A Day of Firsts and More - by Dale

I was very restless last night thinking of all the things we had to do as we headed out of Copenhagen in the morning bound for Stockholm. I am learning the hard way that I struggle adjusting to new places and the challenges of navigating around in them. It takes me a while to get my bearings and confidence to launch out into new countries, with their language, local customs, fast pace and different ways of getting around. Last night, I imagined all the things that could go wrong as we made our departure using Eurorail for the first time. Laurie helped ground me again with reminders of what we have done before and how things work out after some inevitable bumbling around.

Our actual bus trip to the train station was smooth without a hiccup. Arriving early we were able to move our reservation and catch an early high speed train saving two hours, dropping the need for a transfer and picking up a complimentary breakfast to boot. All that before 9 AM. Good luck like this helps later when surprises and setbacks appear.

Our train ride was impressive covering fascinating forested, farmed, and diverse countryside in southern Sweden at speeds of up to 125 mph. We relaxed and dozed before our 2 hour early arrival. I imagined trolls and vikings behind every tree trunk and stump. The rocky soils, birch and evergreen forests, combined with all the lakes and ponds made me think of northern Canada except for all the Scandinavian structures including some with sod roofs. Looks like great hiking and biking areas too.

It seems that all transit centers and inner cities are torn up under construction as was the case in Stockholm where hordes of people crowded every possible escape route. We made hasty reservations at the travel center following recommendations and some simple directions to the old city with maze like streets including some so tiny you can touch walls on both sides while walking down them. First you have to get there and my lack of sense and direction in new cities and Laurie's skill at circling the general area gave us much exercise and overview of the area before getting to the hotel Rica just as the rains arrived. Pricy and small by our standards this seems a good deal for this area and its central location allowed these two punchy travelers to find great comfort food nearby. Retreating to our room after a short walk we are now relaxing and planning the next few days here and the ones in Norway next up. That will be more complex but I expect we will have our perigrinating skills sharpened and up for the task.

Laurie ready for the day & our bus ride to the train station

A little comfort food (herring!) revives at the end of a long day

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Sent from Mailbox for iPad

Copenhagen time - by Dale

We are settled in and starting to get into some local routines after a heavy dose of jet lag. Copenhagen is all that I've heard about it and much more than I have been able to process yet.

The time change still has me off as does my inability to navigate by the horizon and known landmarks. The names of streets have far too many syllables and unknown letters for me to master. Luck that every one speaks English so well. The currency will take more time but locals are very tolerant and willing to help for the most part. 

 I'm glad we will be back here at the end of this trip to fill in some gaps that will exist as we are finding it a challenge to get around and see all we want in spite of how walkable or bikeable it is around here.  I haven't figured out the system in use as a steady stream of riders flow around me everywhere. The size and shape of bikes is much more functional than at home too.

The weather has been great as has the food, drinks, scenery and everything else we have encountered. We have covered many kilometers under maze like conditions too It is also a challenge to document all that we are taking in in spite of journals, photos, sketches and more. I'm grabbing photos as I remember and placing them here for the time being as we figure out our options using iPads. 

Photoshare link:

https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A3GqkRUiGrSv7O

We have a full day to cover much ground and prepare for our next stop in Stockholm on Friday. 

I will never look at Ikea the same again. 

Narcolepsy - by Laurie

We've been in Copenhagen for a day and a half and so far my greatest pleasure has been sleep. And sleep...and sleep.  We got in yesterday afternoon exhausted by the long plane ride (any plane ride is long) and weeks of preparation and the tail end of my cold. We chose the wrong direction looking for our bnb apartment so probably walked twice as far as we needed to with our luggage. When we finally got there it was nap time. More like coma time.

Woke up and went walking in our neighborhood, Norrebro. Fascinating area, bikes all over, lovely buildings, multiethnic, full of energy. Couldn't resist an Ethiopian meal for dinner. There's nothing better than eating Ethiopian with injera. A good start. Then back to sleep.

This morning we had plans--the green energy tour at 1 pm (13:00 around here). We rolled out of bed at the crack of 11 and headed over to the fountain where we were to meet the tour. We wandered into a marketplace for sweet rolls, in and out of narrow streets, along the Strøget (famous shopping street), down by the harbor, found the wrong fountain, passed the right fountain without realizing it, got to the little mermaid and realized we were too far, and returned to the correct fountain 15 minutes too late. We missed the tour. Have I mentioned it was warm? Or that I was tired? We watched some mystery birds in the park then headed to our next goal, the Design Museum.

After starting off once again in the wrong direction (Dale is only allowed to navigate in North America now--he's left-handed with situs inversus so his sense of direction is backwards and inside out) we found the museum. First things first--we went to the cafe for a lovely lunch outside. And dessert. And then the gift store--just to look. I was ready for a nap by then but we persevered and went through the whole museum (half of it was closed for renovations anyway), which was fabulous. I've decided that we'll redo our house in beautiful Danish design (Ikea) when we return. No more clutter--yay!

Then back home, picked up some sushi at the marketplace, and nap time. Now we're washing clothes (it was a group effort to figure out the settings in Danish--then we crossed our fingers and pushed a button) and it's bedtime. Hooray!

We've got little to show for our first couple of days here, so tomorrow is our big day to do everything else. Here's the plan: get up early, go out to breakfast, rent bikes, go to the station to make our train reservation for Sweden, ride all around, see Christiania, meet Ellen's friend Carol for coffee, Tivoli in the evening, then pack for the next morning. I love plans. They always seem so doable when you're making them. Stayed tuned for tomorrow's reality.

Travel Time Very Soon! - by Dale

Laurie and Dale are getting ready for another travel adventure soon. This one will bring Laurie back to some areas of Europe she visited with her family long ago as well as many new places too. For Dale, it will all be new and the start of a new adventure after retiring from full time work for over 33 years working for the state of California. The theme for this trip is to learn as much as we can about efforts to prepare for climate change, implement renewable energy strategies, learn more of the cultures and histories of these amazing countries and seek out wildlife and natural history too.

We head off to Copenhagen near the end of August and will spend several weeks mostly by train, on foot, and of course bikes in Scandinavia including stops in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands. From there, it's off to the United Kingdom by ferry for another three weeks of exploring including time in Scotland, England, Wales and perhaps Ireland before we head back to the Netherlands and then return home again. Lots of details remain to be worked out along the way while we travel. We do have some firm dates & reservations now and will be adding details here soon.

We will attempt to stay in contact with family and friends via this blog & email with our ipads and use GoogleVoice, Skype, Facetime, instant messages and whatever else may work too. We may try  a shared calendar so that these folks know where we think we are at a given time. Tall order & great adventure planned as we explore these areas of Europe paying particular attention to their efforts to address climate change and provide sustainable living and transport.

To show how little Dale knows about where we are going this photo of perhaps the smallest "park" he knows of is what he is afraid he will find along this trip!

Hopefully, we will find more open space and nature to explore and write about than this rather famous tiny urban park in SF

Wish us safe journeys & plan to join us on this new travel adventure!