Interlaken 2001

Grand Tour of Europe 2001 – Interlaken, Switzerland

23 April – ARGH! I ran the gamut of just about every negative emotion today. Annoyance – that it was raining when we got up this morning – that flunch’s breakfasts didn’t live up to their dinners – that this little girl on my train to Milan alternately cooed and screamed her bloody head off. Anger – that my train to Milan was 25 minutes late, rendering my 20-minute layover useless. Complete dejection – missing the train and spending the next two hours waiting in three lines before finally securing a reservation on the next train. I made myself feel a little better by buying a little gift. God, that whole mess was something I didn’t want to do alone. The train I finally got to take to Spiez was nice – higher class, and the views of the mountains were outstanding. We massed a tiny medieval village complete with ruined castle buried in the northern Italian Alps. Too many long tunnels (I counted up to 435 on one). At one point, the train was up so high that we were completely surrounded by clouds. Then we went through a tunnel only to emerge in a winter wonderland. Nooo! Thankfully, we came down shortly. We were late getting into Spiez, so I had to sit out in the cold train station for 40 minutes waiting for the train to Interlaken. I tried calling home to hear a cheery voice, but no one was around. The train to Interlaken turned out to be one of the double-decker ones I always wanted to ride on, so that was neat. It was just a short ride – in the dark – to my station. By the time I actually go there, it was almost 9:30. I was supposed to get in at 7:30. It was dark and drizzly as I made my way through the streets to my hostile (! Freudian…). Gave myself shin splints hurrying. Nice place {Balmer’s}, but a bit too raucous for my tastes right now. I just want to curl up and got to sleep for a long time. Tomorrow, I’m going to take advantage of the daylight and have a good look around. Oh, and those insect bites I got in Verona? They look swell (literally).

24 April – The potential to do something outrageous and totally extreme is very high here in Interlaken. I decided to be a lame-ass sissy cheapskate and not do anything like that. Being here on my own, there would be no one to impress with my daring and bravado (I feel like a thesaurus). So, I took the opportunity to see everything that I couldn’t in the dark yesterday. Following a hike route recommended by the hostel, I set out after a little breakfast to take a train to Lauterbrunnen. I had to wait in the train station for a while, so I marveled at the gray, overcast sky. The temperature wasn’t very warm, either, but not bad. I took the train, then began my hike. Lauterbrunnen is in a little valley a little ways away from Interlaken. The sky was still gray there. On either side, the cliff walls of sheer rock rose and made it a little disorienting to look at as I walked. I passed underneath (but not very close) to a few waterfalls that started so high up that it was just mist by the time the water reached the bottom. I was walking alone, so I noticed a lot of things – the silence except for my footsteps, some chirping birds and tumbling water – the smell of farms and wood smoke. I massed a cemetery where every grave was plated over with a profusion of flowers, pansies and the like. I walked for about an hour when I realized I lost the slip of paper with the route I was following. Instead of turning back, I walked ahead to where a gondola would take me up the mountain. I wasn’t able to get to the very peak, just over the top of the sheer cliff to Mürren. Pretty views, but the tops of the mountains were covered by clouds. As I left the gondola station, is started raining. Ugh. I walked through the village, then took the next ride down. I was going to walk back to the train station, but the weather was too miserable, so I took the bus then train back. It was too early for me to go back to the hostel, so I wandered a bit, bought pasta for dinner then chilled. I bought some patches and things in the store when that opened. Killed more time, then went to make dinner. Met some people at dinner. I called Dad and asked if he wanted a Swiss army knife. Yup. Watched Shawshank Redemption down in the bar with two nice guys from the East Coast, Brad and Eric. Then packed up my stuff and went to bed.

View in Interlaken
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Lauterbrunnen
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View down from Mürren
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Interlaken hostel
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The adventure continues in Paris…
{transcribed 2/17/2020}

Nice 2001

Grand Tour of Europe 2001 – Nice, France

20 April – Travel day number five. After another lovely breakfast in the hostel (read: sarcasm) – of two stale rolls and a “bowl” of coffee, we gathered up our things and headed for the train station. Our train to Milan was a bit late, but the morning was nice, so the wait outside wasn’t bad. Nice, smooth train. We had a little time to kill in the Milan station, but that was mostly used up finding our train on a different track, then securing seats. Very important, because we were going to be on that train for over five hours. We ate some crackers and whatnot for lunch, and finally we were on our way. The ride up to Genoa was pretty boring – not much for scenery and I didn’t feel too well. I took a little nap. From Genoa, though, things looked a lot better. The train started following the coast of the Mediterranean, giving us gorgeous glimpses of the teal waters on one side and rolling hills on the other between tunnels. We had to change trains in Ventimiglia, but we were lucky to get seats. The train filled up as we entered France and made our journey along the ritzy French Riviera. We finally got to Nice and made our way to the hotel we had booked. Once there, the manager told us, oh, sorry, you can’t stay here tonight, but I booked you a double room down the street for 1½ francs more each. Checked in to the Hôtel D’Orsay by the train station. We’re up on the fourth floor (breaking my third-floor curse), with three beds and a sink. Decided to splurge (😊) and stay here the next three nights. It’s a little on the dingy side, but we get our own room! We headed out to get money, information and dinner. Settled for two of the three (tourist information was closed). We got dinner at a cheap cafeteria-style restaurant by the station {flunch}. I dined on a salad, cheese, bread and wine for under $5. Very nice. Madeline and I came back and talked for a while, then decided on an early night.

21 April – Wow, I wrote really big yesterday. And I through I was getting better about that… After a nice, though not terribly restful night, Madeline and I struck out to see Nice. The day was sunny, albeit on the chilly side (found out later the high was only going to be 50°F). After a brief stop at tourist information for maps, we headed for the sea and a market that was somewhere nearby. After a walk, we found both. I bought strawberries and a baguette for lunch, as did Madeline. We took our goodies to the beach wall and ate there. The sea was a gorgeous turquoise teal. The beach itself is nothing more than small, smooth pebbles and stones. Not very conducive to castle-building. We heard so many languages being spoken on the path behind us. After eating, we decided to climb up a nearby hill for some nice views. I guess we’re just sick like that. Climbing up, up, up did give us great views over the city. At the top, I bought a few postcards. We walked back down past castle ruins and Greek mosaics towards the sea. We both wanted our picture taken with our feet in the water. Not an easy task because of the damn rocks. We walked back towards the train station and our hotel to find an internet café. We spent a half hour emailing there, the I took off back to the hotel while Madeline got train information. We came back, read and relaxed. There isn’t too much here to hold your attention if it’s too cold to sunbathe, your feet hurt too much to walk or you’re too cheap to go shopping. But it definitely is restful for those reasons. Madeline and I went to eat again at flunch. We imbibed four glasses of wine each there, which made us a bit happy. Stayed in at the hotel tonight. Nothing to do anyway.

22 April – Wow, today was Madeline and my last day traveling together. We got up earlyish to get breakfast from the market and to catch the bus to Monaco. Bought lovely raspberries, bananas and bread. Because of a semi-marathon in town, we had to walk to the port to get the bus. It was a nice sunny day, a little warmer than yesterday. The bus ride to Monaco was nice – fewer tunnels. We were dropped off, then made our way uphill to the palace. I bought a stamp for a postcard, then we watched (after a wait) the changing of the guard. Note to self: they are all lame! We walked over to the cathedral where we caught an American school choir performing. Listened to that for a bit, but it kept us from seeing where Princess Grace is buried. We walked on a little more, admiring the views, before heading back downhill. I walked along some of the street the F1 drivers race on. We bought some ice cream on the walk up to the Monte Carlo Casino. I couldn’t go in because I’m barely underage, but we just took a few pictures anyway. We walked a little further to the Japanese gardens, which was lovely, before deciding to go back – good thing, because my feet were killing me. I have a bunch of blisters. The Tevas are being packed away now. Quiet drive back. Dan came by and surprised us as we were relaxing in the hotel room. I tried to call home to no avail, so we all went out to dinner at flunch. For the third straight evening, I had salad, cheese, bread, wine and dessert. I love flunch. I shall miss it. After dinner, I called home again, and talked for a long time with the whole family. It was lovely. Afterwards, headed back to the hotel to get ready to travel tomorrow.

Monaco

Changing of the guard in Monaco

Cara in a Japanese Garden in Monaco

flunch!

The adventure continues in Interlaken…
{transcribed 2/17/2020}

Verona-Venice 2001

Grand Tour of Europe 2001 – Venice and Verona

17 April – Travel day number four. Our train to Verona left at 9:30. I bought some goodies that came to exactly the amount of money I had. Lucky! At first, we couldn’t find our train car, then it turned out we were the only people in the compartment (of 6) for a while. The ride was pretty nice. I spent most of my time staring out the window at the gorgeous mountains. The Austrian Alps were all snow-covered and lovely, with little green valleys with villages. Then we came into Italy. The Alps became rounder, rockier and tree-covered. They were green and brown, the sky was blue, and it looks warm out! At one stop in Italy, a lot of people got on, and a smelly man sat next to me. Ick. The total train ride wasn’t that long – 5½ hours. I exchanged some money, then we caught a bus that would take us near our hostel. It was a bit of a walk from there, but we got beds. Had to stay out until 5, so we walked up the hill to get a good view of the city (much larger than I expected). At 5, we went back to the hostel to haul our stuff up to our room. The hostel is Ostello della Gioventù {Ostello Villa Francescatti chiuso} and it’s in an old villa. The paintings on the wall leading up to the room are beautiful. Our view overlooks one of the wall-topped hills surrounding the city and the houses and villas below it. And it’s spring here! It’s in the 60s, and the air smells so sweet. It’s nice not to be cold for a change. And our room only has six beds, which is another nice change. We bought dinner here, not knowing where we could get anything in the area. I read and took a little rest before then. Dinner was nice. We met another girl traveling around and ate with her. We got bread, pasta, vegetables, wine and I got cheese instead of meat. It was starting to get chilly out, and we have a full day planned tomorrow, so we went straight up to our room. This hostel has some pretty strict rules, especially an 11 pm curfew. Not that we were going to go out or anything.

Verona hostel
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View from our hostel

View of Verona

18 April – Madeline and I were going to take a day trip to Venice today, so we were up and out pretty early. We were going to make reservations at the train station for part of our trip to Nice, but it turned out no reservations could be made. We caught the 8:33 train and were on our way. The ride was nice, and we were finally there. I had decided to break out my sandals because the weather was nice, and they were already giving my pinky toes grief. We started walking through the narrow passageways, making our way to the Piazzo San Marco. We stopped at a mask shop – I got a small sun mask for Cassie and a necklace with three cobalt blue Venetian glass beads for myself. As we were walking, we ran into one of Madeline’s friends from Iowa State, Dan, who had been traveling alone. They caught up on how our respective trips have been going as we made our way over the Rialto bridge to P. San Marco. The tiny streets were wonderfully car/moped/bike-free, yet crowded with people. The Piazzo was crowded, especially with pigeons. Took some pictures, looked over the water, then proceeded to wander a way through the labyrinthine streets. We bought some nice gelato as we went. I found a great handmade Carnival mask for myself. I started to feel a bit woozy, so we stopped and got something to eat. And more gelato. We wandered up and down and around. It was very pretty – the colorful, shuttered houses, teensy alleys, milky-teal water… My feet were absolutely shattered from walking so much. Eventually, we made our way back to the train station to catch a train back to Verona, bringing Dan with us. We took the bus back to the hostel, threw our stuff down, then went in search of food. We ended up at a pizza place that mainly delivered, but we could sit and eat at. Good thing, because it started raining. I got a cheese and potato pizza that was very good. We walked back through the rain to the hostel, played cards for a while, then called it an early night.

Venice Canal
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Piazzo San Marco

Dan and Cara
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19 April – We were up early again this morning. 9-5 lock-outs will make you do that. Dan decided to go straight off to Florence this morning, but we had some time to kill, so we explored the villa gardens and passageways cut into the rock behind the house. He left, then around 10, Madeline and I began our walking tour of the city. Found our way to the Roman arena and decided to start there. It was large, rosy-colored, and pretty, but there were too many people about for our tastes! I bought postcards and decided to send one home. We’ll see if it gets there. I’ve heard the postal system here isn’t the greatest. We walked to the old castle, walked along the castle walls, along city walls, stopped by some churches. By this time, it was noon and we were already sick of walking. Nevertheless, we pressed on, deciding to take a break for lunch. We walked down to this café near our hostel and ate and rested. The food was prepackaged, but it was good and pretty cheap. We went to the ruins of the Roman theater and “archaeology museum” to kill some time. We took a couple pictures, then sat in the sun in the stands. A friendly, drooling cat gave us company. After that, more walking, “Juliet’s House” was extraordinarily crowded. We got back to the hostel an hour early. I went and bought groceries for the train ride. Came back and read before going back to the pizza place for dinner. It’s going to be an early night tonight, because a long travel day tomorrow.

Roman arena in Verona

Piazza Erbe in Verona
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Roman theater ruins

Friendly kitty with Madeline

Juliet's Balcony

The adventure continues in Nice…
{transcribed 2/17/2020}

Munich 2001

Grand Tour of Europe 2001 – Munich

11 April – Travel day number three. For being our shortest train ride so far, it seemed like the longest. We were up and out of our hostel by quarter to seven. Oh, how I *love* lugging my backpack everywhere! Decent trains to Munich. The landscape became more interesting on the way down – green and hilly, but rainier as well. Was pretty well dazed. We pulled into Munich around 3, made some train reservations, then went to our hostel {Euro Youth Hotel on Senefelderstraße}. I picked up the book “Ragtime.” Our dorm room here is a little better than Copenhagen – only 24 beds, but each has nice peach sheets and blankets. We bought some pizza by the station (just down on the corner), then ate them at the hostel while watching CNN. We went out to check internet. My stomach didn’t feel good, so I left to go back before Madeline. Found a bakery where I got a pretzel and a cup of tea. Came back, read some, then took my shower. Read a little more. It’s going to be nice being in a city where things are at least a little familiar.

12 April – We were up and out early. We went to the Marienplatz Viktualienmarkt. Madeline wanted to buy some Birkenstocks. We got there too early, so I bought some strawberries and had bread and those for breakfast. I feel like I’m coming down with a cold! She bought her sandals, then we walked around the Marienplatz. I spent forever getting a shirt as another layer. It’s pretty cold out today. We went on a Mike’s Bikes tour of the city. I had done it four years before and wanted to do it again. We met a lot of people. Our guide Jordan was funny. The bikes were so much better than last time. The route and information were different enough that it seems all fresh and new again. Unfortunately, the peaking sun didn’t warm the air enough. I bought a long-sleeved t-shirt. We came back to the hostel because we were expecting Ryan and Jessi this afternoon. Nope, they’re coming tomorrow. We checked email, then I went back to the Viktualienmarkt to buy some bread and cheese for dinner. I’m tired and would like to go to bed, but I have to stay up to register for classes {back at UW-Madison} this evening late. Read a bit, watched news on CNN. That was odd: After reading for a while, I went out to register for my classes by phone, only to find people either making a commercial or a movie in the lobby. I had to wait for action to stop before I could pass through. I got all the classes I wanted, then came back in and went to bed.

Cara and Madeline on the bike tour

Tour group bikes at the Feldherrnhalle

13 April – It’s Good Friday the 13th. That would explain a bit… I got up early this morning to use the internet. When I came back, I ate breakfast and talked to some guys who were also from Madison. Madeline came back with Jessi and Ryan. It’s a cold, cold day. We walked around the Marienplatz, then just started walking in random directions. We ended up on the Theresianwiese, where they hold Oktoberfest. And that’s where it started to snow on us. Sheesh. We retraced our steps, bought some lunch at the train station, then had a quiet afternoon. Doesn’t make much sense to go out and do much because it’s a holiday and everything is closed. I did some more internetting, read, tried to nap, etc. We left the hostel at 7, then headed out. Our first through was to head to the Hofbräuhaus. Ohmigod. Huge, packed with beer-guzzlers and not a single table free. So, we walked on until we hit Paulaner im Tal, just off the Marienplatz. I got some pilsner and käsespätzle, which I hadn’t had in forever. I tried to translate the menu for everyone else with more or less success. Sat a while before we could pay, then we headed back to the hostel for a somewhat early night.

Jessi, Ryan and Madeline by Sendlinger Tor

Theresienwiese

14 April – Today was a day better off forgotten. Madeline and I went to make train reservations, and on the way, she surprised me saying she didn’t want to go to Interlaken or Paris, and she was going to Spain. Okay… Momentarily upset. She had problems reserving, which cause us to miss the train we were going to take to Füssen. We killed an hour in the train station before boarding another train. It wasn’t until about an hour and a half into this journey into the heavily-snowing Alps that we realized we were on the wrong train. Luckily, where we got off had a train pull in immediately going back to Munich. The next train actually to Füssen didn’t leave for a while, so more time to kill. Making a long story short {too late}, we arrived in bloody cold Füssen at about 4 in the afternoon. Had to wait a while for a bus that would take us up to the Schloß Neuschwanstein, but finally we got there. Began the long trek uphill. We weren’t going inside but took pictures of the castle and surrounding mountains shrouded in clouds and snow. We then trekked over to the Marienbrücke. This was the highlight of the day for me – I actually walked all the way across it! You’d have to see it to understand. Then we walked back down, waited in the cold for the bus back to the train station, then waited in the cold for our train. Yeah, the stupid train was 40 minutes late, leaving us to slowly freeze for over an hour. It wasn’t fun. Finally, the train arrived, we got on and went back. So cold. I bought some bread and made PB&J sandwiches for dinner. Everyone else stayed up for a while, but I was too cold and tired.

Schloß Hohenschwangau

Madeline and Jessi by the Marienbrücke

Schloß Neuschwanstein

15 April – Happy Easter! No Easter basket for me today, though. I got up a little later than intended this morning. The other three were headed off to Dachau, but since I had already been there, I didn’t care to go back. So instead, after grabbing a bite of breakfast at the train station, I headed out through the sleet, rain and general miserableness to walk all the way to the Deutsches Museum. I got there around 10:20. The museum is this huge collection of science and industry exhibits – ships, cars, airplanes, all types of engineering, physics, chemistry, musical instruments, astronomy, chronology, etc. I walked around there for hours. I wanted to at least see all of the exhibits and I managed to. The museum was a lot like the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago (which is modeled after the German one), only with less English and more things to see. I was impressed by all the mechanical things (naturally). I left there at around 3, then walked back. I stopped for some ice cream (crazy me) and lunch at McDonald’s. Ugh. Just because it was warm and cheapish. An old lady tried to engage me in conversation, but I could barely hear and understand her. I went to check email and saw the others there. Then, with my tummy not feeling 100%, I came back to the hostel to organize my stuff a bit, read, write postcards. I bought some bread for dinner. At 8, I called Grandma K’s house and talked to her, Brian, Anne, Mom & Dad. It was really nice! I miss everyone, especially today. Then I came back and stayed up talking with the others over a Munich wheat beer.

16 April – Yet another holiday day here, so nothing is open. I did laundry after Madeline, which was pretty expensive (~$3.75) and which took *forever*. I put my clothes in the washer around 11, and they were finally done and dried around 1:30. I tried to kill time reading and staring off into space. After that, I went to get some food and did a quick email check. Then I decided to take a walk. I went to see where the hotel I stayed at before was and wandered my way around the Marienplatz. My feet hurt like hell, and it began to rain on me, so I didn’t stay out too long. I came back to the hostel and read the paper, watched a bit of CNN. I tried to kill time before dinner by taking a nap, but that was rather futile. I keep trying to count up how much money I have left, and how far I can make it go. I really hope the weather in the next few places gets better. I don’t think I can take much more of this gold sogginess. It’s nice to know that this whole month of travel is half over. Four more stops left for me, then back to Swansea, but they’re each of pretty short duration. (Man, it’s not easy trying to ramble and fill up a page when there’s not much going on.) Oh, Jessi and Ryan checked out this morning to continue on their trip. I went and got dinner, then made some phone calls to make sure we had places in Verona. I came back and took a shower, then got all my stuff ready to go for tomorrow.

The adventure continues in Verona…
{transcribed 2/17/2020}

Berlin 2001

Grand Tour of Europe 2001 – Berlin

7 April – Travel day number two. Wow, we’ve been at this a full week now. Since we couldn’t catch the very first train to Berlin, we got to sleep in and finally left that hostel behind forever (yea!). We stopped at the 7-Eleven for juice and bagels before walking on the to the train station. I seriously need to lose some junk from my bag… We waited in the station for a while, then caught our train – pretty spiffy. The neatest thing was when we took a ferry ON THE TRAIN into Germany. That ferry only lasted 45 minutes, so we both got out to look around at the gray skies, gray water, and people scuttling to buy things from the duty-free shop. We changed trains in Hamburg, then finally bade it into Berlin around 7:15. We got our reservations to Munich taken care of, got transportation for the next three days, then took the S-Bahn to our hostel {A&O Backpackers}. Gorgeous sunset over the city. The hostel’s pretty nice (oh, so much better than the last one). A little spartan, but they have “blankets” and “8-person rooms” and “showers with hot water.” Loverly, loverly. (Madeline is giddy because she likes this hostel so much). {To be fair, our expectations were very low…}

8 April – After a nice, cozy night in the hostel, Madeline and I ate a nice breakfast of rolls in the kitchen before heading out. The first thing we did was take the S-Bahn to the Tiergarten. We got a few pictures of the bombed-out Gedächtniskirche. Then we walked down the street to the Story of Berlin. It was kind of expensive, but the first part was in 3D sound - they gave us these things to hear on our heads hat looked like sci-fi purple alien ships (We couldn’t stop laughing because we looked so ridiculous {too funny to even take a picture of ourselves looking so ridiculous for posterity. Sigh.}). There was a lot to take in and see/read, and it was hard to take it all in. After that whole experience, I bought a guitar pin at the Hard Rock Café. From there, we directed ourselves towards the House on Checkpoint Charlie. Took some pictures. It’s also a museum, but we didn’t feel like going in. Instead, we took the U- and S-Bahns out to Schoß Charlottenburg. We walked around the palace and the gardens – lots of walking. On our way back, we stopped at the Zool. Garten Station so Mad could buy a phone card and we could buy some food. Came back to the hostel for some quiet time and a chance to rest our poor feet. Oh, and we also did some emailing after going to Hard Rock. Madeline went to make some phone calls, while I sat in the room and finished the Complete Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy book that I had been reading. Went to bed early, seeing as we’re getting up early in the morning.

Cara and Madeline by the Gedächtniskirche

Pieces of the Berlin Wall

Checkpoint Charlie

9 April – Got up this morning at 7, ate breakfast, and we were out around 8:15. We went to the Reichstag building to climb the dome. Got there and in line at 9:25. It was a long line to get in but seeing as it was pretty chilly, and the line wasn’t moving, many people deserted. The doors finally opened at 10, and we were able to go up up up and have a good look around. We came back down and decided to walk Under den Linden to the Victory statue. Then we walked through the Tiergarten, past a few embassies, Potzdammer Platz and a few opera buildings to Gendarmenmarkt. Took a picture, then took the underground back to the internet place. Spent a little time therebefore jumping on the S-Bahn back to the hostel. Spent some rather frustrating time after a brief nap trying to make reservations in Venice. Madeline and I went out and bought falafel for dinner, said hello to our new roommates, then relaxed. I don’t think we’ll be going out anymore tonight.

Reichstag

See me?

Berlin Cathedral

10 April – Finished off seeing everything I wanted to today. The Alexanderplatz, Rotes Rathaus, Nikolaikirche, Berliner Dom, etc. I mailed a package home – I was so proud because I did it all in German. I was about to go to the Pergamonmuseum, but just bought postcards of what I wanted to see. I went and checked my email, then went to the Kaufhaus des Westerns (KaDeWe) – Europe’s largest department store. So huge. Great fabric section. Did a little more looking around the shopping area before getting on the bus that drove around to the major sights, just in case I missed anything. It was raining when I came back. Ate a little, quiet night. Leaving tomorrow.

East Berlin green man
{52.506339, 13.470400}

The adventure continues in Munich…
{transcribed 2/17/2020}

Copenhagen 2001

Grand Tour of Europe 2001 – Copenhagen

4 April – The first of many testy, irritable and long travel days. We were up around 5:40 to get ready for our train. Ugh. Too early! Waited outside for our train to come. It was this 1950’s-style train – pretty interesting. They made us take a bus from one station to another because there was work being done on the track. Sweden looked pretty nice - they had great big wind generators. We changed trains in Göteborg. Very nice, classy train. Finally got to Copenhagen. We reserved our train to Berlin later than we expected, because the first train was full. Walked all the way to the hostel {Sleep In Heaven - ha}, buying food along the way. The hostel did not score points in my book when I couldn’t pay with my credit card. We had to find an ATM. And then we were shown our beds. Very reminiscent of a concentration camp, but with better mattresses… There are 88 bunks, stacked 3 high. Settled our stuff and ate dinner. I took a shower, then Madeline and I talked with another American traveler we met. We all decided to go out for a beer. We went to this nearby pub, where we met this local guy who was telling us all about Copenhagen. There was a little thunderstorm while we were there. Also, this incredibly drunk guy tried to pick me up, but he got mad that I didn’t want him to buy me a beer. {He kept slur-swearing in a strange mixture of English and Danish. Yikes.} We left soon after that.

5 April – Horrible, terrible, no-good, very bad night. The barracks was alive well into the wee hours, and only then did I fall asleep. I didn’t have a blanket, so I was also cold. Morning came too soon, once I was asleep. Madeline and I met Corbett (the guy from Minnesota) and this English guy at 10 to go to the Carlsberg Brewery. We went through the visitor’s center, then got two free 0.25 L samples. We went for both the Easter beers of Carlsberg and Toborg. We took the bus from there to Christiania, this “free city.” Oh, very free. They were selling marijuana and hash out in the open, lighting up, etc. Walked through there pretty quickly. I wanted to see the Little Mermaid statue, so we walked along the harbor towards it. For being so famous, it’s rather small and out of the way. The weather today has been odd – very windy and drizzling in the morning, then the sun peeked out in the afternoon. The other three wanted to find food, and I wanted to find a library to use the internet, so I split off. I walked through the pedestrian district to the library. Got in and got on and emailed to my heart’s content. After that, I walked down the Strøget, the longest pedestrian street in the world. I got over towards the Rådhus. Since I was close, I peaked in to the Tivoli Gardens, which, alas, doesn’t open until next week. I bought Mom a guitar pin at the Hard Rock Café, bought some dinner (roll and yogurt), then made my way, unfortunately, back to the hostel. I ate dinner and read. Mad, Corbett, Michael (the English guy) and I talked for a while before Corbett left to catch his train. We asked to be put in a smaller, quieter room, and joy of joys, our request was granted. The 14-bed room may have squeaky beds, but it doesn’t have 20 loud Danish girls. We went to bed pretty near after that.

Madeline and Cara at the Carlsberg Brewery

Little Mermaid

Pretty Copenhagen

6 April – Didn’t get great sleep last night, but at least I got sleep! Madeline and I got up this morning and just decided to walk around the city and take pictures. We walked down to the town hall {Rådhus} and all along the Strøget. Then we walked back and ate lunch at the Hard Rock Café for only 49 Kr! {I can’t remember the exchange rate, but something like $7?} For Hard Rock and for an entrée and drink, that was cheap! From there, we walked back to the library to do some quick emailing. We read through newspapers for a while, catching up on news back home. When we left the library, the partly cloudy skies had turned into gray, cloudy drizzle. We started walking in random directions to see more of the city. We found the Botanical Garden and walked through it. Still early in spring, so it was a little dead. Found our way back to the hostel, stopping in a post office so I could mail a postcard home. Settled in at the hostel to read, pass time before we got to bed early. This whole tour bus of Swedish guys came to the hostel this evening. Boy, they really don’t mind walking around half-naked…

Tivoli Gardens

The adventure continues in Berlin…
{transcribed 2/17/2020}

Oslo 2001

Grand Tour of Europe 2001 - Oslo

30-31 March 2001 - Friday was the last day of term at the university {University of Wales Swansea}, setting us free for a full month of break. My flatmate Madeline (from Iowa State) and I planned for the past few months how we were going to spend April. We decided to kick off our tour in Oslo, Norway. So, after spending Friday at class, doing last-minute packing and waiting impatiently, it was time to leave. We were going to take the 6:30 pm train from Swansea to Paddington, then make our way to Stansted airport. The bus we were going to take never showed up, so we called a cab and made it on the train with a few minutes to spare. It seemed like a really long train ride. Once we got to Paddington, we tried catching the Tube to Liverpool St Sta, where we’d catch the train to Stansted. We waited forever, which made us a little nervous about whether or not we would make the last train at 2300. Luckily, we did manage to get both the Tube and the train. It was also lucky that the conductor accepted our BritRail passes. He stared at Madeline’s for so long we didn’t think he was going to. Finally got to the airport. We found ourselves a row of seats and settled in for an extremely uncomfortable night. I know I didn’t get any sleep. Life in the airport began to pick up as people started checking in. Our flight was at 7:45 and we finally got all our stuff in. We were flying Ryanair, because it was so cheap {~$20 from “London” to “Oslo”}. We killed some time looking around the airport shops before going to our gate. Boarding time came and went, as there was something up with the plane or servicing. We finally were allowed on and took seats in the first available row (there’s no assigned seating). I tried to sleep on the 2-hour flight. It turned out Oslo Torp was fogged in, so we were in a holding pattern for 45 minutes before we landed. {we couldn’t see the ground until we were nearly on it ourselves}. They made us disinfect our shoes, so we didn’t accidentally spread foot-and-mouth disease here. Argh! It’s snow-covered, cold and quite foggy. Not the first choice of places to go for spring break. There was a bus at the terminal that would take us to Oslo, so we quick ran to get cash out. We had no clue what we were doing and ended up with Danish money! Fortunately, the driver let us pay with pounds. The ride from the airport to Oslo was pretty long, so it gave us a chance to look at the scenery. It was gray and foggy, so I’m sure it wasn’t done justice, but it looks a lot like Wisconsin in some areas (rolling snow-covered hills topped with pine), Colorado in others (shear rocky cliffs on the side of the road) and then there was the fjord we’d run alongside. Didn’t really know where we were going once we got here, so we ended up at the railway station. Took advantage of this to turn our Dutch money to Norwegian, and to get our EuroRail passes validated, and the trip from Göteborg to Copenhagen on Wednesday reserved. We bought some food for dinner, then got information on how to get to our hostel. Took the tram up here. We met a Dutch girl who was also staying at the place (Haraldsheim) and she showed u how to get up here. We check in – there are only 4 people in our room, and it’s clean and cozy. We settled in and relaxed for a while. We made spaghetti for dinner. I called home and talked to Cassie, and also called Mom at work to get some information and to let her know I was here okay. I stayed up for a little while after that, but both Madeline and I went to bed around 7:30.

1 April – Note to self for future reference: NOTHING is open on Sundays in Norway. We ate breakfast at the hotel – cereal, bread, cheese and drinks. I tried a little of the brown cheese – it’s the same color and similar taste to caramel. Odd, sweet cheese. We headed out around 10. Got to the city center, then started walking to this sweater/souvenir shop, but, alas, it was closed like everything else. We walked a little further and saw the Royal Palace. Then we went to the National Gallery. I really just wanted to see Eduard Munch’s “Scream”. Then we went towards the Akershus Fortress (nice views of the fjord – especially because it’s such a nice, sunny day), then we went to the Theater Museum. Basically, just one room, but they had pictures, costumes and other things from Oslo Theater. We then went to the train station, bought some fruit and sweets, and ate our lunch there. Then we walked towards the Nobel Institute and circled around in a high-scale residential area. We bought day passes for public transportation, then headed back to the hostel. I’m very close to falling asleep, but I don’t want t. The weather actually got up towards the 50s today, and it was sunny… lovely! Madeline and I got hit on during dinner by some delinquents. We played scrabble after dinner and went to bed early.

My view of Karl Johans gate

2 April – This morning after breakfast, we took the tram into town and the T-bahn (subway) up to the Holmenkollen ski jump hill on the other side of Oslo. Pretty long ride, and a nice hike up the hill. We went to the ski-museum, then we climbed up the ski jump to the top. Fortunately, the stairs weren’t out in the open and the tower was enclosed. I have to give ski jumpers a lot of credit. I wouldn’t be throwing myself down that high and steep of a hill. The view from the tower were great. We could see all of Oslo and the surrounding hill and fjord. It was a little hazy and overcast, but it wasn’t too bad. At the gift shop, I bought Cassie and both Grandmas hand-painted wooden boxes as gifts. We set back off towards the city center. We went to a gift store that sold sweaters and other souvenirs. I got myself a navy-blue pullover and a cardigan for Mom, a moose and a smaller painted box for myself and some smaller trinkets. Thank goodness for credit cards! Madeline and I walked to the station to see about getting our VAT back. Luckily, we were able to. I went straight over to the post office to see about mailing all the stuff back home. That took a heck of a long time, but it was a lot cheaper than I expected. After that, I split up from Madeline, who was going to check her email. I walked around a department store, then went to buy food. I bought pizza, salad and some fruit. Caught a tram back. I waited in the lobby for Madeline to come back, then we went up to our room for a while. I went down and used the internet for a while, then we made dinner Once of the people in our room was *still* asleep, so we quietly played cards and worked on crossword puzzles. Early night.

At the bottom of Holmenkollen

And at the top!

3 April – Today wasn’t nearly as nice out. Gray and damp. We went down to check email in town but had to wait. We killed time at the Historic Museum, then I called home to get football tickets squared away. It was raining when Madeline and I walked up to the Palace to see the changing of the guard. Mom mentioned she wanted a troll, so I went back and bought a little one. We took a tram out to Vingeland to see the statues and got soaked. Came all the way back to the hotel. Tried to use the internet, but it wouldn’t connect for me. Came up to the room and packed, read.

Changing of the Guard

Rainy Vingeland

 The adventure continues in Copenhagen...

{transcribed 2/17/2020}