The evening in Warsaw was nigh, and I was to meet Catherine, Emma, and whoever else might come with at 9:00 or 10:00. The place? The base of the famed King Sigmund III Statue in the old town of Warsaw. I made it there for 9:00, scarfing down some trashy fast food that was definitely not delicious en route. 10:00 was the backup plan because I had no idea what time they would get in, so when nobody showed up at 9:00, I went on a very worthwhile hunt for internet to discover the latest news and meanwhile discovered instead that the old town of Warsaw is beautiful and full of photo-ops at night. I don't get to do enough night shooting, I think I've only done it in Lisbon, Prague, and now Warsaw. I hope that they can convey how great it is here.
Anyway, I got back from my internet hike at 10:05 with the message that they were going to be meeting me after all. It turned out that I caught up to them from behind walking to the statue, so I snuck up on them and snapped a picture as I yelled something more incoherent than usual. It was so good to see them again, really, I only knew them over 20 days, and I've only not seen them for a week, but hey, I missed them. Catherine, Emma, and Danielle had trekked it over to see me, which was very nice of the three, considering it was a 45 minute "Jane someone" power walk and they got my message just before 9:30. Which also explained why there were only three. I hoped. They were to bring me back to the pub where everyone was, but a drink/rest was in order first, so we sat in the old town square with our assorted drinks and caught up on each others' tours. Sounds like Russia is quite the place, with people absolutely despising tourists (and blatantly charging them double or worse, refusing entrance to people they don't like, and generally looking for excuses to earn a bribe). Things sounded bad but very interesting and that really only got me more excited to go/disappointed that I wasn't, but also convinced me that I was not going to go alone. So that decision's been made, for the time at any rate.
After our brief rejoinder, we caught the bus back to their hotel (yes, I admit it was a right turn, not a left), which, I should say, compared to our Contiki campgrounds and my hostel, is the Ritz. 4 Star, Jacuzzi, big comfy beds, sandalless showers, and towels provided. But more on that later. The pub we were supposed to meet everyone at was reputed to be pretty close, but we combed blocks and blocks where it was supposed to be and even where it wasn't supposed to be, if we heard music coming from somewhere, and did not find it. We had to give up, and so I walked back to the hotel (just to give you an idea how unused to hotels I am, I mistyped hostel right there) and bam, Darren in the lobby. And there were the four of us (Danielle had gone to bed when we looked for the pub), just like our cabin in Mo I Rana, except instead of cards, it was vodka, which they were now old pros with. They had some good Russian stuff, and it definitely was good. Man, it was good to see these people again!
So back to this hotel, well, it turns out there happened to be an extra bed in one of the rooms, and wouldn't you know it, they'd already worked out that I could stay there with them. Dean is at the Ritz, baby! Of course, I'd be using the same clothes tomorrow as all my stuff is locked back at the hostel, and I had to borrow Darren's spray deoderant and brush my teeth with their toothpaste and my finger, but it was the Ritz. Better still, I got a nice, cheap as free breakfast the next morning. And then Mel, their tour guide, actually remembered me from our 5 minute meeting in Helsinki (perhaps because she's also Canadian), and before I could ask to tag along for the day, she invited me. What a sweetie! I also got to run into the rest of the old crew this morning, which was a great way to start the day.
I boarded their Contiki coach and there was Jolanda, a local guide for Warsaw, who showed us all the sites and explained their significance. Then, free time. I wandered around with the twins, Dave (ah, The Simpsons juices flowed once more) & Belinda, Rob, Catherine, and Emma. However, that number quickly dwindled as the twins did some errands, Dave & Belinda had lunch, Emma went shopping, and Rob took off for the Culture Center. So Catherine & I strolled down the Royal Road, where all the landmarks are pretty much just lined up waiting. The thing with Warsaw is that it was systematically destroyed by the Nazis after the Jewish ghetto here had an uprising and then the entire city had a second one. They wanted it gone off the map. 85% of the city was levelled, shelled, burned, and blown up. And they rebuilt it, in some parts like the old town, exactly as it was (based on old paintings and photos) but other parts with the benefit of foreknowledge of the automobile. Which means nice, wide avenues and a pretty good layout, and that the monuments, most of which were either destoryed or pilfered and THEN destoryed, could be built again and put somewhere convenient. The rebuilding of the old town was so well done that it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. So that's a little history to fill out this already sprawling entry.
Anyway, Catherine and I passed the hostel on the way down our stroll, and I went in and negotiated to have the money I'd already paid go for a room tomorrow instead of today since she wouldn't give me a refund. It was quite the effort, but basically it meant I got my next night in the hotel free. And I could REALLY Ritz it up ala my own deoderant. That's right. I also tagged along on one of their optional excursions, to go see a Chopin performance, which was cool. The woman can tinkle those keys, let me tell you. Then, off to dinner with the usual suspects, and out for a night on the town with everyone from our tour that was on the Russian leg. Plus me. It was great to finally catch up with everyone else, too, I hadn't had much time up until then.
The next day, they left at 8 AM, which meant I had to get back to my hostel at 8 AM, which was difficult considering I was tired and sick with a little bit of a stomach flu. Seems I caught the bug that went around their bus. I took some Immodium which did help (eventually) and got back to my hostel anticipating a nice solid crash. Instead, I discovered they had filled up the night prior and I couldn't check in until 2 PM. So no sleep for the wicked. So, I headed off and checked out some of the things we glanced by or missed the day prior, including the other side of town, which you could also call the other/wrong side of the tracks or the Russian district. It belonged to the Soviets and so it wasn't gutted and destoryed by them or the nazis, apparently, but it wasn't exactly the model of urban rejuvenation either. As well, I ran into the Contiki Eastern Europe tour and Jolanda again, and it turns out she's going to Krakow tomorrow as well, so we're going to meet at the train station and maybe I'll get some of the lowdown or a bit of a tour of Krakow. Or else some company on the train. Either way.
Anyway, as I mentioned, I'm a little under the weather but nothing bad, but I wanted to have an easy day (failed). So instead of going out tonight, I thought I'd finally see War of the Worlds. I went with the receptionist from our hostel (the one whom I negotiated my little reservation rearrangement) and quite enjoyed it. Spielberg did a great job, and Tom Cruise didn't even annoy me in any way. Also, I saw some of the previews for other movies and must say I'm quite looking forward to seeing a lot of those when I get back and maybe a few (King Kong) over here. And now, I'm going to bed. Tomorrow, Krakow, and then... the world.
Oh, and I just heard that Jess will be in Krakow on Friday night, so that's really great too, Contikites of Europe, unite!
Our Contiki tour wrapped up nicely with a few days respite in Copenhagen. I stayed in a room with Nick, Steph, and Jess and hung out with them as well as Chad & Martymer for the next couple days and also got some serious updating done to my internet presence. The first day I mostly slept, awaking in time to get in on a pizza delivery order and watch part of a movie with Gene Hackman and Hugh Grant that looked spectacularly awful. The next day was a little more eventful. Chad cooked up a nice chicken dinner, and we went out for Marty's birthday to Absalon in Copenhagen. The barmaid took care of us, and the live acoustic act certainly catered to us, not to mention chatting with some Swedish girls in town for the night. All in all, it was a much needed breather, let me assure you.
It was sad to finally leave the campsite, I think that's when it hit that I'm alone again, but by the time I'd made the trek to the train station to get back into the city, the music was going and I'd forgotten my sorrow. I took off to Malmo, which was much less lively than expected, partly because it was too early in the week and partly because the students all go home over the summer. They have a good and well-renowned music scene generally. I met a Dutch guy named Inga (who is aware of his name's female implications in all languages except Swedish), who turned out to be a writer for a Dutch music mag and a bit of an electronica enthusiast/writer. We had a great time at the pub chatting but I'd decided it was time to leave Malmo by the end of the night.
So the next day I was off to Lund for a few hours, a nice place but not much to see, and then I went up to Göteborg (yoo-te-bor) and found my way to a hostel. Which turned out to be the only one with an all night reception, but no rooms. He did offer me the coveted janitor's room, however, which I gladly took. It actually wasn't bad at all. I didn't get woken up, I had the room to myself, and, I slept better than I had in some time. I upgraded to a dorm the next night, and spent the day exploring. It's quite a cool city and very alive, I'd definitely recommend it to anyone travelling through Sweden in July. I took a guided tour on a boat and wound up in a café chatting with two guys and two girls for a couple hours. One of them offered me a ride to Stockholm today since she was heading that way anyway, but given that it's a 6 hour drive and a 3 hour train ride, I had to pass. I went to Liseberg, the largest amusement park in Scandi, since I had free admission, and did splurge on one ride - a wooden rollercoaster. Well worth the 40 minute wait and the 60 SEK which, for my own sanity, I will not translate into dollars.
I made my way back to the hostel to change for a night on the town and wound up hanging around and chatting with some of the other hostellers. Big mistake. I now had three tag alongs, one of whom was drunk out of his tree, the other two who didn't want to go where I wanted to. So we walked along a street nearby and were denied access to one place because the guy was too drunk (if you look the slightest bit drunk, they don't let you in here at all), another because the other guy was not 23, and wound up at this place that I found out from some locals I saw walking by is sort of a joke, called the Red Room. It wasn't sketchy, per se, but I get the feeling they'd use it in a sentence the way we'd use the Barry or something.
And now, today, I'm going to do a little more museum stuff until my pass expires and grab the express train to Stockholm. I've given some serious thought to picking up a phone over here, just because it would be very convenient for calling hostels, orchestrating meet ups, and even checking email away from these cafés I get trapped in. But I would either be paying roaming charges in other countries or changing my number all the time, so maybe I'll hold out yet.
That's all for now. The Contiki trip blog is finally finished. Whew!
With Christmas a distant memory, we headed for Helsinki on Boxing Day, though we were even more tired than before for the most part. I think the average sleep was about 3 hours, and I was below that. Even pancakes and gnutella couldn't bring us back from the dead. Helsinki, for its part, was awesome. It's an absolutely gorgeous city, parts of it modelled after St. Petersburg, but all of it with its own charm - definitely my favourite of the Scandinavian capitals. It also, by vote from both men and women, took the contest for Most Attractive Locals. Amazing considering the competition!
We took a little bit of a tour today, seeing Upenski Cathedral, Church of the Rock (a very impressive church built right into the stone, with a ceiling made of 32 km of copper strips), Senate Square, and so on. Catherine & I strolled through the city and found the famous hot chocolate man, whom we've decided has earned his right to be famous. Then a stroll to Upenski, the harbour, the market (where we picked up some wild strawberries and a few Finnish peas), and ran quickly through Nordstan, a famous department store.
This was to be our last night with the folks departing for Russia, so we went out for dinner at Armadillo, which was reputed to have some tasty dinner. Unfortunately, we didn't book ahead, so we split ways for dinner. I talked to the staff there and they recommended another restaurant down the street with equally good food, called Memphis. I wasn't keen on the name, but about 20 of us went over there and discovered that it was quite tasty. I had a steak, which I'd been craving again (at the moment, I'm craving a cinnamon bun like crazy) and everyones' meals seemed quite good. Some even went back for lunch the next day.
Despite the split, we did all meet (or, given the context, maybe that should be 'meat') up at a pub at 9:00 for drinks and goodbyes. It was a little sad to say bye, but c'est la vie. We walked back to the hostel much later that evening and I'm sad to say that I got us slightly lost, though I credit a large part of that to my own foolishness in asking a drunken Chad for directions instead of a sober one earlier in the evening. The rooms were saunas, and not much sleep would be had tonight.
In spite of sleeping in a steam room, I still managed to wake up and get outside to say a final goodbye to the Russkies the next morning, even though it was just in pajamas and sandals. Goodbyes aren't much fun, I should tell you, but I was determined to do my best. I meant to make the most of Helsinki by exploring that morning, but fell back asleep by accident until almost noon. So I grabbed a bite in town, strolled around, sat in the park, and then made my way back in time to catch the Love Boat.
Ah, the Love Boat. There's not much I can tell you about it other than it's an overnight ferry to Helsinki from Stockholm, but is more like a cruise/party ship. And that's what we did. We sat on the deck in the sun, watching the islands of Helsinki drift by, with buckets of Smirnoff in front of us. We ate an all you can eat/drink buffet which culminated in me becoming general (ask when I get home) and Sean receiving a little pink in the hair, and then went to the disco to party the evening away. Gord & I hung out mostly, and man was he hilariously toasted. Like, let's chat up these two girls who are FAR too young, toasted. Like, walking outside, past the WC, turning the corner, leaning against the ferry wall with one hand, and taking a nice whiz in the rather public walkway toasted. So, it was good times. I didn't have to deal with a stalker (Juaquin), losing a dance off (Chad), or entering a karaoke contest (Anita).
Chad did his best to keep the party going on the bus once we got off, but given our lack of sleep, it maybe lasted an hour. There was front-of-the-bus chit chat, impressions, microphone passing, and so on. Soon, everyone was making the best of our friends' departure... two seats for sleepery. Getting back to Copenhagen was nice, sort of a return to where we came from, older, wiser, and more sleep deprived than ever. We all went for dinner to Rosie McGee's, which was an Amigos style place (down to the Mexicana and live music) and pretty decent all said. The boys were presented with gifts and poems, and the rest of us with heaps of food, and then back to the camp for most of us for a final farewell party that never really got off the ground. I wound up finally talking to Andrea a little and going through all our collective photos, it's too bad that you talk to some people and not others, but it's a necessity on a 20 day trip, I guess.
The morning breakfast was our final farewell for many more of these people, but they will always live on... in their respective countries. Where they will be victims of ceaseless emails and, when the technology is developed, smellograms. I had some doubts going into this Contiki trip, but all of them turned out to be unfounded. I was with 45 great people, had a great time, don't really regret missing Roskilde anymore, and saw some things I likely would've missed on my own. Thanks to all, especially Chadster, Seanovan, and Michelle for making it a great time. Now, back to our regularly scheduled European adventure.
With our excursion to Nordkapp successfully completed, we were due south. Especially given that there are very few other directions we could travel from up there. So, in order to obey the laws of physics, we did just that. We took off in the morning to Rovaniemi, perched on the Arctic Circle in Finland. You may have heard of it... Santa has his village here. It´s a lot more convenient than the north pole and the reindeer are plentiful, after all.
The trip was long and sleep was taken by many on the bus. As usual, I had to stay away, frozen in terror (see photo). Today was my day as cookie (cook), and we did up a nice chicken curry that was both tantalizing and tempting. As always, the credit goes to Sean for his wonderful cookery skills. Aside for non-Aussies: Cookery n - Food obtained after a night on the town. The 'r' should be rolled as though you're a pirate. Anyway, we ate some food and then Darren and I got to work on the pool table. Now here's the part nobody will believe, but it's true. After a little warming up had taken place, I proceeded to do the following two feats in one evening:
1) Clear the table on my first shot. 2) Sink the 8 ball off the break.
Needless to say, the crew was fooled into thinking me some sort of Pool God, and who could blame them? Perhaps someday, I shall reign again. I should mention that when we first showed up, I took a walk along the water with the twins, the Spaniard, the Rob, and the nemesis (aka Lee). I also took another walk a little later with Catherine, though the mosquitos proved to be a little vicious.
We stopped the next morning at Santa's Village, where I treated myself to a new wallet given that my old one was unfit to hold even Canadian money ever again. It's nice and made of Reindeer leather, which also qualifies it as my first souvenier. We actually ran into the man himself at the village, Mr. Klaus, who was gracious enough to stop for a photo with Catherine, Emma, Belinda, Dave, and I, and then we headed off to Keuru. En route, we all wrote down and Chad read our trip highlights, which was at times hilarious and also very nice. Melissa had a certain indiscretion of mine as her highlight, which definitely makes a person feel good (thanks, Mel!). Mine was about the horrific movie in Nordkapp, which, really, was the hardest I'd laughed in some time.
That night, we celebrated Christmas a little early, and had a Secret Santa gift exchange which was a lot of fun. Would you believe that Jess & I bought the exact same thing!? I thought I would be the only one with a Scandinavia Disc, and certainly the only one with a Scandinavia 5 disc. Crazy! Plus we had a nice Christmas dinner courtesy of Sean. The night also marked the creation of Los Tres Amigos, and some horrifically amusing Mexican accents and ancestry. It's funny because something similar happened on our last trip, and neither time was it my idea. We all sported cheesy mustaches for the occasion. Finally, as with any Christmas celebration, there was drinking, and lots of it. Everyone had a good time, I think, whether it was plummeting through a veritable canyon between two boulders, shotgunning beer (and then reverse shotgunning them back again), or something else entirely, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.
It wasn't on the itinerary, but on the way up to Hammerfest, we stopped at a place with some ancient rock carvings, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was a good call on Chad's part, because even if it turned out to be nothing too spectacular (and it wasn't) it wasn't really dull either... certainly better than a Shell station. We had a large Russian looking woman to tell us what it could be and also that it could be anything else. Meaning we walked around and she would say, "This may be a boat where they hunted the reindeer. But it may not be. Maybe it's just a reindeer with no legs." It was actually rather amusing and she endeared herself to us.
We arrived mid-afternoon into Hammerfest, and I explored the surrounding hillside for an hour or two with Rob and then also with Juaquin and Gord later, before dinner. After dinner, it was on with the dress clothes and we packed on to the coach for the night trek to Nordkapp, leaving at 7:30 PM. The drive up was the first and only time we were allowed to drink on the bus, and it was quite a party as far as I remember. The coach trip has never gone so fast. There was something called the Booth of Truth, where basically anyone who used the washroom (impossible not to, incidentally) had to come to the front and answer three questions on the microphone. Questions of which nature I won't repeat on this family-oriented blog, but I'm sure you can guess. Needless to say I ducked out of my questions rather shamelessly.
Today was the first day where it appeared the weather was not going to cooperate, which was too bad because I think it's one of the most important days to have decent weather, but given our luck so far, I wasn't too upset about it. We arrived in a thick fog and made our way inside the visitors' centre. We discovered a line in which we waited up to 20 mins for a movie which I consider to be one of the greatest travesties of our time. It was supposed to be on Nordkapp but instead was helicopter footage set to music over other parts of Norway, coupled with dramatic plunges into the sea to view... nothing... and then random closeups of flowers where the music would get all tense for some reason and then one of the screens would slowly zoom in. Being that everyone else was in agony and it was sooo poorly done, I actually found it to be hilarious and even took some video of the movie. We had some French people behind us badmouthing us 'English' and being a battleaxe, so when she'd finished the worst of it, I turned around and said, "Pardon". You should've seen the look of horror on her face. Priceless. Anyway, the movie was actually quite amusing, albeit unintentionally so.
We got out and went to the window. The fog had lifted slightly! So we went outside and got a few shots and noticed the fog continuing to clear. The clock neared midnight and with about 10 minutes to go, as though God himself had parted the cloud for us, we had the midnight sun shining through the clouds. We really were blessed with exceptionally terrific weather this whole trip. Seeing the sun at midnight was rather an undefinable but definitely amazing experience, even though we'd perhaps become accustomed to late night light already since we'd been winding our way north for over a week by now. We hung around for a little while longer and headed back on the bus at about 12:30 for the trek home, getting in just before 4 AM.
After a nice sleep-in, I headed into town with Naomi and we hung around for awhile. She had some sad news on the internet front but I was happy to be able to help her a little. Then we split ways and I went to find my fishing crew. I was a little nervous about deep sea fishing and even the small waves on the way out did make me a little queasy. Thankfully, Carissa had some anti-nausea stuff that I took before which may have saved me. Once we got out, we hand reeled everything. It was really too easy. Drop in a line. Untangle it from someone else's. Pull it up. A fish. Maybe two (I caught two). Possibly three. I'll be honest, I wasn't actually a big fan of it, even catching the fish. It was neat to have caught it, but, I don't know. I wouldn't do it again, I guess.
We rode back in, ate our catch, and then it was time for the Polar Plunge. As in, swimming in the Arctic Ocean. Wellsir, let me just say that it is COLD. Like, much colder than I've ever swam at the lake or anywhere else. I tried three times to get in and get my head wet, which I had done no problem in Mo I Rana, and only succeeded because Juaquin and Chris decided I must and helped me along, if you will. Still, I did it and it did live up to its name for sure. Then we climbed back up all the rocks we'd had to climb down to get there, took a sauna, and headed into town. The pub was alright, not too shabby, and it was nice because a lot of people came out. I wound up sitting with a bunch of girls and Chris and getting the latest on the gossip scene for a spell, though I did sit with everyone sooner or later. There were some strange locals, some of which were hitting on Chris, other wouldn't leave us alone, and so on. We ditched the place eventually and headed back for the night around 1:30, under full light of day. Ah, the great light north.
Today was a momentous occasion, for it marked my final day as a dishy (i.e. doing dishes). To celebrate, we did absolutely nothing, and what a great time we had! We left for Trondheim stopping first at a place called, seriously, Dumbass. Which was really just a souvenier stand/place to get some food and, in fact, the same one we'd stopped at on the way up though I didn't mention it then. We also stopped in Hell. Apparently, Norway has a bit of a confidence problem. It was a short drive to Trondheim, and we arrived with plenty of time to walk around.
I quite enjoyed the city and would rather have spent more time here than Oslo, it's quite beautiful and used to be the capital of Norway once upon a time. I walked with Darren along the grassy riverbank (called a beach by locals) and admired the cute Norwegians. After exploring sufficiently, I found a camera shop that I was able to recover some of my hires photos that I accidentally deleted, though I ran out of time at the end. The guy who ran the store didn't charge me for using his computer or using the internet while the recovery software was running, which was very nice of him.
One of the best parts of Trondheim is that we were in a hostel near the centre, which means going out without having to worry about metro shutdown times or cab rides home. We went back to the hostel and changed for a night on the town, and for some reason I didn't bring my camera with me, but most of us headed out for all you can eat pizza (a big competition between Gord & Juaquin ensued with Gord finishing 12 pieces in 20 minutes and Juaquin edging him out at 13) and then some 10 pin bowling. Both were a lot of fun, even if I was near the bottom with my awe-inspiring score of 76. We hit the town and partied together, then thanks largely to Juaquin's maneuverings, he, Gord, Rob and I wound up chatting with seven very cute local girls. I somehow ended up with the cutest, at least in my opine, whom we all agreed looked a little like Kate Hudson. I walked back to the hostel with Nick and we watched the sunrise at around 2 AM and then I hung out with Emma and Catherine in the lobby and chuckled impolitely at a couple girls' misfortune at discovering bedbugs.
The next day, July 7, was a long trek to Mo I Rama, broken up by a beautiful picnic spot. We were sitting right on the river with our feet in it admiring the tranquility when someone received word on their cellphone of terrorist bombings in London, it was a very surreal moment to be in this place of nature and thinking about the jungle of society and the degenerate scum that inevitably appear within. In any case, the lunch was nevertheless beautiful and we all did our best to thoroughly enjoy our stop there despite the news. As I sat there I suddenly saw something whiz by my face. A grape! I returned fire and then decided I would try to catch the grapes in my mouth from the riverbank. Soon there were several people doing it, though I succeeded only once.
We had a beautiful cabin in Mo I Rama, right on the river. There was a big room and a small room, or rather, a closet attached to the washroom where someone had somehow fit in two beds. Darren saved me from this by claiming the top bunk in the big room as mine. The river was from a glacial melt in the nearby mountains, and no more than 7 dergees C, so some of us went swimming in it. It was bloody cold, but good fun. I had a competition with Melissa which I managed to win, somehow, and stayed in for about 20s before the stabbing sensation was too much. That night there was an 80s party hosted by Emma & Catherine that was a lot of fun! We sat on their porch and chatted and drank while listening/singing to 80s music and admiring the view. Towards the end of the night, the party was winding down, and I felt it my responsibility to revive it. So when Joy To The World came on, I 'sang' the first line at the top of my lungs...
Jeremiah was a bullfrog!
Apparently, it was funny, and I suppose I can see how given that it was pretty quiet at that point and, to everyone else, came out of nowhere. It became something I was famous for, put it that way, and the number of times I would hear this moment referenced throughout the remainder of the trip has become more uncountable than pi.
The next day was rather relaxed. We left for a beautiful walk to see a glacier. We had to get on a ferry, cruise down a fjord, and then hike through some really cool metamorphose (thanks, Lee) rocks to get there for about 30 mins, but it was completely worth it. We were warned by the Chadster to not approach it nor stand on it (or do so at our own peril), but when you see this thing in person, you realize that you must.
So I did. I walked up there, ran into Lee, and we both touched the glacier. Then I decided to get in one of the caves quickly for a photo. I got a couple photos all of which were great. The glacier creaked overhead (Lee has a picture of this as well, she probably thought it would be an action shot of my demise) and I got out of there. Then I decided to stand on it and Lee again took a photo, but neglected to get in my feet so it looked like I was just standing in front of it. We became mortal enemies at this point (I sometimes think she took me seriously) and then hiked back together and joined the rest of the group.
Since it was a free day, Chad thought we might seek out some gocarts, and we looked for them but to no avail. It was a fun adventure through nowhere, though. We also crossed over the arctic circle and stopped at the Arctic Circle centre today since tomorrow was a long drive. So now I've done it. I've joined people like the Sea Captain in The Simpsons in crossing the Circle. We had a so-called beach party to which noone turned up looking remotely in the theme, but it was fun anyway. I had a good chat with Catherine, and Darren stumbled into the room drunk and singing as was his way, so I made sure he drank a lot of water and went back to the campfire for a bit before hitting bed. I also got to teach some people how to roast marshmallows properly and went through the entire bag I'd bought for the occasion rather quickly.
It was a good day to get no sleep, because the next day was called Marathon day, the longest single day trip of any in all the Contiki tours. I managed to sleep 3 hours of it on the bus for the first time, perhaps aided by Gord who is no stranger to a little sleep on the bus, as he was sitting beside me. We made it to Ramfjord and Darren, Emma, Catherine, and I played cards in the cabin before calling it an early night around 12. I wandered out of the cabin around 12:30 in my pjs because the sky was so cool and got a nice shot of what 1 AM looks like this far north. Tomorrow would be another long trip to Hammerfest leaving at 6:30 AM, so I toddled to bed shortly after.
Oslo was quite a disappointment with the exception of a magnificent statue park which one sculptor dedicated his entire life to filling. The city itself is unimpressive at best, very little in the way of unique architecture, happenings, or anything else. To be fair, we were there on a Sunday, but even so, I've enjoyed myself fine in other European cities just fine. Luckily, we weren't there too long. We checked out the Vassa Museum, a museum built around an old but massive boat that sunk in the 1600s and was saved 40 years ago, which was pretty worth seeing - we especially had fun with the kid's game downstairs where you attempt to build and load a boat that stays upright in heavy squalls. We also checked out the Viking Museum and Kontiki museum which were way too expensive, but in retrospect interesting in that the one hosted the world's oldest surviving boat (from 1000 years ago) and the other a raft that sailed across from Norway to South America 50 years ago. But we felt quite slighted and wound up getting the ultimate discount on the third museum (whose most interesting feature was a map of the world so the three of us could point out our homes and see how north we were).
Darren & I split from Rob at some point (I believe he wanted to eat and we didn't want to spend that kind of money) and developed the term box seat, mainly as a result of the events of the prior night and the subsequent drama. And we sat near the water and watched the people and listened to a live jazz band. So it wasn't really all that bad, just unimpressive compared to Copenhagen and Stockholm. Oh, and have I mentioned yet how expensive things are yet? At a regular only slightly touristy cafe, for example, I found a great deal on a bowl of soup... only $21 Canadian!
We left Oslo, thankfully, a day later, beginning our trek north. We stopped in Lillehammer and checked out a ski jump and more excitingly, the olympic bobsled track, which I had a chance to ride with Melissa, Lee, and Darren. We did the entire track in 65.57 seconds (1.7 km), which was one of the slowest times (because none of us are particularly heavy, I guess) but still averaged about 100 km/h (I think we peaked near 200 in there!). We had a nice lunch in the town where I found a much better deal. Emma also payed me a nice compliment today, though I won't repeat it for the sake of all those already cringing at my self-important bloggery.
Chad, the tour manager for those just joining the program, told us we should pick up a gift for Secret Santa, and while everyone was hunting through the souvenier store, I ran to the gas station, the go to place for cheesiness, and picked up the all-too-rare Scandinavia 5 CD!
The highlight of the day was the travel up to Andalsnes, however. The views were surreal, surrounded by amazing mountains and waterfall after waterfall. One minute we're driving along, kind of casually admiring the scenery while others snoozed, the next minute we were glued to our windows oohing and awwing. It really was the most beautiful and unexpected thing I have ever seen and, as nice as the next day's trip to the pass and through the fjord was, something about the unexpectedness of this and the fact that it was "just a drive" to the next camp, it was incredible.
The camp itself was no less impressive, tucked in between the mountains, several waterfalls roaring in the distance. We took a walk to where the river supposedly was, and encountered a bog instead as well as some hungry cattle who decided we were going to feed them. Then, unintenionally, which was the word of the day, the laundry room became my room and party place. One dryer didn't work, the two washers were dodgy, and because of the group that continued to mill in and out, well, there was always someone to chat to. I think that I spent over 6 hours there hanging out with a bunch of people from the tour, which, though not exactly exciting sounding, was a lot of fun.
It would be a tough day to beat, but the next day did not dissapoint. Chad had warned us about the Scandinavian weather, and having had sunny and hot weather up until now, and having especially seen photos of other tours consistently getting their group photo in a fog, we weren't expecting much. We got instead a perfect day, sunshine, lollipops, and even rainbows everywhere. We got our group photo from Doc Hollywood, who was pretty amusing in getting his angles. Again, massive waterfalls and a narrow winding road to the top of Trolstigen pass, in many places the road was wet from the waterfalls. We cleared the top and entered a bit of a winter haven, the Aussies were quite enthralled to see real snow though unfortunately for them it was obviously not powder at this time of year.
We made our way into the fjord and took a cruise, in the sun, looking over steep cliffs and yet more waterfalls. It's hard to believe you could become accustomed to waterfalls, but there were soooo many! Rob & I happened to peg the primo spots through a little good fortune and sat overlooking everything and eating our picnic lunch. Afterwards, we sat on the river the drained into the fjord, layed on the grass, and just enjoyed the half hour allotted for strolling around. On the bus ride, I sat with Catherine for part and Melissa for part as well, both really cool gals and it was great to get to know them better. Some very cool people on this tour, I reckon.
We left early in the morning for a loooooong trek to Oslo. Or it felt long at the time. It turns out that once you've done the Contiki marathon through the north, the trip to Oslo is like a run to the convenience store for a really, really, REALLY quick snack. But more on that (and the whole Jose thing) in a later post...
That said, the trip was a little longer than it needed to be as I was having a particularly stupid day. The food spilling madness started with my salad dropping from the shelf and splattering all over the floor of the bus. The saving grace was that I had bought plenty of other snacks for the next few days. Then, at lunch, I left the bag of ham on my fleece during our picnic, which, of course, leaked ham juicy goodness all over it. Finally, we got back on the bus and all this spillery had developed quite a thirst, so I cracked open my giant bottle of water. Only to find it foam all over me and the bus floor again. For those who haven't done much European travel, for some reason, soda water is as popular here as water water. And if you forget yourself, you can end up with a nice, big, expensive bottle of it. Which you couldn't drink even if you wanted to because it was shaken and ended up making you look like you'd suffered from a severe bout of coachophobia (i.e. all over the pants).
Anyway, since it was a bit of a trip, we didn't really stop anywhere of note. Which isn't really true, because we did try to picnic at one choice spot on a beautiful (sacred, even) lake but were chased off the spot whilst in the coach by a certifiably insane (honestly) psychopath (I know, redundant) of, and I quote, "Epical proportions". She almost frothed at the mouth and certainly was angry that we had driven near her little stand. Aside from that and swapping iPods with Catherine, who has delightful musical taste, nothing of note, but that doesn't mean the day was a waste... au contraire, mes amis. The evening would prove to be one of the 7 Social Highlights of the Modern World, with the commencement of The Viking Games (tm)! The Viking Games basically consist of us dividing into four teams, developing a history, a chant, and donning full viking gear. Sounds crazy, no? But in our little village outside of Oslo, you might say that everyone of us is a Viking on the Roof, trying to cleave a peasant's simple head without breaking his neck. Our chant:
We are, we are, we are The Children of The Sacred Lake We can, we can, we can demolish vikings real and fake. We'll rape and steal your treasures at will, we'll burn your houses down So get off our lake 'fore it's too late, you'll never be seen again. Rah!
The games consisted of relays, pudding eating, bizarre beer up/down pants games, and running around a pole until you get dizzy and then attempting to sprint, punctuated by some fine punch and an egg throw. We had a campfire that night and the group really began to click a little more this evening, some more than others...
Some also drank more than others, and I ended up helping Naomi with a little bit of relieving action and then helping Melissa track down Danielle which actually culminated in a nice walk through the surrounding woods at 1 AM in the rather light dusk. Darren, who also thought I wasn't doing so great (though I was fine) also tracked me down and gave me two water bottles. A "topis blokis" if I may quote him. And even if I may not.
July 1. Canada Day. In Stockholm. Our tour guide, Chad, is Canadian, and Chris actually had some Crown Royal, so it promised to be a good day for the three of us (Gord wound up disappearing elsewhere). Before that, however, we toured Stockholm whilst playing some Canadian music and, on one of the longer drives, some Canadian stand up comedy as well.
The tour took us to the Vassa museum, a massive ship built in the 1600s which was so tall that it capsized immediately after leaving the harbour. They pulled the ship up, remarkably preserved, and stuck it in this museum with a whole bunch of exhibits. It was a really nice change from the art and history museums that have occupied much of the last two months. We also visited the Town Hall, built in the 1900s, and quite remarkable. I always complain that we haven't been building things with an eye to art and meaning in the past few hundred years, just function, and this is a great exception. Very clever design, AND functional. It beats the heck out of Saskatoon City Hall, that's for sure. We also wound up in an ice bar, where you don parkas, grab a cocktail in a glass made exclusively out of ice, and sit around the ice tables drinking and chatting. Very neat stuff.
Completing our stroll, the Ice Bar was next on the agenda, a bar built completely out of ice, right down to the drinking glasses. Everyone got parkas and mitts before entering and they had some good cocktails on tap as well as some ice sculptures inside. After chilling for 45 mins, I walked with Darren, who would quickly become one of my better friends here on the tour, and with Melissa, Danielle (Australian twins), and Lee (who joined our tour a few days late and just today got mad at me (not really) because I had left a blank in the journal as I didn't know her name at the time). We strolled up to a former castle with some great views and then sat down for a drink on one of the many islands that comprise Stockholm and watched the ships and amusement park across the water (also named Tivoli).
We went out for dinner and a Swedish Smorgasbord (this is a Swedish invention) with some of their famed meatballs and other great foods. Then we sat around and talked for a while there before heading back to camp and a beach party on the lake nearby. It was an early morning for our long trek to Oslo, so we didn't stay out too late. Well, it didn't feel like it at any rate, given that, while the sun does set, it doesn't get much darker than dusk here. You can still see things quite fine in the twilight. It's like night is perpetually 10:30 back home.
The Contiki tour of Copenhagen was fairly quick, but we got a little history and, though we did see much of the stuff I'd seen the day prior, we got some interesting background and also some things I'd missed like the Little Mermaid statue (H.C. Anderson wrote the original that Disney based their version on).
We also got to check out the famed Carlsberg brewery, which was quite interesting in that it showed the history of beer drinking in Denmark and the development of modern beer brewing methodologies over time as related to Carlsberg. Some things they haven't changed, however. For example, they still use big Clidesdale horses to haul beer kegs from place to place and they have a stable of them for this purpose. Then it was time to taste the fruits of their labour, a nice sampling of beer at noon in true Danish style. An intersting way to start the day. After that, as is par for the course on Contiki, it was free time time. Time.
I took a canal tour which took us near many of the sites of Copenhagen by water but, unbeknownst to me at the time, was unguided. So it was a little, shall we say, dull, if not relaxing. I grabbed myself some lunch (a cheap hotdog - food is pricey!) and an ice cream (well, to wash away the hot dog taste - even if I accidentally ordered rum & raisin) and I walked with Emma and Naomi to this church that resembles the tour of Babylon. There's a big black and gold steeple with a winding staircase on the outside that was a lot of fun to climb, and climb we did. Naomi is apparently a little frightened of heights but she did alright regardless and we snapped a few photos and took in the scenery from the top before heading down again and splitting off. Them to shop, me to Tivoli. I actually did shop a little for a t-shirt since in the morning the weather had been very overcast and cool and it had warmed up considerably leaving me stranded in a sweater and black jeans.
Now, I hear the few of you who made it this far asking, Tivoli? No folks, that's not a typo. Or a type of beer. It's a little amusement park in the heart of Copenhagen and the first one in the world. In fact, it is the park that inspired a man by the man of Walt to build a park by the name of Disneyland some time ago. It was neat in there, a few rides (which were far too expensive to think about riding) and all sorts of themed areas, restaurants, and games. A group of us met up in Tivoli, though I can't remember many of the people that were there at this point, but we hung around for a few hours and then went back to the hostel and hung out in someone's room and chatted while I uploaded some of my pictures which you undoubtedly have viewed many times.
The next morning, we left for Stockholm, Sweden. I sat with Allison on the bus, which was interesting. You see, we have a morning song which is slightly punkish in leanings and inspires her to head bang like crazy. Which is all good, I admire her lack of inhibition, but when you're sitting beside her at this point, those two ponytails are potentially lethal and definitely frightening as well as life-altering. As time progressed, however, the morning headbang would become more integral than the song itself.
It was a long bus ride with the occasional stops and not much for scenery, so we were feeling a little antsy when we arrived. So much so, that I went for a jog (yes, you read that right) with Naomi and Gord for a couple k. At which point I finally had to give up. We went looking for the train station but invariably went the wrong way and wound up at the next stop believe it or not. We made it back in time for din-din, and then a group of us went out that night. We met up with a friend of Naomi's who lived there and brought us to a second-storie bar overlooking the square which was somewhat dead but the place itself was decent and they actually stayed open an extra hour or two for us. It was a great night with some very interesting conversation going on and we managed to make the last train back to the hostel which was a nice treat as well.
The key to understanding the title is this: Danish girls are, well, pretty, and muffin is a word for a pretty young thing. Also, Danish is a type of food, as is a muffin. So you see, it was much less clever than you suspected. However, the point remains that my introduction to Copenhagen was punctuated by oh-so-beautiful exclamation points. Which isn't to say they have round bottoms, necessarily...
Anyway, before I get stuck on metaphors and puns, yes, Copenhagen is a lovely city. Mike and I arrived and, once again, ended up in a hostel about as exciting as a snail race on a salt track. Oops, more metaphor. I wound up in a room with an old lady and two girls from Hong Kong that were asleep both when I arrived mid-afternoon and when we got back that night. They wound up being on my tour (though we didn't talk to each other at all and I had no way of knowing) and when they're awake they're actually quite nice. The important thing is, this old lady (like 80) was in a bed across from me and creeped me out. A lot. And also gave me dirty looks. For entering my own room.
Anyway, we got out of there and explored the city as fast as we could, laughing about our luck, and stumbled on some cool stuff (most of which I would encounter the next day on tour). We met with Carissa (on our tour) and Juaquin (also on our tour) at 9:00 by the Hans Christen Anderson statue. Juaquin was quite amusing, going off and asking local girls for directions regardless of whether they were needed or not, and also snapping photos of local beauties (after asking their permission, we were told). It did come in handy as we found a very local jazz-funk club which felt a lot like Lydia's back home (except Norwegian). The singers would sing in English and then talk in Danish. Most Scandinavians are taught English in school and it seems to be mandatory. I have yet to run into one that doesn't speak English well, if not perfectly.
The next day was officially the first day of the Contiki trip, meeting at 7:00 at the campsite outside the city. So I spent the morning with Mike and the afternoon as well, moreso than intended as we got trapped on the wrong side of the river as I rushed to grab my things and head to the train station. I made it to the hostel just in time for the meeting and observed that I was not the oldest one but actually right in the middle of the pack, which is quite nice. The people on tour seemed to be generally cool too, albeit the Australian:others ratio was a little weighted (I think about 80% Aussies). Which is a nice change from my last tour which was all Canadian.
My first room was with Gord, the only other Canadian, Chris, a guy who worked in Canada for several years but is an Aussie and is back there now, and Rob, another Aussie who is also 24. So it was about as Canadian-friendly a start as could be expected given the numbers. I met quite a few more people at the dinner and, just for Mariah, even ate the mushrooms that came with it. Which I swore I'd never tell anyone back home, but here we are...
Anyway, tomorrow is a tour of Copenhagen, when we first board the Contiki bus, but I think tonight we're going to go out to pub and club. Well, okay, since this is written after the fact, we DID do the pub and club and Carissa had some post-clubbing coffee machine difficulties, and we all had a good time and too many Smirnoff Ice's. They were cheaper than back home!
