Caitlin and I decided to do a whirlwind tour of Scandinavia. It’s quite expensive, so we didn’t want to stay for too long, but still wanted to get a taste of it. We decided to go to Gothenburg, Sweden, then to Copenhagen, Denmark, then pop into Amsterdam in the Netherlands (technically not part of Scandinavia). We, of course, had a spot of trouble with trains, though (is anyone else noticing a theme….?). We left Berlin at about 6:30 am to take the metro to the train station. We’ve of course taken the train everywhere around Berlin, so we’re old pros at this and know it should take about 20 minutes. We left ourselves a little better than an hour. But there was construction, and since neither of us speaks German, we didn’t understand the announcement for how they were rerouting metros. We eventually figured it out, but it cost us a good bit of time. We made it to the train station, ran to our train, and with Caitlin’s hand on the door it pulled away. So close. There was another train later, but the connection time with the later train left us 18 minutes, so it would be close. We got some coffee, bought snacks for the train, and caught the next one. We were going to Gothenburg via Copenhagen, then doubling back to Copenhagen to actually see the city on our way to Amsterdam. But the train itself went on a ferry to get to Copenhagen. I had no idea whatsoever they could do that. But with weather conditions and all, our train was 45 minutes late, and we missed the connection to Gothenburg by a long shot. But that’s the thing about travelling – you have to go with the flow and enjoy wherever the adventure dumps you. So we found a hostel in Copenhagen and decided to just catch another train in the morning.
We finally arrived in Gothenburg, and the Swedes definitely have style. It would have been a great city for shopping, if only I were rich. We stayed at a bed and breakfast, since it was only a few euro more than a hostel, and it was a lovely respite – they even provided robes and slippers. We walked about a bit, went to a steakhouse for dinner Donal had recommended (Caitlin was kind enough to humor me, vegetarian that she is), and went to a suggested pub called The Rover. They have the largest whiskey collection of any bar in Gothenburg. I had a smoky Ardbeg Alligator whiskey which was incredible, and we just enjoyed the evening. And sleeping in giant, comfy beds. And proper showers in the morning. And a more quality breakfast. Sadly, we didn’t enjoy the rain the next day, but the B&B lent us umbrellas. It’s funny how such a small thing can make such a big difference in your day. We did do a bit of shopping and admiring, and Caitlin replaced her boots (the soles had peeled off with all our walking). There was a restaurant the Gothenburg lads had recommended while we were in Berlin called Heaven 23, which is on the 23rd floor of a tower and looks at all over the city. They also sell Swedish dishes. We had hoped to go there, but it was just too miserable being out, and we found delicious salads where we were. We took a taxi back to the rail station, and landed back down in Copenhagen. I really like Sweden, but I want to go there again when I actually have money to spend.
In Copenhagen we followed a trail on the map that took us all around the city. It was quite beautiful, especially by the water. We got to see the Little Mermaid statue, erected in honor of Hans Christian Anderson, as he was from Copenhagen. We concluded our walk with a late lunch/early dinner by the water, and I tried an open-faced sandwich with herring – very Scandinavian. It wasn’t bad, though it’s not something I would continue ordering off the menu given other choices. We took a night train to Amsterdam, one of the ones with couchettes. That actually worked out pretty well, and we got enough sleep that we weren’t completely exhausted the next day. Sadly, I left my phone on the train somehow, which isn’t the end of the world, but certainly an inconvenience. Amsterdam is actually a beautiful city, and there’s so much going on there. We decided to take a tour on the coffee shops, since it’s such a part of the culture there. We learned all about the history or marijuana, the laws in the country surrounding it, all the different kinds there are and forms it comes in, proper coffee shop etiquette should you choose to go in and purchase something, etc. It was quite interesting and informative. We went to dinner at a restaurant our tour guide recommended for local dishes, and called it a night. Again, a very short trip, and it would have been nice to spend longer in each Gothenburg, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam, but I’m glad we got to see a little bit of each. Tomorrow it’s off to London….
We finally arrived in Gothenburg, and the Swedes definitely have style. It would have been a great city for shopping, if only I were rich. We stayed at a bed and breakfast, since it was only a few euro more than a hostel, and it was a lovely respite – they even provided robes and slippers. We walked about a bit, went to a steakhouse for dinner Donal had recommended (Caitlin was kind enough to humor me, vegetarian that she is), and went to a suggested pub called The Rover. They have the largest whiskey collection of any bar in Gothenburg. I had a smoky Ardbeg Alligator whiskey which was incredible, and we just enjoyed the evening. And sleeping in giant, comfy beds. And proper showers in the morning. And a more quality breakfast. Sadly, we didn’t enjoy the rain the next day, but the B&B lent us umbrellas. It’s funny how such a small thing can make such a big difference in your day. We did do a bit of shopping and admiring, and Caitlin replaced her boots (the soles had peeled off with all our walking). There was a restaurant the Gothenburg lads had recommended while we were in Berlin called Heaven 23, which is on the 23rd floor of a tower and looks at all over the city. They also sell Swedish dishes. We had hoped to go there, but it was just too miserable being out, and we found delicious salads where we were. We took a taxi back to the rail station, and landed back down in Copenhagen. I really like Sweden, but I want to go there again when I actually have money to spend.
In Copenhagen we followed a trail on the map that took us all around the city. It was quite beautiful, especially by the water. We got to see the Little Mermaid statue, erected in honor of Hans Christian Anderson, as he was from Copenhagen. We concluded our walk with a late lunch/early dinner by the water, and I tried an open-faced sandwich with herring – very Scandinavian. It wasn’t bad, though it’s not something I would continue ordering off the menu given other choices. We took a night train to Amsterdam, one of the ones with couchettes. That actually worked out pretty well, and we got enough sleep that we weren’t completely exhausted the next day. Sadly, I left my phone on the train somehow, which isn’t the end of the world, but certainly an inconvenience. Amsterdam is actually a beautiful city, and there’s so much going on there. We decided to take a tour on the coffee shops, since it’s such a part of the culture there. We learned all about the history or marijuana, the laws in the country surrounding it, all the different kinds there are and forms it comes in, proper coffee shop etiquette should you choose to go in and purchase something, etc. It was quite interesting and informative. We went to dinner at a restaurant our tour guide recommended for local dishes, and called it a night. Again, a very short trip, and it would have been nice to spend longer in each Gothenburg, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam, but I’m glad we got to see a little bit of each. Tomorrow it’s off to London….
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