Live from Lyngby

Been to Amsterdam. Stopped in Brugges for waffles and beer. Enjoyed Paris. Vienna tomorrow. Long update coming at a time TBD. If my aunt Barb reads this...I got the pin.

Hope all is well.

Copenhagen

June 9 Conrad arrives in Copenhagen
June 10 Sightsee Copenhagen, night train to Amsterdam

Amsterdam

June 11 Amsterdam
June 12 Amsterdam

Paris

June 13 Morning train to Paris
June 14 Paris

Travel

June 15 Afternoon train from Paris through Munich, morning arrival in Vienna

Vienna

June 16 Vienna
June 17 Afternoon Train to Budapest

Budapest

June 18 Budapest
June 19 Night Train to Prague

Prague

June 20 Prague
June 21 Night Train to Warsaw

Warsaw

June 22 Warsaw
June 23 Warsaw
June 24 Morning Train to Krakow

Travel

June 25 Morning Flight to Bristol, UK...Bus to Glastonbury Festival

Glastonbury

June 26 Glastonbury Festival
June 27 Glastonbury Festival
June 28 Glastonbury Festival
June 29 Glastonbury Festival

Travel

June 30 Bus to Bristol, Flight to Derry, Ireland, Bus to Dublin

Dublin

July 1 Dublin
July 2 Dublin

Home

July 3 Fly Home from Dublin

Well, that's it. Yesterday I finished up my last exam and submitted my final project and now I am ready to relax and enjoy life. As I write this I am currently printing about 10 posters to take home with me and remember this trip and give as gifts to a few people. Nothing like having absolutely nothing to do.

Last night we went out to the Distortion festival in Copenhagen. The festival amounts to DJs playing records in the streets and young people gathering around, drinking, and generally enjoying themselves. It really was quite a lot of fun, and last night nothing was going to keep me down. The exam in the morning had gone so well and since the last three weeks have been so hectic and full of so much studying I am so happy for it to all be behind me.

In two days Conrad will arrive and on Tuesday we will begin our trip around Europe. It will culminate from June 25-29 in Pilton, England at the Glastonbury Festival. I cannot wait. I don't care how upset Conrad is about the line-up I don't think I'll ever be able to complain about 5 days of camping and 4 days of music with no cares in the world. Well, talk to me after the festival and if it's raining the whole time I will probably find something to complain about. The trip's going to be amazing.

Before we head out I'll leave a tentative itinerary and on the trip I will try every once in a while to keep the blog updated. Of course afterwards I'll have so much to say.

I would like to mention that my mother and older sister came a few weeks ago and while I was busy with them had no time to post and shortly after that I had to launch myself into my books for about three weeks. I may try to add a post about this later, we'll see. Nonetheless, we had a wonderful time, got to meet up with some old friends for the first time in at least 8 years and stay in a beautiful home down in Copenhagen. A wonderful time was had by all.

Farvel

Well, I'm back in the States.  Made it back yesterday for the wake.  Just in time because I ended up spending 5 hours in the Newark Airport.  Today was the funeral.  Got to be a pallbearer and a reader.

It was strange.  As much (or as little) as I ended up crying, it was difficult to really stay sad for long.  Times like these that are full of such sadness always seem to bring about a certain level of joy in their wake.  Seeing my family for the first time in four months is of course a joyous occasion but really everyone had a wonderful demeanor about them.  It was tough for my grandfather.  At the end it was really tough.  I don't know how long he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, I'd say three years but I usually underestimate things like this because of how fast time always seems to go.  Still, there was such a great turnout and when you see all the people whose lives he had touched in one way or another it is really quite difficult to be sad for him.

The thing that really got me, I mean really got me the most was when Tom, the eulogist who is a great friend of the family, said that he envisioned Grandpere showing up and being greeted by his son (my father) Jamie and just sitting there and looking down upon all of us and smiling before my father took him off to show him the ropes.  This got me to thinking a bit more and gave me the confidence and calming notion that if I die tomorrow, it would be okay because waiting for me in heaven would be three of my greatest influences and the best people I know, my father, my grandfather, and one of my best friend's Tony and how it couldn't possibly be that bad if I could just hang out with them all day and catch up and sit at the beach or climb some mountains or do whatever people do in heaven that is completely free of pain and full of joy.  And yea, this is when I started to cry, and yea, they were tears not of fear or sorrow but of joy because I know it couldn't possibly be that bad where they are and my grandfather couldn't possibly be doing worse off than he was at the end of his life here.

After the service he received a veterans burial with a flag and TAPS just like his son before him.  It really was a pleasant event, if I'm allowed to say so.

We went back to my cousins' house afterwards and shared some stories and played some video games.  

Now we have sandwiches for the next week.  Not so bad.

T1 + T2 = Together?!?!?  Even Grandpere's laughing...

Yesterday I received word that my grandfather had passed away two days ago. He has been battling with Alzheimer's for awhile now and from what I had been hearing from home it actually is somewhat of a blessing (if such a thing can really be said). There is so much to be said but it is often difficult to find the right words. I have so many great memories and having been out of daily contact with most of my family for close to four months now things won't actually be so different for me right now. I know exactly when it will hit me though. The first day I make it down to the beach this year when he's not sitting there. That is when I'll realize it.

Do keep him in your prayers for me and I know he's gone on to a better place and he'll finally get to see his son again. He's been waiting almost twenty years for that.

Right now I have to focus on exams, which sucks. I wish I had nothing to do and could simply grieve properly. I have 2 exams and 2 projects to do over the next 2 weeks and they will be the sole determinant as to whether I pass or fail the courses or get high enough marks to be accepted back in the States. I finally finished one of the projects about 99% this morning so I can focus on studying. Still news like this tends to focus one's attention on the things that are more important in life. It makes it hard to worry about studying and exams and such. It makes you miss your family and friends more than ever.

On our trip to Norway...

Vincent: How long do you intend to walk the earth?

Jules: Until God puts me where he want me to be.

Vincent: What if he never does?

Jules: If it takes forever, I'll wait forever.

Vincent: So you decided to be a bum?

Jules: I'll just be Jules, Vincent -- no more, no less.

Vincent: No Jules, you're gonna be like those pieces of s#*! out there who beg for change.  They walk around like a bunch of f@#!in' zombies, they sleep in garbage bins, they eat what I throw away, and dogs piss on 'em. They got a word for 'em, they're called bums. And without a job, residence, or legal tender, that's what you're gonna be -- a f@#!in' bum!



~Pulp Fiction

5. The Oslo Train Station (Oslo, Norway)

Being moved in and out throughout the night and having to spend 3 hours in the cold make this the worst place on the trip.  At least we had our own personal security on the streets of Oslo.

4. Kastrup Airport (Copenhagen, Denmark)

We were waiting for our flight and would have otherwise had to have taken a taxi.  The floor wasn't bad, and at least it was warm.  Only problem was the kid smoking weed who tried to blame it on us (apperently, I was sleeping).

3. Flåm Hostel (Flåm, Norway)

Upside, we had a private room with kitchen.  Downside, we had to cook for ourselves and shell out about $13 US for sheets.

2. Montana Youth Hostel (Bergen, Norway)

Pricey but not bad considering the view was fantastic and the food in the morning was the best I have yet to come in contact with at any hostel yet.  Filled up for the day on ham and cheese sandwiches and never looked back.

1. Private House (Bergen, Norway)

Can't beat the price, the warmth, and the hospitality.  Four hikers taken in by a complete stranger and offered some food and a place to stay.  We weren't there too long but we sure were thankful.  More so, I believe, after the night in Oslo.

Monday, May 5th

I would not recommend going to Oslo on a Monday if you only have one day.  All of the free museums are closed.  That being said, when we finally got around to moving from the train station around 8 o'clock we were able to keep busy.

We visited the tourist information outside the station, got some maps, and headed out to see the city.  We started by walking down to the Parliament building in the center of town, then turning left and making our way towards the harbor.  The harbor was nice with a mixture of both old ships and a new, there was even a large cruise ship (which i was told by cruising standards it may have actually been small).

Sunday, May 4th

Ok, I'm still doing the titles just to keep up with my trend.

Today was amazing.  It was full of train rides through beautiful country.  First was the ride from Flåm to Mydral which was fantastic and a masterpiece of engineering.  It is one of the steepest railways in the world or something and really provides some fantastic views as you wind through the along the cliffs overlooking the canyon.

By the end of the trip we were in Myrdal, over 800 meters above sea level and about another 2 meters of snow still on the ground.

We were stuck waiting for our train for an hour so we went to see what the town was all about.  It was all about six houses, a bed and breakfast.  Really, this was a railway town.  Its sole purpose was to connect Flåm with the world.

At half past twelve we caught our train to Geilo.  The trip was fantastic.  We passed through tunnels then snowy fields that literally blinded you because of the reflection of the bright sun.  Absolutely incredible.  Then we came to Geilo.  There's not much to say about this place.  It's a ski resort and on a Sunday in May absolutely abandoned.  We asked the lady at the train station if she could change our tickets and after saying she could do it no problem, saw that we had saved about thirty bucks by purchasing the non-refundable, non-transferable tickets and told us she was unable to help us.  However, if the conductor on the train at 6:15 was kind enough and there was room available we might be able to take that train to Oslo.  We went in search of a table to eat our lunch on and found one outside of Spar.  Luis and I bought the cheapest chocolate bars in Norway, which can only be found in Spar and still run you about 2 bucks.  After lunch we decided to walk to the beach and on the way found our accommodation for the evening, should the conductor refuse us a ride.

The Beach

Our Possible Accommodations
A Bathhouse at the Beach

Luckily, he didn't, and although the train was full he allowed us to have a ride.  It wasn't a bad deal as we ended up with a private car and our own bathroom.  We did have to get up and down when people wanted to get off but we weren't complaining.  We also had the wonderful opportunity to meet a Finnish-Canadian who was more than happy to talk with some English speaking people.  He does work on recycling and making useful things out of our waste like biofeuls and fertilizer.  It was interesting to hear his take on the situation of the world and nature and Canada, Finland, Norway, the US, and Cuba.  You know what Cuba's number 1 export before Fidel Castro was...sugar cane, and now...doctors.  It is quite impressive, something not usually advertised by the American government, but of course I'm sure we still have our reasons for not liking them.

Once in Oslo, we had nowhere to sleep and didn't feel like shelling out another fifty bucks for a room so we walked to the streets a bit.  After that I convinced everyone to return to the train station to crash for a few hours before we might be forced back out onto the streets.  At 1:30 a security guard informed us we would have to leave but he would show us the best place to stay.  The best place was a bench outside the train station.  There was relief in that he would have a camera watching us all night but that doesn't help with the cold.  At 4:30 he would come and let us back in and at 6 o'clock he would warn us that someone should stay up since once the station got crowded theft was likely.

Our Actual Accommodations

 

Saturday, May 3rd

Ok, here's where the analogy completely falls apart.  No, we don't fight a big battle, or drown a ring in a pit of magma.  Rather, we took a boat ride and enjoyed the scenery.  However, we did see a troll.