Bali Bound

Giant Flag in hotel Today is Oslo day!  We're starting the day with a city tour that includes Frogner Park, which my travel agent tells me is amazing. The weather yesterday was fabulous and now today it's rainy and a little cold.  All those capri pants I packed are just a space waster right now :(  I am amused that I've had the same umbrella since around high school.  But realistically I only use it on holidays as at home it's usually more of a heavy rainfall that is steady, whereas so far it is usually just little showers that pop up and are gone right away. The hotel I'm staying at is really big.  All the rooms are around a giant atrium that currently has a giant Norwegian flag, to commemorate their national day I suppose.  I have learned that the Danes were the one who spent all their time conquering the the other Scandinavian countries.  Denmark was actually the largest European country at one point.  So the Norwegians are excited to ...

Day 3 Wow, how is it already day 3 and a new country?  It really feels like this trip is flying by already. Hamlet castle in Denmark, viewed from ferry Today we're leaving Copenhagen behind and heading to our next destination of Oslo, Norway.  Norway isn't actually attached to Denmark so we will be driving through some of Sweden along the way to get there.  And while they have the very exciting Oresund bridge, that starts as a bridge and then goes underwater as a tunnel to cross from Denmark to Sweden, we're taking the ferry because it's far cheaper and probably just as fast. The ferry is really fast, only 20 minutes.  Barely enough time to get upstairs and get comfortable before you head back down. We've made it to Sweden, and it is actually the 4th largest country in Europe which I did not expect.  It's actually just a little smaller than Alberta, with over twice the population.  I am only seeing a very small part of the country as the Scandi...

The brooder Day 2 Today started with our city tour.  We stopped at the Carlsberg Glypotek to see the brooder statue.  And if you're thinking, hmm, doesn't Carlsberg make beer, you would be correct.  The beer makers in Denmark are big supporters of the arts and Carlsberg contributes a hefty amount of their profit to the arts, hence an art museum.  They had lovely gardens and a variety of statues around the building to enjoy for free. Royal reception room The tour also included the Royal reception rooms of Christiansborg Palace.  These are the actual reception rooms and are quite amazing.  We even had to wear little blue booties to protect the floors.  The rooms aren't overly ornate and covered with gold leaf but are more simple and seem to have a big focus on animal motifs.  I'll be honest, I knew that Denmark has a royal family, but I don't really know much more than that sadly.  The Danes are very prolific as a royal family and ...

Day 1 *note on blogging, many of the Scandinavian words have umlauts, lines through letters, dots and the like.  I have no desire to be so accurate as to spend extra time to insert these properly so I'm not going to.  Also, I didn't write any of that down so I'm not looking it up either!  So if you see things and think 'hey, that should have a line through the o', I'm doing it on purpose.* I survived the Keflavic airport quite nicely.  Usually an hour to change planes is a bad plan when the only back up flight is 12 hours later, but we arrived early and the airport is small and moves you through efficiently.  I was amused on the plane that we were a mere 400 km from Churchill, if we were lower and it was a different time of year maybe I could have spotted some polar bears.  And I feel like in this world of information at our fingertips that perhaps people can do a little research.  Passengers behind me were asking the flight attendant if there was...

So I head home tomorrow afternoon.  It feels like I just left and it feels like I've been gone forever. I have however had a great time in Iceland.  I am glad that I booked things to do because all I really want to do is nap. The time change is 3 hours behind Helsinki so that is throwing me off too. My hotel is a bit further than I realized.  But they do offer free bus tickets.  Or you can walk and it's only about half an hour to the harbour.  I walked so I could wake up a bit before dinner. Yesterday I wandered around reykjavik for a bit.  Everything was closed but it's a charming little town.  Had some great fish and chips. Today I did a city tour that included quite a bit of stuff not in the beaten trail so it saves me some time having to walk and find all these places.  And this afternoon I did the golden circle tour.  It includes a waterfall, a geyser and a lookout into the valley. Tomorrow I have a boat ride planned.  He...

The trip to Tallinn was a really good day.  The ferry back was quite chaotic.  It seems as though there is some sort of floorball competition going on in Scandinavia as there were tons of sports teams dragging huge bags around and that's what they were telling people they were playing.  We saw a few teams on our overnight ferry as well. But I am in the airport in Helsinki which means that my official tour is over and it's just me for the next 2 nights.  I do have time to explore tonight as the sun doesn't set until 11 so it will be nice and bright for awhile after I get there .  Which is good because my days are filled with planned adventures. Also, I will be really happy to be able to blog on a proper computer.  The tablet likes to make up words sometimes...

 I am currently on the ferry to Tallinn, Estonia.  It is a little farther than I expected, about 2 hours.  But mind you, 2 hours in any direction from Edmonton will get you in farmland.  You could go see the egg in Vegreville. The Baltic Sea is a busy place.  This will be my 4th visit on the water.  Although a few of those trips were in the harbour area. The overnight ferry was an interesting experience.  And if it was anything like a real cruise I don't think I would be interested in going in an actual cruise.  There was stuff to do, had a few shops and restaurants and the cabin wasn't too bad.  But I found it a little boring and there was nowhere to go explore! Helsinki is a lovely city.  I do think I've seen pretty much everything by now.  Had a delicious dinner at a Mexican restaurant last night.  Mexican food in helsinki felt like a strange find but I went with it. I find it hard to believe that I am off to Icelan...

Stockholm is a gorgeous city.  It's got a Parisian vibe but with better greenery.  It's good that the city is so nice because I have a lot of time here compared to the other locations.  Yesterday afternoon and evening, all day today and tomorrow until 3.  Wow.  I might need to do some more research for things to do. I did the city tour, we saw city hall which was amazing.  Also the Abba museum, I don't think I was old enough to appreciate that. I did another boat cruise through the lake and sea surrounding Stockholm.  I guess I enjoy the water when I can because that isn't an option at home! The weather is really great today which is a nice treat compared to the rest of the trip.  I really could have used a light jacket. Tomorrow I get to do my overnight cruise on the Baltic Sea to Helsinki!  I'm excited about that as its something very new for me!

It has been a few days since I blogged.  Due to the hotel wanting a blood sample and toe (it feels like that!) for free internet I am using the computer downstairs.  The keyboard is a Nordic one with the æ and å keys, so do not mind any weirdness. I am in Oslo today.  I depart in the morning for Stockholm.  I cannot believe it is already the third country tomorrow.  Travel day yesterday was okay.  The scenery on the drive was quite amazing.  And amusingly I saw 4 different Ikea stores along the way.  3 of them were in Sweden.  Way to hold the stereotype true.  And there is one in Oslo as I saw people carrying bags with new purchases... It has been a rainy day today.  But I am only here for the one full day so I made the best of it and saw a huge part of the downtown area, where most of the sites are. I did spend a good chunk of time on the Oslofjord.  Also, fjord is a fun word. But I will save the good stories for the ...

Had a busy day today.  One catch with this tour is that you are offered a lot of extras that you have to pay for.  Today's was the castle from Hamlet.  Which I'm sure would have been fabulous but I wanted to spend more time in Copenhagen.  So I did! I saw more of the harbour and the canals on foot.  I went up the round tower for some great city views and I toured Rosenberg palace. And included was a ticket to Tivoli to use when I wanted.  I thought about waiting until it got dark to see it all lit up but I'm leaving early in the morning so I just went and wandered after dinner.  It was an interesting place and I really enjoyed all the gardens there. Tomorrow we head to Oslo, it's a bit of a drive so probably not much for excitement but a rest day is always good too!

I have arrived.  In a quest to maximize time and stave off jetlag I had a busy afternoon.  Because the lesson I learn over and over is that jet lags enemy is motion! I walked down to Nyvahn, I might be spelling that wrong.  I took the fancy pedestrian street there and ended up going on the canal cruise.  It was a great way to see the city from the water. Then we had our welcome dinner.  Tour is small with only 35 people.  Does mean I get my own seat! Tomorrow we are doing a city tour and then I'm exploring the city on my own in the afternoon and evening with a visit to Tivoli, their famous amusement park. Also, I am in Copenhagen, Denmark.  Or as they call it: Kobenhavn, Danmark.  I still haven't really figured out why we still use the English version of names but it helps to figure out both words and go from there.  And they speak good English here to my relief. And if any of this sounds like gibberish I've been awake for 30 hours...

Yes, it is holiday time again.  And yes, it has only been 6 weeks or so.  Just the way things worked out this year.  And happily, by the time I get home spring should be fully here and that will be fabulous. I am heading on another bus tour.  There is really something about the bus tour that I enjoy.  It's well organized, I see a lot and I put in little effort and have a good time. Scandinavia will be 6 countries (I hope) in a little under 2 weeks.  Yikes! I start out in Copenhagen, Denmark; travel to Oslo, Norway; head to Stockholm, Sweden; take an overnight ferry cruise to Helsinki, Finland; a day trip to Tallinn, Estonia; and a stopover courtesy of Icelandair in Reykjavik, Iceland on the way home. I have high hopes for this trip.  It'll be a lot of adventure and I think a nice mix of city with a bit of nature.  And I should get a bit more of a break from my fellow passengers with more free time in the cities. Stay tuned for the adven...