On Sunday, we continued our journey to return to Bergen from Balestrand. To do this, we jumped back on the fast-ferry, which continued to Flam. Although we no longer had primo seats, it was still the best part of that day's journey, with the amazing views constantly changing as we travelled up the fjord towards Flam, and a few stops for beautiful waterfalls. The sides of the fjords had small buildings, farms, built high above the fjord and accessible only by boat. Sometimes we'd see a road travelling alongside the fjord. The sun was shining, the skies were blue with fluffy clouds, and it wasn't too cold. I noted that everyone we met travelling in Balestrand was quite amiable. We had many conversations wherever we went with other people, possibly because there were so few of ... read more

On our last day in Copenhagen, we were sad to leave the Axel Guldsmelden. The wonderful smell of their own moisturizer, and the delicious taste of their home-made yogurt and granola. The kindness of the people working there. It is truly one of my favorite hotels of all time. We were able to leave our bags and spend the day exploring after check-out. We spent a long time at the National Museum, during which it rained heavily. I loved this museum, such amazing artifacts and set into an evocative setting. My particular favorites were the pre-historic artifacts of ancient Denmark, the sacrificial peat bogs, the horned helmets worn by the pre-historic priests of the sun god, an ancient past that remains un-written and mostly unknown aside from these finds. The children’s museum there was quite clever, ... read more

We spent a good chunk of change on the Copenhagen Card, and I'm here to explain why it's worth it. The biggest savings is on transportation. It takes you from the airport and back (except for us, as we're staying for 6 days and had a 5 day card). It can take you as far as Roskilde, Lejre and Helsingor. Within the city, you won't think twice about jumping on a bus or a metro to get around, saving your feet a long walk. It's especially a great deal with kids, since up to two kids can join the adults for free, and kids especially don't tolerate as much walking. This, I know from experience. After all, they have to move their legs twice as fast to keep up with us. Then it gets you the ... read more

Yesterday, we visited Hamlet's Castle, Elsinore, or Kronberg. It was a long train ride out, particularly because we had to switch trains at Klampenborg. It appeared to be a temporary situation, although I couldn't read the signs (all in Danish), I could see that it was one of those transportation change notification signs we have on our own MBTA. Overall, I have to say I love having access to Google Maps, because it's directions forewarned me of the situation, instructing me to get off at Klampenborg and board a different train for Helsingor. When we arrived, it was pouring down rain unexpectedly - no rain had been forecast for Copenhagen. (Having learned this lesson about weather, I have since added Roskilde to my Yahoo Weather, and we are not going today, as it will rain at ... read more

To introduce this section, I'll explain that Alli and I are now travelling with our nearly five-year-old son Kai. At this point, he is a veteran traveller, having travelled around the East Coast of the United States as well as Germany, Canada, Costa Rica, and Ireland. I'm glad we started travelling with him young (around 2 months, we first went to visit grandparents in the mid-atlantic). He is really a pro at this now! He totally "gets" going through security, boarding the plane, buckling up, and picking up your baggage. So he handled our two plane trips and train trip to finally arrive in Copenhagen with aplomb. We were though all tired after having travelled from 5PM our time, when we left our house, to arriving here at 8AM the next day (our time). He did ... read more