wandering-europe

Day 24 -- Oslo in the Rain -- Saturday, July 7th

We woke to dark skies and drizzle, with a forecast of hard rain all day. Our first destination upon leaving the flat was to get Daddy to a doctor. We spoke by phone with the owner of our flat and got his advice. We could go to the municipal hospital for free care, but probably wait for hours on end, or pay to go to a private clinic (which might not be covered by our insurance). Daddy opted to go to the private clinic, so after some internet research and map consultation, we headed to the bus stop.

According to the Reuter website, we should have been able to buy our bus passes there, but the clerk said they no longer sold them, but maybe another Joker store up the hill might. Daddy took off up a long path and about 100 stairs before finally turning around in anger. "Just up the hill" probably meant a mile away to the young immigrant clerk.

Like many European big-city transit systems you were expected to buy your tickets before boarding. If you didn't get them from a kiosk or machine, you could do what most people were now doing: buy one via SMS with your mobile phone. To buy a ticket from the driver there was a service fee added. The kids were free on the weekend, which was great, but tickets for us cost 30 NOK + a 20 NOK service fee, each.

When the bus arrived I pled my case to the driver and he just waved us on. We got off the bus at a major hub with tram and metro connections and I thought for sure we could buy passes there. Finally I located a machine, but it was either for topping up the card you already had, or buying single ride tickets. To get a multi-day card we had to buy one... somewhere else.

I finally found a transit worker who informed me that cards could be purchased at most convenience stores / newstands, and sure enough, the one nearby had just what we needed. New cards in hand, we caught the underground toward the private clinic.

We left daddy at the medical clinic and the girls and I walked through the large cemetery toward Frogner park, which is full of Vigelund statutes.

 

The girls spent a lot of time looking at the tombstones, calculating how old people were when they died, and pondering their names. The oldest person we found, during our 20 minutes walking just a small section of the immense cemetery, was 105 years old.

 

The rain increased as we left the cemetery and headed across the street to the park. The girls noticed a playground associated with a barnehage (childcare) and despite the wetness had to play for a few minutes. I watched dogs in a nearby dog agility park, being led through the jumps and tunnels by the treat-bearing owners. There was a well-tended vegetable garden in the middle of the park - not sure if it was put in by the barnehage or the parks department or volunteers.

 

By the time we got to the sculptures it was around noon and the girls were whining for food. I ignored them and focused on the beauty of the sculptures, some in stone, others in bronze.

All the subjects were completely naked, and some in rather scandalous poses for that era.

There were a lot of mother and child sculptures, some aspects of which felt rather familiar to me.

The rain brought an interesting dimension to the already intense expressions on some of the sculptures.

All body types, ages, and moods were represented. Looking at some of the sculptures you longed to know what Vigeland was saying. What was the relationship supposed to be between these two elderly women? Their expressions are so intense. One could easily jump to conclusions that they were lovers, but remember that ALL the sculptures were nude, so they could have been sisters at a gravesite, or neighbors hiding in a cellar together during a war. I'd like to find out more about each sculpture, and if Vigeland explained any of them.

There was a great labyrinth near the center of the park. Sadly the girls were too hungry to take the time to complete it. We had to get food and move on.

These two boys are staring so intently at the sky. What do they see?

 

I asked the girls to find the sculpture that most reminded them of themselves. Aubrietta chose this one.

This was my choice (of several, actually, since there were a lot of mother and child ones I felt connected to).

We were lucky enough to run into Daddy at the park, having decided earlier when we left him at the clinic to just meet up at the end of the day. We looked around the park a little longer, bought sandwiches from the park's cafe, then hopped a tram. The girls and I got off and picked up a little more food from a grocery (the sandwiches were not enough for them), and then caught a bus to the Bygdoy peninsula to go to the Norwegian Folk Museum. Daddy headed to the Norwegian Resistance Museum and the Maritime Museum, both of which were a disappointment.

The girls and I arrived at the Folk Museum just in time for the rain to turn to a downpour.

Thank goodness I brought our "garbage bag" ponchos along. Even with them, we got soaked.

Because of the rain, most things were cancelled. Kelsey really wanted to do the horse and buggy ride, but it was raining too hard for even the horses to be out.

 

We found a lady in costume making Lefse, a traditional flatbread. We bought some, still hot and smoky from the fire, and slathered it with butter, as is recommended.

All was good until Aubrietta's mouth started swelling. Although there were no nuts or seeds, there were several types of flour used, and we're begining to suspect she has some new grain allergies as well. Thankfully a pill (that I always carry) was all she needed, and no rush to the hospital for breathing assistance this time. We've learned on this trip that there are a lot of foods she is reacting to, even after careful label reading to ensure none of her known allergens are in it.

Kelsey happily finished off Aubrietta's Lefse, and also shared a few crumbs with the birds. We took shelter on the porch of one of the closed houses during a downpour, and Kelsey looked so pathetic in her poncho, totally soaked below the knees.

 

 

One of the homes that was open was a 200+ year old farm house that had been recently redecorated to look as if it might have in 1959, a time of many new modern conveniences, but still far enough away in history for children to be in awe of. I reminded the girls that their daddy was their age in this era, and that put a whole new perspective on it.

Inside the house the "farmer's wife" had the kids do crafts and needlework around the kitchen table. The premise was that with all the new appliances making the farm wife's workload lighter, she now had more time to spend with her children, and the children had more time for leisure instead of endless chores. The girls loved the interaction with the farm wife and spent well over an hour there, while I explored some other old buildings on my own.

The stone foundation and sod roof of this simple building was lovely.

This is the interior of a small 1-room guest cottage built in 1800 in Telemark, Norway. A wealthy farmer had a famous artist paint the entire interior - ceiling, walls, furniture.

It has been at the Norsk Folk Museum since 1910!

A newer installation is an entire tenement building, relocated from central Oslo, and redecorated to depict life in the building at different times in history. Each apartment was from a different era, and descriptions of who might have lived there -- from a multigenerational imigrant family to an old widow -- was explained in detail.

The girls liked this children's bedroom from the Victorian era.

They also could see themselves living in this late 1950's children's room.

Off to another part of the museum that has little shops, they found the weaving and knitting shop, and each girl bought a "knitting nancy," even though Kelsey really wanted that loom you see in the photo. I had to say no, since it wouldn't fit in the luggage.

We caught a little folk dance presentation. Since it was raining, it was just two dancers, and indoors. During nice weather there are many more dancers on hand.

We got to go inside a real "Stave" church. It is as dark inside as you might imagine, and although the architecture was impressive (especially for the era), it wasn't the kind of place I would go to feel closer to God.

We told daddy we'd meet him back at the apartment aby 18:00, so after buying some fruit and veg at a produce stand near the museum, we got on the bus.

Our museum map was in tatters from the rain. I guess this won't make it into the scrapbook.

Back at home we found Daddy had stopped at the conveience store and had dinner underway. Boiled potatoes, peas and carrots, and a whitefish with seasoned crumb topping (baked in the oven from frozen).

It wasn't anything fancy, but it was filling and inexpensive. Daddy took another pill with dinner, that the doctor had prescribed that morning, and said his knee was already feeling remarkably better.

The rain finally stopped and the girls wanted to explore, so I took them out in search of the housing complex playground. We also discovered two playgrounds at nearby childcare / schools, but I didn't have my camera with me to document the fun they found. We'd go back again, though, so more photos tomorrow.

The girls and I returned to the flat close to 10:00pm as it started getting dark, and got ready for bed.

NEXT:  Day 25 - Oslo, Norway - Sunday, July 8th

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Day 9 From Copenhagen to the Island of Ærø, Danmark - Friday, June 22

The morning came with heavy rains and dark, overcast skies. I had hardly slept at all, replaying yesterday's traumatic event, when Kelsey left part of her teeth on the cobblestones, over and over in my mind. Why couldn't I have reached out and grabbed her the moment I noticed her falling? If only I had been holding her hand. Why didn't I emphasize how dangerous the cobblestones could be, and teach her to walk "heel-toe" and lift their legs instead of dragging her feet? Why didn't I tighten up the straps on the backpack (even though she hates it that way) so that it would have sat snug against her back, instead of becoming a projectile that propelled her forward even harder, and that kept her from catching herself as she fell? If only we hadn't been rushing. If we'd waited to catch that bus instead of walking we wouldn't have even been on that sidewalk.

I got up multiple times in the night to wake her, to make sure she didn't have a concussion. She had not had a brain scan, so the possibility of a small, slow brain bleed was still there, and we needed to watch her for 24 hours. As a result of being up a lot in the night, I was tired. Very tired.

We left the apartment shortly after breakfast. It was hard to leave, as the apartment was so comfortable, and we'd barely had a chance to explore Copenhagen. As we pulled onto the highway, a large truck in front of us let loose some rocks and put a deep chip right in the center of the windshield of our rental car. Would we be insured or charged for that? On top of the parking ticket and the day at the hospital yesterday, it seemed Copenhagen was chasing us away.

Aubrietta was tired and feel asleep. Kelsey did some writing in her journal, every few seconds making a slurping sound to prevent saliva from dripping down her chin, since her lips are still too swollen to close.

My iPad with the Cellular Internet was pretty handy to have, even though the 3G network was really slow, and there were times along the way when we didn't get a strong enough signal to load Maps. It worked really well in the city, when we needed it most, but rural areas were spotty. I had printed out screen shots of our journey before we left the states, so I had those as a back up, but it sure was fun to use the iPad and see where we were in real-time, and when an exit we needed was just up around the bend.

Our rental car was a black Ford diesel s-Max, a model not available in the US. It was a manual transmission with a smooth ride, and plenty of leg and headroom. Once on the road we started noticing the other vehicles, and the majority were newer, or at least in excellent condition. You just didn't see junker cars, anywhere. The vans and cars were more boxy than US models, not as severely sloping in the front. Visibility from the windows was better, since the windows were taller and larger. Another observation we made was trailers - most people seemed to own compact cars, and utilize trailers for times when they needed to go to IKEA or a garden center. With gas at the equivalent of $8.00 a gallon US, it didn't make sense to have a larger vehicle for those rare times you might need to haul some cargo.

We crossed the Great Belt Bridge, the world's 3rd largest suspension bridge. It cost 230 DKK toll each way. The clouds left and we had blue skies ahead. What a difference from Copenhagen just an hour earlier.

When we reached the city of Odense, we stopped to find a store, where we bought pureed fruit baby food for Kelsey (who was only on soft foods), flavored milk drinks for the girls (and a prepackaged Starbucks cold coffee drink for me!), some sliced salami, soft bread rolls, crackers, potato salad, salmon lox, cheese spread, and two soups the girls picked out: cream of asparagus and tomato. The girls and I ate in the car, and Daddy would eat when we arrived at the Svendborg ferry terminal in about 35 minutes. On our way out of Odense we drove right by an IKEA, and we promised the girls we would stop there tomorrow on the way to Billund.

Svendborg was a stunningly beautiful town, and we regretted that we were only driving through and spending a short time at the harbor waiting for the ferry. It deserved exploration.

At the harbor we found this beautiful 3 masted schooner, the Fylla, built in 1923, and used for day and overnight trips. Daddy struck up a conversation with the captain, and we were invited aboard. Daddy shared sailing tales with the captain while the girls and I enjoyed exploring the old boat.

 

What a beautiful galley kitchen! Love the stainless steel countertops and deep sinks.

This is the way that Sailors pee, in case you wanted to know. I always thought they just did it over the side of the boat.

The boat was surrounded by Jellyfish.

Here you can see how we will sail, from the port town of Svendborg to the Island of Ærø, arriving in the middle of the Island, in the town of Ærøskøbing.

The boat arrived on schedule, and we loaded easily. The boat had interesting ramps on the sides which raised up once loaded with cars, and allowed other cars to park beneath.

Inside the ferry there were family areas to sit, and a large glassed-in "Stille" (quiet) room at the end of the boat that was for adults only. On the upper level there was one side deck, and a large rear deck to be outside. There was a kitchen that served a wide array of fresh foods (salads, open-face sandwiches, etc) as well as the usual Polse (hot dog) and fries.

Check out these options! The girls were fascinated by these hot dogs cut and cooked to look like octopus, but we'd just eaten, so we didn't buy any.

Daddy and the girls finish off licorice and lingonberry ice cream (that we bought back at the ferry dock) at our table on the ferry. Daddy finally eats his lunch of cracker bread, cheese, and lox. Thanks, Grammy, for the travel Ludo game. They've played it more than you can imagine! Note Kelsey's face still looks pretty bad, 24 hours after the fall.

The sailing took a little over an hour, and when we arrived on Ærø we drove directly to our accommodation at the Damgaarten Apartments, an old waterfront property that had been converted into 8 spacious rental apartments.

The girls had a bedroom together (although at bedtime they were fighting over who got which side of the bed, so Aubrietta ended up sleeping on the couch instead), and my husband and I had a bedroom.

There was also a large bathroom (with heated tile floors!), a big living area, a dining area, and a huge modern kitchen. We immediately regretted not booking more than one night. We'd leave the next morning around 9am, not even having time to explore the grounds.

There was a lovely garden out back which the girls took a few minutes to explore, and discovered lots of colorful snails.

It was nearing 18:00, so after unloading half our bags and getting our foodstuffs in the fridge, we hopped back into the car and decided to drive the length of the island, first heading north.

The pastoral views were breathtaking. Old farms with thatched roofs, fields lush with crops of wheat, rapeseed, and corn, happy cows and sheep...

It was farming heaven. Imagine tending your animals or fields with a view of the sea, and gentle breezes.

At the Western tip we discovered a lighthouse, surrounded by a golf course. When we arrived, we were the only ones there. Walking around the lighthouse we discovered a tiny door in its side, which opened, and a sign inviting you to climb to the top, only if you took care to close the doors after yourself.

We started the hike up the stairs to the top of the lighthouse.

At the top the view was amazing. Looking down, we saw a car approach, park, and a man got out, took his bag of clubs from the trunk of the car, and headed to the green for a little solo evening game of golf.

The lighthouse even had a true fresnel lens.

After going down (it was hard to leave!), we walked the greens a bit, then headed south.

This sign means "watch for children" or something like that, and these signs can be found in each little village.

We stopped at a store minutes before they closed at 19:00, and bought some yougurt for breakfast, and strawberries for dessert after dinner.

Our intention was to ride around the island as much as we could before it grew dark, and return to the apartment to have soup for dinner. When we returned to the town of Ærøskøbing to explore, I spied a fish stand that I'd seen featured in a Rick Steves travel show.

We stopped in and had to eat dinner there. Looking at all that good fish, there was no way we could walk away without having some.

I had smoked salmon, Daddy had smoked mackerel, Aubrietta ate potato salad, and Kelsey had an order of french fried, which she broke into pieces and let disolve in her mouth. My salmon was so tender and buttery, she was also able to have some salmon as well.

A cute miniature village scene in a pond behind the smoked fish store.

After finishing our meal at 21:00, we drove to the southern end of the Island to the port town of Marstal. The girls found a great nautical themed playground, and they played until a storm arrived with wind and driving rain.

We had strawberries before we went to bed with heavy hearts that we would leave this beautiful place all too soon.

NEXT: Day 10, Saturday June 23, Ærøskøbing-Odense-Billund 

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Day 8 - The Longest Day of the Year (in more ways than one) - Copenhagen, June 21

The day started off badly and just got worse. My husband wakes at the crack of dawn no matter what time zone we're in, and I get my best and deepest sleep in the morning. Since I hadn't asked him to wake me at a specific time, he kindly let the girls and me sleep in - until 10am!

Both girls needed showers, as did I, so it would take us an hour or so to eat, wash, and be ready to go. My husband had been up for hours and was eager to get started, so I sent him ahead with his Copenhagen Card, and we made plans to meet at the sandcastle exhibit we'd seen near the Play House (theater) along the waterfront, at 12:30. He'd take that boat ride we'd missed last night, and after looking at the sandcastles, we'd head to the Zoo or Tivoli. My plan had been to do the zoo in the morning, and Tivoli in the afternoon, but the morning was now gone.

Getting the girls out the door was trying. They were both in bad moods and constantly at each other, pushing and shoving over using the sink, throwing clothes at each other that they were supposed to be putting away, etc. We finally had all the dishes washed, water bottles filled, and sunhats located, and were out the door. I had my green bag with camera, iPad, and my things, and instead of each girl carrying a pack, I put the 3 water bottles into one pack and would have the girls take turns carrying it.

We caught a 2A bus toward the city and had to stand because it was full of baby carriages and another group of adorable school children. We were squished into a corner and again, the girls were at each other... "Get your elbow off of me! You're leaning into me, stop it! Don't push me!"

We took a moment to switch the backpack from Aubrietta to Kelsey, and I took this photo, the last one of Kelsey before the accident...

I was ready to slip out the back door of the bus and let them find their own way to the Play House, their behavior was so bad I didn't want people to know they were mine. We finally got to our stop and had to push our way to the door to get out before the doors closed. I couldn't believe that the driver kept letting people on. Out on the street we found our way to the connecting bus stop, the 11A, and learned that it ran every 20 minutes, and we had just missed one. We were within a 15 minute walk of the Play House, so we started walking. There was foot dragging and complaining. It was nearing 12:30 and Daddy hated it when we were late.

Finally we were able to see the sandcastles, and I paused for a moment to take this photo. They were set up on a pier beside the Play House, and as we approached I suddenly saw, out of the side of my eye, Kelsey tripping on the cobblestone sidewalk we were on. She had turned to look up and say something to me and stumbled. It didn't help that we had been walking at a brisk pace. She tried to catch herself, but we had just switched the backpack onto her about 5 minutes before, Aubrietta having carried it until then. The weight of the backpack seemed to propel her forward with even more force, and I heard a terrible crack as she hit the cobblestones face first, followed by a blood-curdling scream.

I wonder through the ages how many people have lost teeth and broken bones because of these.

I picked her up and could see immediately that it was bad. Big chunks of her front teeth were missing, with little flecks of the white enamel washing down her chin in the blood and saliva. Her lip, chin, knees, and palms of her hands were scraped and bleeding. The skin around her cheekbone, eye socket, and forehead was swelling, which meant she might have a concussion in addition to the tooth injury.

 

Kelsey is very, very squeamish and the sight of blood, hers or anyone else's, induces hysteria. She screamed and screamed, and Aubrietta looked panicked, and asked if she should go get Daddy. We were within sight of the entrance to the Sandcastles, so I said yes, partly just to get her out of there before she passed out from the sight of all the blood.

 

People streamed by us but no one stopped to help, which surprised me. I picked Kelsey up and was helping her walk toward the Sandcastles and Play House, which was only about 50 meters away. The sun was shining and Kelsey was starting to collapse, so instead of continuing in the direction of the pier, I turned and headed toward the Play House, hoping to get to a bathroom where I could wash Kelsey's wounds, or at least get us out of the hot sun. We made it as far as the wooden decking in front of the revolving door entering the north end of the Play House, which was not the main entrance, but more of a way to get to the pier. Kelsey collapsed, still conscious thankfully, but too weak to go on. I lay her on her side and poured water from a half-frozen water bottle over her face, trying to wash the grit from her swelling lip. I then asked her to hold the icy bottle against her lip while I pulled out my iPad and sent an email to my husband telling him where we were and to come find us. I didn't have a cell phone, but thank goodness I had gotten that internet chip for my iPad the night before.

 

A few minutes passed and people stared as they walked by, and then finally a man and his wife came forward to help us. I got Kelsey to her feet somewhat, wrapping my arms under her armpits to support her, and we went in the revolving door to the Play House where an employee at a bar came rushing over to us, asking if we needed plaster (band aids), and then looking again, and asking, "ambulance?". The man and hs wife who led us into the building disappeared before I could thank them.

 

I explained that my husband and other daughter were at the sandcastles, and the employee went off to get plaster and a blanket for Kelsey, while I sat on the floor and held her, looking out the big glass wall of windows toward the sandcastles on the pier, hoping to catch a glimpse of Aubrietta and Daddy. In my confusion I'd emailed him that I was at the Opera House, which was across the water, and not the Play House, so I quickly emailed back to him where I actually was. Finally, I saw them walking toward us, and I told the employee to go ahead and call an ambulance.

 

The response time for an ambulance was not like it is in the US. Although I'd seen a lot of ambulances on the roads, apparently they are very busy, probably with lots of vehicle-bicycle collisions. Since Kelsey's was a "minor" injury, the wait was 20 minutes. Once they arrived, though, the care and attention they gave Kelsey was fantastic. She got loaded onto a gurney, they took her vitals, and inspected her injuries, all the while being very gentle toward her.

 

One of the medics rode in the back with Kelsey, while Daddy and Aubrietta sat in jumpseats beside them. I sat up front with the other medic, who drove. As we wound through the city at the speed of traffic (no need for lights or sirens), he pointed out the famous buildings and told me about the city's history. I never anticipated getting a city tour from the front seat of an ambulance.

 

We were taken to the main hospital, Rigshsopitalet, which is the largest hospital in Denmark, and the major trauma center. It is equivalent to Harborview Hospital in Seattle, where all the top surgeons and specialists work. Kelsey needed to be seen by a dental surgeon, so that is why we were there.

The trauma center (Emergency) was located in the basement, and as we were led down the corridor rows of beds were on either side of us, with patients in various states of distress lying there, only a few shielded by drawn curtains. Aubrietta's head was whipping back and forth at the sight, and I could tell she was getting faint. For some reason we scored an enclosed, windowless private room, and after the medics briefed the male nurse in Danish, Kelsey was transferred from the gurney to the bed and they left. The large, Middle-Eastern nurse asked Daddy and me questions, assured us all medical care from the hospital was free, and spoke reassuringly to Kelsey and said he'd be back shortly to clean Kelsey's wounds. An hour passed before we saw him again.

 

Kelsey lay in the bed completely deflated, but not crying or hysterical anymore. My husband gave her his cell phone to play a game on. There was only one hard, modern design chair in the room, which my husband sat in, and Aubrietta slumped against the wall on the floor, feeling ill. While waiting for the nurse to return to clean Kelsey's wounds I decided to take Aubrietta our for a few hours, returning by 16:00 so Daddy could leave by bus to pick up the rental car we had ordered for our weekend travels. First I took Aubrietta to the hospital cafeteria to get her something to eat. It was 14:00 and she hadn't eaten since breakfast, which contributed to her light-headedness.

 

The hospital cafeteria offered fransk hot dogs (hot dog in a hollowed out baguette) or a large variety of smorbrod (open face sandwiches on grainy rye bread). Next to the cafeteria was a 7-11 convenience store selling junk food as well as fruits and veg and sandwiches. I bought 2 bananas, 2 fruit juices, and a roll of mentos mints to perk up Aubrietta, who was lying down on a bench seat at a table in the cafe waiting for me. At the table together neither of us felt like eating. We each ate half a banana and had a few sips of juice, then instead of venturing out, we returned to Kelsey's room in the basement.

 

The nurse was just finishing up cleaning Kelsey's wounds. Daddy ate the remaining banana and juice drinks, and then I stayed with Kelsey while Aubrietta went with Daddy to get the rental car. The rental outlet closed at 18:00, so they couldn't be late. I let Kelsey play on my iPad a little bit, but then had to take it away to preserve the battery life. Since I didn't have a cell phone, using it to send email was my only means of communication with Daddy's cell phone. The nurse brought a pitcher of apple juice for Kelsey and encouraged her to drink, and two yogurts for her to eat, though she barely touched them. He also brought 2 prepacked sandwiches for Daddy and me, and I ate one, and Aubrietta ate the other when she returned with Daddy in the rental car an hour and a half later.

 

After a 4 hour wait the orthopedic doctor came in to inspect Kelsey's knee and head. The examination was thorough and gentle. Kelsey appeared to have escaped without a concussion, but I knew the drill about waiting and watching for signs, just in case. Kelsey was relatively content in the hospital bed, although bored. There was no TV, no books or toys for kids, just 4 blank walls with a couple of glass fronted cabinets filled with scary looking surgical supplies. I walked the halls and found a small table with a few children's books (all in Danish, of course) and some half-filled coloring books. There appeared to be no waiting room, and nothing other than that for children. I'd asked the medics, and emailed our accommodation host, asking if there was a Children's Hospital we could be taken to, but apparently there wasn't one in Copenhagen. I wished there was.

 

It was 17:00 and the day was passing, although very slowly. It was a gloriously sunny day outside, but down in the bowels of the hospital, it could have been snowing outside for all we knew. I looked over at Aubrietta, sitting on the floor, and suggested I take her out to Tivoli, so at least we could get some use out of our Copenhagen Cards. When we first arrived at the hospital I was hopeful they could clean Kelsey up, patch her teeth if needed, and if she felt like it, we could go on to the zoo, which she really wanted to do. That obviously wasn't going to happen for Kelsey, but perhaps the day could still be saved somewhat for Aubrietta.

The hospital is immense.

Aubrietta in the maze that is the basement of the hospital, where the trauma center was.

Daddy stayed with Kelsey, who was OK with us leaving (we still held hope that she would be seen soon and could join us), and Aubrietta and I emerged out into the sunshine. We stopped first by the rental car, where I had to take note of the license number and email it to the ferry company that we had a reservation with the next day. They required a license plate number, and said if I didn't notify them of it as soon as we got our car, they wouldn't be obligated to hold our reservation. Crazy! Aubrietta played briefly in the big playground opposite the hospital while I sent the email from the hood of the car using my iPad.

 

At 17:30 we boarded the 6A bus and soon arrived at Tivoli. We just got in the gate when Aubrietta's appetite made itself known, so first we shared a licorice ice cream and an elderflower sorbet, then we hit a hot dog stand for Franske Hot Dogs. They had these strange hanging bottles of condiments that you squeezed like milking a cow.

 

We wandered for a while through the park, but both of us were in a funk. I didn't feel like spending any money for Aubrietta to go on any of the rides, and she felt guilty for wanting to ride them when Kelsey couldn't enjoy them, too. In fact, Aubrietta had been crying on most of the bus ride toward Tivoli because she felt so badly for her sister. I tried to comfort her by reminding her that last weekend when we were in Iceland and she was throwing up sick, Kelsey had been able to go out and do things when Aubrietta couldn't. Life wasn't fair, illness and accidents interrupt our best plans, and we just have to make the best of situations. I reminded Aubrietta that Kelsey felt just as bad about ruining Aubrietta's day, as ruining her own, and she would feel even worse if we didn't make the most of what was left of our visit to Copenhagen.

Aubrietta enjoyed this jazz band. Thursdays are for Jazz at Tivoli.

 

I had to break the gloom we were in, so I finally caved and bought Aubrietta a wristband to go on the rides. It cost about 40 dollars, but was unlimited. Away she went, in the fun house, on the carousel, up the ferris wheel (one of the oldest in the world), and on most of the kiddie rides. She wasn't into the whiplash rides with the long lines of teenagers. Since it was now after 19:00, most of the families with young kids had gone home, so there were no lines for the kiddie rides. Sometimes Aubrietta was the only one riding!

 

Aubrietta's favorite ride was the "flying trunk," and animatronic ride much like Disney's "Small World," that took you slowly past scenes from Hans Christian Anderson's Fairy tales. Although I didn't have a ticket, the attendant waved me on anyway, so I enjoyed it, too.

I looked on at Aubrietta's increasing joy, and I felt relief for her, but no happiness of my own. I had been to Tivoli in 1997 with my brother. It was an interesting place, but I could have passed on it. I knew my husband would not enjoy it, with the crowds of rowdy teenagers, every other person smoking, and general chaos.

 

I tried to admire the garden part of Tivoli Garden. I loved the sod-roofed buildings planted with blooming pansies, but even beautiful flowers didn't bring relief from my sadness for Kelsey. I tried to be cheerful for Aubrietta's benefit, but my feeble attempt at enthusiasm was very forced.

I wished Kelsey was with us, and every 15 minutes or so I'd find a quiet corner to pull out my iPad and see if Daddy had emailed an update. From his journal, this is what was happening back at the hospital:

 

"Shortly before 18:00 we were taken upstairs for a pano xray of Kelsey's mouth. She had to stand for the xray and for unknown reasons the machine had a mirror right in front of her face. At seeing her face, she felt weak and collapsed on the floor, which necessitated another xray. After she laid down for awhile and was able to regain her composure I told her to close her eyes and not look in the mirror. At the conclusion I asked for a copy of the xray to take home to our dentist. They had some trouble making a copy. We waited and waited, and were finally ushered downstairs without it. I went back up to inquire and although some people tried to be helpful, the radiologist who has been with us was nowhere to be found. Back in the room we waited and waited again.

 

"At about 18:30 we were told that the dentist was in surgery working on a boy with a broken jaw from a car accident, and that she would come to see Kelsey in 1 to 2 hours. No nurses ever came to check on us or give us an update of what was going on. If you wanted anything, you had to summon them. At one point I asked if Kelsey could have a popsicle or some ice cream. We were told that they had none, but that we could purchase some one floor up. I took Kelsey by the hand to walk her up there, but as we went through an automatic door out of the trauma center, it slid shut quite forcefully, striking Kelsey in the side of the head and knocking her to the floor. I took her back to the room and went for the ice cream myself. I summoned a nurse who seemed rather blasé, despite the fact that kelsey had developed a welt on the side of her head where the door had hit her. The nurse asked only if Kelsey had lost consciousness or was nauseous, and when I said no, she left. No offer of ice for the swelling.

 

"The waiting was almost unbearable. At 20:45 we were told the dentist was out of surgery and reviewing Kelsey's xray and would be there shortly. When the dentist came she checked Kelsey and said the xray did not indicate any breakage at the roots, or other problem with the roots. The front teeth were not loosened too much, and in her opinion a temporary patch to the chipped teeth wasn't needed, unless the sensitivity to heat and cold, or pain, was unbearable after 4 to 5 days. Then, we should see a dentist to consider a temporary filling placed over the chipped areas. Kelsey was to eat only soft foods for 2 weeks, and take care not to bump her teeth. We received copies of the xrays, some painkiller if Kelsey needs it, and were discharged after being at the hospital for 8 hours."

 

Aubrietta and I left Tivoli at 21:00 and made our way back to the hospital. When we arrived at the trauma center Kelsey was gone, discharged moments before. We rushed out to where the car had been parked and found Daddy and Kelsey about to pull away. To add insult to injury (literally), a parking ticket was on our dash. Oh well, another mess to deal with, for another day. This longest day of the year needed to come to an end.

NEXT:  Day 9 From Copenhagen to the Island of Ærø, Danmark - Friday, June 22

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Day 4, 3rd day in Iceland, Sunday, June 17, Iceland's National Holiday

Aubrietta was a little better, but still queasy and weak. She ate a bit of breakfast and then the girls and I went to the pool. It was Aubrietta's turn to be awed by the locker room experience, and at the pool, the sight of nearly all males in tight fitting speedos instead of the baggy knee-length trunks popular in the US. Aubrietta tried the giant waterside and some of the other activities, then she was weary, so after about an hour at the pool we returned to the apartment.

Aubrietta was too exhausted to go on, and was feeling queasy again, so she went to bed and slept for 5 hours, with Daddy staying at home with her while Kelsey and I ventured out after a eating some open face sandwiches for lunch.

It was Iceland's National Holiday and there were many events going on throughout the city, including several parades. I thought viewing & photographing the colorful main parade would be fun, so we headed out on foot to the bus stop. I checked on my iPad before leaving the apartment to see where the bus was, using a handy app that shows the real-time location of all buses. My plan had been to buy a mini-SIM card to get wireless internet everywhere on my iPad, but with Aubrietta's illness and being homebound so much, it didn't seem necessary anymore. (We had free wifi at the apartment). The bus system was easy to use, we had several great paper maps, and most everything was walking distance anyway.

When Kelsey and I arrived at the bus stop I had just enough time to sit down and consult the time when our bus pulled up. We rode the #14 from Teigar to Grandi (end of the line) and hung out for awhile. We should have gotten off earlier, but the route was detoured because of all the road closures and it never went to the stop I was looking for. After a short layover, we went a few stops and then the children's parade turned off a side road right in front of us. We inched along until we got to the next bus stop and then Kelsey and I jumped off and joined the parade, which was led by a marching band.

The parade circled the lake (which in winter is for ice skating) and ended in a grassy field where children's activities were set up.

Kelsey wanted to buy some cotton candy, so I said she could have some as long as she was the one to buy it. I handed her 500 ISK, which is exactly what it cost, and pushed her towards the line. She turned back, feeling shy, so I took the money back and started to walk away.

She wanted cotton candy so badly that she begged for the money back, and sulked over to the line, glaring at me. One thing I want this trip to teach the girls is how to be more independent, and able to speak up and handle challenges. Trying to communicate with people who speak a different language, and asking for help, is a great start. European children are much more attuned to which strangers are safe and which should be avoided, and are confident in getting around the city on their own, and I think Aubrietta and Kelsey are at the right age to learn some of these skills.

Cotton candy in hand, Kelsey and I explored some of the games set up for children. There were wooden riding toys, stilts, ring and ball tossing games, balance challenges, and more.

There was a fun playground area, which included giant rope climbers and trampolines set into the ground.

There were also bouncy houses and inflatables, but we didn't partake of those.

In the back of this truck a clown act was going on, and Kelsey wanted to watch for awhile, even though it was all in Icelandic, of course.

We were surrounded by Icelandic families. The tourists probably all went to the main parade. One thing I love about Northern Europeans is how they have these enormous baby carriages that a child can ride in until they are 3 or 4 years old. When I backpacked through Europe in 1997 with my brother I visited several baby stores to look at carriages, and when I was married and expecting Aubrietta 2 years later, I had one imported from Norway. I used it for 6 years straight, and now it waits for grandchildren.

Check out this Icelandic couple, blessed with 4 daughters -- three in the baby carriage and one on the mother in a carrier!

 

And the sweaters! So many beautiful hand knits, especially on the children!

Kelsey and I walked toward the harbor and main shopping street area, in the company of thousands of happy people. We were hungry, and I hadn't had a good strong coffee since leaving Seattle, so we stopped in a coffeehouse, where Kelsey wrote on the wall while I ordered one coffee and 2 croissants for us.

On a grassy hillside hundreds of children and their families danced along to a live "Lazy Town" performance set up on a temporary stage on a closed street. "Lazy Town" is a popular children's televison program in the US, but here in Iceland it appears an addiction. I don't know if it originated here or just happens to be one of the few children's programs translated into Icelandic, but everywhere you go you see "Lazy Town" branded products.

Another thing we noticed is that many of the children were wearing "Buffs," stretchy tubular material worn as a head covering. Made popular on the TV show Survivor, Icelandic parents seem to have adopted the Buff as the perfect summer headcovering for their children, to keep them warm, and from getting their scalps sunburned through their very blond hair. Another interesting observation we made was that siblings were often dressed alike, both brothers, and sisters. Of course that made be feel right at home as a parent!

Icelanders are crazy for licorice, including salty licorice gum, and chocolate covered licorice. Even the youngest kids seem to like it, and we saw a number of kids walking around with these giant licorice lollipops.

 

I needed a toilet, and had the fun of using an automatic one for the first time. When the person ahead of me got out, the door snapped shut and spraying water and blowing air sounds could be heard within. After a minute or two the door popped open and I went in. The floor was still wet, but the toilet, without separate seat, had been blown dry. After going, I tried to open the door and it wouldn't budge. I was afraid the wash cycle would suddenly start with me in it! As I was standing there pulling on the door, I noticed an opening behind and above the toilet and hand symbols. I put a hand in the opening and warm soapy water started spraying, then clean water, then warm air blew. Then, when I tried the door again, it opened. I guess they really want to make sure you clean your hands, since you can't open the door until you do. Kelsey was afraid to go in, and decided to "hold it" until she got home.

Walking up the main shopping street back toward the Hlemmur bus station, most of the shops were closed. The main parade had been on the street just 2 hours earlier, and I'd hoped to find a discarded flag to take home as a souvenier, but not a scrap of trash littered the street! Although there is some graffiti tagging done by youth, there doesn't seem to be much littering or other vandalism.

Back home by 4pm, Aubrietta was just waking. She handn't thrown up but was pretty weak. Nonetheless, she was eager to get out, so I suggested a leisurely walk to the zoo, which was right next to the botanical garden. Both girls wanted to visit the zoo, and here we had just one day left and hadn't been there. Daddy took off for Videy Island, hiking 15 minutes over to the little foot ferry for the 5 minute crossing. Visiting Videy Island, which is a historic site and nature preserve, was one of the things I really wanted to do, but because of Aubrietta's condition we hadn't gotten around to it yet. Below are the photos he took from his brief visit.

Meanwhile the girls and I were at the zoo, where they had mostly farm animals, and the few Icelandic mammals....

Icelandic Pony, brought to Iceland by the Vikings

Reindeer

Arctic Fox

Adorable seals, mothers and nurslings.

And I'm not sure what this is, but I think it has something to do with toddlers turning in their pacifiers when they reach that stage of being too big for them, but being so attached to them that they don't want to throw them away. I've heard of parents bagging them up to "give to new babies," or doing some other ceremonious disposal of the pacifiers, so maybe that is what is going on here.

The zoo also had an amusement park, and Aubrietta really perked up at the sight of that. She was still a bit queasy and weak, but youthful enthusiasm overtook her when the girls spied the water balls. They had seen them on a TV show, but never in real life, and they both wanted to try them badly. I went into the concession stand to buy tickets for it, only to find out that the water balls were a different deal, and cost 500 ISK cash to ride. I had just spent my last cash, but remembered the 10 Euro Angie had given me. I whipped that bill out and begged the attendant, and she gave me 2000 ISK in return and let both girls ride. I'm not sure if it was a fair conversion, but it allowed the girls to do something they might never get to do again, so I wasn't going to worry about it. Thanks for that Euro, Angie!

The zoo closed at 18:00 and we were the last to leave, having been there only an hour. They pretty much had to show us the gate to get us to go.

Aubrietta was spent and hungry, so we stopped to rest at Cafe Flora in the botanical garden. I ordered the soup of the day, which was a light carrot potato bacon puree (heavy on the broth, not creamy), a Swiss Mocha, and an oatmeal raisin cookie.

The three of us shared the soup, although preference was given to Aubrietta because she was recovering from being so stomach sick the day before. Kelsey and I had the mocha, and took the cookie home for later.

Another observation we've made about Iceland is that there are a lot of cats, and they are everywhere. I suppose cats are great lapwarmers during the long, cold winters. As we were walking back to the apartment through the botanical garden we noticed this "fluff" in the foliage.

It was another cat, friendly as all the others we'd encountered. The cats we've met all seem well cared for, just enjoying their freedom during the short summer, not unlike the Icelandic children we see wandering the streets all hours of the day and night.

Back at the apartment Daddy had returned from Videy Island and wasn't really impressed. Perhaps he was just tired, I don't know. I really thought he would enjoy it. He talked me out of going, but I do regret that I didn't go. Maybe he was downplaying the experience because he knew we'd run out of time for me to make the trip over there on my own.

Over a dinner of the remaining Arctic Char, Daddy and Kelsey decided they would go in the morning on the all day bus tour of the "Golden Circle," which visited a horse farm, a commercial greenhouse where produce is grown year-round, an erupting geyser, Pingvellir National Park where the American and Eurasian tectonic plates are pulling apart, and Gullfoss waterfall.

Aubrietta had barely seen anything of Reykjavik, so I would stay behind with her on Monday and do whatever interested her, at her pace. She had a few bites of dinner, following that soup at the garden, and then she was done eating. It was good to see her eat again, but there was no way I was going to subject her delicate stomach and inclination to motion sickness to an all-day bus tour. In a way I wished I could see all the sights Kelsey and Daddy would be seeing, but it wasn't worth the long hours on the bus at this point.

We went to bed late, as usual, since it didn't get dark and time got away from us. Kelsey was in bed by 11:00, Aubrietta shortly thereafter, then Daddy, and I stayed up reading, writing, and doing laundry until nearly 2am. It was a long, but better day.

NEXT: Day 5, Part 1 - Last Full Day in Iceland - Heather and Aubrietta do Reykjavik - Monday June 18

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Day 3, 2nd day in Iceland, Saturday, June 16th

We slept pretty well, not having gone to bed until 1 to 2 am. We had breakfast of Skyr, bananas, and toast with orange cream cheese. The sun was shining and skies were mostly clear. Daddy had gotten up around 4am, unable to sleep any more, and by 8am he was antsy and wanting to get going. Aubrietta said she didn't feel well. I sent Daddy out the door with Kelsey to walk over to the youth hostel to buy the tourist discount cards, which would give us entrance to the municipal pools, unlimited rides on all buses and the ferry, and entrance to most museums and attractions. Just as they were leaving, Aubrietta threw up. "Better buy 3 cards instead of 4," I said, "as it looks like someone may not be going anywhere."

By the time Kelsey and daddy got back, Aubrietta had thrown up a few more times and was passed out on the floor, where she stayed the whole rest of the day. Thank goodness we hadn't booked an all-day bus tour or anything. I was hopeful that everyone would stay well on this trip, but I should have known better. I'm just surprised it wasn't me (yet), as lack of sleep usually wears me down.

Daddy and Kelsey decided to walk to the big pool complex just at the end of our street. I checked on Aubrietta and decided to leave her to rest while I walked them down to the pool. I knew that Kelsey would need help navigating the locker room, as the routine at Icelandic pools was much different than back at our local YMCA pool. First, before you even go into the locker room, you must remove your shoes and leave them in the hallway. No shoes or sandals of any kind are allowed. Next, you go in and find a locker among rows and rows of lockers, all generously sized. You remove ALL of your clothes, put them in a locker, and then carry your towel and swimsuit in hand and head to the showers.

The shower room is immense, with rows and rows of open showers. At the end of the rows are metal grids into which you tuck your towel. Everyone around you is completely naked, or in the process of putting on or taking off a suit. You then shower off, getting soap from a gallon pump bottle in the middle of the shower room. Illustrated diagrams are posted throughout the shower room, reminding you to soap thoroughly certain areas of your body, and everyone is taking this very seriously, sudsing up and scrubbing. Pool staff in white boots are circulating with floor squeegees, eyeing everyone to make sure they are soaping properly.

Scattered throughout the shower room are plastic highchairs for mothers to safely contain their babies, and plastic tubs to sit toddlers in for ease in washing. Of course many of the showers are handheld on a hose, so you can direct the spray and rinse thoroughly. Then, finally, you can put on your swimsuit. You go to the pool, then when you come back you remove your suit, shower again, put your suit in the spinner to get it mostly dry, get your towel, and dry off. There is a big sign at the entrance to the locker room from the shower room reminding you that you must be completely dry before entering the locker room. I had to remind Kelsey of this, since I wouldn't be there when she got out, since I was heading back to Aubrietta.

The water was the temperature of a very warm bath, and believe it or not this outdoor pool is open all year, even in the dead of winter (though the slides are shut down). There were no lifeguards in sight, but lots of children. As Iceland is a country where babies are left outside in carriages on the sidewalk while their parents go into shops or cafes, and even 6 year old children seem to roam the streets freely late at night, I suppose the culture dictates that everyone watch out for children, theirs or not, and step in to help without hesitation if a baby or child is in distress.

In addition to the massive outdoor pool complex, including an olympic lap pool with viewing structure, there was also a big indoor lap pool, for year-round swim meets. The pools are not chlorinated (hence the strict hygine rules), but there is a slight sulfur smell.

I walked Kelsey out to the pool deck, me being the only person other than pool staff still clothed (but without shoes, of course!), and handed her off to my husband to supervise. I took a few quick photos of Kelsey in the pool, then headed back to Aubrietta, who was still sleeping.

When they returned Kelsey had a little lunch and then went down for a nap, while my husband rode the bus around town, stopping at the fish market to buy some Arctic Char for dinner. He forgot that the fish market was closing at 14:00 since it was the holiday weekend (Sunday is the National Holiday), and arrived just as they were cleaning up the empty cases. The fishmonger didn't speak English but seemed willing to help, so my husband pointed to the fish he wanted on a big wall chart, and after a bit of back and forth to determine cut and quantity, my husband left the shop with several pounds of beautiful fish, which cost less than if he were to buy it back in Seattle, which is impressive because everything in Iceland is double or triple the cost back home.

Kelsey woke up, poor Aubrietta slept on between vomiting sessions, and Daddy decided it was time for his nap, so Kelsey and I headed out for a walk. We ended up walking half an hour to the big Kringlan shopping mall, where we bought some groceries, including gatorade and jello for Aubrietta, and a fresh loaf of bread. We walked through the mall but didn't go into any shops. We bought an ice cream and then walked back home.

Kelsey loved this giant revlovling door at the shopping mall.

Crossing even the busiest streets was easy, as walk signals were at all major intersections, even across highways, and wide bike and walking paths ran parallel to most main streets, with a swath of green separating them from the traffic.

Back home my husband was eager to cook up the Arctic Char. Usually we grill it over coals with alder chips to give it a smoky flavor, but without our grill he decided to pan fry it, and it was just superb. The fish was so buttery and soft, and needed no seasoning, not even salt. Even the potatoes were delicious, made even more so with the naturally bright yellow Icelandic butter made from 100% grass fed cows. Sadly, Aubrietta did not join us for this meal. She had a few sips of gatorade, threw up, and went back to sleep.

After dinner Kelsey and I ventured out again. At the end of our street several apartment houses were under renovation. Nearly all buildings are made of concrete and metal since there isn't any lumber in Iceland. The harsh climate takes it's toll on the building exteriors, and summer is the only time to really make repairs. It was 8 o'clock on a Saturday night and this guy was up on his lift painting trim.

I really wanted to see the Botanical Garden because I was curious about what flora and fauna could actually survive here in Iceland. On our walk there we passed this sculpture, which was about as shocking to Kelsey as the locker room experience that morning. My girls have always been comfortable in their own skin and relatively relaxed about nudity, that is until peer pressure, approaching puberty, and the American middle school locker room scene changed things a bit. As Aubrietta became suddenly shy, Kelsey was quick to follow. This is the first of many, many nude statues the girls will be seeing this summer, and I hope they can get over the "ick" factor and appreciate the beauty of the human form that has so entranced artists for centuries.

Kelsey was almost as excited to see the garden as I was. She kept wishing her teacher was with us because she knew how much she loved plants and gardening. By the way, Kelsey wants her teacher and classmates to know that she is thinking of them!

The rock garden was just stunning. Most of the plantings were not native, but were hardy enough to survive the Reykjavik winters, which are not so much harshy cold, but intensely dark.

It was windy and cold, and these goslings were eager to tuck under their mother's wing for warmth.

The garden had a cafe in a greenhouse that was open every night until 10:00pm. Kelsey loved the little bridge and koi pond.

 

Because we were a bit chilled, I let Kelsey order a fat oatmeal raisin cookie and a Swiss hot cocoa.

It cost the equivalent of $12.00 US, but it was a delicious and satisfying treat in a beautiful setting. We were saving a lot of money by not staying in a hotel and not eating in restaurants, so it was easy to justify this expense.

 

After warming up, we decided to take advantage of the biting wind and fly a kite. I have a pocket kite that has been with us for 10 years, which I always carry in my car in case the weather and mood strike for a good kite-fly. The kite always comes with us on our travels, and we hope to fly it in all 5 countries we'll be visiting.

 

The park had some interesting play structures for kids. All the trees you see have been purposefully planted. None are native.

 

On our way home we passed the campground behind the youth hostel. Brrr. I'm glad we weren't camping!

Every few blocks there seems to be another park or playground. This was a school (different from the one we had met the little girls at the night before). It had some fun springy things, and this giant paved maze.

It was past 10pm when Kelsey and I got back to the apartment. Daddy was ready for bed and Aubrietta was still sleeping. I got Kelsey headed towards bed, and encouraged Aubrietta to sip more fluids before tucking her into bed, bucket nearby. I sure hoped she would be better the next morning. I felt bad for all she had missed today.

NEXT:  Day 4, 3rd day in Iceland, Sunday, June 17, Iceland's National Holiday

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Detour in Iceland Plans

This video has been an inspiration for me to visit Iceland. Unfortunately we will not be doing anything as magnificent during our short stay. In fact we may not even make it out of Reykjavik. Aubrietta has been throwing up all day, and now just two days remain. Daddy wants to take an 8 hour "Golden Circle" bus tour in the company of all the other tourists, whereas I just want to take the girls exploring in Reykjavik, with a ferry ride to Videy Island, which is a nature preserve. I know there are beautiful geological wonders out there, but with a queasy child and limited time, I don't want to spend the whole day on a tour bus anymore. It sounded great when I planned the trip, but not so much now. As a family we've always been good about going our own ways, and never demanding the other come along to something that doesn't interest them, so Daddy may go for the bus tour, while I walk Reykjavik. We'll let the kids decide who they want to go with, and we'll hope Aubrietta is quickly recovered so she doesn't miss anymore than she already has.

NEXT: Day 3, 2nd day in Iceland, Saturday, June 16th

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Travel Insurance

I am still going back and forth about travel insurance.  Our health insurance already covers medical care abroad.  Trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance is appealing, but the claims process looks arduous and filled with little loop-holes and exceptions for the insurance companies to justify denial of a claim.  If the volcano blows in Iceland and the airspace is closed, canceling our flight, is that covered?  

In researching on the internet I've come across so many stories of seemingly unjust denials of claims.  Looking at the contracts, which are pages and pages of small print legalese, it makes me wonder if battling the insurance company would make whatever crisis we may find ourselves in even more difficult.

After reading this article about a claim being denied because the cost of the airline ticket was off by $2.50, I wonder how on earth I can calculate our costs to even insure us.  The insurance company wants the costs broken down between the four of us, but how do I do that accurately when the kids' tickets cost a percentage less for some things, or were part of a "family package" for other things?  For example for our prepaid train tickets in Norway the children were free since we purchased a family rate ahead of time, but if we had to purchase replacement tickets that offer would not be available and we'd have to pay more.  What if I'm off by 2 cents?  Will the insurance company deny even the smallest claim?    

 

For our rail passes we bought replacement insurance for them.  We already have health insurance.  Because we already have these things insured, will the travel insurance deny us coverage for being doubly insured?  I've heard that can happen.

Here's an excerpt from a posting on the Rick Steves travel board about an insurance hassle, and how even having four types of insurance you can find your claim denied:

"So here's the wonderful news about travel insurance: fine print. We were insured four ways: 1. Trip: TravelGuard. 2. Car Rental: TravelGuard. 3. VISA purchase/rental insurance 4. Homeowner's Insurance. My wife's purse had the usual: credit card, driver's license, health insurance card, passport, a camera with 300-400 photo memories of our trip, and about $350 in cash. All evaporated. The purse content amounted to about $700 out of pocket. Hassling all four insurance contracts for weeks after we returned, we find that none of the policies cover the loss. One said "you didn't have tire/window insurance so you're not covered" and "we don't cover cash." Another said this policy is for your plane flight and luggage only. A third had a deductible/pro-rate policy that made it ridiculous to bother filing the paperwork. And the fourth also didn't cover cash and had an $1100 deductible.

My take-home from all of the above is that travel insurance is another way corporate interests scam a public while their attention is diverted to planning a wonderful vacation, and not on contract details or issues they know nothing about (c'mon, really, "tire and window insurance?") Why would a car rental agency offer tire and window insurance separately unless their calculations showed that their major losses were from slash-and-grab or smash-and-grab in the first place? And why don't they tell you this up front? So they don't have to pay on claims.

Bottom line: TravelGuard insurance premiums added another $150 to our $700 losses and I'll never bother to buy it again."

Adding $500.00 of travel insurance to the escalating cost of our upcoming trip is sobering, especially in light of the chances of the insurance actually helping us.  I'm OK buying insurance and never having to use it.  I'm not OK buying insurance and then having them forsake us in our hour of need.   We'll probably err on the side of caution and get travel insurance, but if disaster strikes and we need to file a claim, I am going to be burning mad if they give me a hard time.

 

Update:  After spending over an hour with a travel agent, who called Travel Guard with specific questions on my behalf, and going over the 24 page fine-print policy exclusions word by word, we've decided to take our chances and not get travel insurance.  Here's why (italics in quotes come direct from the policy schedule of benefits):

 

Volcanic eruption is not covered.  Natural Disaster is defined only as "flood, hurricane, tornado, earthquake, or blizzard that is due to natural causes."

 

My daughter's allergies are considered a pre-existing condition, so if she ate something that caused her to have an anaphylactic reaction and needed medical attention, it's not covered.  My husband had knee and back surgery last summer, so if he twists his knee hiking, or strains his back hauling luggage, it's not covered.

 

"Terrorist Incident" MUST be "deemed terrorism by the United States Government." Therefore, if something happens in Stockholm, Oslo, or Copenhagen, and the US Government doesn't officially declare it, we're on our own. 

 

Trip cancellation interruption for an airline or train strike?  Only for "strike resulting in complete cessation of travel services at the point of departure or destination."  Therefore if the other travel services are available (canoes? bicycles?), or the strike happens mid-way on our journey, it's NOT COVERED. 

 

And if any of these items are lost or stolen from us, they are not covered: "eyeglasses, sunglasses, hearing aids, tickets, currency."  And anything can be excluded if the insurance company considers it a "mysterious disappearance" -- and of course they determine if it is mysterious or not.

 

And here's more: "Items over $150. must be accompanied by original receipts.  If receipts are not provided, no benefits are payable."  I can provide receipts, however... 

 

"the company will pay the lesser of:

a) the cash value (original cash value less depreciation) as determined by the Company; or

b) the cost of replacement" 

 

So let's say my camera & lens, which are 6 years old and in perfect condition, is stolen.  Replacement cost would be about $2,000, but the insurance is only obligated to pay the lesser of, and they could say it's only worth $25. if they wanted to. 

If I disagree with their appraisal?  "The Insured will share with us the cost for the arbitrator and the appraisal process."  Bet you anything they pay their arbitrator and appraiser more per hour than anything that could be stolen from me would be worth. 

Those are just a few gems.  The Schedule of Benefits is loaded with exclusions.  I now have no faith that if I bought a policy it would cover anything at all.  

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Preparations: Medical

 

Preparing to be on the road for 6 weeks means getting all the medical things in order. In the last week we've had a flurry of appointments. Dentist visits for all to ensure there are no loose fillings or crowns about to pop off while we're away. Doctor visits to get prescriptions and official paperwork to show the TSA so they don't confiscate our meds. Endless calls to the insurance company to get preauthorizations and exceptions for larger prescriptions they don't want to cover.

For example, our insurance allows only 2 epinephrine syringes per year, but since we'll be traveling to remote areas the doctor wants us to carry 4. Depending on the severity of the allergen exposure, Epinephrine just buys time (usually in 15 minute increments) until you can get to a hospital where stronger medications are available. Back and forth with the insurance company, doctor, and pharmacy, eventually we got the cost of the 4 syringes down to $374.91, still painful, but less than if we hadn't gotten the pre-auth and a $50.00 coupon applied.

For one of my husband's prescriptions only a 30 day supply was covered by our insurance, and we'd have to pay full cost for the remaining 60 days of the 90 day prescription his doctor ordered. What a shock at the pharmacy counter to hear how many hundreds of dollars that was! Calling the insurance company, we learn that they will cover 90 days, but only if we get it from their mail-order pharmacy, which will cost an additional $17.95 mailing costs to ensure we'll receive it in the mail in time. What an annoying game it is to deal with insurance companies. Maybe we should have just tried to fill our prescriptions abroad, where they're probably a fraction of the cost.

We're also hand-carrying additional written prescriptions for all medications and eyeglasses when we travel, in case anything goes missing along the way. I for one don't want to spend the trip squinting and guessing at the views because I broke my glasses.

 

Even though we are not going anywhere tropical where we'd need to get vaccinations, I did just stand in line with a couple hundred other people to get a Pertussis shot, since there is currently an outbreak in Washington State. The girls are fully vaccinated, but I needed a booster, which of course my insurance does not cover. Getting it at a pharmacy would have cost more than $70.00, so the moment the state Governor declared an emergency and released funds to have a free shot clinic, I was ready. Although the risk was low I'd catch pertussis, I'm around a lot of children with all my volunteer work, and it would be just my luck to get it and carry it to Europe. I could never forgive myself if I was the one who passed it on to an infant too young to be vaccinated, and that baby died. That is the real danger with pertussis.

One thing I had been begging my husband to do for years was to get hearing aids. When we finally met with the audiologist she said he was nearly legally deaf. I knew his hearing loss was severe, but he was in denial over just how bad it was. He finally got fitted last week, and has been in awe of all that he can now hear -- the clicky-clack of his keyboard, the alarm clock (usually I hear it, then wake him), and most importantly the higher pitched voices of our children. The trip will be so much more amazing for him now that he'll get the full soundtrack of our journey, from birdsong to the ding-ding tones warning that the train doors are now closing. Most of all I am relieved that I will no longer be translating and interpreting for him, because I know I will be busy enough trying to understand the 5 different languages, 5 different currencies, and dozens of different transportation systems we'll be navigating.

I think we're all set now, at least in this area. Now on to the other 42 items on my to-do list...

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