Looking Back So Far​ - by Dale

(September 3, 2013 7:59 PM Narvik, Norway)

As of today we have been traveling now for our first week out the six set aside. We are now in our third country along with three languages we have used three different kroners to pay for most expenses. It seems like the cost for items and services is higher here and that likely has to do with covering social service and public transportation costs, both of which make sense. With similar exchange rates in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, we often have bills in the hundreds of kroner or more and taxes averaging 12% (I think).

The three languages and currencies have similarities and subtle differences that pose challenges to understand. We have stayed in the heart of Copenhagen near where there is a fast pace and much to see and do, the Gamla Stan or old city area in Stockholm with a more tourist focus and now the small town working area such as found within Narvik area of Norway.

We have also stayed in a range of places including an apartment near the center of town in Copenhagen, and old hotel in the old city within Stockholm and now a B&B in the most rural part of Norway. We are mainly traveling by train with the Eurorail and later the British rail passes we purchased. After three rail trip days we have probably gone about 1500 km. We are also making nearly daily use of subway and bus systems when in the big cities where these systems are much better developed than our cities of similar size. These are also complex systems that require much thought and practice to get down pat, much less end up where you want to get to.

This pattern of travel will continue as we move through more of Norway, the Netherlands, on to Scotland, England and Wales before ending up back in the Netherlands and Denmark at the end of this wide ranging trip. It will be most interesting to compare the two legs of the trip, Scandinavian and Great Britain with each other at the end.

We've seen large windmills in areas around big cities as well as much more rural areas where they may be powering mining or other industries. Fewer roads, especially modern high speed types, and many cobbled lanes, old walking areas and more people moving about on ferries in the large bodies of water. We haven't been able learn about the overall strategies of these countries when it comes to green house gas emission and climate change but there more thought going into it from what we have seen.

We are moving easily between countries with little need for passports or security checkpoints. We probably won't see European airport security until we head home but the rail system certainly doesn't make a big deal out of this. I've seen un-attended luggage ( horrors!) and a smoking receptacle that was dealt with by a security person using a few squirts of a water bottle instead of a hazmat team.

The weather has been mild for my experience at this time of the year, late summer, and most people seem to dress to be out in it rain or shine. Fall seems to be nearly here depending where that is in northern Europe. Bicycles and walking are major means of transportation and I have yet to figure out if there is an area to walk that avoids conflict with other pedestrians. The bike lanes are often separate and marked and easier to avoid conflict in but cycling in this system will take practice and knowledge of where one intends to go. I have not mastered any of that yet.

Tomorrow we will leave this short side trip to the arctic circle and spend more time in southern Norway before moving on to the Netherlands. This time we will pack better train food and stay away from the cold reindeer wraps as we are doing with the whale soup served at a local dinner here. First we have to secure our tickets and sleeper, avoid running into any problems related to president Obama arriving in Sweden and then move on to Oslo where we will need new lodging but have our current kroners in hand.

Our time in Narvik has been short and limited but quite thought provoking and will get more attention here and afterwards. There are some unusual things about the climate and a harsh history of occupation and destruction during World War Two. The future for this area will be something to watch. It seem we and the our president may be in Stockholm before too long now.