Showing posts with label europe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label europe. Show all posts

Monday, August 9, 2010

traveling Europe Summary Part 6

Finally back in scandinavia AKA Copenhagen, Denmark

Traveling from Amsterdam to Copenhagen, there were no direct trains, we had to backtrack two hours, change trains four times, stop in Hamburg, take a ferry and stand/ sit on the floor since the last train was more than fully booked. Sounds like fun you say? Actually, it turned out to be the best leg of our journey by train. When stopping at a station to wait on the next train, you get to look around, breathe some fresh air and stretch your legs. We ate a hamburger in Hamburg and was amazed when the train drove onto the ferry. When we arrived in Denmark they even attached a second train set in order to supply everybody with seats for the last two hours of the ride.


Already having booked a hostel, we crossed our fingers and hoped it would be better then the one in Amsterdam. It sure was. The staff was friendly and helpful, rooms/ bathrooms were clean, we hooked up with some nice people and we had a barbeque. Denmark has got it figured out, being able to buy alcoholic beverages all hours of the day all days a week. Norway has got something to learn. Good ecological beer and food at decent prices.


First thing, our first priority was to scour some good arabica. Meaning first stop = Coffee Collective, whenever you visit copenhagen make at least one stop at their location in Jægersborggade. I had a clean and crisp guatemalan aeropress brew. Picked up some beans and on our way to do some shopping. Natural stops were among others Henrik Vibskov and Woodwood, I purchased a sweater and four pairs of socks. Some more shoppimg went by, then dinner, then it was time to get some shuteye.


Tuesday, was spent in the Industrial art and design museum. It was alright, but It was a little bit disappointing. The one in Oslo has a much better collection and is free of charge as well.
For anyone interested in design I´d recommend the DDC (Danish Design Center) instead.
The evening was spent in the Tivoli.


Last day started out checking out of the hostel, then chilling some more at the Coffee Collective. Slowly we made our way to the docks through the cemetery, and downtown.
There is something really serene about walking through a cemetery, paying your respects to the greats that have passed. It puts your mind at ease, maybe more if you´re not carrying heavy luggage. We stocked up on provisions and boarded the Oslo-bound ship. I can´t think of a better way to finish our trip. Next morning we arrived in Oslo and walked back home.

It was a good trip and a lot of new experiences have been made, I woudn´t ave missed it for the world and am good for another adventure. Alright, this is the last travelpost and I hope you readers(if anybody reads this crap) have not been bored. Thanks for staying with me.
...Lars

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

traveling Europe Summary Part 3




No sleep in Vienna


Waking up in switzerland, we wanted to chill a bit before boarding the train to Vienna.
So we started out with a picnic by the lake, I guess it should come as no surprise that we ate, yes you guessed it. Swiss cheese in the lovely Gruyere version stored for twelve months in a grotto. Yummy. After that, we explored parts of town and hopped on a train bound for austria.
Taking the train when traveling provides the possibility to sit and draw, so I drew.

Going through the alps, we saw some amazing scenery. It was all quite reminiscent going through the mountain range in Norway really. Beautiful. It was a direct train, so no changes. We arrived in Vienna at fifteen minutes to midnight. To say the least, we felt pretty tired after traveling all day. Since we had not booked any accommodation beforehand, finding a place to sleep seemed to be an impossible task.

A great many thanks to Wombats hostel who phoned around to check for availabilities as well as letting us sleep in the lobby and give us a free beer. This is where you´d want to stay if you are in Vienna. Real cool place.

Next we had to get up real early to get to Berlin.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Traveling Europe Summary Part 2





Switzerland

Day two started out hopping on a train out of Paris, something we found out to be harder than we´d actually thought. In france, they have a quoatation system for interrail-travelers, with a limited number of seats per train, in some instances none. Basically we were told there were no availiable trains out of paris until monday. we were not too keen on spending another night, so we found a way. This is a secret and a mystery. taking the TGV was incredible, moving at 300km/h we crossed france in about four hours. There was a quick stop in strasbourg, on the german border to change trains.


Then we took the slow train to Basel, a very interesting city bordering Germany and France, that meaning it has got suburbs in three countries. Too bad we missed out on both The Basquiat exhibition as well as floating down the river. After cruising, we picked up a basket of raspberries and pushed onvards to Zürich.


For me Zürich was wan of the nicest cities I´ve been to, even though we had to spend the night in a kitchen. One of the cleanest places, very bike friendly, even it geographical location, by a large body of water going up into the hills of the mountain. it reminded me of a cleaner, better Oslo really. Also, I was impressed by the banking in Switzerland, it has come so much further, showing your own currency when you pay by plastic. Nice. Definitely a place for the future, Only one disappointment... Coffee, having to go to S-bux for a cuppa joe is always a defeat.


Of course, being in switzerland brought an opportunity to pick up a swiss timepiece, so I did.
Really happy with my Swatch, classical and real simple, how a watch ought to be. setting me back about 60 CHF (swiss francs) not a bad deal at all.


On to Vienna.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Summertime traveling.

I just came back from traveling by interrail these past two weeks, and I though I´d give you an update. This might be a bit lenghty with a lot of pictures, but be patient and enjoy.
This was our itinerary:
17.07 Oslo- Paris
18.07 Paris- Basel- Zurich
19.07 Zurich- Vienna
20.07 Vienna- Berlin
23.07 Berlin- Amsterdam
25.07 Amsterdam- Hamburg- Copenhagen
28.07 Copenhagen- Oslo

Following, I´ll post day by day as it went along.
Starting Monday.