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DAY 18 - Copenhage / Riso

Train to DTU

On my second day in Copenhagen and on my own, I got up early (a little hung-over) and headed west to the small town of Risø, where DTU has their wind energy campus. I had a bit of trouble figuring out the Danish train system. There was no information booth at the station and the urban, local, and regional lines were all mixed together. I bought some sort of ticket and got on a train, hoping that I had done it right. Apparentely I did, because the conductor didn’t throw me off. My train arrived in Roskilde where I waited for the bus to Risø. When I arrived, I had to go through a security gate because the campus was built around a discontinued nuclear reactor. I was shown around by a very friendly PhD student and got to see their campus, offices, and testing facilities. It was cool to see in person the laboratories and experiments I had read about in technical papers during my education. We had a not-so-great lunch at the cafeteria, and then listened to a guest lecturer talk about his research on fluids and structures. I left feeling very positive about the university. Most of the students commute from Copenhagen, which had been a very appealing city to me. I am strongly considering applying to DTU in the coming year! When I got back to the hostel, I went to take a quick nap before the evening started. When I woke, I met two dorm-mates who were from the University of Michigan. One was from the tiny town of Homer, MI, and he couldn’t believe that someone in Copenhagen new the little town he was from. Small world :) I ventured down the street to get dinner, and stopped at a burger joint. I got a veggie burger with a unique twist. Instead of using a bean or tofu base, they blended spinach and pine nuts with egg to make a delicious and nutritious paddy. I did have to pay extra for water and a side of sauce, though. After dinner, I went walking around the city for a few hours until the sun fell below the buildings. I stopped for a tea, and then found a huge arbor/graveyard with tombs from centuries ago. I really liked Copenhagen during my short stay. One of my favorite things was the bike culture. For once, bicycles outnumbered the cars on the road, and the cyclists were given the right of way by drivers. I returned to the hostel around 9 to watch the first game of the Euro2016 tournament, Romania vs the hosts, France. There was a lounge, but it was filled by a bachelor party, so I sat akwardly in another area and watch the screen from afar. Looking at the rooms from a distance, there was plenty of space, but upon entering, every seat was taken by “a friend who’s coming soon.” There was no audio for the game, and starting at half time, the DJ turned up the dance beats to a level above comfort for someone casually sitting. During the final 5 minutes, a private party left their dining room to dance in front of the TV, oblivious of the group seated in a semi-circle. So, lesson learned: watch sports at a sports bar, not a hostel. After the game, I played a bit of foosball with people from austrailia, wales, and local danes. Danes speak excellent english with almost an american accent, so it was very easy to communicate. I went to bed, wishing I had planned for a few more nights in Copenhagen!

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DAY 19 - Leaving Denmark

I got up early and packed quietly in the dorm. I walked down to the lobby and did a final check of all my gear. *Wallet, yes. Phone, yes. Passport. Oh better check my bag. Wait… where’s my passport. Maybe in my pants from yesterday? Nope. Loose in the bag? Nope. Where could it be??? *Oh. In my hidden travel security belt around my waist. I guess it’s pretty well hidden if I can’t find it myself. ;) After that scare, I headed down to the train station, walking through the cobblestone pedestrian streets of Copenhagen. I stopped for a breakfast at a pastry shop. I asked for advice in choosing one, and was recommended to take a cinnamon roll. Mmm. Waiting on the platform for my train to Hamburg, I bumped into the family from Vegas who had been on my previous train. Sure enough, we were seated next to eachother again on the train to Germany. About midway through the train ride, an announcment came over the PA that we were boarding a ferry and we’d have to leave the car. I guess I had expected a bridge to Germany, but instead we crossed by boat. The train loaded onto a massive ship and we had to go up to the deck for 45 minutes. I had a lunch of fried fish and frites, which was not too bad considering it came from a ferry cafeteria. We reboarded and arrived shortly in Hamburg.

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DAY 17 - Stockholm to Copenhagen

Headed out on my own, I said good bye to my mom and brother at the hotel and walked down to the train station. I had purchased a Eurail pass, so I went to the information desk to make sure everything was in order. It was pretty simple: I needed my pass and my passport, and they gave me a validation stamp. I should note for other travelers that the pass itself does not get you onto every train. Most long distance trains require a reservation. Also, some passes require you to purchase 1st class if you are over the age of 26. This was the case for my “europe select pass”. So, I boarded my 1st class seat (which isn’t all that much better than 2nd) on the train to Copenhagen. I was seated next to a family from Las Vegas, so I chatted with them for a bit. This train had easy to use wifi, so I tried to work out how to use my newly purchased Comviq prepaid simcard. No success. When we arrived in Copenhagen, I climbed up the stairs from the platform to face a new city alone. I was immediately greeted by screams from the amusement park across the street. A city center roller coaster? Copenhagen has it. My walk to the hostel took me through winding streets of old buildings. I could have taken a metro, but I think that walking is the best way to acquaint yourself with a new city. No regrets! I loved the old architecture, the colorful facades, and the boat filled canals. I eventually reached my hostel, ran to the atm, and checked in. This place was much different than my hostel in Chicago. Not so much in style, but just in scale. There were 6 floors, with the whole place probably capable of housing 300+ people. The ground floor had a bar, a lounge, a dance floor, a huge patio, a game room, and a private dining hall. When I go to my room, I met an Australian muy-thai fighter on the bunk next to me. There’s lots of Australians traveling around, and they’re generally good company. Having not eaten since breakfast, I went out in search for food. I found a pizza place that served a 25 krona slice, so I took it down to a nearby square to eat. The square happened to have an international market that night, so after my pizza, I strolled through lines of delicacies from all over europe. The market ended at the start of the well known Nyhavn, a promenade of colorful buildings and patio restaurants along a canal of fantastic sailboats. I ended up having a 45 kr beer at the hostel, and then going with the aussie to have several 20 kr beers down the street (same beer, half the price). It was a good night, but I had a gentle reminder the next morning that I need to take it easy on the booze if I want to survive 2 months of traveling. When you are not working and are visiting exciting new cities, it’s hard not to treat every night like Saturday!

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DAY 16 - Last Day for Swedish Adventure Wednesday was a special day. Not only because it was our final day to spend in Sweden, but it was also my wonderful mother's birthday! We went out for lunch to a cute bakery and had 'princess cake' with her. Then we headed down to the docks and caught a ferry out to Vaxholm. The city of Stockholm is situated on an archipelago, meaning that there are miles of small islands between it and the open sea. I don't think we have anything like this in the US. The ferry took about an hour to get to the little town of Vaxholm, built around it's once important coastal fort. We went for a walk and had some icecream before we took the ferry back. There was a market setting up on the docks as we were waiting for the boat, so we browsed local swedish goods. When we landed back in Stockholm, we went out for our last dinner in town. We went to a indian restaurant with excellent cuisine. Their tikka masala had an orange flavor to it that made it unique. Then we returned to get a good night's sleep before a day of travel.

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DAY 15 - Back to Stockholm Not a lot going on this day. We packed our bags and head back over the bridge and north to Stockholm. For lunch, we stopped at a pizza-kebab shop. These seem to be pretty common, and I love it! I'm usually hungry for one of those two things, if not both. After an epic duel with city traffic, we dropped of the tank back at the rental lot. I had to take care of some business, so I was on my own for dinner. I went out an got a replacement for my confiscated multi-tool, a simple swiss army knife. I don't carry it around now, and it doesn't have pliers, so it's not as handy. I also a picked up a SIM card for my phone. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it work with my phone. It was difficult to trouble shoot when all text was in Swedish... For dinner, I grabbed a sandwich at the train station and ate it back at the hotel. I did some of my laundry in the sink and discovered that jeans take longer than two days to air dry in a hotel. Lesson learned!

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DAY 14 - Öland Rested and ready to go, we headed north on Öland to the capital of Borgholm. We tracked down a nearby church to find the family grave of a relative. My mother had been in contact with a distant cousin in the US, who had given us tips on coming to the island. Sadly, she passed from cancer a few weeks before we left. My mother offered to take her ashes to the family churchyard where her father and ancestors were buried. After the church, we drove into the town of Borgholm and walked through its shoplined streets. We stopped for lunch and ate out on the patio in the sunshine. I decided to eat something green for a change and got an excellent ceasar salad. After we got back to the hotel, Marcus and I utilized the hot tub and pool to complete the relaxing stay. We dined at the hotel restaurant again that night. I ordered the "rainbow trout", which in Sweden means salmon. I guess if you don't have the american steelhead, a pink colored fish in the trout family could be called rainbow. A little confusing, but not a problem. We finished off with crème brûlée and then went to pack our bags for the next day's journey.

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Between Storkykan and Nobel, we ducked out of the rain in a small cafe. While my mom and brother enjoyed their french onion soup, I delved into Swedish Cuisine with a plate of “three types of herring and boiled potatoes.” Unfortunately, it was my first disappointing meal of the trip. I’ve had herring that I’ve liked, but all three of the sauces seemed uncomplimentary to the fish. Each seemed sickly sweet instead of complementing with savory notes. I guess I prefer my fish salty instead of sugary. But despite this set back, the day was a culinary success! We headed back north, past the beautiful brick of Stockholm city hall. We had problems getting into restaurants the night before, so we had made reservations at Stockholm Fisk. I tried not to get my hopes up, knowing that a high price tag does not guarantee quality, but the chef’s definitely delivered. I ordered pike-perch with scallops in a lobster butter sauce. Carrying the richness of the sauce, my first bite into the celery announced that the flavor was on point. But perhaps more impressive was the flakey texture of the fish. In the Midwest, cod and other white fish are notorious for being cooked to a chewy consistency. Not in Stockholm! The vikings know how to treat their treasures from the sea. Speaking of Vikings, we headed back to Gamla Stan after dinner to Aifur Krog, a pub and restaurant themed after the norse warriors. We pushed through a crowd of young swedes and foreigners to order at the fire-lit bar. Fresh beer and mead were poured into our earthenware goblets and we drank on fur covered benches at old wooden tables. Musicians played historical strings and drums, while patrons sang, banged, cheered, and chanted along. Could this bar exist in America? Yes, but it would be a kitschy medieval times sort of place. But, somehow the Swedes made the Viking experience enjoyable while keeping the cheese relegated to their dinner plates. This was definitely one of the most memorable bars I’ve been to and I’d recommend it to any thirsty traveller wandering the old town.

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DAY 4: Part 2 Between Storkyrkan and Nobel, we stopped off for a bit of lunch to get out of the rain. Wanting to delve into Swedish cuisine, I ordered "three types of herring and boiled potatoes." Unfortunately, I must give my first negative food review. The herring was submerged in three different sauces, all of which seemed too sweet for the fish. One was a mustard, one a vinegar, and one a sort of white mayo. Since then, I've had herring that I enjoyed, prepared in the same style, but with a less sickly-sweet sauce. #itsnotthefish_itsthefastfoodhoneymustard Despite this set back, the day was a culinary success. We returned to our hotel with a short stop at beautiful Stockholm City Hall, and then went to an excellent seafood retaraunt. At Stockholm Fisk, I ordered the pike-perch and scallop. When it arrived, my first bite was into the celery that had soaked in the lobster sauce. When the cooked celery tastes fit for the king's table, you know that the fish will be good! Maybe it was the freshness, maybe it was the kitchen, probably it was both, but the fish was soft and delicate. I've stopped ordering white fish in the midwest because every cod and halibut ends up chewy. Not the case in Stockholm! The vikings certainly know how to prepare the treasures they find in the sea. Speaking of vikings, my brother and I headed back to Gamla Stan after dinner to drink at a viking bar. Aifur Krog marked its entrance with a sign of glowing runes. We walked into the crowded bar above the restaraunt, ordered our mead and beer, and sat on fur covered benches at a wooden table. Mostly lit by fire, the interior felt older than the historic district which held it. Visiting musicians played on drums and strange strings, while patrons sang, chanted, and banged their mugs on the table. If we tried to copy this bar in the US, it would be kitchy and gimmicky. But, the scandanavians were able to make it enjoyable without feeling like a Disney exhibit. Did I mention the mead was an amazing ambrosial honey drink? I'd definetly recommend any thristy travellers to stop in here.