Getting ready for Scandinavia was easy (Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Trondheim and Bergen). We were quite excited to see Drew and packing was simple. We had watched Drew pack for his 100 day trek across Europe and decided to be minimalist also. One small suitcase and small backpack would do the trick, with washing half way through!
The flight from Minneapolis to Amsterdam was an eight hour breeze. Three movies and we were there. Lisa watched chick-flicks and Paul watched murder-espionage-war movies! We landed in Amsterdam and were surrounded by fresh tulips! The one hour layover was spent smelling flowers and staying awake. The next flight was to Oslo...Paul's stomping grounds. When we landed and it was as if he was home, the motherland! He walked with with a bounce in his step and high-fived every troll statue he saw! Ufda!! We will be coming back to Oslo, but this trip starts in Copenhagen. We jumped on one more plane and since we had been up 24 hours, neither of us felt the take off or landing. Upon landing we dragged ourselves to the hotel for a quick nap before Drew arrived.
The reunion with Drew was great! He looked healthy and wiser! Drew has been on trains, planes and boats for 80 days. From Russia to Istanbul, France to Germany, Italy to Spain, Morocco to Belgium and everywhere in-between, 18 countries and three continents. We will help add to that list and by the time he gets home he should be around 22 countries in 100 days. Ufda!! He has put on a lot of miles!!
After a few beers and catching up, we retreated to our hotel room, the Bella Sky, for a great 8 hour snooze!! So good to see Drew!! We are happy and had a very restful sleep knowing Drew was in the same town!!
Tuesday, Copenhagen, May 6, 2014
We started the day with breakfast at the hotel, a smorgasbord. Lots of funky breads, cheeses and meats....and pickled herring! We then had a short walk to the metro station. This was a great way to get around town! the Metro was a 10 minute trip into Copenhagen.
My boys laughed at me when I recommend the hop-on and hop-off bus, so we compromised and took the boat tour, which was great. The Netto company gave the tour in English and we got the lay of the land/canals. We had a great morning learning the history and placement of the neighborhoods!! We also toured City Hall, Stroget Pedestrian Street, Nyhaven Sailor Harbor and saw the back side of the Little Mermaid.
Mid afternoon lite lunch included three types of herring and french cheeses. We had a nice dinner at Nyhaven Harbor. I had salmon, Paul had moules frites (mussels and fresh fries with a cream sauce) and Drew had veal and prawns! Very good meal, topped off by Aquavit at the hotel roof bar. We all slept like a baby....once again!!
Wednesday, Copenhagen, May 7, 2014
Day two in Copenhagen and we had an agenda. Usually we are loosey-goosey about agendas, but Paul and Drew had some must see!! Today was Legoland, The Chocolat Hotel (okay, that one was for Lisa), Tivoli Gardens, Carlsberg Brewery Tour and the Meat Packing District for some chic food!! Drew's friend Nate was also coming onto town and we were looking forward to hooking up with him and having dinner....Indian Food!!
Drew bought me a Mother's Day gift...rum truffles...and I bought him a late birthday gift...whiskey truffles. The Chocolat Hotel was fabulous!!
Thursday, Stockholm, May 8, 2014
Today was a day of travel. We had 1:30 flights from Copenhagen to Stockholm. Flight pretty uneventful. When we landed we took a taxi to the southern part of Stockholm, called Sodermalm. We are trying an airbnb apartment with two bedrooms. We will keep you posted.
Friday, Rainy Stockholm, May 9, 2014
We got up s little late this morning. Both boys are heavily into reading novels and since it was raining out, we were moving a little slow. Since going into town would entail a few bus transfers, I suggested the Hop On Hop Off Bus and Boat. The boys agreed and we were off on an adventure!
We walked a mile in the rain to the bus stop and didn't melt. The bus was a double decker and we promptly took our seats on the top floor and immediately put out headphones on for the narration, in english, of Swedish history! It was fabulous and very very interesting!! We stayed on the bus for several hours getting the lay of the land. We saw City Hall, Central Station, Skansen, Museums, King's Palace, Slussen and Old Town. The rain stopped, so we jumped off and had lunch in Old Town.
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