Sadly this is my last day in Denmark in my last day on vacation. Tomorrow I will fly back to the United States via Washington DC.

This morning I got up and ate the chocolate muffins and orange juice I got from the supermarket a block away from the hotel. Breakfast at the hotel is the equivalent of 20 US dollars. So it makes sense to get breakfast on the go.

I decided to go to the top of the church spire of the church of our saviour. It was just a couple of subway stops away from my hotel. When I get off the subway exit the Spar was actually hidden from view behind buildings. But I did find my way there. as I was walking then I noticed a group of teenagers at the gate. I believe it was some type of school Field Trip. I thought to myself it is just my luck to have a roudy group of teenagers ahead of me when walking up a church spire.

The inside of the cathedral did not open until 11 am. Yet the church spire opened at 9: 30 am.

Going up the church Spire wad partially inside in partially outside. there is an older lady in front of me who told me to go ahead because she’s slow and has a bad leg.

Halfway Up the spire inside there is a organ display. Also in another part there is a animated film about the history of the church as told by a puffin. One version is in Danish and the other version is in English.

would you get outside there is a brief standing platform where you can take pictures before going up the stairs. The stairs get narrower and narrower. At the very top of the stairs just end and there is no viewing platform.

I managed to beat the teenage tour group to the top of the spire. They did not get there until well after I had started going back down.

Next I thought it would be a good idea to visit the Danish resistance Museum. this museum is not part of the Copenhagen card so I would not have been able to get in free. However I was willing to pay the price as I always enjoy World War II history. It was a subway ride in a bus ride away.

However once I arrived at my destination I saw it was under construction. as it turns out according to my Guidebook it had burned recently and was probably being rebuilt.

The Danish design Museum was the nearest Copenhagen card attraction nearby so I decided to go to it. It required that I checked my bag into a locker. Steph gave me a card for retrieval after doing the museum. I was also given a a metal pin (much like the “I Brought One” VBS pins from the 80s).

The museum itself had exhibits like an IKEA store. Interesting designs but generally not practical. There are also some historic exhibits from the 1800s. I took several pictures in then decided it was time to move on.

I stopped into the round down of the Frederick’s church to take more pictures. I did do a GoPro Video of it.

Remember Amalienborg from yesterday that I could not get in? Well I figured out where to buy tickets this time.

but before I bought tickets I decided to find out what all this Commotion was about with all the crowds gathered in one area. As it turns out it was the equivalent of the Danish changing of the guards. Seem to have much less pomp and circumstance than the British changing of the guard in London. I managed to get a a video of it of me trying to chase down with the guards are going in then being asked to back up as the guards were rounding a corner.

Next was the Royal Museum which really didn’t take up too much space. It mainly had paintings and personal items from the 18 in 1900s. and still I wonder if the Danish royal family ever goes through their own museums and wants their stuff back. Is it legally there’s or does it belong to the state?

Next episode of the house lights in a headed back toward the Domino’s Pizza which are headline share yesterday. I am very much a creature of habit. If I don’t have to think about what to eat then it’s probably best.

Luckily there was a different worker there than yesterday. Otherwise I think I would have been embarrassed to order the same exact thing that I ordered the day before.

as I sat down to eat my pizza and notice that the Guidebook said that they were City Hall Tower tours at 2 pm. Who is already 131 I got my pizza so I doubted that I would be able to make it. Even so I started heading that direction once I finished my pizza.

As usual with Google Maps I got turned around and couldn’t find my way there. Instead I found myself in Nyhavn which is the picturesque postcard view of Copenhagen. lots of people were by the canal taking selfies and pictures. It’s somewhat about tradition in Europe that if you get to a fenced in area that is historical couples will leave padlocks on the fence. Sure enough the repaired locks in this area. And I wonder if ever so often someone with a bolt cutter comes in and removes the locks.

I wandered around a bit and found myself in the National Museum of Denmark. as I bought my ticket they told me that it was going to be closing in 45 minutes. Also I can either choose to carry around my backpack in front of me or check it into a locker. After trying out carrying it in front of me I decided it was way too awkward enough and checked it into the free Locker.

I’m not a museum person and I don’t go around reading every little item on a Museum exhibit. This was the same case with this museum. However I did come to in section about the Caribbean and how Denmark sold what eventually became the US Virgin Islands to the US in 1912. Also came to an exhibit on Modern history which had a fairly recent computer and the PlayStation 2.

Next walked around again trying to think of a place where I want to eat. I ended up at Ripley’s Believe It or Not. even though I could easily gone to gatlinburg, a figure it might be interesting to see the Danes take on Ripley’s.

But in reality it was mostly like any other Ripley’s. It had the world’s tallest man; it had the world’s heaviest man at the time; hello lady who was very ugly; a man who had two irises in each eye; saw torture devices; lamps made out of popsicle sticks and churches made out of matchsticks. You know the usual Ripley’s Believe It or Not stuff.

Afterwards a little bit more souvenir shopping before eating at McDonald’s I’m going back to my hotel. Tomorrow I will fly back to the USA. Even though I’m sad the Muppet occasion as overwith, I’ll be glad to get home.

I’ll admit it. I slept in a little bit later. I got into the hotel at around 11: 30 pm, and actually did not go to bed until 1: 30 am. I was actually riding yesterday’s blog really late.

I got up around 8 am. the hotel does have a breakfast but it’s the equivalent of $20, so I opted to go to the local supermarket which is just a block away. unfortunately they did not have single serve orange juice so I ended up getting water and a chocolate doughnut. I ate it on a bit of bread at the supermarket.

This supermarket is a Lidt, but it might as well have been an Aldi’s. The items are left on pallets for customers to unwrap. Sometimes they do not have nine brains and have generic names instead. It’s opened from 8 amTo 10 pm. So I’m sure I’ll utilise it.

I decided Rosenborg would be a good start since it appeared to be open on Mondays. Many museums are closed on Mondays in Denmark and for the rest of Europe.

Rosenborg is a residents of Christian IV, which was built around 400 years ago. Backpacks are not allowed inside and lockers are available for them. However it requires a Danish coin something I didn’t have because of been going cashless. The lady at the ticket counter was kind enough to lend me a Danish Krone coin so that I could unlock the locker.

When I am forced to keep my backpack in a locker always take out my cameras – that is my regular Nikon camera, my Flip camera, and my GoPro. Each of these provides for a good perspective on the attraction.

The rooms themselves had period furniture in them. It doesn’t always strike me a spectacular. Rather these types of Tours are mundane to me. Instead I prefer taking pictures of the buildings outdoor facade.

Underneath in the basement part is where the Showcase the barrels once filled with wine. Also weapons are showcased. in another room the Crown Jewels including the Queens and Kings crowns are shown. I’ve seen the Crown Jewels of Great Britain and this crown jewels had much less security. Still there was a person watching over to make sure no one had sticky fingers even though they’re underglass.

Afterwards I wandered around the morning Garden area which had some extraordinary real estate in them considering how crowded Copenhagen is.

Next I thought I should try to go to Amalienborg which is on that side of town. I wandered around and ran into Fredriks church which is amazing domed Cathedral. Just across the way is Amalienborg. It’s basically a large square with a statue in the middle and building surrounding it. I tried to find the entrance but it was not marked than I’m not even sure it was open today with it being a Monday.
Since I was in the area I decided to hike up to see The Little Mermaid statue. It’s definitely a tourist attraction there. Everyone was trying to get pictures and selfies of it. 14 tog for seem to be sitting there taking a zillion photos of the same position. I don’t know what he was trying to accomplish but it was annoying everyone else.

One Chinese man was totally oblivious the others were trying to get their picture made and came up behind someone just to get his own photo. other Chinese couples were climbing on the statue and again annoying everybody.

By sheer coincidence with in minutes I spotted two separate people who had Tennessee shirts on. when was an Irish man with a slight accent who’s girlfriend or wife or significant other was from Nashville and got him the shirt. The 2nd man happened to be from Munich but had visited Nashville last year and got no shirt. He also mention that he did the usual tourist trap things like going to the honky tonks, grand Ole Opry, and stayed at the Opryland Hotel. I know he has really work at another tourist trap, The Little Mermaid statue. I of course get sucked into this tourist trap as well.

Going back I stopped by this Anglican church which seemed to be very welcoming the visitors. They even had a sign that says welcome visitors. the lady in the 4-year area gave me a information sheet about the church.

I was getting hungry so I decided to try and find the Domino’s Pizza. While walking to the Pizza Place I spotted the Design Museum which happened to be closed today. I probably would have gone had the museum been open today but I probably would not have made a special trip out just to see the museum.

I arrived at the Domino’s pizza place and there were seats available to sit and eat inside the restaurant. I debated about what I should get but I ended up settling on a thin crust medium pepperoni pizza. Apart from the purple Ronnie this is exactly what I would get at home. I believe they even had a special going today where a medium pizza was 39 dkk.

After pizza I decided to head to Christianborg, which had several sites that the Copenhagen card would allow me to get in free. I found my way there thanks to the Domino’s Wi-Fi.

The Christianborg Palace is where the current king and queen of Denmark host their gatherings. I saw the throne room, an area where they would host banquets with some contemporary tapestries, and many other interesting areas showcasing the wealth of the royal family.

There was also a kitchen area which unfortunately only had plastic food and obviously is not used today.

The palace burned 2 times and they kept building the Newer Palace on top of the older palace. This proved to provide some interesting excavation underneath the current Palace.

Near the palace was the King’s stables which Showcase the King’s carriages and three of his horses.

After seeing Christianborg, I decided to book a river cruise which is free with the Copenhagen card. the next cruise was in 40 minutes. I decided to get a chocolate ice cream dessert and a soft drink. I said back and enjoyed myself only briefly. I stopped by some souvenirs stands intubated about what I wanted to get. I saw a Copenhagen metro shirt which I was going to ask the cashier what size I should get. However the cashier seem to be swamped checking out people. he was getting 10 minutes away from my cruise down so I decided to head back.

By the time I got back the boat was already filled with some people but I managed to get a window seat. our cruise captain spoke Spanish, English and Danish. The cruise was much like the cruise in Gothenburg. we started out in the city canals in in the Deb out into the wide open Waters of the ocean. There were some parts of the cruise which the Host went silent on so as not to disturb the residents near the canals.

throughout the Taurus other people had rendered boats and were enjoying themselves.

have the cruise I wandered the streets again in managed to come up to the round Tower. The round tower was used as an astronomy lookout. Northern get to the top you have to walk up the tunnel around the tower 7 and 1/2 times. Avatar Sands Ward of pickpocketer but I did not experience this as the area seem to be less crowded than what it would have been in the summertime.

I took a few videos and photos. how to position my video camera above the fence line as it had been fenched in for safety.

Next was supper. A debate about whether or not I would not I sit down meal with a waiter or waitress. The other option was to get a fast food meal. In the end I ended up going to KFC.

At KFC as there is with almost every other fast food restaurant, there is always someone in front of me who doesn’t know what he wants and ask a million questions about the food. this particular customer was asking about the bucket of chicken whether or not it contains legs and thighs. While all this was going on I was left frustrated as to why this man needed to know all this information. I mean it’s chicken. Just eat it.

the line was getting backed but I finally place my order. I have forgotten to order ketchup and made a special order for 1 Denmark kroner. it was the equivalent of 10 sets in probably cost more than that to process my credit card order. I felt like I was sticking it to the Man by paying with credit card. it’s a shame European fast food places nickel and dime you to death even charging you for ketchup.

Afterwards I decided to go to Tivoli Gardens which is a amusement park in the centre of Copenhagen. Once inside I found the amusement park to be disappointing period there weren’t any new extraordinary rides. Rather most of these rides could be found at the Wilson County Fair. I wanted around for about 30 minutes and get bored.

Now I’m back in my hotel room cleaning for tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it.

Today started out early. I woke up thinking how much I needed to do before travelling to Copenhagen tonight.

I saw that breakfast started at 7: 30 a.m. there for around 7 am I end up getting up and taking a shower period by the time I got to the breakfast area so other people were already there period I got my usual scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.

I decided would be best to take my luggage to the train station period this would save me of having to go back to the hotel to retrieve the luggage before heading off to the train station. The hotel is a bit out of the way and it would take me about 8 minutes each way which is precious time that I cannot afford to lose.

I also wanted to go to the train station to confirm that my ticket which I bought on a website called goeuro was valid. There is no scannable code on it. Rather it seem to have an order number and my name. I showed it to the train company representative at the counter and she said that it was valid.

Next on my agenda was to get a locker. The smaller lockers were too big for both of my bags so I ended up getting the wardrobe locker. And here is where they get their money. You can either reserve for 4 hours or 24 hours but nothing in between period I can imagine someone morning just to reserve it for 4 hours. I mean what are you going to do in a city for 4 hours? So I ended up reserving it for 24 hours of which I only used about 10 hours worth.

Since the museums I wanted to visit or still closed and wouldn’t open until 10 am I decided to try to see if any churches or other attractions would be worthwhile to visit.

I had thought Oscar Frederic church which I thought would be nice to visit. Since the train station had free Wi-Fi I was able to route myself through Google Maps.

The church itself was up a hill. And like most churches in Europe it was closed on Sunday, or at least it 9 am on a Sunday morning. Still it was a nice to take photos of the outside of the building. It was ornate but not old. I’ll have to do some research on it when I get back.

Next I decided to go to the fish church. Had a very brief Wi-Fi connection that put me in the right direction but I lost it soon after. While I was waiting at the tram stop a drunk man came up and was coming in on my camera. He seemed benign but I’m always on guard if a local engages me and conversation for no reason.

I got to the fish church which is a place local merchants go to sell their fish. it just so happened to be close today with no activity. I took a few pictures of the building and of the statues in front of the building period it was getting to be about 9: 30 and I thought it would be best to walk to the maritime ship Museum as it opened at 10 am.

After fumbling around with my GPS on my phone I made it there period however the workers didn’t seem to be interested and actually opening up the entrance. I saw some activity but it was on a staff only entrance. Finally I asked a security representative if this was the entrance to the museum. He said he didn’t know. An older man who are same did not know English piped up and said that depart isn’t opening until 11 a.m. he also mentioned that the entrance was at what appeared to be a restaurant boat.

For a very brief amount of time and decided I might walk into the Old Town to maybe see a church but I couldn’t figure out how to get there.

So I decided to stay. As I waited some female staff members came back to raise the flags. I noticed the Swedish flag they were holding touch the ground multiple times. I almost pointed out to them that in the US you can’t let the American flag touch the ground or off you would have to burn it.

At around 11am they unchained the gate and let us in. I started off with the battleship period use a decommissioned Swedish battleship. I had been on the USS Missouri in Hawaii a few years ago. The ship was much smaller than the Missouri. The innards of the ship looked very familiar to the USS Missouri, with compartments and living areas very similar.

The whole time I was taking the tour I was thinking I’ve got to make this count because I need to move on to my next tour.

Next was a submarine. With my backpack on my back and camera around my neck, it made it a bit difficult to climb down the portholes at the submarine. As I entered an older man asked me what language I spoke. I told him I spoke English. He proceeded to give me a personal tour of the submarine. As it turned out he was a veteran who had served on this particular submarine during the 1960s. even though Sweden was neutral during the Cold War they still sit there military out into the Baltic Sea in order to keep an eye on things should war break out. He told me about the sleeping quarters and the bathrooms and torpedoes. He was commissioned to launch the torpedoes. They launched several torpedoes in test runs but never filed a live one.

I found his story fascinating and was glad that he volunteered his time to tell up the history of the sub. This will likely serve is the highlight of my entire trip to Scandinavia. This is likely something that I would not have been able to experience any other way.

I moved on to other ships period there was a fire brigade ship. They also appear to be a ship used in the American Civil War. I’ll have to do some research on this particular ship.

As I was exiting I asked how I would get to the East India ship which was across the Harbour. Google Maps showed a ferry available but I had never seen one in use. And I wasn’t going to test my theory of using a ferry when I heard about an hour to get to that ship in time for the 1pm tour.

I connected to the museums without which gave me directions to catch bus 16. The only catch words that seem to have had to walk about 15 minutes to catch it. And on top of that I just about got lost. But I did make it in time for the tour.

I got there about 5 minutes early and no one was in the tour gift shop. In fact it was locked.

Eventually the previous tour ended and our tour guide came in an unlocked the gift shop and took our money for the tickets. I had the Gothenburg card which cost me no money for the tickets.

The ship itself is a reproduction of a 18th century sailing vessel. The original returned from China and sank in Gothenburg Harbour. They decided to rebuild the ship and sail it to China. There are not two we learnt about the sails, The Captain’s quarters, where are the sailors used the bathroom. It seems that when they had use the bathroom they climbed down the front of the ship away from view and did their business. However our tour guide seem to say hell dangerous it was to use the bathroom in that way.

I also found out that the sailors brought rum in some water on board. This had the last time from Cadiz Spain to India. it seems that Sweden was on porters with Great Britain and free ads and couldn’t start at their colonies on their way to Asia. The water ended up getting some film on it so the sailors mix the rum in the water together and gave it to the animals they were carrying. We talked about how sailors are constantly drug which might b caused by them having to drink rum all the time.

I do believe that the majority of the people in the group two or were Swedish. our tour guide with laps into Swedish sometimes without thinking. There what is the southern lady in our tour group who was afraid of heights. she had very much difficulty calming backwards down letters and had to ask a man to go ahead of her in case she fell.

Are tour ended at around 1: 45. So I had time to ride the bus back to the old town to reserve my spot on another boat tour which commenced at 3: 45. I got to the ticket desk at around 2:30pm and reserved my spot.

In the meantime I visited McDonald’s for a very late lunch. My order takeaways a young man who seemed to be doing things inefficiently. for example he had the receipt in front of them in he would look down at each menu item and go get that one menu item before proceeding with another menu item. Rather he really should have just grabbed two while he was on his way to the same area. One thing I noticed about this McDonald’s is it head Wendy’s style ketchup apps which is unheard of in Europe. Usually you have to pay for ketchup. I was so amazed I took a picture of it.

this McDonald’s had a pay toilet and I could’ve just waited for someone to use the bathroom in grab the door on the way out. But I didn’t feel like waiting period I still had an extra time to kill so watched word the shots and found myself near the Gothenburg Cathedral. This Cathedral had been closed every time I tried to visit it. This time it was open. There wasn’t too much to see. It had a gold altar. Also in the back it had pay toilets which I believe is it abomination in a church. I ended up using one which I believe was stopped up.

I headed back to my boat tour. For verification I was in the right place I asked a tour operator who just happened to be the same guide from yesterday’s boat tour. He confirmed I was in the right place.

Our tour was it as crowded as yesterday’s Tour. I Was One of 3 people who spoke English. The rest appeared to be swedes. The first part of the tour was basically identical to yesterday’s Tour. We sailed up the river a bit. We passed by the skf headquarters. Skf is a company which market made us transportation for. I’m sure I have delivered items from the US to that address.

Our tour guide mentioned two invasive species which had taken root near the river. When was the pink flower which was benign. The other was a flower which the top heart look like a cauliflower. This one was very deadly. It can cause blindness if you get the flower’s juice in your eyes. If on your skin it can cause blisters which can last 7 years.

Along the way we saw several people fishing. They were also brief places where people had their boats tied.

Our tour guide would still long drawn out information in Swedish and then only give brief explanations in English. I kept thinking that we were missing something somehow.

I made it back at 5: 45 and had 70 minutes to get to the train station and catch my train. I got there with time to spare after opening my locker and getting a Subway sandwich and eating it. I even managed to get a couple of refills from subway as there was no sign mentioning that refills weren’t free.

Our train was positioned by the platform but they had not open the doors yet as I believe they were cleaning it. I got on board and discovered that my seat plug wasn’t working. I briefly thought that I might not have any battery life on my phone when I arrive in Copenhagen. However I did find a see which did have a live plug. However the plug did not seem to charge quickly.

Along the way there was a stop in Denmark near the Copenhagen main station with a very similar name to my metro station start near my hotel. I briefly toyed with the idea of getting off there and seeing if I can make it back to my hotel. However since it was so late at night and I wasn’t sure where exactly the start was I decided against it.

I made it to the Copenhagen main train station. I stopped by the Tivoli ticket counter to pick up my Copenhagen card. there are also nice enough to give me a map of the city and a brochure.

I found my way back to my hotel room by getting on the Tivoli Wi-Fi. At the bus stop I asked I mean if I was catching the correct bus. he answered me in perfect English that I probably needed to get on the other side of the street to catch the bus in the right direction. While I was waiting there a German me and asked me when the next bus 2a was coming. Seems as though he could not see the bus numbers. I’m always leery about talking to people figuring they were trying to rip me off but still in my wallet while talking to me. But this man was benign. He was German and had just got into the city.

Well on the subway there was a ticket checker at the front of the car. I get the back of the car hoping that he wouldn’t have to check me even though I did have a valid ticket or so I thought. He never did get to my area and got off at one of the forthcoming stops.

I got up for the Metro system and so my hotel from a distance. However I made a wrong turn and ended up getting into a parking lot without an outlet.

I made it to my hotel having seen the hotel sign lit up from afar. My hotel room is very nice with a nice flat screen TV. The bathroom is a little small but it will do.

I’m looking forward to visiting Copenhagen tomorrow.

I decided to sleep in a little. I had gotten in kind of late the night before. I actually did not leave my room until 8 a.m.

Breakfast was the typical fair and boy was it sure busy. Toast, eggs, bacon – it was all there. Plus that little bitty cup that they give you for orange juice and apple juice. I guess they’re expecting you not to get up as much as I did in order to quench my thirst for breakfast. The orange juice had a bit extra pulp in it so I decided to get apple juice instead.

I’m in a bit of a conundrum. The nearest tram stop to my hotel takes about as much walking as it does to get to the tourist center in Gothenburg. So I walked. And I found that the tourist center did not open until 10 a.m. I had been hoping to get my Gothenburg card so that I could use it as free admission to other museums and tours.

I wandered around Gothenburg for a little while getting my feel of the city. I found that Gothenburg has much less souvenir stands than other cities. I only have seen two.

Coming back to the Gothenburg tourist center I found it swamp to the people. There was a take a number machine and I was number 5 on the list period when my name was called the girl who helped me was very responsive to my needs. I had done my homework beforehand so I guess it made it a little bit easier on her.

Unfortunately the Fortress which I had planned on visiting was closed this weekend therefore it gave me a bit more time to visit museums around Gothenburg. I found out that the Volvo Museum required that a bus be called ahead because they do not run those buses on weekends. So I decided to get the Gothenburg card and the 3 day bus ticket. I figured the Volvo Museum would be a good starting point since special arrangements had to be made for the bus.

I rode the tram to the appropriate destination got out. Uphill was a bus station. Quite a few others were waiting around for the bus. the bus was a much smaller sized vehicle than a regular large size bus. It was more of a church van type. An Indian family, some old ladies, and a couple got in. There wasn’t enough room for everyone to sit so I chose to stand.

We made it to Volvo Factory where the older ladies got off. I asked another Rider if she thought he was going to continue on and she said yes. We did arrive at the Volvo Factory. the driver dropped us off about a block away. I had wondered why he had to do this when everybody on the van was going to the Volvo Museum. And he drove by us as he was driving out of the area. I guess the rules state that he must stop at the bus stop.

at the ticket desk I made special arrangements to know when the return bus was going to be coming back to pick up me. I had about an hour to get through the museum which was plenty of time.

The Volvo Museum had plenty of cars some from the 30s 40s and 50s. many of which I had never seen before because Volvo actually did not get imported into the us until later on in the modern times. I believe full of us started importing in the 1970s or 80s.

Many of the cars in the 1950s were rounded compared to those of the 1980s which were very boxy. I don’t think I ever buy a Volvo because I like other car brands better but I do have a certain degree of respect for Volvo for being very safe.

Several different prototype cars were on display. I found these to be intriguing. It was very similar to cars I had seen before but slightly different.

On the bottom floor they showed other Volvo vehicles including fire trucks, semi trucks, and an airplane with a Volvo engine.

he was all very intriguing but it’s one of those one-and-done type things. after you’ve seen the Volvo Museum you don’t necessarily have to go back.

Also on display was how Volvo sponsors around the world boat race every year. Sailboats sail from the Northeastern United States to Cape Town then to New Zealand. Other times the race is modified to where it goes through Europe and Asia. It sounds pretty grueling with the racers not eating much food except for rations and exercising all day. It is no wonder the crew has a tendency to lose weight while racing.

after the museum I saw a Camaro in the parking lot which is very unusual in Europe to see. Also probably very unusual for it to be in the Volvo parking lot since the rest of the cars appear to be Volvo’s.

I almost didn’t see the bus waiting to pick me up and take me back to the tram station. The bus is pulled in but the bus stop was actually behind a building. I was the only one on the bus and I told the driver beforehand where I wanted to go. He skipped all the stops and drove directly to my stop.

I went back to the Gothenburg tourist center to ask some questions about whether or not I should validate my card each and every time I ride the tram and bus. As it turns out I don’t have to. I also found out where the paddan boat tour was. Apparently this boats word leaves every 30 minutes. I decided to get some lunch.

I had my eye on Pizza Hut ever since I had that list of desirable Pepe’s Pizza in Oslo. Apparently Pepe doesn’t know how to put on tomato sauce.

By contrast Pizza Hut, usually gets it right with just enough cheese and tomato sauce. I got the personal pan deep dish pizza and unlimited refills of Fanta. as you’ve heard me talk before on this blog, free refills in Europe are very rare. I am convinced that Europeans are basically camels without having a place to pee without paying and not getting enough to drink because of no free refills. Honestly I don’t know how they do it.

I came back for the padden boat tour. I had to wait about 15 minutes before another boat showed up. I grabbed a seat on the side so that I could take some good pictures. Our boat was completely full. I had imagined what would have happened if the boat had sank and wondered if that had ever happened before. There were the required life jackets underneath their seats but did any of us know really how to use them? Or would there be mass panic should the boat tip over? Luckily I did not have to experience this first hand as the boat was completely safe.

We had a humorous to our God who spoke in Swedish and English. He told jokes along the way.

We found out that Gothenburg had constructed the canal we were touring for protection. Gothenburg is basically built on swampland which causes some of the buildings to tilt. Gothenburg is unable to build any subway system since the ground underneath the buildings would cause them to cave in.

There are several ships docked in the harbor for the ship Museum including an old battleship. There is also a very old ship which was refurbish parked near the lipstick building. The building is nicknamed the lipstick because it looks like a roll of lipstick. There is an option to go to the top of the building to take a nice view of Gothenburg but unfortunately it is closed on weekends. Therefore I did not have a chance to go.

I also found out that Gotham used to be one of the main shipyards in Europe. Ships came from all over to be repaired. However due to competition from Asia all three ship companies have closed down. the first to close down in the 1970s and the most recent one closed down in around 2014. Our tour guide said that the cranes remain from the ship building area so as to be a reminder of Gothenburg ship buildings past. I however see these cranes as eventually rusting and needing to be taken down. One could see it as somewhat of an eye sore since they don’t do anything.

After the tour it seems to be sprinkling rain ever so often and I felt that it would be best to find an indoor museum where I could wait out the rain storm. The rainstorm never did come but I did find my way to the Gothenburg City Museum.

I ended up doing the Gothenburg City Museum backwards because I entered into the wrong door. So I saw the most recent exhibitions from the 1800s first and work my way back to Middle Ages and before.

It’s almost as if these museums are running so much together. This Museum to had a Viking ship but it wasn’t as in good of shape as the Norwegian Viking ship I saw yesterday. The museum had some good exhibits which I probably would have stayed just a tad bit longer but only had an hour before they closed.

I walked around the Old Town taking pictures. I had dinner at KFC. I ordered the popcorn chicken which came in a much smaller size than what I was expecting. I was expecting a size similar to Sonic Drive-In but this one was probably about a third the size of it. Still I was happy to get some food my stomach before shopping for souvenirs.

As stated before they were two souvenir stands in Gothenburg that I saw. I had been told before that sometimes shopkeepers won’t bother asking if you need help and less you tell them you need help. This was the case with the first souvenir stand who the shopkeeper basically ignored me until I asked a question about a shirt size. He was very helpful after that. I probably spent too much at the store but I am on vacation and I wouldn’t be able to get these any other place.

At the second store I bought a Swedish flag. I’ve been collecting large-sized Flags since Portugal a few years ago.

Now I’m back at my hotel room relaxing as I will probably have a big day tomorrow trying to cram all the sites I did not see yesterday and getting to the train station by 6: 55 pm. since my hotel is a bit out of the way I’m a go ahead and take my luggage down to the train station and get a locker.

Looking forward to a good day tomorrow.

I kept falling asleep when I was writing yesterday’s blog post. I didn’t get much sleep on the plane and shows not to take a nap yesterday so I needed my sleep.

I did however wake up in the middle of the night and had trouble getting back to sleep period I guess when travelling I always have jet lag.

My hotel offered a breakfast which I took it being a job period it was the usual fare that is toast, eggs, bacon… Along with the unusual things like beats and picklesperiod they did offer waffles which was a plus although I didn’t eat any.

There is a ferry which takes visitors to the museum Peninsula. I found it without any problems as previously I had done a Google Street View of the area.

I later found out that the ferry actually did two stops at the museum Peninsula. The first stop was near the folk museum and Viking ship Museum. I decided to get off here and work my way back to the other museums at the second stop at the museum Peninsula.

After a slight incline up a hill I found a sign pointing to the folk museum. The vault museum consists of old buildings that were either relocated or built brand new for the museum. I wandered into what was a replica of a village probably dating to the 40s or 50s. There was a replica of a bank and a cigarette shop.

Also at the Hill was a stave church. Stave churches are unique to Norway and are built out of wood which is left unpainted. The inside of the stave church was sparse. Follow the path to a farm and saw geese and a sheep.

I also saw a cat there which of course I could not communicate with because I did not know how to say meow in Norwegian.

After visiting the Norwegian folk museum I followed the road to the Viking ship Museum. The museum contains a couple of ships that they found which were used by Vikings. What I found interesting was that it appears that there was no shelter in the ships. So I guess the Vikings slept exposed to the weather? Or maybe they just used these ships as day journey ships.

I ate lunch at the Viking museum. It was a hotdog (apparently quite popular in Scandinavia), chips and a Fanta.

Next was the Holocaust museum. It was a few blocks away. This documented the few Norwegian Jews who lived in the Holocaust. Many fled to Sweden. Others were captured and sent to Auschwitz, where a vast majority were deemed unfit to work and we’re killed upon arrival.

It also told the story of how one Jewish girl escaped because the police delayed their deportation and they were able to get away.

The building which housed the museum also housed allied leaders in World War II. It was also a nursing home.

Next using my Google map GPS function on my phone, I was able to find my way to the next group of museums – Kon-tiki, Fran, and Maritime museums. I use my Google map GPS religiously. It has been a vital app when finding my way around Europe.

I walked several blocks to the Kon Tiki museum. It was mainly about a group of Norwegians who wanted to drive that it was possible to sail a rustic raft from Peru to Polynesia. The made the raft out of local materials. Unfortunately most all the trees near the coast had been cut down. They had to get the wood from the inner areas of People, and had difficulty bringing it to the coast.

The raft set sail in 1947 and reached land 101 days later. They spotted a whale shark along the way. They caught plenty of fish and didn’t dip into their rations much. They ended up making a film about it which won an Oscar.

Next was the Fram museum. The museum contained two boats – the Fram – which was used by a scientific team to study the Arctic, and the Goja – first ship to successfully navigate the northwest passage. Visitors were permitted on both ships. I found it interesting that I was on board a ship Roald Amundsen used. Amundsen was first to the South Pole.

It was also interesting that these ships were used for multiple year long voyages to the Arctic. After just a few days I want to come home. I can imagine a 3 year long voyage!

Next was the maritime museum. Everything from the hollowed out wood logs made into boats to luxurious cruise ships were featured. I sat briefly for an aerial footage film, before leaving to catch the ferry back.

I almost went to the Nobel Peace Prize museum, but I thought I didn’t have enough time. In hindsight I did have enough time, but I wanted to make sure I could catch my train to Gothenburg.

I ate at Subway near my hotel. I had a Subway melt, basically a club…and chips and a drink. Refills were 100 NOK, about $1.

I retrieved my luggage from my hotel (they had it in a luggage room) and set off for the train station. I got a bottle of water and chocolate as a snack for the journey.

During my train ride to Gothenburg they made an announcement about how the last 4 cars would disconnect at a certain stop. This was confirmed by the conductor when he verified my ticket. I had some difficulty understanding. However as turned out, I had to physically get off the train and get into the train pulling the second train. I’m sure glad I understood or else I would have been stuck in Norway.

Tomorrow I’ll experience Gothenburg. Looking forward to it.

“Scandinavia it is,” I said to my fiancé after giving her a choice of Austria Ljubljana Zagreb and Belgrade…or Scandinavia. Since the former itinerary had a lot of time on buses her thinking was that she would like to keep me company on the buses rather than the shorter train rides in Scandinavia.

This will be my 19th country in Europe. I almost don’t want to brag about it anymore to the locals as they would’ve asked why did you visit your way first? But to each his own.

This was unusual in that only had one layover or my going and coming back itinerary. Normally I have two layovers which increases my travel time dramatically. And by default it makes me get in late at night to where almost immediately go to bed after traveling.

my flight to Newark was uneventful except for the fact that they used a larger than normal jet. It’s not all that unusual for me to see a very thin playing with two seats on one side of the aisle and one seat on the other side of aisle. I made the best use of my time by clearing out my iPod form old podcasts.

Our plane left late because a tow motor was malfunctioning and could not to the plane away from the gate. We arrived about 20 minutes late. I’m just glad that my layover was four hours long and so it did not bother me much.

I ate at Wendy’s at Newark airport simply because it was really the only recognizable restaurant in that section of the terminal.

I arrived in and departed out of the same terminal. And yet I still had to exit security from one side of the terminal and go through security again on the other side of the terminal. This seems so inefficient on TSA’s part. Meanwhile as I was getting Alina had a crappy airport security person trying to usher me around to the right lines. Just as I suspected that New York attitude showed through.

I had a seat in 28D which meant there were two people beside me. This made it really difficult to use the restroom frequently. I felt bad to have to ask the guy beside me to get up and move. He look like he wasn’t getting enough sleep. He had his head down as he was sleeping which seem very uncomfortable

as we deported the older lady beside me had left a plastic bag. I managed to catch her before she left but then she said it was just garbage. I felt a little bit embarrassed but head A slight justice has been done thought since I made the lady pick up her trash after herself.

There are actually two competing tree companies that move people from the Oslo airport to the main train station in central Oslo. The more frequent train is more expensive. I managed to ride in the NSB… The less expensive train.

Before leaving the train station in central Oslo I stopped by the tourist Office near the train station. I had purchased a Norway card before I left. He gives you free admissions to several museums. I figured if I went to five of the major museums and then the card would’ve already paid for itself

I found my hotel with the help of looking at Street view before I left. My room is only slightly bigger than my guest bathroom. It’s kind of an artsy type place with numbers written really Large in bold on the door.

After checking in I decided to head out and try and find the Norwegian resistant museum which chronicled Nazi invasion in the resistance movement through that period of time of occupation. I wandered around a bit too far and had to backtrack.

The museum itself had a lot of exhibits mostly in Norwegian but some of them were subtitled English. The museum chronicled the resistance movement through underground newspapers and sabotage. All the while Germans were killing in the porting Norwegian sister than their way.

It was at this particular time that I decided to get lunch before starting on another museum run. I knew there was a subway near my hotel which I decided to backtrack to get to.

Now unfortunately the Subway had a sign on their fountain drinks self-serve machines saying refills would cost a certain amount.

After lunch I decided to find the national art gallery to view the painting of the Scream. As expected there were dozens of people around it will need to take selfie’s with it. I was disappointed that it not have time to myself with the painting.

After breezing on through the national Gallery I decided to find another museum which was free with the Oslo card. This particular what is the reptile museum. It had two floors and I had seen most all the animals they had in there before. But I got to thinking that maybe Norwegians might not even have an opportunity to see a snake.

After the reptile museum I decided to head over and go to the City Hall to look at the unusual Murals. The murals look like something out of the Soviet era Cold War.

After City Hall I decided to go to the ski Museum. It was only a 30 minute subway ride away. Also it happened to be a 15 minute walk uphill after you depart at the metro station. While at the museum I saw a machine that would let someone experience what it feels like to ski at 100 km/h. Also there was a zip line at the top of the ski job.

In the skiing museum it talked about how the support of skiing had been going on for quite some time even in the middle ages. The native population to Norway you skiing to help hunt.

At the top of the ski jump it gave a great view of the city. With my flip the camera I like to do special videos were explain where I’m at and my thoughts on it. However with the Norwegians speaking English so well I was a little bit self-conscious about making videos. But I did do it very quietly.

After the ski museum I decided to go to Oslo’s famous park which has a lot of naked statues in it. The statues depict different stages of life from childhood through adulthood.

For supper I had Pepe’s pizza which seemed good at the time but it was served with much less sauce than what I’m used to making it mostly just cheese and bread.

Tomorrow I plan on visiting several museums before getting on my train to Gothenburg