Nordic
European Adventures 2003
In the fall of 2003 we traveled Western Europe via Planes, Trains & Automobiles (and Boats). A Railpass was the key to our exploration of 10 countries in 6 weeks.
(click to enlarge)
It all began in the Nordic territories of Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
September 9th
DENMARK
We left Vancouver on a Tuesday morning and landed in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Wednesday morning. Copenhagen is a very unique port town that has a lot of similarities to Amsterdam, it has the canals, it has tons of bikes, and it has very liberal lifestyles.
The first day we are exhausted, we know we need to stay awake as long as possible, staying in the room is not the way to do it, we walk around the city, but eventually it catches up to us, and we crash... the next day we start exploring, and find Denmark has a lot more history than we thought.
We wander the grounds of the royal palace, we see the royal family whisked away in a limo, we discover the beautiful Rosenborg Castle, tucked away in a park, and escape from the rain for a bit.
Walking along the harbor we spot the world famous "Little Mermaid".
The Mermaid on the rock has a lot of similarities to Vancouver's snorkeler (on right), but is much older, the next day when we go past on a boat tour, she has been abducted, apparently a common event. In shock, we discover the plight of our mermaid friend... but she was returned after we left.
The exploring bug meant it was time to start taking the train to see some further sights, We explore a little more and find yet another great castle in Hillerød, Fredriksborg Slot. We ventured further to Roskilde via train, Roskilde was the home of a massive historic church, housing amazing tombs of fallen knights and royalty.
It's also the home of the Viking Museum, where a viking ship was being built using the tools of the time. We learned a lot about the history of the area, and of course, the vikings. So we plundered and moved on.
Back in Copenhagen we take the Canal tour, we see a lot more of the city, it's waterways, and it's color. Our final night in Copenhagen ends at Tivoli Gardens, a unique historic theme park, 100's of years old.
Time came to start our travels to other countries, and we made our way to Helsingor by train. Helsingor is the closest point to Sweden, and home of the amazing Kronborg Slot
SWEDEN
In Helsingor we took the short ferry ride to Helsingborg, Sweden. The funniest sight is watching the Swede's that come to Denmark and load up with beer, apparently the prices and lack of duties make it worth carrying a dolly stacked with 16-24 cases. This was our first experience of the EU customs between countries, or lack thereof, just roll your beer through the door, and walk out into the street. No Sweden stamp in our passports.
Helsingborg is a cute little town with a quaint little castle at the center of it, we arrive just in time to find out some kids have put some dish-soap in the fountain, huge waves of foam are rolling down the stairs, and the wind is picking up boulder size foam balls.
September 14th
We traveled to Stockholm via Goteborg (Gothenburg), you won't see any pictures here, because Goteborg really wasn't worth taking any, a few unique churches, but very industrial. Stockholm on the other hand was a beautiful and unique city, from it's picturesque harbor, to the historic Gamla Stan (old town), and the nearby Djurgarden, and the archipelago (a thousand islands).
The Gamla Stan contains many unique shops, cafes, and oddities, such as the art shops, including the Bike of Fur, and a replica of the Ice hotel... the Ice bar. You are loaded into a huge parka and shown into the eerily lit bar made of ice blocks, even the glasses are made of ice... your time is limited, so you don't freeze to death.
That night winding our way through the narrow alleys of Gamla Stan we enter a restaurant doorway, and find ourselves spiraling below the city into a unique underground eatery, Kallaren Diana. It's built out of an old Potato storage bin that was connected to the old port of Stockholm. Highly recommended to anyone and everyone that finds themselves in Stockholm.
FINLAND
Only one day to enjoy Stockholm, and we make a quick side trip to Finland. We fly into Helsinki, for a day of work for me, promoting EA Sports NHL 2004 game.
Before we are forced to watch a Hockey game between Jokerit and the Maple Leafs, 8-)
We get a full day to play tourists before returning to Stockholm.
The architecture in Helsinki is heavily influenced by their neighbors to the east (Russia), and there is a lot of unique artistic elements throughout the city including the Sibelius Monument above right.
Their churches are varied, from traditional Catholic, to Russian orthodox, to the unique Temppeliaukio, the temple of the rock, an underground church carved right out of the rock hill. We spent the whole day walking the town, before flying back to Stockholm.
September 17th
BACK TO SWEDEN
We had a couple more days and spent most of our time in the Gamla Stan (Old Town), shopping and eating. It's a short ferry ride to Djurgarden, historic gardens, a theme park that was closed, and the Vasa museum.
The Vasa was a huge and ornate ship for it's time, carved with all kinds of detail, and a pride of the city. On it's launch day in 1628, it was loaded with it's crew, the builders, their families, thousands came to see it, as it was launched and sailing from it's shipyard into the harbor, it flipped and sank to the bottom of the sea. The shortest trip for the grandest of ships... less than 1 mile. It was raised again in 1961.
After one day of touring the royal apartments, riding through the canals, and seeing the changing of the guard, we decide our last day in Sweden should be spent on the water, and explore the archipelago It's a long ferry ride through the archipelago, we stop at several small islands, including historic Waxholm.. The ocean was freckled with islands of varying sizes, as we spent the day exploring.
Once again, work called, and I had to present the NHL game to a large crowd of the Swedish press, with the help of the Maple Leafs GM, I described the game and how it's GM mode matched his role.
After being forced to watch a hockey game between the Maple Leafs and Djurgarden we flew to Amsterdam.