wandering-europe

Day 26 -- Last Day in Oslo, Norway -- Monday, July 9th

It rained hard overnight and we were awakened just after 6am to the garbage trucks collecting the trash from our building, followed shortly by the construction workers across the street cutting concrete with loud saws.

Since we'd done the Technical Museum yesterday, this was the day to go back to the Folk Museum, and it looked like the weather would be just as bad as Saturday.  We should have gone yesterday.  In getting ready to leave the house, we realized that one of the cameras was missing, the one that Daddy and Kelsey were sharing.  It then occured to us that Kelsey had left it at the museum, so Daddy called there, and thankfully someone had turned it in to the lost and found.  It would have been tragic to lose all the photos on that camera, since I hadn't uploaded photos from it to the iPad for about a week.  

Daddy headed for the technical museum to retrieve the camera, and I continued getting the girls ready for the day, with plans to meet at the Folk museum at 11:30am.  We caught the bus downtown, then had to stop at the Reuter office (I finally located it) to buy the girls 24 hour transit passes, since they'd been riding free on the weekend and it was now Monday.  We then caught a bus to the Bygdoy peninsula, where the Folk Museum was.

When we arrived at the museum we found Daddy in the Museum's cafe (remember, all museums have a nice cafe), enjoying a waffle with strawberry jam and coffee.  We joined him, then ventured back out in the rain to see more of the museum.

Just like on Saturday, it was raining hard and many of the activities were cancelled.  There would be no horse carriage rides, that was for sure.  We slogged around for awhile then retreated to the large indoor exhibits.

Since we weren't going to see many museum staff in costume today due to the rain, I took pictures of the exhibit about the ethnic dress, or "bunads."  There were some vintage bunads behind glass on mannequins, and then photographs of people wearing modern bunads.

Man with baby = HOT!

Aubrietta's favorite, with an owl, of course.

I prefer older men, but even I had to admit this young man was stunning.

This was another exhibit we found fascinating.  206 color photographs were taken in Norway by Albert Kahn's photographer Auguste Leon, some of the first true color photographs in the world.  He also took stereographic black and white photos, documenting life in Norway in 1910.

There was a slide show of the stereographic images, with 3D glasses provided.

Another exhibit was about the native Sami people.  Like the Native Americans, they've also struggled with forced assimilation, loss of land, and discrimination.

There is now a push to preserve the language and culture of the Sami people, but like in the US, much has been lost forever.  Few young Sami today would choose to live in mud huts, just as few in the US, besides the Amish, wish to live as they did 100 years ago without modern conveniences.

The indoor museum also had a big exhibit with vintage toys.  This doll in the sailor suit had a whole wardrobe of handmade clothes, pictured behind on hangers.

Check out this box of hand-carved, tiny wooden tools.

A board game about cross country skiing through Norway!  I want to play!

Little wooden villages and animals were once a staple of the Norwegian nursery.  Today kids act out similar imaginary scenes with Playmobil.

Look how happy these little girls are with their doll carriages!

Some lucky little girl enjoyed this doll, complete with kitchen, about 100 years ago.

We saw everything there was to see indoors, so we headed back outside.  The rain was starting to lighten up, thankfully.  I spied these three tots playing in the fountain as we came out of the indoor exhibits (big buildings in the background).  The kids were dressed perfectly for the rain, with rain boots and rain suits.

Going from house to house, we stopped in for some Lefse bread as we had on Saturday, although this time we knew Aubrietta couldn't have any due to her allergies, so just Daddy and Kelsey had some.

We went to the 1959 farmhouse to find the "farmer's wife" was a different person today.  On Saturday the girls had enjoyed coloring, making spinning toys with paper and string, and cross stitching.  Today they could try the sewing machine, or learn to knit.  Both girls were very enthusiastic to knit.  

I had taught both girls knitting about 2 years ago, but they'd forgotten.  Teaching Kelsey was a challenge for me since she's a Lefty so everything had to be in reverse.

We spent about an hour there, having nice conversation with the "farmer's wife."  Unlike some living history museums, she was in costume, but she wasn't bound to her historical role.  She told us all about her modern-day life, about her mother and grandmother knitting and how sad it was that more young women of her generation weren't learning to knit, about her travels, and about how she learned English and the Norwegian school system.

It was just this kind of casual, friendly interaction that made museums like this a favorite for our family.  

Leaving the farm house, we stopped to look at the pigs.  They way they root around in the mud with their noses, I'm curious how it is that their nostrils don't get so packed with muck that they can't breathe.

The rain finally stopped and we were able to catch up with the "summer school children."  They have a camp program where 14 or so kids around 8 to 12 years old spend the day at the Folk Museum in costume, doing activities and bringing some youthful enthusiasm to the stoic recreations of life several hundred years ago.  Kelsey and Aubrietta would just LOVE to participate in something like this, as they both are excited about history.  Here the children are awaiting afternoon tea and waffles with strawberry jam.  Inside the house nearby a woman in costume is cooking pancakes over a woodstove for them. 

We walked back through the "Village," and explored the tenement house with 8 apartments furnished from different time periods that we saw on Saturday, then headed over to see if the folk dancers were out, now that it was no longer raining.

Hooray!  We finally got to see folk dancers dancing outside!  Had we come yesterday (Sunday) there would have been many of them, but since it was Monday and raining, only two were at work today.  It was a great show, accompanied by authentic music on a vintage keyed string instrument.

The girls are always good at finding a comfortable perch to sit and watch a show.

Both girls we smitten by the performance, and the personable dancers who took time to talk with them afterward.  It was now 17:00 and the museum staff were going home (though you could continue to walk the grounds, the buildings would be locked).  We decided to head downtown and go to the "Bunad Store," where these traditional costumes were sold.  There was a costume for each region of Norway, and some were more detailed that others with embroidery or design.

On the bus the girls busied themselves with their knitting.

At the Bunad store the girls were in awe, and quickly identified their favorites.  A woman customer was in the process of ordering one, and pieces of embroidered cloth were laid out on the counter for her inspection.  Adult Bunads are custom made to fit, whereas there were children's bunads on racks ready to go.  It would have been nice to get the girls Bunads, since I know they would wear them and appreciate them, but the simplest one cost more than $1,000. USD, so it wasn't going to happen.  Besides, there is no room in the suitcase.  (That's my line now, when the girls want to buy stuff, or I see a sweater I want).

I loved the embroidery on this one.

Aubrietta loved these plaid Bunads.  At several thousand dollars a piece, she'll just have to dream about having one.

We left the Bunad store empty handed, looked at the largest sweater store in Oslo and walked out of there without anything, either.

I was hoping to find a boiled wool hot pad (for the kitchen) that I had seen in Flam and not bought.  Now I wanted one.  They were handmade in Norway by Tula Tov and had interesting patterns and colors.  You can see more of their designs here.

I was sure if I looked around I could find one in Oslo.  Daddy and Aubrietta opted to go home, while Kelsey and I went to a downtown shopping mall.  I went into every kitchen store, design store, home goods store, and gift store, but none of them had it.  I rarely suffer from "non-buyer's remorse," but now I was.  Oh well, maybe I could make something like it when I got home.

We also stopped at a toy store.  It was just a cheap toy store, not a boutique toy store specializing in all wood toys, or just educational toys.   Even so, I was surprised at the small amount of "war toys" and "pink plastic girly crap" that is so prevalent in American toy stores.  There were a lot of basic toys: blocks, construction sets, puppets, playmobil, realistic looking dolls, sand toys, etc.  Of course I loved the buses and trams!  You're not likely to find those on the toy store shelf in America.

 

Back at the apartment we had a simple dinner of soup (tomato, cream of mushroom), polar bread, and sauteed zucchini and mushrooms.  After dinner Daddy took the girls to the Barnehage playgrounds while I cleaned and packed for our departure tomorrow.

Tomorrow we fly to Switzerland!

NEXT: Day 27 -- From Oslo, Norway to Zurich, Switzerland -- Tuesday, July 10th

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Day 23 - Flåm to Myrdal to Oslo by Train - Friday, July 6th

We got up and had breakfast, then finalized our packing. Tromping down the "killer stairs," we checked out and got our luggage to the train station just a few short steps away.

Finally, a blue sky, sunny day -- and now we were leaving. Having this weather would have been nice for yesterday's Fjord cruise, but it would also prove wonderful for a scenic train ride.

Daddy sat with the luggage while the girls and I looked in the train museum for a few minutes, focusing on the things we hadn't seen when we popped in just briefly the first day.

The Flåm - Myrdal railway was a feat of engineering, especially at that time in history. It took 20 years to build, took many lives in the process, and contained 20 tunnels when finihsed.

Just look at that elevation gain! Most of the climbing is done via winding tunnels which gain elevation slowly.

Here is a little model in the museum demonstrating the typical topography at a point along the way, and how before the tunnel the only way to get from one little farm or town to the other was by switchback trail. Signs warning newcomers to the area said: "Be gentle against the horse and walk the hill up."

The girls were fascinated by the motorized rail tricycles used by rail workers to check the line once it was completed and in operation.

The our train on the Flåm railway left at 11:00, and the ride took just less than an hour.

Daddy and Aubrietta sat on one side of the car, while Kelsey and I sat on the other.

Some little towns were still in the shadow of the high mountainsides at 11:15 am.

Tickets, please! I'd ordered and paid for our tickets from Flåm all the way to Oslo months in advance, saving a bit of money by doing it online and getting a family rate. The Flåm-Myrdal train was privately operated and cost a small fortune, but we saved significantly on our Myrdal-Oslo train.

The water in the rivers was the most beautiful blue.

The camera just cannot capture the beauty the way the eye does, at least not without the help of some post-processing with Photoshop, which I am not doing for these photos. In the photo above the right side of the picture is too bright, so you don't see the detail in the moutains.

It was hot on the train, so we were grateful the windows opened.

Part way, we stopped and waited for the train going down to pass us.

Here it comes...

A video screen showed us where we were along the route.

Almost to Myrdal, the train made a 5 minute stop at a waterfall and we were allowed to get out to take photos.

Kjosfossen is a powerful, thundering waterfall, and as soon as you stepped off the train you were sopping wet from the spray.

The girls were jumping up and down, loving the noise, wet spray, and rainbows from the sun shining through the mist.

Suddenly music started and a woman in long robes started gyrating up in the mist alongside the falls. A tourist gimmick for sure, and one we were prepared for, but fun for the girls none the less.

The train stopped at several little "middle of nowhere" towns along the way.

This young man on a quad had just picked up a bundle of mail and newspapers from the train conductor.

I expected Myrdal to be a city, but it was about the size of Flåm, with the train station being the biggest part of it.

As the train headed east toward Oslo we were surprised at how much snow there still was.

The scenery was breathtaking.

Look, people swimming! That guy is wading out to a chunk of floating ice.

Just beautiful!

On the train from Myrdal to Oslo we sat in the "familie" car, which had a play area with TV, as well as roomier seating areas designed to make traveling with children easier. Some seats had baby carriage parking, and there was a big toilet area with diaper changing facilities. I booked one seat for Daddy in the regular car, so he wouldn't have to listen to screaming babies for 4 hours.

 

The train supposedly had free internet, essential for me to be able to update this blog, but of course it wasn't working. Every 20 minutes or so, as we got closer to civilization, I'd try again, to receive the same error message. Oh well, there was plenty to see out the window.

I let the girls go to the dining car and buy themselves lunch, warning Aubrietta to ask about allergens. She was able to order a lasagna and salad for herself, declining the seed-covered roll and salad dressing. Kelsey opted for a cheese filled hot dog, which came on a sesame seed bun, and was dressed with fried onions. Aubrietta was going to give the salad to me, but then dropped the plate as she sat down to begin eating. Luckily her lasagna landed right side up, but the salad greens went everywhere, so no salad for me. I had seedy bread with cheese pilfered from the breakfast buffet to eat, so it wasn't too big a loss.

The family sitting near us on the train broke out a picnic lunch for themselves of cooked crab, pasta, lemon, and cucumber. It was fun to watch them eat and feed their toddler, though I was appalled at the mess they made, especially allowing their daughter to rub handfuls of crabmeat into the upholstered seats. Let's hope no one with a severe shellfish allergy sits there next. I guess sloppy parenting is not just an American problem.

As we lowered in elevation the snow disappeared and we saw many sod-roofed houses hidden along the hillsides.

There were also whole towns where every building was painted the same color.

An hour outside of Oslo we were met at a station by a small fleet of buses. There was rail work going on and we'd have to take the bus the rest of the way. No problem, I thought, assuming we'd be on the freeway and deposited fairly close to the Oslo central train station. Turned out the ride was on very narrow and circuitous roads, the bus was full of hot bodies, and it was really muggy with no air conditioning (or at least the driver didn't turn it on). It was a perfect recipe for someone to get sick, but thankfully everyone kept it in. We did hear some moaning and groaning from other passengers, though, as if they were about to lose it, too.

Arriving in Oslo we were deposited on a side street on the far side of the station, and despite all my research, I was totally disoriented as to where our bus stop to get to the rental apartment was located. I needed by brother Ted (the public transit engineer) to lead the way!

The area near the train station was a jumble of temporary barriers, detours, and relocated bus stops. I left Daddy (who was barely able to walk anymore for the pain in his knee) and Kelsey (who was in a terrible mood after the bus ride) to sit with our bags near where we had been spit out by the "Bus for Tog" train replacement, and I headed with Aubrietta into the train station to look for ticket machines to buy the transit cards we'd need for the bus. We'd asked one of the bus drivers who was shuttling train passengers where the city buses were, and he had no clue. We walked and walked through crowds of people, past closed rail tracks, and lots of signs in a lantuage we could not understand. There were a few places that looked like ticket windows, and a TI, but there were at least 100 people in line for each. We kept walking, following signs that had a bus symbol, and ended up at the regional (not local) bus station. There you could get on a bus for Lillehammer, or Sweden, but there was nothing about local buses. Again, there was a ticket window with about 100 people in line. Being Friday evening rush hour wasn't helping.

 

I kept my eyes open for a ticket machine with the # symbol, which is for the local transit, Rueter, but I could barely find any machines, even for trains. Perhaps they removed them from the train station temporarily since only a few train lines were open and most people had to be redirected out of the train station and to a shuttle bus. I don't know, it was crazy.

 

After half an hour of walking blocks and blocks from the train station to the regional bus station and back again, I spied a cabstand and got a cab. I had no idea where the local bus station was (turned out it was across the street in another direction, which couldn't be seen from the train station or regional bus station, and of course there was NO signage). I directed the Afgani cab driver back to the spot where Daddy and Kelsey were slumped over the luggage, and five minutes and 202 NOK later we were in front of our rental apartment. It was $40.00 USD to go a short distance, but this was the land of $5.00 cheap drip coffee, so it's all relative, I guess.

Our apartment was lovely (more about that tomorrow), but first we needed to get dinner. It was nearing 20:00, when the "Joker" convenience store nearby would be closing. Daddy collapsed while the girls and I sprinted over to the store. The girls found these "hot dog balls" they had to try.

It was nice to have a kitchen to cook in after two days in Flam eating picnic dinners, even though tonight's dinner wasn't exactly made from scratch. Kelsey got her rice (Uncle Ben's!), Daddy and I had a frozen Tikka Masala Indian meal, everyone had hot dog balls, baked beans, and peas, and I had feta cheese and greek olives in herbed olive oil. The mushrooms, canned corn, and tomato soup ended up waiting for another night.

It had been a long day, and we sunk into our cozy beds exhausted.

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

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Day 18 - Part 1 - Swedish Countryside - Back to Stockholm- Sunday, July 1st

 

Sunday dawned cooler with clouds and a later threat of rain. Initially the sun was shining, so we had the usual breakfast of breads, cold cuts, cheese, hard boiled eggs, and strong coffee on the deck. There was also cereal - corn flakes for the kids, and specially combined (by Gunnar) dry cereal mix with dried fruit, seeds, nuts, oats, and grains.

 

 

The girls played in the playhouse and explored the garden while we adults sat around and talked.

The girls have fallen in love with Gunnar and Birgita.

Felippa is an object of Kelsey and Aubrietta's affection, too. Isn't she just adorable?

A wind whipped up and daddy wanted the kite, so I retrieved it. He headed toward a field of high grass on the other side of the cows and the girls followed, and a short way behind I came with my camera.

When we reached the field Birgita was yelling something to us, but we couldn't hear her for the wind and distance. She came down to us and picked Filippa up out of the grass, informing us that there were ticks, which carried disease. For Filippa, whose face was at the top of the grass, it was especially dangerous, because the ticks could crawl into her ears, nose, mouth, or hair and be undetected.

We flew the kite for a few more minutes, then headed back to the stugan where we stripped the girls and looked for ticks. I found a tiny one (smaller than a poppy seed, and just out of nymph stage) crawling on the outside of my pants. Thankfully the girls appeared tick-free. Later that night Birgita found one biting into her thigh.

Things were a little somber after this. Daddy and I felt terrible for allowing Filippa into the tall grass, not even thinking about the sinister possibility of ticks in such a pastoral paradise. There were lots of flies (because of the nearby cows and horses) and mosquitoes, but ticks completely escaped our minds. Things were also quiet because we knew we'd be leaving soon, and our minds were thinking of packing and preparing to go.

 

Kelsey went upstairs and read in her Laura Ingalls Wilder book, On the Banks of Plum Creek. Both girls are still very much into historical fiction and biographies, and visiting all these open air museums brings that time period even more alive in their minds. Aubrietta is currently reading an out of print Girls of Many Lands book about a girl who sells herself into slavery to provide money for her starving mother and siblings, and how she finds her way in a big city after living her entire life in a rural area.

I started packing, Aubrietta played with Filippa, and daddy napped with ice on his knee on the couch.

 

 

Mid-morning the girls were hungry again, so I picked wild blueberries and Birgita helped Kelsey and Filippa make pancakes. Although intended for the kids, daddy and I had to have some, too. We then had a lunch of bread, cold cuts, potato salad, and cut veggies.

 

 

We had lunch and packed the cars up just as the rain started. On the drive home we encountered a traffic back up on the outskirts of Stockholm. Luckily we had Gunnar and Birgita to guide us off the freeway, onto local roads, and across a small car ferry.

Driving onto the little car ferry. The crossing takes just over 10 minutes.

On the ferry a ticket seller comes to your car to collect the 60 KR fee. Daddy is looking at the coins in his hand, trying to decipher what they are. It has been a challenge to change to new currencies with each country, and even more difficult to know which coins are which when you don't have your glasses on!

Back at the house we unpacked from the weekend and I started the job of packing us up for tomorrow's air travel to Bergen, Norway. I don't think I showed you where we slept in Gunnar and Birgita's house. This is the room where the girls slept, each on a single bed.

This is the room in between the two upstairs bedrooms and bathroom. To the left out of view is a couch, and to the right out of view is a large screen TV. In the left you can see the stairs going down.

Here is where Daddy and I slept, with the bed unmade because we had just gotten back from the summer house, and we'd taken all our bedding with us there, so as not to create more laundry there. There on the floor with my charging iPad are the girls, sneaking in a game when they should be writing you a postcard or updating their journals. Kelsey has done a pretty good job writing down her feelings and details about the trip, but she writes so much that it takes her days to complete an entry, therefore she is quite behind. Aubrietta hates writing and pretty much refuses to keep a journal, although she does enjoy writing postcards. Daddy is keeping his own handwritten journal, which he has no problem keeping updated since he seems to wake every morning between 4 and 5 am with nothing to do.

 

We loved Gunnar and Birgita's house, and if we ever are able to build a custom house, it would be a lot like theirs. It had so many nice features, like a big eat-in kitchen, a ample entryway with benches to remove shoes, and lots of built in storage. The main floor contained everything, including the master bedroom and a big bathroom, so it was the perfect place to grow old in, as you woudn't need to climb stairs to live there. There was a real laundry room and mudroom off the garage. The heart of the home was a central fireplace that you could bake bread in on the kitchen side, and watch a roaring fire on the living room side. During the winter it would easily warm the whole house, although the house also had geothermal heating! So much about the house made sense.

 

In the late afternoon Gunnar and Birgita headed to Carl-Frederick's new home, that they were in the process of moving into. They would return Filippa, and Gunnar was going to help Carl-Frederick with some yard work. Kelsey opted to go with them to maximize her dwindling time with darling Filippa, while Aubrietta, Daddy, and I went to a nearby garden. That garden experience was so mind-blowing, that I took 100 photos, and therefore it will be a second post. Look for Day 18, Part 2 if you like gardens!

 

 

Gathering later at the house, we had dinner upstairs because there was another football (soccer) match on TV. Birgita made sausages, french fries, and cut veggies. While everyone else watched TV, I completed our packing. Getting our bags ready for the airplane is so different than just moving locations within a country. Remove all liquids, distribute our clothes evenly across multiple bags, so if one goes missing no one loses their entire wardrobe, get passports and tickets ready and accessible, lay out clothes for travel, segregate the dirty clothes from clean, etc. Adding to the puzzle are about 10 pounds of books and brouchures we've collected, as well as some food items that are safe for Aubrietta's allergies, that we have to have on hand for her.

Eventually I got us all packed, everyone was asleep except me, and another full day had come to a close.

NEXT: Day 18 - Part 2 - Swedish Gardens in Stockholm

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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 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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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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