Castles

castle

Summer Cottage

Elsinore

This is being posted in the internet section of the Copenhagen airport about 2:30 pm (about 7:30 Bwd time) It's not free but as we keep saying, "It's only money". I'll try to add pictures also--pictures are all castles w/ the last one being Elsinore, here goes------------

Castles

Did you know that Shakespear never saw Elsinore Castle? They think he heard about it from a group of actors who had been there and he thought, from how they described it, that it would make a good story. There was a real Hamlet who was Danish and the bare bones of the story was written by a Danish historian. Like many of his other plays, Shakespeare took a bare bones story and made a dramatic narrative of it.

We went in the courtyard of Elsinore (also known as Kronborg Castle--King’s crown castle) and got pictures, but didn’t go in. We did have lunch nearby.

We went into Frederiksborg Slot (Castle) All of their kings have either been named Frederick or Christian and this castle was used by some of the Frederiks. It was elegant and ornate and I can’t prove it cuz altho they let us take pictures, we were forbidden to use the flash. And your average castle is pretty dark. The pictures we took may not turn out very well. Outside shots will be fine. These folks were very paranoid that we might touch something and kept hovering around us. I guess we looked untrustworthy. They tried to take large purses away saying they would watch them, but our folks from Texas weren’t buying it.

The third castle was just a picture stop from down the street of the princess’s summer cottage---a HUGE cottage.

We drove along what our guide called the Danish Rivera.with $ 2-7 Million (dollar not Kroner) houses facing the sea.

We got back to the hotel about 3:30 and had some time to nap and get ready for our “Farewell Dinner” at Tivoli Garden. It is not a garden, but a really old amusement park. It was said that Walt Disney loved visiting Tivoli garden and designed Disneyland like it. We had an elegant dinner (unlike Disneyland) and then had an hour to look around. I could tell Nick was itching to try some of the games--mechanical games and baseball pitching kinds of games, but the language was a barrier. We couldn’t read any signs. We walked around and "people watched", listened to really good “American style” jazz and watched a mime show.
All in all a really good last day. We’re flying out Tuesday afternoon, so we still have some time tomorrow morning. Maybe a museum that is close. No more internet--we paid for 12 hrs and that is gone, so this’ll be posted when I get home sometime Wed. See ya then. E

Fish Market pictures

Too much shrimp--this is only one of many booths.

They are ready for everyone.

Fish Market entertainment--they were quite good.

It's as if the penguins were posing for me.

Lovely tulips outside the hotel in Bergen, Norway- I have a thing for close up flowers.

From Norway to Denmark

We flew today with all the accompanying airport hassles- checking baggage, passports, security checks, customs, etc . Some of our folks on the really SMALL plane were seated up front in "extra economy" class. We, peons, in the back were offered drinks to BUY --but nothing free, no, not even a cup of water or a pretzel. The folks in front were GIVEN sandwiches, drinks, hot towels, all the finer things for free. It was not a long flight.

Our hotel is a renovated grainery which from the outside looks a great deal like a gray stone prison. It is fine inside, but rather forboding outside.

We went on a quick bus tour of Copenhagen this aft. So much to see in such a small amount of time. We saw the royal yacht, the statue of "the little mermaid", lots and lots of statues and really large imposing buildings. We went into a church, which seemed really wrong. Folks should not be going into a church snapping pic tures while people are sitting in pews waiting for a worship service to begin. (about 5 or so in the aft--Pentecost Sunday) Several folks stayed and took pictures, I left- having taken only one picture discretely from the back.

X

Supper tonite was on the waterfront- Nick had a yen for pasta, so he had something w/ shrimp and I had meat lasagna. Then we had ice cream from a little shop. The man behind the counter wanted to talk Danish politics (in English) He told us he makes the best ice cream in Denmark (it was good) but people wouldn't buy from him because he was not Danish. Then they sent their children to buy ice cream because his was so good. He would have talked for an hour.

The previous customer in this hotel room had some time left on his internet purchase and we've been using it. It ran out just before I began this, so this is on our dime--uh-- Kroner.

Nick is going to download pictures from the last two days and then I will include some with this post. This may be the last one from Denmark--not sure, but I will finish it up after I get home. I have several things to talk about that I haven't mentioned. Like the fact that English is compulsory in Scandinavian schools- we're missing the boat here, folks.

So for now this is all. See ya' soon. E

Bergen Fish Market, etc

Knute Rockne is from Voss where our train left us .
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Well, Nick’s dream has come true. He has experienced the Bergen Fish Market. Every imaginable kind of local fish is available here. And he has tasted/sampled his way through most of it. Along w/ fish, other local oddities (meats) are available- vacucmn packed and ready to be thrown in the suitcase. We got a couple of things. Union Presbyterian choir (and JK, & MB) you have a taste treat in store--mystery meat.

It has been raining since we got out about 9:45, but thanks to the trusty raincoats, we’re dry if not warm. Nick has been checking the Bwd weather and you guys have received much more rain that we have here. At least in volume. Not sure how much you had or how long it rained, but if the radar is to be believed, you got lots.

I found a great bakery, so for an almost lunch snack, we had sweet rolls and coffee/hot choc. Yummmm! My sweet roll was frosted w/ caramel. I suppose today is a day for grazing w/ no specific meals.

We got out of the rain earlier by going into the Hanseatic Museum. All about German businessmen in the 1200-1500’s who ran the commerce coming in and going out of this harbor They had dorms for their employees (single men) and they must have been really short, cuz the beds we saw built into walls were my size. A regular sized man today would have had to curl up to sleep there. Interesting--- however only about half of the exhibits were translated into English. so I'm sure we missed out on lots of good info.

We’re considering going to the aquarium this aft, if we can figure out how to get there. Bus, boat, walk. It is supposed to be about a 20 min walk, and it's raining but.......

I looked at a lovely pewer goblet (I’m a sucker for stemware- just ask Nikki) but I couldn’t see paying $50 American for a cup. I’ve looked at sweaters, but I would probably wear it once every 3 years when it snows on Easter in Bwd. So, no sweaters. Just mystery meat.

Several buildings in Bergen have the name Rosenkrantz on them. Those of you who are Shakespeare fans--Remember Rosencrantz and Gildenstern, Hamlet’s “friends”. I’m guessing that is not an uncommon name here.

Nick is napping and I’m going to read. Talk to you later. (I’ve finished 5 books and have two more available w/ only 3 days to go)

About 2:30 we headed to the aquarium via ferry boat in the rain. I’ve seen better- it was interesting. On the way back at 4:30 we had the ferry to ourselves and we took pictures. Got some good ones--also some really good penguin pics from the aquarium. It’s as if they were posing for me. It was great weather for Penguins here, not like the poor critters we saw at the Ft Worth zoo who had to be in the air conditioning.. Cold and rainy is perfect for them.

Nick “saved” Barbara Denhart’s pictures when she got a “reformat” message on her card w/ all her pictures on it. He downloaded the photos from the card and saved them to a disk and then cleaned her card. Should work well now. Not sure why it did that.

We have an early morning tomorrow (Sunday)--bags out at 7 and onto the bus by 7:30 to drive to the airport to fly to Denmark. Our castle tour is Monday and I’m psyched.

I’m getting tired of drizzly rain and cold. But I suppose you Brownwood and Arlington folks are equally tired of rain.
See you soon E

Friday, May 25th-cruise and railroad

We had a "late" morning which means we didn't have to have our bags out really early. We were on the road by 10:30 this morning headed down the incredibly high mountain that our hotel was on. Our driver can do things with his bus that I wouldn't even consider w/ my van. He backs down steep roads, he turns around, completely, in front of a hotel in Stockholm,( a very narrow street), he is a "master". Some of these tunnels are narrow and he must stop and "pull over" to let something really big pass. Enough about Knut
Throughout Scandinavia in large chain and small family owned hotels, there has been one unusual consistency. NO TOP SHEETS on the beds. There is a down blanket/duvet thing, but no top sheet. Some have bedspreads and others do not and I'm wondering if this is for all rooms or for "tour groups". I may ask folks who have traveled more than I. Another interesting hotel difference is heated bathroom floors. I noticed from the beginning that the bathroom floors were higher than the rest of the room--would have broken a toe on one, if I'd taken my shoes off before entering. It has dawned on me this morning, 9 days into this trip that all the floors have been toasty.

Yesterday we did another Fjord cruise and the weather was better, but if you've seen 200 amazing waterfalls, you've seen enough. The boat was filled with other folks this time and the Orientals are really PUSHY.
After the cruise, we had an hour to eat or shop, we went to the grocery store and got bananas, coke zero, trail mix and shoestring potatoes. An interesting lunch. The railroad went up another mountain w/ more waterfalls and generally really pretty scenery. The train stopped at one point and there was music and two people ( there is discussion if they were male or female) came out way up on the hill and danced to music. They danced in an icy waterfall and Nick got pictures which I'm sure will be posted later. The Tour guide (Molly) says they do this about 6 times a day. Weird.

We met the bus after changing trains once and drove an hour and a half to Bergen. The bus driver, Knut, gave us a fairly thorough introduction to the downtown and wharf area of Bergen. Knut lives here and at one point took another road when he came up on serious Friday afternoon traffic.

Nick and I have the day to do whatever we want here, we opted OUT of the side trip to learn all about Edvard Grieg. Should be an interesting day of museums, looking around, shrimp sandwiches (Nick is excited about the wharf venders, me--not so much, altho I may try reindeer sausage) Today no one tells us where to be, when to be there, and breakfast is at the hotel from 7-11, so we have many options.

That's all I have to write this morning--it is Saturday 7:30 am

The German bunker at Stahlheim

plus a picture of my dad's butt. -Nikki

Waterfall















Brikstal Glacier, up close




















900 Year old Church

Glacier and Waterfalls

This is from Thursday night--We're in Berrgen and I'll write about today--later--it's 10:30 pm (3:30 pm Texas time)
I tried to upload 4 pictures and they turned into computer cuss words, so I'll send em to Nikki and she can add them for me (Thanks N or B).

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No internet tonite, so I’m writing in another place to be dumped into the blog or e-mail when we get to Bergen Friday night.
We experienced the Brikstel Glacier today, hiked up to it and stood in the rain to enjoy its beauty. Lots of pictures. After the hike, we could both tell that it’s been a week since we’ve been to the gym.

We drove past snow fields with accumulated depths of 4-8 feet in various places. No point taking pictures, it was all WHITE---ALL WHITE EVERYWHERE. Every now and then a rock was sticking up ab ove the snow.

When we finally arrived at our hotel (the primitive one- no outside phone, no t.v., of course, no internet) we heard its story. There has been a building of various uses for hundreds of years. This is a seriously remote place (mountain top- wait til you see the pictures) that was a “pony express stop” in early years and has had several incarnations, the darkest of which was during WWII. The Nazi High Command used this place it was a hotel by then as their headquarters for Norway. (We’ve heard lots about the differences the coming of the Nazis made to this country This was a reward R & R place for valued soldiers who were to be rewarded. There is still a German bunker on the grounds where they could watch for whoever was coming. We went down in it and it was not much to see. Anyway the current hotel was built in the 50’s and is nice, but not elegant.

Tomorrow we’ll take a railroad up a mountain and go on yet another Fjord cruise. Our bus ferried across a Fjord today to get to the hotel. Our destination for tomorrow is Bergen.

Lots of shopping opportunities today--folks from our group bought dishes, Santas at a Christmas shop, other Christmas items, shirts, books, and reindeer hides. We haven’t bought much yet, Except for rain jackets because my Mickey Mouse jacket was sopping wet from all the rain at the glacier and other places today. The rain jackets will be nice even in Brownwood--they do say NORWAY on them. I take that back, the first day we were in Stockholm, Nick’s old camera died, so he found a camera store and bought a new Kodak. It works great. That’s all for tonite--I’ll post this tomorrow with pictures. E

More Pictures

Fjord

We traveled by bus today to get to a Fjord cruise--It was rainy and cold and not the best day to stand outside a moving boat taking pictures, but how many times will we get to do that, so.........

At one point we were in a place where the snow was 4-6 feet deep and it began snowing actively. Not bad for May 23rd. We came back by noon and spent a couple of hours in Stroyn (a little town down the road from our hotel. After our shopping trip we used the hotel's "hot tub". More like a warm or tepid tub. I have been in bath water hotter than that. But the air jets were great. We dried off, took a little nap and went to the huge buffet AGAIN. We won't go hungry on this trip.

Some interesting Scandivanian names that we've heard are Ewa (Eva) Hanne, Brigida, Knut (K is not silent), Turid, Some of these are guides who have taken us around a city. Knut is our bus driver--and he can back that thing up in the tiniest space. The road we were on today, with all the snow, was just opened for traffic yesterday. They are having a LATE spring.--later than usual. Some places are not quite open for the "season" yet.

Have I told you that We've signed up for a castle tour the day before we leave. We're going to see Elsinore, Which doesn't mean much to most folks,but that is the setting for Hamlet. Who knows we may see the "Ghost of Hamlet's Father". I'm excited.

I picked up the Gideon Bible in the room wondering if it is in Norwegan or English, and it is both--side by side.

The other day at one of our snack stops, Nick looked in the place and not finding what he wanted, asked the lady behind the counter, if they had potato chips. She said yes, of course. To them Potato Chips are french fries.

Speaking of vocabulary--to say thank you in Norwegan is TAK
forbidden is forbudt
In Swedish--entrance is enfart--------exit is Ulfart
Something to think about.

Tomorrow- Thursday is the day we're staying at the rustic hotel, so I may not be able to communicate at all. Not sure--Yahoo mail has been on the fritz for about 6-8 hrs, or this would have been earlier.

I'll try to post some more pictures after I finish this. Either that or ask Nikki to do it. Hope I'm not boring you and that you find this information refreshing. It's 9:05 Wednesday May 23. Be talking to you. E

Some sights from the trip...

ipod vending machine in Chicago OHare airport
Stockholm Fruit/Flower Market.Totally electric car called the Buddy. I want one.

Narrow streets in Stockholm.

Norway

Loen, Norway

Hi there folks,
Free internet is wonderful as is using an English keyboard.
We spent most of today on the bus seeing things such as the
famous ski jump at Lillehammer, visiting an 800 year old
church and cemetery, and waterfalls and frozen lake and the
Nord Fjiord (say that 3 times really fast)
We left Oslo at 7:30 this morning and arrived in the resort
town of Loen about 6:45. A really LONG day of driving w/
stops along the way. If I can figure out how to do it,
I'm going to post (or maybe get Nikki to post) some
pictures on the blog I sent you information about a couple
of days ago.
We visited a Norwegian farm this morning owned by a man
named Richard Uguul. He grows grain, has a lovely
farmhouse and he and some friends served us Norwegian
waffles with strawberry jam and clotted cream. Really
good, altho' it doesn't sound very good. the main
attraction for me at the farm was several buildings with
sod roofs. This is for insulation and looks really COOL!
Whatever seeds happen to drop onto the sod, that plant
grows. I was visualizing sod houses in Bwd with
bluebonnets planted. That would just be too unusual.

The scenery around the farm was great, huge lake, mountains
and snow on top. After a few more hours of travel, we
came to Lom, the town w/ a "stave church" that name has to
do with it's contsruction. Really pretty, I have pictures.
(In fact over the last 2 days, I'v taken 107 pictures)
We began climbing and climbing (in the bus) and we saw more
and more snow on the mountains. We traveled along a river
and soon it was a river w/ big chunks of ice, then it was a
river with mostly ice. Where we are now, the river/lake
is frozen solid. We are in a mountain resort with a
little town (Loen) at the bottom of the mountain.

We just came back from dinner and it was a large
smorgaasboard--picture the most extensive buffet you've
ever seen and double it. Some unusual foods available
were reindeer, moose, squid, eel, Some I tried, some I did
not. Then there was tiramisu, creme broule, and so many
more desserts, that I hesitate to guess what they were. I
DID NOT TRY THEM ALL.

Tomorrow we go on a Fjiord Cruise and then have free time
in the little town or to do spa things (hot tub, massage,
etc) We were going to get into the hot tub tonite, but it
closes at 8 and it is now 9:20 Tuesday May 22nd. We stay
here another day and night before department to the place
w/ no phone/t.v. service, so I'm sure there will be no
internet. I'll try to get pictures downloaded to the blog
or to Nikki so you can see the beauty of the place. Altho
no picture can capture theis ethereal beauty.

More tomorrow. Have a great day. E

7-11 Again a Few Minutes Later

While I was writing the previous note, Nick was playing w a
slot machine here in the 7/11. He just won 1000 kroner by
putting 10 kroner in the machine. He's not really sure
what he did, but thinks he trippled something
inadvertently.

Tomorrow we're headed to Lillihammer where the Olympics
were in the 90's then on to Loen to a resort in the
mountains.

We're going to the waterfront when we leave here and will
just walk around and see stuff.

It gets dark here about 11-11:30 p.m and the sun comes up
about 4 am. Land of the Midnight Sun!!

But businesses close between 4 and 6, except for restauants
and bars. The patrons at the pub across from our room
celebrated loudly with motorcycles until 3 last night. I
hope they are closed tonite. Someone in our group called
downstairs to ask about the air conditioning because their
room was hot. They were told to open the window.

More tomorrow if we can get connected. Take care! E

Monday aft 3:15, Oslo

I'm writing this from the e mail area of a 7/11 store. The
counter is high and I'm tip toing to reach the keyboard.

Hard Rock Cafe here in Oslo. Now we've
enjoyed HRC's in London, Cancun, San Francisco, Boston, Las
Vegas, New Your and OSLO.

Thanks to Cindy for telling me that Kitty Hawk is well and
not too angry.

I've been asked about the temperature. I'm wearing a
jacket and it is about 55 degrees. Not icy, but not warm.


We've noticed a really cute car here called a Smart Car
made by Mercedes--- it is really tiny and sometimes is
parked vertically when the other vehicles are horizontal.
Our guide tells us that they aren't avilable in the US:

The public bathrooms here are more like a closet--door all
the way to the ceiling-- and sometimes have individual
sinks. Everything is really clean. Today we went to a
sculpture park that was beautiful--more about that later.

Oslo, Norway

Hi! there!
We're having trouble hooking our laptop to the wireless in
this hotel, so I'm using the internet room here.
Interesting differences w- the keyboard. There is no
question mark, the shift key is farther over and I keep
hitting another key. They have double letters like æ ø å
and things weære not used to. Oh, I found the question
mark over the plus. This is tough for a touch typist.

The internet was free at the last hotel, here it is NOT.

We drove thru farmland and rock quarries today for a really
long time. Stopped in a little town for lunch and we had
taken a couple of sandwiches, so it was pretty interesting watching the locals.

Tomorrow we have another Viking ship museum and a tour of
Oslo. Several interesting museums to see in the aft.

Around the corner from our hotel (Bristol) is a restaurant
named "Paris Texas Steakhouse" By the way, the " symbol
is over the 2. Interesting differences.

I'll write more tomorrow. Have a good evening It is 9:15
pm Sunday evening. E

More from Stockholm

Folks,
Still getting night and day adjusted--woke up ready to go
at 2 am (7pm day before- Tx time) this morning. Managed to
talk myself into going back to sleep for awhile.

Breakfast buffet had fish, beans, cold cuts along w/
regular breakfast stuff. Bread is getting much better.
We did a bus tour of the city this morning. Went to City
Hall where the Nobel Prize banquet is held. and then to the
Vasa Ship Museum. Fascinating- and I usually don't care
that much about ships.

We saw the changing of the guard at the Palace and then
with time on our own, we walked around----then the rain
began. I had a pastromi sandwich for lunch cuz that's the
only word on the menu that looked at all familiar.

Today is Saturday and we drive all day tomorrow, so the
blog thing may be set up and working by Monday. You might
try it if you are interested in reading this stuff in that
format. It'll probably be more extensive and detailed.
Anyway, that's all for now, it's still raining and we have
fresh strawberries from the market down the block and a
melange of candies from the Slojdgatans Karamell butik
(candy store). We'll venture out again after it lets up a
bit. Have a great day. E

We are in Stockholm

It's almost 3 pm here Friday, but in Bwd it's 8 am .
I've learned that two fresh orange juices and a coffee in
the airport cost $112 kroner= $18.
I've learned that Swedish bread is hard, chewy and
plentiful.
I've learned that doing crossword puzzles is educational.
I was the only one who knew that SAS was the symbol for
Scandinavian Airlines.
We went from supper at 7 pm Thursday (fast forward 7 hrs)
to breakfast 4 hrs later w/ almost no sleep inbetween.
More later, E