Rainstorms in Copenhagen to Sunshine in Bergen

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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, and we think K. enjoyed it, especially the wooden swords and the cross-bow.

We still had time to kill, so we went to see the Ruins under Christianborg, plus Christianborg palace itself. Then we shared a pastry on the Stroget and walked down that street back to our hotel. One last goodbye to wonderful wonderful Copenhagen. I just loved Denmark. The people – so kind and friendly. Everything was just endearing and cute and pleasant.

We then began the epic journey to Bergen. Around 2 PM, we took all of our bags (in total, one purse each, one carry-on bag or backpack each including K.'s, two backpacks and a little rolling suitcase), and we were off. We ran to catch the express train to the airport but it pulled away just as we got there, so we then boarded a slower train but still got there on time. Our Copenhagen card expired at 2PM and by the time we got on the train it was 2:45, so luckily no one checked our card.

At the airport, we were able to quickly check our bags and get through security, and then we had about two hours before our flight, which turned into three hours as our flight was delayed. We had 8$ juices at “Joe & the Juice” in exchange for one seat, then got up, lost our seats, and went to Lackahuset (sp?), a pastry shop, to get more food as it was getting past dinner-time. With two sausages encased in a pretzel bread, we were ready to go. We at that point had our gate number, so we went there to wait. As far as I can tell, the airport was designed with very little seating so that you’d either have to pay for the lounge, or buy food in order to sit down. The flight to Bergen was uneventful, but do note if you fly Norwegian Air – not even the water is free – it’s $5.

We got to Bergen very late, but were able to quickly find our hotel, the Grand Terminus. From here, A and I took turns taking walks to the center of town, just to orient ourselves. We decided that, given it was a brisk 15 minute walk to the boat terminal, we should definitely get a taxi tomorrow (a $40 taxi for about ten minutes of driving !!! Norway is so expensive). Bergen was hopping, although it was 9PM, the stores were still open, people were in the streets, and it felt like noon. Unexpected sunshine for one of the rainiest cities in the world brought the city to life, and I got an amazing picture at the waterfront.

We decided not to carry our bags to Balestrand. We packed just enough for two days plus some dirty laundry to do in Balestrand (they have laundry at the hotel), and we left our two big backpacks there. When we return in two days, we’ll pick them up & walk to the hotel Augustin, where we’ll stay for two nights.

The Grand Hotel Terminus was interesting. The room was large, on the bright side. On the downside, the windows were thin and there was so much noise from the hotel and the street outside. To cool down our room, we opened the windows but had to close them to sleep. The bathroomwas large, and had a tub for Kai, but the shower wouldn’t stay attached to the wall, so I just soaped myself up and sprayed myself down. Luckily I could skip a hairwashing. They also don’t provide any toiletries besides a soap dispenser on the wall. On the other hand, breakfast was generous – and included with our room. We had about fifteen minutes to eat it, so I had as much as I could (money-saving strategy #1 – eat a big breakfast, hopefully included in your hotel, and reduce the amount of times you spent $25 on a simple hot dog.) Gosh, I hope Iceland is cheaper than Norway and Denmark!

Overall, on the expense, it really is shocking how not far our money goes here. And it’s wearying, because we want to give our son food when he wants it, or water, or even buy him little souvenirs, but everything costs so much, we are always saying no. The other lesson learned is that he would much prefer to stay in one place for a long time than change hotels (he liked the Guldsmelden and didn’t want to leave). We also of course remembered just how important sleep is for him. So, lessons learned and we may not take a trip like this again for a while. Maybe next year we go to Mexico, and even if it’s a two week vacation, spend at least a week in each location (I’m thinking somewhere in a beach resort and then a week in Merida.)

Also the importance of packing light is clearer to me than ever!

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