When: 11th October - 18th October
Where: Denmark (Odense)– Sweden (Malmo, Stockholm, Uppsala) – Norway (Oslo)
Who: me (Romania), Marketa, Kamila, Alice (Czech Republic), Lina (Spain)
How: Train (intrerail ticket) – 160 Euro
Extra costs: 50 Euro
Last week it was potato week, this meant one week of holiday for all the students in Denmark at least. Potato week is a very old tradition – kids used to get holiday from school this week in order to go help their parents harvest the land and pick up potatoes before winter. We took advantage of this great opportunity and decided to take a trip around the Scandinavian countries. We made the decision a few days before leaving so we couldn't find housing before. We just hoped we will find something there...but it turned out everything was full.
We left on Saturday the 11th of October in the morning for Malmo (Sweden) from where we planed to take the train to Oslo during the night. The trip to Malmo was really nice, but when we got there we found out that we just missed the last train in that day to Oslo, so we decided to stay and sleep in Malmo.
We went searching for a place to sleep while sightseeing, but nothing. In the end we decided to find a club or a bar or a place where we could stay during the night because it was getting really cold...but nothing (they all close around 2 at night). We found a hostel but nobody was there and Marketa was really tired and she decided to stay in the hall way of the apartment building where the hostel was and wait for us while we went out searching for another option. The plan was to go back and get her after a while if we found something or not. Of course as I said we didn't find anything but when we went back she wasn't there anymore. All types of scenarios started going through our head and being tired didn't help us think at all. Her phone wasn't working and our backs hurt really bad from the backpacks so we got confused. After some hours of walking around trying to find her she called me for an unknown number. We decided to meet her somewhere so two of the girls went after her while me and Kamile stayed with the backpacks. But they didn't manage to meet. So we went to McDonald's and ate some warm unhealthy food and than went to the train station which was out last hope of sleeping somewhere inside during the night. Fortunately she was there as she knew that this was our initial plan.
Everything turned out ok but than the train station guards told us the train station closes at midnight and we can't stay there and sleep. The confusion was back. We had no idea what to do....until one of the guards suggested us that the airport in Copenhagen is open all night long. It wasn't past midnight so there were still trains going to the airport and our one day ticket trip wasn't canceled. We got our stuff really fast and got on the train back to Copenhagen That's how we managed to be in two countries in the same day – visit one and sleep in the other. Things started getting better and we relaxed. The airport wasn't closed of course and we found a nice place where we put our sleeping bags and went to sleep. There were two columns and on one of them a group of 5 boys were sleeping so we felt good that we aren't the only weird ones. The morning was a bit strange because we woke up in the airport riot and lots of people with suitcases were getting ready for their own trips. The feeling of waking up and seeing people leaving and staring at you in the morning was strange. It was good that here the chances of somebody stealing your stuff are very low so we didn't have to take turns and managed to sleep very well on the Copenhagen airport's floor. All in all the first day was rough but beautiful. We knew that this was going to be awe faith on this trip and we decided to go further and not return home. So we woke up and got on the train back to Malmo and than to Stockholm. We wanted to change our route and go to Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris but we decided not two and follow the first plan..or at least what was left of it...the cities. Malmo is a really nice city - not very big but big enough to get lost in it :)
The next day the unexpected became the expected and nothing could scare us now. The train from Malmo to Stockholm was really long. But we got to see a beautiful sun rise on the Swedish fields. The sun was extremely big that morning and coloured the clouds in all sort of colours The clouds were high and low attitude and this made us feel like floating with the train between them. I got to see to muses on the window train. It was funny because at the begging I thought they were cows...really big horse like cows and just as they entered the forest I realized they were muses. Stockholm was waiting for us.
We got there in the afternoon and after eating some more toast bread with apples and carrots in the train station (which became like home) we went out to visit the beautiful Venice of the North. The name suits the city perfectly as it is full of rivers and lakes....divided into little islands and filled with bridges that take you further into the heart of the Scandinavian culture. It was really amazing. The old buildings are monuments and statements of history and culture. We couldn't stop staring and we were like little children discovering how new toys work.
We knew that we will not find a place to sleep so in the night we headed towards the Stockholm airport. Everything was dark now and the wonder of the city turned into a cold creepy place to stay. The train took us to the airport in 20 minutes but when we got there confusing and fear started kicking back. The airport is huge and at that hour it was almost empty. We couldn't find the resting area so we wondered around it. In the end after going through some neon coloured corridor, where they had tropical forests sounds for relaxation we got to the resting area. We weren't alone this time as lots of people were crawled on the airport benches trying to get some sleep. The airport is just as beautiful as the city. There was a high glass window through which you could see outside directly to the landing lane. There were so many planes outside that night waiting for their passengers. We couldn't find a place to sleep together so we had to split and sleep on different benches I don't know if it was because I was extremely tired but I had a great night sleep there. Morning came really fast and the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a plane taking of from the lane. It was absolutely beautiful. We got our things together and met in the airport bathroom where we washed our faces and cleaned our teeth ready for another day of adventure.
The next target was Uppsala, but we decided to take a train the the evening and so we visited a bit of Stockholm again. It was Monday and all museums and closed on Monday So we went to the Royal Palace to see the guard shift and that had a walk to Vasa.
Vasa is a ship for the 17th century which sank just moments after it left the port. 333 years later they managed to take it up from the bottom of the North Sea. The surprise was that the ship was intact...in perfect condition and now they turned it into a state of art.
Even if we slept better that night we were still tired and decided to leave Stockholm for Uppsala where a warm bed and shower were waiting for us. We got there in the evening by train. A friend of Marketa's was leaving there (Erasmus student also) and she found a place for us to stay. The feeling was great. We went out to get a glimpse of the city and take some photos because the next day we had to leave for Oslo.
We ended the night in a great way with spaghetti (I burned my hand a bit while making them but the feeling of eating something else than toast apples and carrots was great).
We slept really well in a warm room and watched a bit of TV.
The next morning we woke up early and went to see the rest of the city before getting on the train to Göteborg and Oslo.
We got to Oslo in the afternoon after 7 hours of going by train. We thought that we would be relaxed after the train but we were just as tiered as waking with our backpacks.
Oslo was very different from Stockholm and the other cities in Sweden. It was something new, glass and steal buildings. There was a lack of the Scandinavian feeling which we got in Sweden The city was very big and a bit more complicated. It wasn't so great for sightseeing. Except the Vigelandsparken (sculpture park). The sculptures looked great. It was raining and dark when we got there so there was some sort of a special feeling.
Though we really wanted to find a place to sleep here we ended up in the airport again. Oslo airport was the next stop for that night...the last airport we were to see and sleep in before going home. Just like the city the airport was huge and new. It wasn't as good as the others because it was extremely crowded and it didn't have a sleeping area. Worse they were rebuilding a part of it and they were working during the night so we didn't sleep so well...at all. But the thought of going home the nest day was great and helped us get through the night. The next morning we went to the Royal Palace and to the Sculpture Park again.
The city is very expensive and filled with modern, luxury shops. On the other hand you could see homeless people and garbage on the street, a thing not common in the other places. I didn't really like it but this is maybe because Stockholm was so great.
We took the train back to Denmark the next day. I decided not to go directly home (Aarhus) but to visit Odense too. Especially since Vento was there and I knew I have a place to sleep inside at least. When I got to Copenhagen to switch trains for Odense I had a weird feeling of being home. I was so happy and really relaxed as if I knew that now everything is ok because I know what to expect and what I will get. The girls went to Aarhus as they were really tired and wanted to get to a warm bed and shower. The weather changed just when I arrived there and it was raining most of the time. That's why we mostly stayed in the room and the dorm...watching movies and doing nothing..a thing I was lusting for...doing nothing. It was really nice as I got to speak Romanian to somebody face to face for the first time in one month and a half. I also met other Romanians...it was fun and relaxing. I could stay more but decided to return home...I didn't know what day we are in as time passed to fast forward for me these days.
On Friday night I got back to Aarhus. I was so tiered that i got lost in my own city. i went 2 hours around the center and couldn't figure the way out of the mase. With help from people on the street I managed to find the way to the University and than went donwhill to the bus station. I got home pretty late and Marketa was sleeping. Mara wasn't home yet as she was to return from Latvia the next morning. The first thing I did was eat and take a shower. I went to bed and woke up late as my body was in stand by.:)
The trip was more than great and a true adventure for all of us. We survived and this gives you a great feeling. I hope we will find jobs and do it again in November...a weekend in Amsterdam is our next goal.