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Published: August 25th 2008
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Windmills - On the way from Hamburg to Copenhagen you see them everywhere and it's stunning to watch and think about how many homes are being powered. Check out PickensPlan.com, I think the Oil tycoon is on to something. The midwest of the US could provide most of its powers from windmills and the west from solar energy. It's nothing new here Copenhagen, see the evolution: http://www.copenhagenpictures.dk/windmill-power-farm-energy.html
1st class - We have Eurorail tickets which allow us to travel almost anywhere in Europe for no additional cost, except for a few surcharges here and there for high speed trains, reservations, and sleeper cars. I tried to get 2nd class tickets, but because we are 27 plus and traveling together 1st class is the only available option, and it is more expensive to buy individual 2nd class tickets (I am trying to say that normally I am pretty frugal about stuff like that). I have to say I am enjoying 1st class - thank you, beaurocrats.
UseIt, more like
ClosedIt - UseIt is a great all encompassing budget travel location that stores luggage, allows free Internet, free advice, help with accommodations and who knows what else. We looked for
this place for two hours in on again-off again rain and we finally found the address, but it had been closed for what looked like months. It only took three days to have the,
"I wonder where we'll be sleeping tonight" feeling.
Bikes - With nothing else to do and a little bit of desperation we went back to bikes, figuring we had a good time In Munich, why not try it in Copenhagen. It worked and I have to give a shout out to my Danish buddy Chris who gave some great advice on where to go. In return I'll be giving him tennis lessons, Thanks Chris!
Chris made the following recommendation, which we followed, but we condensed it a bit. The Amusement park right downtown was pretty awesome actually. Maria loved it.
"You should have lunch in Nyhavn down by Kgs Nytorv. Then take the canal tour around the city or take two city bikes (free with 20 kr deposit) and bike to the little mermaid on Langelinie or up Strøget (shopping street where you should walk your bike) all the way to the Town Hall of Copenhagen (Rådhuspladsen). There you will find Tivoli which
A Super Eco-Friendly Danish Dorm
Eco-friendly buildings exhibition in Fashion Design Center, Denmark is an old amusement park....very pretty and Trine worked in the marketing department before leaving for US. Bike to Nørreport Station and see Rosenborg Castle with the crown jewels. Take Købmagergade down to Rundetårn which is a 30 meter high tower building by Christian the 4th. Continue down to Amagertorv and get a beer on Cafe Norden with the Stork fountain in front. Go back to Nyhavn where you started and bike down Bredgade to Amalienborg Castle where the Queen lives."
Hard Rock Cafe and free internet - Tired from the day with no place to sleep and no plans we went to Hard Rock Cafe to have a few drinks, get some Internet on the IPOD touch and see if we could figure out what to do next. Plan A (UseIt), B (find hostel), and C (find reasonable hotel) had all failed and we were left with D (get on an overnight train and go somewhere). It turned out even D.0 failed because the sleeper cars for the train to Stockholm were full so it was on to D.1, which was to find a comfortable seat to sleep away the red eye.
An Iraqi and his cat LuLu - With nowhere to sleep that night and a realization that Copenhagen could bankrupt us in 2 days it was time to get on a train to Stockholm, the last overnight train out of Copenhagen. At first we were lucky in that we had our own little seating section (3 chairs on each side facing each other) to ourselves until about 1AM when an Iraqi with his cat, who he talked to like a baby constantly, sat down and spoiled our last hope for a reasonably comfortable night. He was a nice enough guy and I definently was not about to give him a hard time (who knows what he´s been through). In fact I got to know him quite well and I asked him tons of questions about his family, Iraq, politics, etc... I felt he enjoyed sharing. As for his cat, LuLu, he took him out of the cage, allowing him to wander around the cabin like a wild animal. Under and over the seats he went, between our feet, meagerly stalking his new territory. Finally, LuLu settled on a seat across from me as if we were to have a show down: "meow, meow, meow" I looked at him and squinted as if trying to prove I was the alpha cat, but then realized I was losing it and tried to nod off around 3AM.
We arrived in Stockholm at 7AM.
From our conversation
He was Shia, left Iraq in 98.
Could not get a job because laws gave priority for Swedish citizens. He also noted that why would he get a job when he's paid a $2500 per month pension and if he worked he'd only get a little more - I'm moving to Sweden by the way!
He said he like Americans and was very happy with what they did. He was also very worried about the prospects of the US leaving Iraq because of safety considerations.
There was a lot of other things he said, but I was tired, his English was so so, and my Arabic was non-existent.
Few little facts on Sweden: 60% income tax, 25% retail tax, 12 months Paid maternity leave, all education is free including university. - More on Sweden next time...
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