Scandinavia Trip Part 3 - Oslo

On day 5, we left for Oslo and stayed at the Scandic Victoria Hotel. The hotel is right in the middle of the city. We could walk to Karl Johans Gate where huge flower pots lined the sides of the road. One direction leads to the Royal Palace, and the other direction leads to Central Station. We took a peek in the Grand Hotel lobby for we heard it is very pretty and that is true. We thought about splurging for dinner or maybe just a cup of coffee there, but decided that the staff was not friendly enough. We bought sandwiches for lunch and ate on a bench near the water fountain on Karl Johans Gate. Afterwards, we were given a city tour which includes the Vigeland Sculpture Park, the world’s largest sculpture park designed by a single artist. It features Gustav Vigeland’s lifework, depicting human relationships with each other. The highlight of the park is the Monolith Column which is 46 feet high and has 121 human reliefs carved from a single block of granite. The tour also includes the Holmenkollen Ski museum, but not the ski jump simulator or the tram to the observation deck on top of the jump tower. 

Dinner was included on the first evening in Oslo. There were more choices for desserts than at Hotel G. Here I tried the baccala cooked in red tomato sauce. After dinner, I talked Kathy into going with me and a small group to the Magic Ice Bar. Kathy didn’t much care for it, but I thought it was a worthwhile experience. 

On the second day in Oslo, we took the optional tour to the Viking Ship Museum where there are the best preserved Viking ships in existence, and the Kon-Tiki Museum where we saw the vessels Ra and Kon-Tiki, the reed boats that early men had mastered sailing. Outside the Kon-Tiki Museum, I snapped pictures of a colorful lighthouse statue made by marine plastic waste, the Roald Amundsen monument, and a “sea flower” (sjoblomst) statue designed by Thor Sandborg, erected by the Vietnamese community thanking Norway for granting them the freedom from Vietnam Communism. When we got back to the hotel after the tour, we learned that Kopi had had his backpack stolen from the hotel lobby. Scary thoughts. I’d put down my backpacks on a chair in this same hotel and walked a few feet away to look at the posted tour schedule the day before.

In the afternoon we explored on our own. We walked to the Opera House and walked onto its roof. Afterwards we had lunch in the Soranga area. We sat outside looking out on the water. The weather was beautiful. I had my second fish soup here. After lunch, we walked by Salt, an Oslo art project, towards the Akershus Fortress. We visited its museum which has information on WWII. When the museum was closed, Ngoan left us to go back to the hotel. Kathy and I stopped for coffee. Afterwards, Kathy went back to the hotel. Left by myself, I walked along the water and found both recommended seafood restaurants: Louise and Lofoten. I also found myself at a sculpture park. I texted Kathy and Ngoan, telling them about the seafood restaurants, and asked them if they’d like to join me for dinner. Ngoan gave a negative response. I never got a response from Kathy in time. I explored the city on foot some more before heading back to the city center. When I got to the Grand Hotel, I ran into Ngoan. The two of us had dinner at Olivia, a chain restaurant in Central Station. We shared a pizza and a tiramisu. I had a glass of wine while Ngoan ordered a double expresso. Then since the night was still young, I led Ngoan back to the water to show him around, including the seafood restaurants and the fancy ice cream stand I thought would have delicious ice cream. He was like a little boy who got so excited about the harbor area. He said I should have told him how wonderful it was and regretted he’d said no to dinner on the water. 

It turned out that Kathy had said yes, but neither Ngoan nor I got her texts in time. Both of us got her message at 4:30am the next morning.

Scandinavia Part 2 - Gothenburg

On day 4, we left Copenhagen for Gothenburg in Sweden, via the “mighty 5-mile-long Oresund bridge.” I snapped pictures of windmills on the way.

We stayed at Hotel G (First Hotel) which is on top of Central Station. Kopi led us on a walking tour of the city and pointed out the “Lipstick” as a landmark. He left us at a market near the canal. We skipped the boat tour and walked about after having lunch. I had my first fish soup here. The cashier gave Ngoan 5 kronor to use the restroom. We cheated the system by using the coin for the three of us. The light didn’t stay on, however. We walked to the Gothenburg Opera House and visited a cruise ship that had turned into a hotel. We had to cross the canal on a bridge to go back to our hotel. It was still early. We had ice cream outside Central Station while listening to street music. Dinner was in the hotel dining room. The salmon with pesto was good, but dessert was not so great. After dinner, Ngoan and I walked with another couple to the mall across the street via the tunnel, but everything had closed down. We didn’t want to be out on empty streets, so we returned to the hotel. On the way back, we saw many beautiful hotels with fancy decorating rooms. The many hotels around the central station confirmed what Kopi told us: Conferences are usually held here instead of in Stockholm to reduce costs.

Scandinavian Trip Part 1 - Denmark

Ever since Liên posted beautiful pictures of Norway on FB, I’ve been wanting to go there. The trip to the Scandinavian countries was booked in January.

A number of unfortunate events happened just weeks before the start of the trip. My mother fractured her L1 and temporarily moved in with us. A fracture of a tooth led to a root canal treatment and a new crown. A suspected food poisoning and possible stress made me violently ill. In the end, everything fell in order and I was on the way to Denmark with Kathy and Ngoan.

On the last day of August, we opened a champagne bottle to toast our upcoming vacation and my mother’s recovery from her fall. Then Tom dropped us off at the airport to begin our journey of adventure and friendship bonding.

Traffic was good. There was no line when we checked in and dropped our luggage off at the SAS terminal. We got to our gate with plenty of time to spare. We found comfortable sofa seats of Starbucks to relax in before boarding.

It was a direct flight to Copenhagen. Sleep eluded us, but we were comfortable and well-fed with a beef dinner and a breakfast.

We were taken to Imperial Hotel where we stayed for two nights. Although it was early morning, our rooms were ready. The hotel even gave us breakfast. At the suggestion of Kopi, our tour guide, we fought jet lag by taking a walk around town. We had planned to check out the boat cruise, but decided against it. We opted to walk on foot to be able to see more of the city. What we noticed was the large number of bikes on the road. We later learned that cars are very expensive and therefore people use their bikes for transportation all year round. The Danes are known to be fit and happy.

We crossed the canal to the Christianshavn part because Ngoan was interested in seeing it, but we did not spend too much time there. Besides running out of time, it started to rain. We came across the Christian Church, but it was closed to the public. By chance, we came back via the Hans Christian Andersen Boulevard. Kathy and I both said we didn’t feel tired, but when we got back to our room, Kathy fell asleep with the phone in her hand. I made myself a cup of tea, but didn’t drink it before I couldn’t open my eyes anymore. I woke up very hungry which amazed Kathy. She thought after having 2 meals on the plane and a breakfast at the hotel, I shouldn’t feel hungry at 3pm Copenhagen time. 

We found a pho restaurant a block from the hotel and had dinner there before enjoying a welcome drink with the group in the hotel dining room. Kathy and Ngoan stayed to chat and get acquainted, while I headed back to my room for the night.

At breakfast, I learned to love the Danish pastry which I didn’t have the day before. I’d have it again the next morning. Then we went to sign up for the 3 optional tours before going on the included city tour led by Ida. We were at the Amalienborg Palace which is the winter residence of the Danish royal family and the site of the Changing of the Guard, the Gefion Fountain with a statue of the Norse Goddess Gefion who turned her four sons into oxen because the Swedish King Gylfi promised her the territory she could plow in a night, the iconic Little Mermaid statue based on the fairy tale of Hans Christian Andersen, and the Christiansborg Palace which is the seat of the Danish Parliament. At the Little Mermaid, we saw a man arrested by the police. At the Christiansborg Palace, Ida pointed out a tapestry of modern world with pictures depicting current events and contemporary historical figures, including the Beatles, Gandi, and Hitler among others. There is an empty space at the top right corner of the tapestry where Ida said we could write our own story. I’m not sure if Ida quoted a source or came up with this on her own: “We make history every time we breathe. We will be part of the tapestry.” Ida adores her queen and thinks she can walk on water. She doesn’t have the same view about the crown prince.

In the afternoon we took our first optional tour, riding on the bus along the Danish Riviera. We stopped at the Kronborg Castle, which is the model for Elsinore in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, before going to Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerod. We learned that palaces were places to live in, whereas castles were more for defense. So castles would have moats and canons, but not palaces. At the Frederiksborg Castle, we visited the Chapel where coats of arms are displayed on the wall, including one for Eisenhower who became a knight of the Order of the Elephant of Denmark, the National Museum, and the Knight’s Hall. We learned about a king whose queen died of a broken heart. After her death, he married his favorite mistress who later left him for his German general. He tried to accuse her of witchcraft but she was never convicted. We learned about a “mad” king whose wife was executed for having a daughter with his German doctor. Kathy thinks the daughter was his because she had a strong resemblance to him and his legitimate son. We learned that beds were short because people didn’t lie down on them, for fear of being taken away by Death. We learned about a king who stayed in bed all the time because he had the right to do so.

We had dinner at Tivoli Gardens. It was a beautiful place that we didn’t get to see in the day time. Via FB, I learned that Jorn, a member of our congregation, used to sneak in Tivoli Gardens for concerts when he was young.