Day 3
Wow, how is it already day 3 and a new country? It really feels like this trip is flying by already.
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| 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 Scandinavian countries are a touch more north than Edmonton, meaning they all have the midnight sun at some part of the year and a large portion of the northern area where there is little to no population.
I find it highly amusing the types and designs of money countries us. The US is very alone in their style of bills. Everywhere else I've been has bright and colorful money with important figures, moments and cultural elements important to them, aside from just political leaders. On that note, this trip is using a wide variety of currency. Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Iceland all use the kroner. But a different kroner for each country. Finland and Estonia use the euro. Needless to say this trip has had me having to keep track of all the different types and making sure I'm using the right currency in the right country. So on trips like today our guide is really having to make sure that we are aware of which country we are in. Some very touristy places will also accept the Euro or even US dollars, but not too many of them. And one strange thing is that the kroner is very low in value. You had to divide by about 6 to get the value in Canadian dollars. So this means that they've all but eliminated cents from the money. Their equivalent to cents are called ore, but they don't use it. It does mean that nothing is ever cheaper than a dollar. This took a bit to figure out with the coins that you do get. That they are like loonies and toonies, not quarters and dimes.
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| Parks in Gothenberg |
Our lunch stop was in Gothenberg, Sweden. We did have time for a quick drive around the city. It's always such a surprise to see all these larger cities without any sort of easily identified downtown. Along with that they don't have a lot of single family housing. The vast majority in the city center are 6 story apartment buildings. I'm going to guess that that is the limit as the cities do have some history and want to preserve it. The apartments are also why all the countries brag about all the parks they have. But I look at it as they have plentiful parks, but they are more of communal backyards than parks. It is still lovely to see these very green cities, and they usually make an effort to make the parks attractive with flower gardens and ample trees.
As for companies that are familiar, 7-Eleven is a major player in Scandinavia. I've seen one in almost every city. Also, the one in Oslo sold frozen yogurt. Why do our 7-Elevens not sell frozen yogurt? And there is always the McDonald's, Burger King and Subway everywhere too.
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| Canal in Gothenberg |
Sweden is the odd country out with pay toilets. Which is unfortunate when you don't have any change. However, I did meet up with some people on the tour and we helped each other out. It was a special moment. The theory was that you paid to get in and have a light, only the light didn't actually work. So we held the door open a crack so you could see a little. And figured that for no light we didn't need to pay.
I have arrived in Oslo, the land of the trolls. They do very much believe in trolls, or at least they like to share the legends quite often. The real secret is that trolls only have 4 toes and sometimes a tail, so that gives it away. It mostly just meant that all the stores had a lot of troll stuff to buy.
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| Oslo Parliament building |
The hotel in Oslo is in a good location, right downtown by the train station. I do have a very tiny room here. It's another single room, with just enough space for me and my stuff. But barely. Since I was so close to seeing things I went out for a bit of an exploration walk before dinner. The hotel is only a block or so away from Carl Johan street, another pedestrian friendly shopping street. I did have to laugh the next day to see how close I got to all the major sites we toured the next day without me realizing it. I didn't have too much time as I did have to get back in time for dinner at the hotel but I did see the lovely harbour, saw the parliament building and many of their lovely squares, fountains and statues of Norway. All surrounded by beautiful tulip displays.
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| Tulips of Oslo |
I'm amused by how the people of Norway are also big potato eaters. Good for me! We had these delicious little potatoes at nearly every dinner meal. They also make aquavit with potato water. They fill old sherry barrels with this potato water and ship it to Australia and back by boat. Meaning that you can see the dates of the 2 trips across the equator on the bottle. I never did find any bottles of this in the duty free stores to see for myself however.
I did enjoy my little bit of Oslo and am excited to explore more of it in depth tomorrow!
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