Overnight ferry and a couple of days in Oslo.

Although the idea of an overnight ferry had long appealed to me, I had been hesitant to book it, due to my tendency toward severe sea-sickness. But it looked so cool and like such a fun way to travel! I decided to try out the transdermal patch, which sticks on behind your ear and gradually delivers medication. I was thrilled to have it work well. (Also, the seas were completely calm for the entire journey…)

Boarding the ferry from Copenhagen was easy and well-organized, and we were soon ensconced in our little cabin. We arrived with plenty of time before the ship departed. I decided to go explore the ship, while Cami opted for a nap! The day was beautifully sunny and I availed myself of the open-air bar on Deck 9, where I had a lovely mojito as the ship pulled away from the shore…with the requisite blast of the horn. As we pulled out of the harbor, people stood waving at us from the shore.

Later, we went to one of the many restaurants on board and had mediocre Italian food and a most excellent panna cotta. The beds were comfortable and the sea continued to be smooth. It was a bit disconcerting to wake up to bright sunlight only to find that it was 3:20am! By 8:00am we were on the outskirts of Oslo and could see little towns, boats and inlets as we sipped our coffee. We disembarked about 10:30am and made our way to the hotel.

It turns out that July is kind of a “dead” month for local entertainment in Norway. However, we managed to find an authentic Irish bar, with decent food, good beer and a genuine session happening.

The next day, we planned to do the “hop-on, hop-off” bus tour and see the whole city. This seemed like a good plan at the time. But the fates had other ideas. After being misdirected to the bus stop, we were finally able to board. We settled in with our head phones and anticipation of seeing interesting sites. We rode one stop. The bus then paused for about half an hour while they sold tickets to new passengers. It finally moved again, only to completely stall out as it tried to make a turn in a narrow intersection. And there it stayed.

Passengers finally disembarked. Other buses were backed up behind it and nobody could go anywhere. The tour staff were going back and forth between the different buses trying to figure out what to do. Another bus driver arrived. He seemed more knowledgeable and Cami was hopeful that this guy would get things going again, but I was done with the bus. I went across the street and got a coffee and a croissant. (And contacted the company for a refund!)

Since our carefully laid plans to see the city were pretty much shot, we decided to visit the History museum right nearby. They had an exhibit about Vikings (what else!) that was fairly interesting. But I was hot, tired and cranky, so I made my way back down to the hotel where I could get cooled off. The walk was pleasant, on a broad, car-free pathway in the middle of town. And downhill!

That evening, we had a stroke of luck. Brandi Carlile was in town and performing at the Sentrum Scene, a venue very close by. The concert had been sold out for weeks, but when I checked StubHub, there were exactly two tickets available. I snagged them! It was a fantastic concert!

All in all, we did not see as much of Oslo as we’d hoped. But it was still a fun time…and maybe we’ll be back!

Look, my lad, I’ve had just about enough of this! That parrot is definitely deceased, and when I bought it not half an hour ago, you assured me that its lack of movement was due to it being tired and shagged out after a long squawk.

It’s probably pining for the fjords.

PINING FOR THE FJORDS?! What kind of talk is that? Look, why did it fall flat on its back the moment I got it home?

The Norwegian Blue prefers kipping on its back! It’s a beautiful bird. Lovely plumage.

(And also Berlin…by train!)

After the choir tour finished, I got myself to a different hotel in Warsaw, where I could await my friend Cami who would be traveling on with me. I was pleasantly surprised by this new little hotel, the “Apple Inn”. It was situated in a little courtyard, with a coffee shop and a restaurant and little tables. The room was adorable, fitted out with twin beds and a small kitchenette. This was perfect!

I sat in the courtyard with an Aperol spritz, read my book and people-watched.

Due to some unfortunate circumstances, Cami was not due into Warsaw until almost 9:00pm…after a -hour layover at Heathrow. I had tried to make things easier by booking her a taxi that would meet her at the airport. Alas…even that did not go smoothly. After numerous texts and contacting the taxi service, her ride finally arrived. She made it to the hotel a little after midnight, a little worse for wear. But after a few hours sleep, she was (almost) back to normal.

The next day, we made our way to the train station for our journey to Berlin.

Boarding the train was a bit of an adventure, because they had the wrong track listed until almost 5 minutes before departure. We had been waiting on the designated platform, along with numerous others when suddenly everyone started to make their way to the escalators. We checked the board and lo and behold, the track had changed! Oh, no!

We dragged our bags up and then down again and found the train. Unlike some trains, these have a huge gap between the train and platform AND steps into the train carriage. Cami got on, reached back and grabbed my bag as I managed to basically crawl onto the train carriage. 30 seconds later, the train started moving. After initially sitting in the wrong seats, we found our proper place and breathed a sigh of relief. After a little while, I got myself down to the cafe car and enjoyed a fantastic meal of Wienerschnitzel, potatoes and cucumber salad.…on real china, too! And a local beer.

We only had one night in Berlin but I was determined to make the most of it, and maybe find some jazz. The hotel clerk had several recommendations and I decided to go with the one he said was “the most laid back” at a venue called “The B-Flat.” Because we’d had a long journey, I decided to take a taxi to the venue. (Cami, wisely, decided to catch up on sleep!) Instead of calling an Uber, I (inexplicably) opted to grab a cab that was waiting outside the train station. I gave him the address – on Dirckenstrasse. He took me to Birkenstrasse, which was on the other side of the city. Once corrected, he proceeded in a round-about route to the right destination, with colorful commentary along the way. Like a private tour I hadn’t asked for. He charged me more than twice what I would have paid for an Uber. But since I had been reimbursed for the terrible airport taxi ride, I felt it had evened out.

The jazz show was a big-band style group, which played original tunes in a kind of fusion style. They were very good! And there were five female members of the band, which is quite unusual for a traditional big band. I had a very nice beer and enjoyed myself.

The next day, we had time for a short walk along the river before boarding the train to Copenhagen. A much smoother process than our trip from Warsaw. The train was smooth and spacious and it was so relaxing to just sit back and look at the scenery. There was one very easy train change in Hamburg and then, we arrived in the city of Hans Christian Anderson.

Copenhagen is an interesting city. The open-to bus tour took us around to the sites of note and I stayed on for a second “loop”, this time doing a bit more “hopping-on-and-off.”

The next day, we visited the National Museum of Copenhagen, where they had a fascinating exhibit about the Vikings. This included a pretty cool interactive exhibit about the Viking Sorceress.

We had a fabulous lunch in the square, with a sculpture in the middle, protesting the proposed building of a parking garage by a company called “Q-Park.” Yes, that’s a middle finger…and the sculpture is called “Fuck Q Park.” 😂

And then it was time to board the overnight ferry to Oslo. A most luxurious boat and smooth sailing.

Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen
Friendly old girl of a town
‘Neath her tavern light
On this merry night
Let us clink and drink one down