bit. I was waiting for a taxi and I struck an extremely rude taxi driver who refused to drive me. As it turned out the hotel was near the station (not that I knew where), however with the assistance of a couple of kind people in the taxi queue I did manage to find the hotel and settled in for a good night’s sleep.

The "Train Ferry" - beween Germany & Denmark

The train and cars on the Ferry!

The train and some trucks on the Ferry.

Hamburg - Germany

The day I left London was a huge day. First, the Eurostar to Brussels, and then Cologne and finally to Hamburg.

One thing I have noticed since arriving in Europe is the amount of graffiti, especially along the train lines. It has been nearly 5 years since I was in Europe and talking to people about this they agree, it has got a lot worse despite authorities trying to paint to out.

I have just spent 2 nights in Hamburg.

I was asked by several people “why are you going to Hamburg and why are you staying for 2 nights?”

My reason was that it was en-route to my next destination. After several people asking me why, I did wonder if I should have stayed somewhere else!

However Hamburg is a lovely city.

It is a very ‘green’ city with lots of parks and gardens and many large trees along most streets. It is evident that they want to keep it that way as you see many smaller trees that have been planted more recently. Because of my short stay I did take a Hop-on-Hop-off bus tour and that was a real surprise.

The city of Hamburg is a very ancient city and is the 2^nd largest city in Germany with a population of 1.8 million people.

The city sits on the River Elb and two of its tributaries the Rivers Alster & Bille and several canals. Many years ago part of the River Alster was dammed to make a lovely lake in the centre of the city. The lake is used by locals to walk or run around and for boating or simply just to enjoy as many people were. There are many large homes (mansions, really) along the river. Several years ago most had gardens down to the edge of the river. The local government then decided that the river front should be for all people to enjoy, they took land from the landowners and put a road between the houses and the river. These days there are lovely parklands for everyone to enjoy.

The City Hall is a beautiful building. The current building was completed in 1897 as the previous building was burnt down. They tell us that it has as many rooms as Buckingham Palace!  The City Hall has a large city square in front, and very close-by one of the cities canals.

Some trivia – There is a Men’s Club in Hamburg, the Anglo-German Club. However it does have one female member – The Queen!

The Hop-on-Hop-off bus tour went to many interesting places including St Michael’s Church that has a large spire that you can go up in, the Hamburg Harbour and that is huge. It also goes through the famous Red Light District – and is it a Red Light District! The tour guide did point out one street where females were not allowed to go! The whole area as you would expect has numerous shops (of all descriptions), nightclubs etc and the whole area does look a bit seedy. I must admit there was a bit of discussion among the passengers on the bus as we went through this area! This is the same area where, in the 1960’s the Beetles played at several of the clubs.

Hamburg is a musical city and has many lovely theatres. ‘Cats’ played here for 15 years and with full houses most nights! They are building a huge new concert hall that will be finished in 3 years.

I did walk back to my hotel along the some of the many pedestrian malls. Again, you come across small treed courtyard areas for people to enjoy.

Despite having some (initial) doubts about coming to Hamburg I have enjoyed my visit.

Hamburg City Hall

Lake Alster - in the centre of Hamburg