Well, my wonderful professor called and changed my flight for me, so now I will fly out tomorrow. In the meantime I am holed up in a hotel next to the airport waiting to get back to Merry Old England!
I am so exhausted. *conks out*
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Monday, 11 January 2010
Gonna Miss My Flight
I'm in the train station in Auchen right now (no, I don't know where that is, either. Somewhere in Germany) and going to get to Paris half an hour before my plane leaves. I'm still going to talk to Flybe about my options and see what I can do. Worst comes to worst, I hang out in the airport all night until a plane can leave tomorrow. Though I might try to get a hotel room. :)
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Picasa Web Album Links!
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| Hamburg, Copenhagen, Fuzzy |
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| Helsingor, Copenhagen |
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| Malmo and Hassleholm |
You should know that I was pretty sleep deprived when I wrote the captions for Malmo and Hassleholm. :)
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Hassleholm and Back to England
It reminded me of Union, SC. Mostly residential with a very small downtown and one little main street. It was very cute, but it took me about 20 minutes to see it all. But since I was only there for two nights, it wasn’t a huge deal. Now I shall start the saga of my homeward journey.
This first part is completely my fault. I was later checking out of the hotel than I should have been and missed the train to Malmo I had been planning on taking, which meant I missed the train to Copenhagen, which meant I (thought) I missed the train to Hamburg. I later realized that the 12:45 train that had been delayed was in fact my train, but Hamburg wasn’t its final destination. Bright side: It left about 20 seconds after I got to Copenhagen so I still would have missed it.
I did get tickets to Paris that were actually better than what I originally had and would get me there about an hour earlier with about 3 fewer trains. My first train also wasn’t leaving for about 5 hours. So I went to Hard Rock for lunch (yes, Dad, that was me who texted you ridiculously early in the morning. After all, if it is lunch time where I am it must be lunch time everywhere! This is also why you will soon discover that I left a message on your office answering machine at 6:50am your time) and then back to Malmo. Yes! Back to Malmo for about half an hour in order to send some postcards. Why you ask? Because! I was actually kind of upset that I wouldn’t have the postmark from Sweden on the postcards I sent to my mom because in the rush to get to Copenhagen I hadn’t had time to post them. But since I had the time with my new tix, I decided to take the opportunity. When I got back to Copenhagen I still had a couple of hours to kill so I sat in a café with some hot chocolate.
Random tangent: The whole grubby, smelly traveler look must suit me because two guys were hitting on me (not forcefully, thank goodness) today. One on my second train to Copenhagen and one in the café. The café guy was actually pretty cute.
Anyway, the time comes for my train and…the leg to Hamburg is cancelled because the ferry can’t cross in the weather they’re having. !!! At this point I’m counting down the hours until my flight leaves at 2:30pm Monday. I talk to a lady who is helping people in my situation and she points me in the direction of a train that goes to Germany but not by way of ferry. So I sit for 40 minutes in the cold station on the platform when there is the announcement that people on this train need reservations. O.o So I hurry up and quickly get a (free!!!) ticket for this train to Cologne. I rush back down and what do you know, they’ve changed the platform. At this point I have about 3 minutes until it leaves. Fortunately the platform they changed it to was the one connected to the platform I had been expecting so I was still in the right place, just, as it turns out, at the wrong end of the train. *sigh* I ran my little heart out to get to my carriage, but I made it! And interrupted a kissing couple because I needed to get on. Oh well. And I was on the train when it started moving, but also when it stopped a few hours later. For about 40 minutes. For no reason I could see. I was so relieved when it started moving again! After that I was joined in my compartment by a woman and her teenage kids for a couple hours until they got back off. The woman kind of looked like an older Audrey Tatou. So I’m all curled up, napping across three seats, when I realize that again, the train isn’t moving. I wait and wait and wait. Finally a train guy comes by and tells me that the train won’t be moving for 5 hours. I didn’t ask why, just what was the next train I could catch to Cologne. I am on that train now. I don’t know if I’ll make it to Paris on time. I’m just hoping that if I don’t Flybe will be understanding and exchange my ticket for a later flight (if they have one).
*crosses fingers*
See you on the other side! Of the Channel, that is.
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This first part is completely my fault. I was later checking out of the hotel than I should have been and missed the train to Malmo I had been planning on taking, which meant I missed the train to Copenhagen, which meant I (thought) I missed the train to Hamburg. I later realized that the 12:45 train that had been delayed was in fact my train, but Hamburg wasn’t its final destination. Bright side: It left about 20 seconds after I got to Copenhagen so I still would have missed it.
I did get tickets to Paris that were actually better than what I originally had and would get me there about an hour earlier with about 3 fewer trains. My first train also wasn’t leaving for about 5 hours. So I went to Hard Rock for lunch (yes, Dad, that was me who texted you ridiculously early in the morning. After all, if it is lunch time where I am it must be lunch time everywhere! This is also why you will soon discover that I left a message on your office answering machine at 6:50am your time) and then back to Malmo. Yes! Back to Malmo for about half an hour in order to send some postcards. Why you ask? Because! I was actually kind of upset that I wouldn’t have the postmark from Sweden on the postcards I sent to my mom because in the rush to get to Copenhagen I hadn’t had time to post them. But since I had the time with my new tix, I decided to take the opportunity. When I got back to Copenhagen I still had a couple of hours to kill so I sat in a café with some hot chocolate.
Random tangent: The whole grubby, smelly traveler look must suit me because two guys were hitting on me (not forcefully, thank goodness) today. One on my second train to Copenhagen and one in the café. The café guy was actually pretty cute.
Anyway, the time comes for my train and…the leg to Hamburg is cancelled because the ferry can’t cross in the weather they’re having. !!! At this point I’m counting down the hours until my flight leaves at 2:30pm Monday. I talk to a lady who is helping people in my situation and she points me in the direction of a train that goes to Germany but not by way of ferry. So I sit for 40 minutes in the cold station on the platform when there is the announcement that people on this train need reservations. O.o So I hurry up and quickly get a (free!!!) ticket for this train to Cologne. I rush back down and what do you know, they’ve changed the platform. At this point I have about 3 minutes until it leaves. Fortunately the platform they changed it to was the one connected to the platform I had been expecting so I was still in the right place, just, as it turns out, at the wrong end of the train. *sigh* I ran my little heart out to get to my carriage, but I made it! And interrupted a kissing couple because I needed to get on. Oh well. And I was on the train when it started moving, but also when it stopped a few hours later. For about 40 minutes. For no reason I could see. I was so relieved when it started moving again! After that I was joined in my compartment by a woman and her teenage kids for a couple hours until they got back off. The woman kind of looked like an older Audrey Tatou. So I’m all curled up, napping across three seats, when I realize that again, the train isn’t moving. I wait and wait and wait. Finally a train guy comes by and tells me that the train won’t be moving for 5 hours. I didn’t ask why, just what was the next train I could catch to Cologne. I am on that train now. I don’t know if I’ll make it to Paris on time. I’m just hoping that if I don’t Flybe will be understanding and exchange my ticket for a later flight (if they have one).
*crosses fingers*
See you on the other side! Of the Channel, that is.
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Malmo
Malmo was actually pretty fun, if a little weird. It was about a 20-25 minute walk from the station to my hotel. A hotel that used to be a chocolate factory. O.o How cool is that?! And they have a super-cool elevator. It only has doors on each floor, not on the lift itself! I was pretty excited.
Anyway, like I told you, I spent the first day resting a bit (which I kept having to do more and more as the trip went on) and catching up on things. The second day I decided to go to the Malmohaus Castle and its associated museums. The castle houses three or four museums (depending on if you count the history museum and the castle separately, you have to go through the history museum to get to the castle) and there are several others within about five minutes walking distance that let you enter on the same ticket. I went to all the museums in the castle (history, art, animals and nature, the castle, and the special exhibits on Nelson Mandela and on Chinese pottery) and then to this little, tiny, dinky museum on transportation and mechanics. But don’t let my comments about size deceive you. It was way cool. Much better than the history museum in the castle, which really freaked me out (creepy music and sound effects, plus the fact that I was all alone). It had several airplanes and cars as well as lots of motorcycles. And a submarine!!! It was a U3 that was built by the Swedish for WWII. At least, I think it was WWII. But it was awesome, regardless.
Afterwards I went for a walk in the downtown area. I saw some of the older buildings, like the church and the oldest timber building in Malmo. I also saw the Radhaus. No Ikea, though. It’s out on the outskirts of town. You can see it from the train when you’re coming from Copenhagen, though!
And then the next day I made my way to Hassleholm, which is about an hour away. I had a little trouble finding a train but I managed to solve that little problem.
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Anyway, like I told you, I spent the first day resting a bit (which I kept having to do more and more as the trip went on) and catching up on things. The second day I decided to go to the Malmohaus Castle and its associated museums. The castle houses three or four museums (depending on if you count the history museum and the castle separately, you have to go through the history museum to get to the castle) and there are several others within about five minutes walking distance that let you enter on the same ticket. I went to all the museums in the castle (history, art, animals and nature, the castle, and the special exhibits on Nelson Mandela and on Chinese pottery) and then to this little, tiny, dinky museum on transportation and mechanics. But don’t let my comments about size deceive you. It was way cool. Much better than the history museum in the castle, which really freaked me out (creepy music and sound effects, plus the fact that I was all alone). It had several airplanes and cars as well as lots of motorcycles. And a submarine!!! It was a U3 that was built by the Swedish for WWII. At least, I think it was WWII. But it was awesome, regardless.
Afterwards I went for a walk in the downtown area. I saw some of the older buildings, like the church and the oldest timber building in Malmo. I also saw the Radhaus. No Ikea, though. It’s out on the outskirts of town. You can see it from the train when you’re coming from Copenhagen, though!
And then the next day I made my way to Hassleholm, which is about an hour away. I had a little trouble finding a train but I managed to solve that little problem.
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Thursday, 7 January 2010
A Week in Copenhagen!
Ok. Let's take this day by lazy day. I arrived in Copenhagen on Wednesday, December 29 and left on Tuesday, January 5.
Wednesday -- Arrived early afternoon. Went to the tourist information center across from the Hard Rock Cafe and close to the train station. I also bought $20 batteries. :P Copenhagen ended up being the most expensive city I've been to so far. I finally got to the hotel by taxi. And then I collapsed in my room. I was so tired!
The good: My room was awesome! It was basically a small studio with a little living area and kitchenette with sink, counter, mini-fridge, and microwave. It also came with dishes and cutlery. But by far the best feature was the flat screen TV I could swivel to face my bed. :) And it was definitely cosier when I found the thermostat.
Thursday -- Such a lazy day. I decided to take a day to rest, sleep in, and not worry about doing anything. It was amazing.
Friday -- I went out mid-morning on Friday in order to see the Little Mermaid statue, go to the National Museum, and check out trains at the station. I did a lot of walking. And between the Little Mermaid and the museum, I kind of stumbled upon the changing of the guard.
I found myself walking into a square surrounded by very nice buildings and people were starting to line up facing guards that looked like they were Buckingham Palace rejects (they fidgeted too much). I waited for about 20-25 minutes and sure enough! They had their little ceremony. It was pretty cool. It also gave me the chance to notice that all the little Danish women own huge fur coats.
The museum was pretty cool. They had some great exhibits about Danish history from the prehistoric to modern day. I really liked it. Alas, I was not feeling well (I think it was the transition from cold to warm while still wearing my coat, etc and not giving myself enough time to cool down after a long walk).
Saturday -- I went to see Rosenborg Slott, a castle in Copenhagen, and an art museum (the art museum, really -- Statens museum for Kunst) on Saturday. Unfortunately I did not get as early a start as I really should have and had to hurry to get to the castle before it closed. I did make it, though, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. They have both the castle and the treasury on display so it's a great attraction. They have all this old stuff in the castle that is amazing to see and not only super intricate valuables in the treasury (it's mind-blowing what some people can carve out of ivory) but also the crown jewels!
It's hard to say if I liked the castle or the art museum better. The museum had some great exhibits and I could have spent a lot longer than 3 hours in there. As it was, I saw exhibits on the Harlem Mannerists, "Nature Strikes Back," and Nicolai Abilaard. I was very excited to see not only those but the regular collection as well. They have all kinds awesome artists there, and I found it very interesting to see a lot of the periods I studied in Art History done by Danish artists I had never heard of. I think I could have spent days in there.
Sunday -- I am very glad I did a bit of research on Saturday morning because it meant I used Sunday to go to Helsingor and Hillerod rather than on Monday when the castles would have been closed. I went to Helsingor first to see Kronborg Slot, the castle that inspired Shakespeare's descriptions of Hamlet's castle. It was not as cool as Rosenborg Slot. Most of this was because it had been seized by the Swedes at one point and been sacked before falling into other uses. So they don't have a lot of the original fixtures and it seems pretty bare. The chapel, though, is beautiful.
I then took the wrong train to Hillerod and I still can't decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Good: I got to see a lot more of Denmark than I would have otherwise. Bad: It took an hour longer than I wanted it to so by the time I got to Hillerod, Frederiksborg Slot was closed. I looked around the town for a bit before heading back to Copenhagen.
Monday -- I did the last of my sightseeing on Monday. I went to the Round Tower, by the cathedral, down to Hard Rock, to the post office, and back to my hotel.
One thing I was struck by not only in Copenhagen but everywhere I've been is how well people speak English. I always feel so guilty for not knowing the native language, but everywhere on this trip everyone has been very helpful and better at speaking English than I would be at speaking their languages. Even when I try my best! :)
Tuesday -- On Tuesday I traveled from Copenhagen to Malmo. I also had the most disgusting McDonalds in the world. Seriously, this was so much worse than the gross McDonalds I've had before. >.<
And my room in Malmo is even better than the one in Copenhagen! Why? Because this one also has a stove and a mini-dishwasher. I will take pics before I leave. The elevator is pretty cool, too. No flatscreen, but I can already see the TV from my bed, so no need to swivel one around. :)
Tomorrow: Malmo, Sweden!
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Wednesday -- Arrived early afternoon. Went to the tourist information center across from the Hard Rock Cafe and close to the train station. I also bought $20 batteries. :P Copenhagen ended up being the most expensive city I've been to so far. I finally got to the hotel by taxi. And then I collapsed in my room. I was so tired!
The good: My room was awesome! It was basically a small studio with a little living area and kitchenette with sink, counter, mini-fridge, and microwave. It also came with dishes and cutlery. But by far the best feature was the flat screen TV I could swivel to face my bed. :) And it was definitely cosier when I found the thermostat.
Thursday -- Such a lazy day. I decided to take a day to rest, sleep in, and not worry about doing anything. It was amazing.
Friday -- I went out mid-morning on Friday in order to see the Little Mermaid statue, go to the National Museum, and check out trains at the station. I did a lot of walking. And between the Little Mermaid and the museum, I kind of stumbled upon the changing of the guard.
I found myself walking into a square surrounded by very nice buildings and people were starting to line up facing guards that looked like they were Buckingham Palace rejects (they fidgeted too much). I waited for about 20-25 minutes and sure enough! They had their little ceremony. It was pretty cool. It also gave me the chance to notice that all the little Danish women own huge fur coats.
The museum was pretty cool. They had some great exhibits about Danish history from the prehistoric to modern day. I really liked it. Alas, I was not feeling well (I think it was the transition from cold to warm while still wearing my coat, etc and not giving myself enough time to cool down after a long walk).
Saturday -- I went to see Rosenborg Slott, a castle in Copenhagen, and an art museum (the art museum, really -- Statens museum for Kunst) on Saturday. Unfortunately I did not get as early a start as I really should have and had to hurry to get to the castle before it closed. I did make it, though, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. They have both the castle and the treasury on display so it's a great attraction. They have all this old stuff in the castle that is amazing to see and not only super intricate valuables in the treasury (it's mind-blowing what some people can carve out of ivory) but also the crown jewels!
It's hard to say if I liked the castle or the art museum better. The museum had some great exhibits and I could have spent a lot longer than 3 hours in there. As it was, I saw exhibits on the Harlem Mannerists, "Nature Strikes Back," and Nicolai Abilaard. I was very excited to see not only those but the regular collection as well. They have all kinds awesome artists there, and I found it very interesting to see a lot of the periods I studied in Art History done by Danish artists I had never heard of. I think I could have spent days in there.
Sunday -- I am very glad I did a bit of research on Saturday morning because it meant I used Sunday to go to Helsingor and Hillerod rather than on Monday when the castles would have been closed. I went to Helsingor first to see Kronborg Slot, the castle that inspired Shakespeare's descriptions of Hamlet's castle. It was not as cool as Rosenborg Slot. Most of this was because it had been seized by the Swedes at one point and been sacked before falling into other uses. So they don't have a lot of the original fixtures and it seems pretty bare. The chapel, though, is beautiful.
I then took the wrong train to Hillerod and I still can't decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Good: I got to see a lot more of Denmark than I would have otherwise. Bad: It took an hour longer than I wanted it to so by the time I got to Hillerod, Frederiksborg Slot was closed. I looked around the town for a bit before heading back to Copenhagen.
Monday -- I did the last of my sightseeing on Monday. I went to the Round Tower, by the cathedral, down to Hard Rock, to the post office, and back to my hotel.
One thing I was struck by not only in Copenhagen but everywhere I've been is how well people speak English. I always feel so guilty for not knowing the native language, but everywhere on this trip everyone has been very helpful and better at speaking English than I would be at speaking their languages. Even when I try my best! :)
Tuesday -- On Tuesday I traveled from Copenhagen to Malmo. I also had the most disgusting McDonalds in the world. Seriously, this was so much worse than the gross McDonalds I've had before. >.<
And my room in Malmo is even better than the one in Copenhagen! Why? Because this one also has a stove and a mini-dishwasher. I will take pics before I leave. The elevator is pretty cool, too. No flatscreen, but I can already see the TV from my bed, so no need to swivel one around. :)
Tomorrow: Malmo, Sweden!
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Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Hamburg
I'm not going to lie. This was not my favorite city. It started with an odd taxi ride (he wanted to know the exact address of my hotel, I didn't have it, and then he took me straight there...? I was a little confused) and then an odd tour of the city. I was glad that my hotel wouldn't let me check in right away since it meant I had to go ahead and do my sightseeing. And because I only had a day there, that was a good thing.
I took the bus back to the train station, spent WAY too long trying to figure out the metro and tickets. BTW, if you ever go to Germany, the metro does "require" tickets but no one ever asked to see mine, there were no machines to go through, and they just seemed sort of pointless. In fact I never actually got metro tickets in Cologne, at first because there was no ticket machine at the station nearest my hotel (despite what they said) and then because I never needed one.
Back to Hamburg! Anyway, I wanted to see Beatlesplatz so I took the metro to the nearest station and walked...straight through the red light district (and no, I did not take pictures). I had looked like the RLD was separated from a major street but was not only parallel to that street, but kind of overlapped it. I was a little confused for awhile. But I finally got to Beatlesplatz. I took a few pictures and then had to walk back to the metro. Thankfully it was the middle of the afternoon so nothing too shady was going on. Still made me a little uncomfortable and disinclined to linger.
I then took the metro to the Radhaus. That's what the Germans (and other Germanic languages) call City Hall. And despite it being a pretty big building, I couldn't find it. And I looked. *sigh* I wandered for awhile, my map clutched in my hands.
I finally found a sign that also listed the Chilehaus, another sight I wanted to see. I went there first. What a disappointment. My guidebook described it as "shaped like an ocean liner, with remarkable curved walls meeting in the shape of a ship's bow and staggered balconies to look like decks." I was underwhelmed. Maybe I needed to walk around it a bit, but I was getting pretty frustrated so I went to the Radhaus.
After finally finding it (!) I was pleased. This is the kind of architecture I get really into as a tourist. It's so ornate and you know it took years to get it looking like this. It makes you think of politicians in white wigs debating tax law. I liked it. And since the Alsterarkaden was just across the canal, I went over there for a few minutes. Again, I was underwhelmed.
So I went back to the train station to catch the bus back to my hotel. After about half an hour of walking around very confused, I finally found the stop I needed.
I was happy to be moving on the next day. As far as I'm concerned, Hamburg was only alright.
And just, btw, the bottled water that I got with dinner was absolutely disgusting. It tasted acidic. :P No, Hamburg was not my favorite.
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I took the bus back to the train station, spent WAY too long trying to figure out the metro and tickets. BTW, if you ever go to Germany, the metro does "require" tickets but no one ever asked to see mine, there were no machines to go through, and they just seemed sort of pointless. In fact I never actually got metro tickets in Cologne, at first because there was no ticket machine at the station nearest my hotel (despite what they said) and then because I never needed one.
Back to Hamburg! Anyway, I wanted to see Beatlesplatz so I took the metro to the nearest station and walked...straight through the red light district (and no, I did not take pictures). I had looked like the RLD was separated from a major street but was not only parallel to that street, but kind of overlapped it. I was a little confused for awhile. But I finally got to Beatlesplatz. I took a few pictures and then had to walk back to the metro. Thankfully it was the middle of the afternoon so nothing too shady was going on. Still made me a little uncomfortable and disinclined to linger.
I then took the metro to the Radhaus. That's what the Germans (and other Germanic languages) call City Hall. And despite it being a pretty big building, I couldn't find it. And I looked. *sigh* I wandered for awhile, my map clutched in my hands.
I finally found a sign that also listed the Chilehaus, another sight I wanted to see. I went there first. What a disappointment. My guidebook described it as "shaped like an ocean liner, with remarkable curved walls meeting in the shape of a ship's bow and staggered balconies to look like decks." I was underwhelmed. Maybe I needed to walk around it a bit, but I was getting pretty frustrated so I went to the Radhaus.
After finally finding it (!) I was pleased. This is the kind of architecture I get really into as a tourist. It's so ornate and you know it took years to get it looking like this. It makes you think of politicians in white wigs debating tax law. I liked it. And since the Alsterarkaden was just across the canal, I went over there for a few minutes. Again, I was underwhelmed.
So I went back to the train station to catch the bus back to my hotel. After about half an hour of walking around very confused, I finally found the stop I needed.
I was happy to be moving on the next day. As far as I'm concerned, Hamburg was only alright.
And just, btw, the bottled water that I got with dinner was absolutely disgusting. It tasted acidic. :P No, Hamburg was not my favorite.
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Hello! It's Been Awhile!
So I'm taking the day today to catch up on several things and saving Malmo for tomorrow and Thursday. Which is just as well since it's a holiday today and lots of things are closed. (I really hope some restaurants are open tonight. Guess I'll find out...)
First things first. My last post was in Magdeburg. So two posts are coming! One about Hamburg and one about my week (!!!) in Copenhagen!
Coming Soon! To a blog near you! :)
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First things first. My last post was in Magdeburg. So two posts are coming! One about Hamburg and one about my week (!!!) in Copenhagen!
Coming Soon! To a blog near you! :)
Full Post...
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