Göteborg 1.0 and 2.0, and Back to the Beginning

Here we go - a triple post!

Stockholm 1.0 and 2.0

Yes, I'm doing yet another merged post.  "Why is this," you may ask?  "It couldn't possibly be because you're doing less and less each day, is it?"  Well yes - actually it is.  Let's take a look at why.

Heading to Stockholm

Yesterday, I awoke peacefully to the sunlight streaming through the window.

Wait a second!  Wasn't I supposed to be up early to catch a train?! 0_0

Yes.  Yes I was.

Bergen 1.0 and Back Again

As much of today's time was spent on a train/bus/train/bus, I'm going to merge yesterday's and today's posts together. Yesterday ended up being the most (and only) sunny day in Norway, and boy did I spend it right!  I spent most of the day hiking up Mount Floyen near Bergen.  The view was wonderful - the trail was quite steep, so I just kept going up and up until the whole city lay spread out before me.

Trainin' to Bergen

Early yesterday morning, I packed up and headed to the Oslo Central Station to inquire about catching the train to Bergen.  To my surprise, I was able to secure a spot on the first train out that day, and my cross-country train trip began.  The scenery reminded me a lot of Alaskan and Yukon scenery, with massive mountains, lakes, streams, and forests.  I alternately napped and scene-watched on the 7-hour ride, and arrived in Bergen mid-afternoon.

Oslo 2.0

After the rather dismal failure that was yesterday, I spent the evening trying to get my bearings on the city, what it had to offer, and how I could make the next day better.  One of the first things I considered was the Oslo Pass - 230 kr for free unlimited public transit, and free entry to a number of museums.  After pricing out my other options, that seemed the way to go, so I stopped by the Oslo central station and purchased one.

Oslo 1.0

Alright, folks - I'll be upfront here.  I'm not in the best of moods, so if I seem to give Oslo an unfair treatment, please keep in mind that I don't much care right now.  I awoke this morning to the same weather I experienced the day before - overcast, humid, and tepid.  After slogging down a mug full of apricot nectar, I figured I may as well get things started.

An Evening in Oslo

After checking into my hostel, I decided to take stock of my surroundings.  My first move was to head south to the nearest ATM and get some Norwegian currency.  Following that, I intended to purchase some foodstuffs for the time I'd be staying in Oslo.  Finally, I wanted to get a general feel for my immediate vicinity, as well as the new culture within which I will be immersing myself.

Arriving in Oslo: Taking Stock

I've got a fair bit of downtime, so I figured I'd post a mini-update.  Maybe doing smaller, more frequent updates will give you guys a better sense of things as they occur.  If nothing else, it should help me not forget things.  Let's start with what happened so far today.

Sailing to Oslo!

Well, it's time to leave Denmark behind us, and make our way over to Norway!  There will be some miner changes involved with this - the language is superficially different, and we'll be using the Norwegian kroner instead of the Danish, although they're so similar in value that I'll simply use a generic "kr" unit in my financial tracking.

Burning a Day in Copenhagen

After getting to bed this morning at about 5:00 AM, I awoke at about 10:00 AM.  I'm trying to stay under budget as much as possible to help off-set a purchase I plan on making, and Anna (my bunk-mate and the Brazilian from the drinking group) doesn't have an extensive budget, so we both decided to see some more of the city for free.  We headed out to the Copenhagen botanical gardens.  They were pretty, but ultimately rather small, so we only spent about 20 minutes in the garden themselves.

Copenhagen, Yet Again!

Well this post is a bit behind the times, but I assure you that is because I have been busy.  In fact, I may be slightly drunk even now, as I am composing this lovely collection of sentences and paragraphs.  So please, gentle reader, if you find my grammar or syntax lacking or my style needlessly verbose and opulent, I plead your mercy and forgiveness in advance.  You wanted immersion, so here's some immersion for you!

Esbjerg 1.0...Oh, nevermind.

Today was full of fail.  My apprehensions from yesterday were evidently a mere preview for today.  Warning - the following post is rather boring and probably not worth reading.  Proceed at your own risk.

Heading to Esbjerg

Holstebro was enjoyably cozy, but as a small town there wasn't a whole lot to experience while I was there, so I decided to move on to Esbjerg.  Located about two hour by train to the south, Esbjerg is a moderately sized city on the west coast of Jutland.  Ferries run to and from the UK every 48 hours.  Unfortunately, my initial impressions are not all that wonderful.  This post will catch up the blog, so we'll see if today's events change that opinion at all - but for now let's discuss yesterday.

Holstebro 1.0

I woke up in my hostel room in the morning feeling refreshed and relaxed.  It's rather odd how the place changes in the daylight to a pleasant, if quiet hostel, rather than the nightmare-inducing terror-fest that it is at night.  Anyway, I woke up and headed down to the train station to meet up with a local I had met on the internet before the trip out.  She and I had numerous discussions regarding America and Denmark, and she was very helpful in answering questions about cultural differences, good locations to visit, and what I could generally expect.  As I was looking for a small town in Denmark to visit, and as Holstebro is located conveniently between Ålborg and Esbjerg, it seemed the perfect place to visit for a short while and hold a conversation in person.

Heading to Holstebro

I know what you're thinking. "Holste-what?" It's true - in terms of high-profile Danish cities, Holstebro doesn't exactly make a significant impression. This, however, is precisely why I decided to stop by - to get an idea of what small-town Denmark was like. The answer? Basically like big-city Denmark - just smaller. Who knew?

Ålborg 1.0

My first full day in Ålborg really represents a decline in sight-seeing and a rise in simply living within the culture.  As I've headed through Denmark, the cities I've stayed in have gotten progressively smaller, and the attractions and activities available at each one have become less touristy and more cultural.  Ålborg itself really drove this home - there wasn't a whole lot to see.  I still had a great time, however.

Heading to Ålborg

After packing up my bag, I started the day with a bounce in my step and a song in my heart (and my mp3 player).  I checked out of the hotel and walked toward the train station...


...and got lost.

Århus 2.0

Danish student cap

I decided to stay in Århus for one more day.  Not getting to bed until late the night before, I slept in until about 10:00, and headed out to find some lunch.  The first thing I noticed was a bunch of young people with what looked all the world like little captain's hats.  Knowing that Danish exams are this week, and noting the age of the wearers, I suspected it was some sort of graduation attire, and indeed it was.  With a bunch of new graduates looking to celebrate, maybe now my attempts at cracking the Danish nightlife will prove more fruitful.  For the time being, however, I headed to the Café Faust, and proceeded to have my first all-Danish dining experience.

Århus 1.5

After yesterday's run and breakfast, I decided to grab a bike and check out the shoreline.  Even though it was too cold for swimming, I figured I'd head up to Den Permanente anyway and see what it was like.

Heading to Århus

Sorry about the delay.  I didn't feel like writing much last night, so I slept for a bit - and here we go.  This post begins with Sunday morning in Copenhagen, and runs through Monday morning in Århus.

Tivoli

Tivoli was an interesting experience.  It consisted of about equal parts landscaped gardens, music stages, restaurants, rides, and carnival experiences (games/junk food).  After paying 75 DKK to get in, I spent a few hours walking around, looking for some good Danish food that wasn't at a large premium.  I found Café Georg, which was offering an interesting looking dish for 155 DKK: Hvidløgsristede Scampier (which I butchered quite horribly when I tried to pronounce it).  It consisted of scampi sautéed with tomato and garlic, served with a sauce made from what I believe to be sour cream seasoned with lime, garlic, chilies, and basil.

Copenhagen 1.5 (and 2.0)

First of all, my apologies for the long delay - I'm alive, I'm fine, I just have been having difficulty with wi-fi access.  This post will cover yesterday (Friday), as well as today thus far (Saturday morning).

Copenhagen 1.0

I set my alarm today for 7:30.  I awoke well after sunrise - at about 5:30.  I'm not sure how this whole "midnight sun" thing is going to mess with my sleep cycle, but I do at least know that I'm solar powered.  Not having anything else to do until breakfast at 8:00, I went on a 3.2km run.  15 minutes.

Copenhagen

I've arrived, I'm exhausted, and I'm hungry, so I'll keep this short.

On My Way...

Well, it's time for the 3-connection flight out to Copenhagen.  As I will be updating with my experience regularly over the next 18 hours or so, it doesn't make much sense to post a new blog post every time - so I'll simply update this post with details of the trip out.

Packing Considerations: Part III

With about 40 hours left before I hop a plane for Detroit before connecting through Amsterdam to Copenhagen, it's time to finalize my packing list.  Last post covered clothing, and this post will cover everything else.  As there were several questions regarding electronics, I'll get straight to those first.

Packing Considerations: Part II - Clothing

Sorry for the delay - I've been spending the last few days researching and finalizing my packing list, as well as ordering last-minute supplies (Fun Fact™: All university students can sign up for a free 2 years of Amazon Prime, which includes free 2-day shipping). We're going to touch on a couple different topics here, beginning with clothing and seeing what happens after that (actually, it looks like it will just be about clothing.  Apparently I have a lot to say on the subject!).  In case you don't remember from two posts ago, we're dealing with a 75L hiking backpack, and about 44lbs of packing weight available.  Let's get started!

Travel Plans - And (Gasp) An Advanced Reservation

I know, I know.  This trip was supposed to be done without advanced reservations.  But I have a really good reason for this one, I promise!  Let's start at the beginning.

Packing Considerations: Part I

I'd been holding back on posting about what I'll be taking with me, because I wanted to wait until I had a better idea of what my finalized packing list would look like before I did.  This, however, is completely backwards.  The benefits of this blog include brainstorming with my readers, tracking my thoughts, and having an easy reference to return to later.  So, while we most certainly won't get through the entirety of packing in one blog post, let's make some headway, shall we?

Setting the Stage: 2 Weeks Out

Greetings,

In two weeks time, I will be boarding a plane in America, and landing in Copenhagen, Denmark. This will mark the beginning of a 4 week immersion in Scandinavian culture. Armed with a small budget, a backpack of supplies, and a Danish phrase-book, I will be traversing three foreign countries trying to experience everything I can. What will make this trip fairly unique, however, is that there is no itinerary, no reservations, and no backup plan. I will literally be making up the entire trip as I go, and documenting every bit of it!