Copenhagen and Oslo

So, the next leg took us from Bremen to Copenhagen. It was a bit of a haul, with not a lot to look at.

Whole lotta flat

And then a giant bridge!

We found a campground about 7km outside of Copenhagen, set up camp and crashed for a bit, trying to make a plan for the next day.

Crown Royal enhances my map-reading skills.

We decided to hit the Fredricksborg Palace first. Built by Frederick IV a long, long time ago (!), it's quite petite for a palace, and has beautiful gardens - a perfect place to start a sunny day of sightseeing!

We had lunch by the canals...

We really were phenomenally lucky with the weather during our travels. Beautiful sunny days, cool, clear nights, not a drop of rain. I've heard many people complain that northern Europe can be grey and grim, but it will always be balmy to me!

One of my favorite places in all our travels was the Round Tower in Copenhagen. Opened in 1642, it served as an observatory and the home of the University's library for many years. The red-brick ramp spirals up through curved white walls to the observatory and viewing platform, passing niches where scholars (and tired tourists!) could sit and ponder.

We didn't stay long in Copenhagen, but it was a nice break in the drive to Oslo.

Just so you know, I love Oslo. I could happily live there. I know I saw it on an uncharacteristically gorgeous summer day, but it looks like such a liveable city. It's small enough to be welcoming, and you never feel like you're in a city. It's set in the mountains, with trees and parks everywhere, and a sparkling harbour to boot. I'm sure there's some kind of citified downtown or CBD-type part of Oslo, but I never saw soul-less office blocks, strip malls or a hideous big box shopping area. It reminded me of Colorado - like a smaller, better Denver (sorry Denver!), if Denver were in the mountains and had a fjord.

We started our sightseeing at the Viking Museum, which was super cool.

Like most people I suppose, I had in my mind this idea of Vikings as fierce warriors bent on rape and plunder. Which they were. But their boats were strikingly beautiful (as well as scary!), and the craftsmanship they used to create everyday objects really surprised me. What made me sad, though, is that these wooden objects are deteriorating at an alarming rate - rotting from the inside - which means that after surviving for thousands of years, they may not be around in a few decades.

After a morning in a museum, we decided to head outside and visited the Vigelandsparken, a sculpture garden and park dedicated to the work of Gustav Vigeland. It's a really special place. We started at the Monolith Plateau.

I think this one was my favorite, if I had to choose...

This one makes me think of what it must have been like in the Hill household when Mark and his brothers were small...

From the plateau, you can see down through the entire garden.

More sculptures on the bridge:

And then we headed up into the hills! The Olympic ski jump area is in the city, about 15 minutes from downtown. Who in their right mind would fling themselves on two sticks down a ramp like this??

And we of course stopped for a beer on the way back to the campsite at this beautiful place:

Unfortunately, the "beer" I chose was some weird non-alcoholic herbal thing.

Alas, the consequences of monolingualism strike again. That and the inability to read fine print.

And that concludes today's episode - stay tuned for our next instalment as we head into the wild! Well, into fjord country anyway...