Another Museum

Today I took a trip out to Roskilde, about 30 minutes by train, to see the Viking Ship Museum. Not much to report, to be honest. The mere fact that it rained all day and I got soaked has no bearing what so ever on my opinion over all of the museum. I was, however, grateful for the advice I got regarding clothing choices. Specifically one very special doctor friend who drilled into my head the absolute need for quick dry clothing. If only I had listened to her about the rain jacket. Not that I don't have rain gear, it's just being the optimist that I am, I left it in København.

Back to the museum. The gift shop offered more in the way of variety and history than the rest of the actually exhibits. Yes, the reassembled ships they spent the last 40 years or so gluing back together after they pulled them out of the bottom of the fjord is pretty cool, but the whole place certainly could have done a lot more in the way of, oh I don't know, actually history of the ships and ship-building techniques. It's not like they don't know. For each of the four carefully preserved ships, there is a replica floating in the harbour next door (admittedly, they are actually pretty cool. each is built in the traditional way with traditional materials).

Maybe the thing that caught my attention most was during the quick film they showed talking about the excavation. It talked about the defense of Roskilde and how they used bonfires on beacon hills to form signal chain. Once lit, the army and navy (as it was) would rally to defend the city. I guess I thought it was interesting to actually learn of something I otherwise only knew of in the movies. Maybe I need to read more history books or at least go to more museums.

(note: I will add some more photos when my Picassa is in a better mood)

Where to Next?

I spent this last weekend on the sleepy little farming island of Lolland with my cousin and his grandparents (his grandparents would also be my cousins or something like that, it's a little hard to figure out. I have diagrams - and yes, it is a nice TREE).

The first thing I have to say is, his mormor (mother's mother... it's the Danske way) has more energy than I have ever seen in a 75 year old. Honestly, it was a little frightening when she picked us up at the train station. I have driven with 17 year olds who were less aggressive. Okay, I embellish, but only a little.

Seriously though, I think she is one of the sweetest and kindest ladies I have ever met. She has a heart of gold... and she fed us, a lot. I think I gained 5 pounds this weekend. Somebody send me my running shoes, I need to get back on the wagon.

On Sunday, she took my cousin and I on a little drive around the area where she and my grandfather grew up. She pointed out the places where they went to school, where they used to go for walks, the fields my morfar (mother's father... it's the Danske way)used to work. Having never actually seen where my family grew up, my history and such, it was an interesting experience. I have seen the place where my father grew up, but that was really the only family history I have been able to see. Also, it was in the back woods of Sudbury, so I was a little nervous about being there. I was sure I could here a couple banjos dueling off in the background. I need to go back to Lolland to see the farm where my morfar grew up, I think that will be an interesting time. Before that though, I need to find the house in Købehavn where my mormor lived. Mom?

Metaphysics and Anti-Metaphysics

København. Copenhagen if you will. Another old city with beautiful architecture and history to get lost in. The drivers here are a little less homicidal than Londoners are, I consider that to be a mark in København's favour.



So far I have managed to not get lost in the city, which must mean it is a simple city to navigate. (Some people are loath to believe my sense of direction is sufficient to navigate the supermarket) Now, I think I deserve some credit for making my way through a city where none of the signs are in English. Just a little credit?

The one issue I do have with København is the fact that many bars close at 6am and serve 1L beers. Lord have mercy! ONE LITRE BEERS! I have never had to two-hand a single beer before. Yes, there were a few late nights. No, that is not really true, I should say there were a few early mornings. There really is nothing like partying until the sun comes up. Unless of course some one buys all of my drinks, then that is even better. Consider it one of the perks of being a foreigner.

Of course, being a foreigner also makes it fairly easy to make friends, although if the spoils of a dice game are five pints of beer, that makes it fairly simple to be the most popular guy in the bar. Do you remember the scene in the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie where Orlando Bloom plays a dice game for his father's freedom? Well, that is a popular game here, called Cheat I think. The locals play it in bars and the losers buy the next round. Long story short, it's an easy game made even easier when playing a against a troop of drunk 17-18 year-olds. I made off like a bandit and they had to go to bed. Something about a football (soccer) tournament the next day. Rookies. What's a guy to do when there is a table full of pints, as a good Canadian, I couldn't let them go to waste. So I went to the next table and made some new friends. I would just like to go on record now and offer a pint to the first person who can explain to me what the hell metaphysics vs anti-metaphysics means. I can only vaguely recall the conversation with the folks I met, but I think it was fairly involved. I think it encompassed the meaning of life and the relative goodness vs evilness of people. I slept most of the next day.

This week has been spent mostly exploring the city, walking around and NOT getting lost. After spending a month in Toronto and being used to having to drive somewhere, it is refreshing to be able to get anywhere in this city quickly and easily. The public transportation here is incredible. Trains, subways, busses, bicycle ROADS everywhere. Of course, cars are taxed at something around 105%. The trains and busses will take you just about anywhere you could want to go in this country. There is even a subway line that will take you to Sweden.

I should mention something about the beaches here. Fantastic. And not just for the fine sand and view of the ocean. I think next time I will where sunscreen, ouch.

Well, today is Friday and hopefully I will be going out with some new friends. It won't be a late night though, I am heading out to Lolland tomorrow to see more family and it may not be wise to be viciously tire and hungover...

(Edit: I have reposted this so it is in the proper order)

Halifax Photos

I just realized I haven't posted anything from Halifax yet. Here are a few, the rest are in my Picassa album. Just click on a photo to bring you there.

A few photos of London

I don't care much for taking touristy shots, but here a few of some the architecture that caught my eye.

Three nights in London and very little sleep.

By the time I got to the hostel I was pretty tired, but still wound up on adrenaline. I hadn't slept on the plane and the previous night I was up until the wee hours of the morning, but I still had to explore my new home. Not having the learned the trick to meeting new people yet, I decided to retire to my room for a bit and catch a little sleep. My room of course, was a mixed dorm room with 8 beds, but when I got in, it was empty.

I hadn't rested my eyes for ten minutes before a very beautiful Norwegian girl (I mean really beautiful) walked in with a handful of her day's purchases. There was only one thing to do, introduce myself and ask her what she had bought. Guro (and don't even bother trying to pronounce it, you are still wrong) and I hit off very well.

Of course she had already made plans to meet some other dude she picked up while she was shopping, but invited me to come out anyway. Who was I to turn down an invitation to party in London? Now, I haven't really made a life of partying every weekend or even occasionally, but I have gone out a few times and enjoyed a crowd. Nothing I have experienced compairs to the drunken debauchery Londoners enjoy on any given night! By the end of the night, there were couples all over the place making out and groping each other like there was no one watching. Apparently I am a bit of a prude or completely unlucky in love, take your pick.

My new friend had appeared to have fallen in love and only surfaced for air once in a while to make sure I hadn't disappeared. By the end of the evening she decided she really wasn't in love and that he was a lousy kisser. I guess there was some oxygen getting to her brain.

The next day we explored the city and took in some sights. Yup, very cool. Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, et al. Okay, the city is pretty cool and I did enjoy seeing the old architecture.

We decided we would go out again and enjoy more nightlife, but it was Sunday night and we had no idea where to go. Of course by the time she was ready (I think it was about 2.5 hours) it was pretty late, so we had to find some food. Good luck finding anywhere to sit down and eat at 12am, now try it with a girl who is allergic to gluton. Good gawd. Anyway, we did manage to find a place with a nice outdoor patio and a decent menu. Unfortunately we had the angry French girl who forgot our order, twice. By the time we were finishing our bottle of wine, she was literally chasing people off the patio. Not nicely, mind you, but very not nicely and a little bit meanly. To top it all off, she included at 10% service charge on the bill, she must have known that was the only tip she was getting.

By this time it is almost 1am and there was very little open. We did find a place that had music playing and was still serving. One question though, what the hell to the Brits have with Snow, two nights in a row... something something something INFORMER! Why I ask you, why? 2am rolled around fairly quickly and we were all ejected without ceremony. Bugger.

We wondered up the street a little bit with a group of New Zealanders, lamenting about how much London sucked as a party town. Her Royal Princess Hotness and Chaser of Men who are Not Me started chatting with the security at a casino. She found where there was a good place to go with some great house music, but we went inside to the casino instead because she saw a cute bouncer. At the time I thought the house music was inside there because I was chatting with the other fellas from NZ. I should have known better.

After we joined this casino, we went inside to party some more. No, we went inside to find the security guard who made Princess Oblivious giggle like a Norwegian school girl. Once I realized there was no loud thumping music and a lack of single women that would cause GWB to issue a terror alert, I promptly sat my ass at the main bar and decided I should drown my sorrows. Ha, karma is cruel. The bartender was a Russian fella who thought he would help... 25ml Absolut Vodka pepper, dash pepper, dash salt, fresh squeeze from a lime slice, and tobasco later, things were looking up. I ordered one more drink and the rest came for free. I liked this fella, he was a good guy. By the time Princess Googly Eyes and I decided to call it a night, we realized it was actually day and the Underground was open again. Convenient.

Day three... Princess Shopaholic and I seperated ways for a bit, I think we were mutually sick of each other and needed a break. I was able to get some laundry done, thank gawd, and went wandering the city for hours. It really is a beautiful city.

By the time I got back and had some dinner, she was snuggled up in bed for a nap. We decided it was a good time to use our free drinks at the onsite bar. Some how after that, we ended up at Picadilla Circus again to meet the Parisian boy who shaves his chest and has hair like a hedgehog she picked up while shopping. Did I mention she bought about 4 pairs of shoes, a hand bag, I don't know how many dresses, and gawd knows what else? No, well, she did.

To be fair, Parisian boy was actually pretty decent. We went to a wild club that had three leves, was really hot and sweaty, and had drinks for a quid. I walked back to the hostel on my own.

That night I booked a flight to Copenhagen.

London London

London is a fabulous city. Expensive as hell, but worth the time.

I landed here on Saturday morning, things were going well until I saw the cue for immigration. There were close to a thousand people in line. Fortunately though, it did move very quickly and I was in line for probably less than an 45 minutes. When I finally got to the desk, the lady quickly informed I was to have filled out a landing card first. Oops. Bother. I wish I had known that BEFORE I lined up and waited, it was okay though. The security guard directing people had a handful, so I was able to fill one out without having to line up all over again.

Now, I was pretty excited to be here. I mean, this is my first time traveling and all. I did expect the officer to ask me questions about what I was doing and where I was going. What I didn't expect was the third degree. For a few moments, I thought I was about to be sent home. I believe the fella was having a bad day and wanted to exact some revenge on some poor soul. I some how managed to answer is questions to at least to adequately satisfy the requirements.

After that, getting to my hostel was a breeze. I am fortunate to be blessed with an excellent sense of direction. Otherwise, I might have taken the wrong train from the airport, gone across town on the underground, and wandered around for two hours looking for the hostel.

Catching Up

I guess I should start with my short time in Halifax, my last Canadian stop before I left on a jet plane. I didn't have as much time to visit with my brother as I would have liked, but he did bring home his fresh bread for me to sample every day. You can't fault a guy for working his tail of to provide for his family. I did, however, spend a fair bit of time with my sister-in-law and their ten-week old baby boy. I am glad to have been able to spend lots of time with that little guy, he is super cute. Of course, I have yet to change a diaper. I figure that's my prerogative as an uncle: I can spoil my niece and nephew without having to do the hard or gross work, unless I want to. I am still envious as hell of both my brother and sister, one of these days I might get to be a parent.

I did make a new friend while I was in Halifax, well we met in Toronto's Pearson Airport. I must count myself fortunate, I tend to meet really interesting people where ever I am. It's always a little bitter sweet to meet like minded people when traveling, moving to the next place means leaving your friends behind. Anyway, there are always cheap flights to Europe and the miracle of email.

One last thing about Halifax, it wasn't until I was on my to the airport the gravity of the situation hit me. I wasn't on my way back to Ottawa, I wasn't going to Toronto, I was about to get on a plane to the UK with no plans to come back for a while. Way cool.

Just a location update.

Well, I am in Halifax now. I guess this means I am officially travelling. No home, no bed to call my own, and nothing is for sure. Except that I need to be on a plane in 3 days to get to London.

I do have to say though, my trip has started off very well. I think it is a good sign when I make a new friend within five minutes of sitting down at my gate. I am hoping to go out for drinks sooner than later...