09/13/16- Travel day! Been two months since we purchased these tickets on a whim at a great deal. Flying into London and will travel around to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, parts of Sweden and Dubrovnik Croatia.
Our flight doesn’t leave until 7:50pm so we had the day to rest and get things together. We chose to take a shuttle to the airport due to the lower cost of not having to pay for parking, however, it is more expensive from Calabasas. So we are driving to our friends house in Burbank to drop off our car and catch the cheaper shuttle from there. Saved us $50 in the process.
We get picked up by a car service (instead of a shuttle) which was different but pleasantly surprising and we get to Thomas Bradley Terminal (LAX) with plenty of time to spare. We find the ticket counter and see the long line ahead. Unfortunately Norwegian Airlines is a budget international flight so there was no online check-in to do. The line went smoothly though and soon we were going through security. Just as we get through taking off our belts and shoes and putting them all back on I realize my sunglasses are nowhere to be found. After a moment of thought I know it had to still be at the ticket counter, so I left back out through the security doors and luckily find them sitting right on the counter still. Happily I make my way back through security and show Sharece I found them when she hits me with the news. Apparently the English Olympian Adam Peaty was right in front of her having to take his Gold and Silver medals he just won out of his bag to show security. Priceless!
Upon boarding our flight I was able to go through with no problem, however, Sharece was stopped behind me. Looks like the ticket lady at the counter put us in completely different parts of the plane and she had to wait for her boarding call. No need to panic of course as we found a person to switch with us, but not without a bit of a struggle. They gave Sharece a middle seat towards the front and sitting between a couple. Figuring they just booked the aisle and window seat in hopes of getting the whole row to themselves I asked if we switched seats did they want to sit together. They actually preferred to sit apart. How is that going to work the whole 10 hour flight if they wanted to talk to each other. Luckily we found our seats in the back of the plane.
09/14/16- So let’s go over the difference with this budget airline compared to what we are use to internationally. I already mentioned no online check-in. Everything else they charge for as well. The list includes (meals, snacks, pillow, blanket, drinks, even water). The only thing that was included was the OnDemand TV with movies and games, but even this didn’t have any movies recent or even music to listen to. No bother, for the cheap price we paid it didn’t faze me the slightest. The main irritant was how small the seats were which made it almost impossible to get comfortable. I was able to watch a few movies and games, even getting a little bit of sleep.
We land in Stockholm for our layover and proceed through customs. Since we needed to pick up our bags and recheck them in for the following flight to London we were a bit lost on whether to follow transfers or baggage claim. After asking an attendant we head to baggage claim and found our bags fairly quickly. Then we had to exit out and find the Norwegian ticket counter once again. Luckily they had a kiosk to print out our boarding passes and luggage tags (they put us together this time) and strangely did self check-in with our luggage too. The whole process was pretty quick and turned what seemed like could be an inconvenience to actually not a big deal at all.
Second flight out left on time and was very smooth. Actually one of the smoothest flights I’ve ever taken from take off to landing. Zero turbulence and a sunset view the whole way to boot. There was a guy a few rows back complaining several times to the attendants about a noise from the plane that didn’t sound normal. The pilot even came back to tell him it’s just the hydraulics.
After landing, we go through customs AGAIN, grab our bags and find the train to Blackfriars station. Forty minutes later we arrive in central London. As we are walking down the street to our AirBNB I have to take out my camera to start taking pictures. The night is just way too beautiful and the weather is a perfect 75 degrees. A heat wave for London to say the least. We check in around 9:30pm and meet the owner. There is no air conditioning so the room is quite warm for this time of night. Luckily we weren’t tired yet and decided to cool off outdoors as we venture around.
Our phone data plan is free here, however, not working the best but we manage to make our way out to the London Eye and Parliament area for a very nice stroll and photos. On our way back we started to feel famished but all of the restaurants were closing. We instead opt to eat some of our snacks we brought with us and retire for the night.
09/15/16- Our room cooled off nicely throughout the night with the window open and turned out quite comfortable. Woke up around 6:30am and was ready to start the day, even though I probably had only six hours of sleep the last two days. We walk towards the London Eye once again and find it doesn’t open until 10am. So we eat breakfast and continue on towards Parliament. The morning sun was hitting it just right to give off an awesome golden glow to it and got some fabulous pictures.
Around the corner we find Westminster Abbey and get in line. We were early , however, didn’t have to wait long before they let us in. Inside there were tombs upon tombs of royalty and noble people of the old age buried in every which corner. Practically empty we were free to roam around anywhere without any issues with feeling cramped, but pictures were not allowed unfortunately. At the end we saw a stone for Charles Dickens and a statue of Shakespeare.
On our way out we found a gift shop and bought a London throw pillow for our couch. We also got some ice cream and continued back towards the London Eye as the weather was starting to heat up. There was no real line for it at this time of day and fortunately were able to walk right in without a wait. Entering the capsule we realize like an escalator… it doesn’t stop. You just make your way in, they close the doors and off you go. At first it was a nice refuge from the heat as the pod was nicely air conditioned. After a few moments of rest we stood up to take some pictures around London. The capsule kept rising higher and higher like a very slow moving merry-go-round and took about thirty minutes to make a full rotation before we had to leave.
We exit around 1pm (not before almost leaving our souvenir bag in the pod) and decide we were not ready to head back to the hot hotel room yet. So we venture around to find Churchill’s War Room, only to find that it is two hours long and cost about $25 US per person. After paying for tons of tickets already, plus buying a pic of us in the London Eye ($26 US) we decided to skip it. Instead we head over to a fish and chips restaurant and order, guess what?… FISH AND CHIPS! It came highly recommended and it was quite good. They didn’t accept credit card, however, so I did have to leave the restaurant to withdraw some cash. I planned on doing that anyhow. Finishing up we head back to our hotel (A few minutes walk) and sleep for a bit.
We found ourselves rushing down the road back for our river cruise as we slept in a bit longer than expected. We made it five minutes late but still found good seats on the top deck. The breeze felt good as the boat went down the Thames River. The clouds were out and it definitely appears as though it will rain later on tonight. I took several photos as we made our way from London Eye, Big Ben and down to Tower Bridge and back. What a nice experience to see. Once finished we walked back to our hotel and stayed in. Although I did go back out around 9:30pm to catch the Tower Bridge at night. I walked the 30 minutes from our hotel seeing some great views along the way and was able to walk the bridge and see it rise for a spell. An awesome way to end the day.
09/16/16- Another night where much sleep wasn’t had. Went to bed past midnight and woke up around 5:30am. We have good reason as our Buckingham Palace tickets are for 9:30am and we wanted to hit King’s Cross Station to see the Harry Potter 9 ¾ wall and take some photos. To get there we purchased a day pass for the tube then on our way to the trains found out that a strike is going on and some lines were not running. We still made it to King’s Cross by 7:30am which was perfect before the crowd showed up and made the picture line too long.
Shortly after hitting the gift shop we take the tube (Victoria Line) a few stops towards Buckingham Palace. Did I mention it was raining today? Well, at this point it started pouring with a cold chill hitting us. Good thing we got our pictures in yesterday.
It takes us about ten minutes to walk through the park to the main gate of the Palace and find the line to retrieve our timed tickets.We were supposed to receive these in the mail, however, they never came. Hence showing up earlier to retrieve them. Finally we are able to walk in and start our self guided audio tour. No photos are to be taken anywhere inside the grounds but we enjoyed the walk through none-of-the-less. Afterwards we hit up the café and gift shop before taking the Garden Tour at 11:45pm. The rain has died down which made this enjoyable however again, NO PHOTO allowed once again. It’s outdoors, in a garden, in cold-rainy weather!
Once done we start back towards the café to take a mini break when I get a message in my email that my AirBNB that I booked for the following day in Amsterdam was cancelled from the host. Not sure what this was all about or why, but with no time to waste we spent a little time finding a new place to stay. I’m going to make sure this gets resolved in my favor!
The rain started up again, so we thought best to make our way back to our current place and pick up our bags. Our AirBNB host was nice enough to hold onto our bags for us for the day before we needed them this afternoon. We make it up to Blackfriars station and take the train over an hour to Luton where we find our hotel (Hampton by Hilton). Staying in for the rest of the day we catch up on some things and rest our legs. Tomorrow will be an early wakeup around 3am to catch our 6am flight to Amsterdam.
By the way, the hotel will have a take away breakfast waiting for us and a taxi to take us to the airport in the morning. They also provided us with a spacious room, Ahhh, our own room with private shower again. Forgot what this felt like for a moment.
09/17/16- Hmmmm, where to begin! We wake up super early around 3am to prepare for our 6am flight out of Luton. We grab our free breakfast from the hotel and wait for our taxi to pick us up. It was suppose to be there at 4:15am, however it showed up late. We did still end up getting to the airport 1 ½ hours before our flight with plenty of time to check in.
Security was pretty screwed up as it seemed to take forever to get the buckets to actually go through the scanner. Then when we try to retrieve our belongings we were told that one of our buckets didn’t get a photo taken of it and had to be re-run through. Then we look up at the departures board to find our flight and it states it will have the gate number five minutes before boarding (even train stations give you more time than that). Needless to say it was a mad rush through to the terminal once it appears on the screen.
We got turned around once but made it in line, only to find out that the flight is being delayed due to a crew member issue. Thirty minutes later we get another announcement that it will be delayed another forty-five minutes and that we should go back to the waiting area for the new gate number. After about twenty minutes pass I find the board already showing our new gate which is across the airport. Legs tired and arms exhausted from carrying our luggage we make it to the shuttle in time for them to take us to our plane.
The trip was only forty-five minutes in the air as we left the rain behind in England, finally arriving at 9:30am local time. Got out passport stamped, picked up luggage and asked information on best route to our hotel. Found there was an Amsterdam 2-day pass that would cover all of our transportation for a good price. Finding our train platform it took us only fifteen minutes to get to Central Station. After walking outside we see the Tram #4 that took us four stops to our hotel. Now we are finally getting somewhere.
Slight chore to get our luggage up the front stairs but we make it to reception. At first we were told that our room wouldn’t be ready until 1pm (two hours away), but they knocked that down to 12pm. So we stayed in the lobby for a bit to rest. A few moments later she said our room was ready and we preceded to check in. During this time is when we asked about a canal view as quoted on our reservation but they said it doesn’t. I showed them our hotel itinerary through my email stating “canal view” and explained how our AirBNB host cancelled last minute along with being tired from our flight being 2 hours delayed. Shortly afterwards she hooked us up with the proper room and away we went.
The room was small but nice and the view was indeed pleasant. No time to stay though as we were anxious to get the day started. We take the #4 Tram back towards Central Station and get off at DAM. Amazing to view the canals up close and surrounded by older looking buildings. There are so many and they all look very much alike. Taking it all in we stride around trying our best to avoid all the bikes as they whiz by. We also got a close up view of one of the red light district windows with half dressed girls posing behind it. During the day you can’t see very well in, but I guess some get started early. The early bird gets the worm!
There are tons of restaurants outlining each street and some decent souvenir shops. Many didn’t take credit card for under a certain amount so we traveled over to the train station to get some Euros from the ATM before heading back and buying some items.
Taking a break by one of the canals was a much needed experience as my legs felt like they were about to fall off. Then we continued on to the hotel and fell asleep for a few hours. Around 8:30pm I tried to get up but my body felt completely exhausted. Forcing myself awake I was able to go back out to eat some dinner and view the town at night.
Again we took the tram to Central Station and was able to snap a few night shots before finding a nice restaurant nearby. The margherita pizza was very good and the cappuccino kept me awake. Next up was the Red Light District as we made our way around waves of people crowding the small canal street. Scores of barely dressed women once again with the section all lit up in lights. Quite interesting to say the least. Our journey ended with a proper greeting to Amsterdam at a smoke/coffee shop (eliminating one of the bucket life lists) before crashing for the night at our hotel.
09/18/16- Slept in for the first time this trip until 8:30am. We gathered our bags and was out of our hotel by 11am (with them storing our bags for us for the day). With a few hours to kill before our evening flight we took the tram to the Dam area and enjoyed the awesome blue sky weather. We continued on to the Anne Frank house and was surprised that they only accept online tickets now with the next time slot was 3:30pm. After explaining to them that this was our last day here and need to leave around then they said there was nothing they can do. They did allow Sharece to enter the gift shop but even that took some convincing.
Feeling a bit bummed we continue on towards the train station and walked to the old church. It was nice to see the other side of Amsterdam for a change. We pay the 7.50 Euros per person price and walk through the solid wooden doors to find a somewhat abandoned, broken down layout. The stain glass on the windows were in disarray and everything important seemed to have been removed. Not sure why the admission price was so high or even why there was one at all, but it was something to do regardless.
We finish our stay by walking and tramming back to our hotel to grab our bags and head out to the airport via the train station. As we go through airport security we are again greeted with a bit of disorganization, but not as bad at Luton the day before. The flight was on time and okay for the most part. Again for an international flight there was no meal or frills involved. Four flights in on this trip and I haven’t taken down my tray once.
Dubrovnik airport was actually quite the opposite. We landed with no problem (despite t raining a bit) and were shuttled to the gate. Once we got inside the passport office was right around the corner and then the baggage claim was literally the next room after. I mean how efficient is that? We collect our luggage and find the ATM before paying for the shuttle bus to old town. I slept most of the short journey but was able to catch a glimpse of the area at night. The castle walls are quite high, I can’t wait to see all of this during the day time.
The shuttle lets us out as we set our GPS for the hotel. Luckily there were no stairs throughout as we wheeled our luggage around towards the cathedral. The rain was coming down just enough to show its presence but the air was not cold at all. Felt refreshing in a way. Once at the cathedral we message the host and she helps us into our room. WOW! This place has a definite castle feel to it and our room couldn’t look any more charming. I am really liking Dubrovnik already. I am so glad we have five nights here.
09/19/16- Another good nights sleep. Since we have several days here we figured why wake up early. We leave our hotel around 11:30am thinking it will be cool, since rain was forecasted for today. Instead the weather was very warm and almost uncomfortable with jeans on. Without hesitation we run back to our room to put some shorts on before carrying on with the day.
Our first thought was food so we hit up this local place nearby for some fish and chips which was not bad by any means. Then we sporadically walk around Old Town searching shops for what suited us. I was actually able to find me a decent swim suit along with some other items. Afterwards we find a local market and stock up on some food and drinks for the next few days (since our place has a kitchen). With heavy items weighing us down we detour back to the hotel to unload. Not much longer we decide to go back outside before hearing a cracking thunder sound. We open up the windows and hear it pouring down rain. Wasn’t it just like 85 degrees a moment ago?
We take advantage of this time to rest up and after a few hours the rain stops. Venturing back out we notice there are still people walking around the streets, but not nearly as many as before with much less tour groups around. Made for a much more manageable stroll. Along our way we find the actual street where they filmed Game of Thrones which was quite interesting. We also found a cool wine bar for some tastings and an amazing cheese and meats platter. This is where the afternoon stalls as we met a couple at this place and began talking. You know those times when you hear someone speak with a Scottish accent and you say to yourself “you could listen to this person all day”? Well, that just happened. Soon we all went out to dinner and before we knew it, it was already almost midnight.
09/20/16- Started our day off by going up the castle walls of Dubrovnik. The amount seemed quite steep at 120 Kune (Roughly $18 per person) but the views were spectacular. The sun was quite hot at times but it made for excellent blue sky backgrounds. We did find shade along the way. We continued walking around the entire city and when we finally found our way back about 2 ½ hours had passed. Most definitely worth it. Ate some hamburgers at Burger Tiger (which were very good) and rested back at the hotel for a bit.
Later we walk the town again ducking inside the cathedral and churches (all for free). There was a palace that charged admission but didn’t allow photography, so we skipped it for now. Stepping foot outside of the walls we thought we’d see what the outside world had to offer, but it was overran by tourist getting back on their buses and not much else. Before going back to our hotel we hit up another wine tasting spot. We still have our wine bottle we purchased the other day and plan to go out towards the water to enjoy. Right now, I am sitting inside the hotel room listening to some romantic music played by a guy sitting on the steps of the cathedral. Can life get any better than this right now?
We did check up on the Game of Thrones tour for tomorrow. Although a bit pricy (55 Euros per person) we both agree that it would be fun to do.
09/21/16- Half way through our trip now. We have a scheduled Game of Thrones tour for 12:30pm, so we had the morning to sleep in. We were able to go on a 45 minute boat cruise around Dubrovnik that gave us excellent views of the city. Once finished we still had thirty minutes before our tour and was able to grab some kabobs on our way. A Lanister Flag was supposed to be our meeting point, however it was tough to see through the mounds of tourist already on their tours. Slowly they started to dissipate and I was able to find our guide. Turned out we are the only two for todays tour so we ended up with our own private 2 ½ hour walk through.
The tour was quite informative and overall pretty awesome. We were able to see many parts of the show where they actually filmed it as she held up a flip book showing the actual scenes to compare. We were even able to get some photos of us with replica gear from the show (swords, shields, etc). With the many stairs we had to navigate throughout this tour we decided to go back to our hotel for awhile.
A few hours rest did us good as we were ready to check out the cable cars that took us to the top of the mountain. Our tour guide mentioned that sunset is the best time to go so we waited until close to that time and was not disappointed. There was a break in the fence where people were walking off the platform to the rocks that overlooked the city. Of course I had to make my way out there and it truly was one of the best spots to watch the sun go down.
We made our way back down via the cable car and found a nice pizza place. They wouldn’t allow us to open our own bottle of wine we brought in (for obvious reasons) so we ordered out and took everything by the water to enjoy a nice evening and finish out the day.
We did try and contact a few realty places in hopes of seeing some apartments for tomorrow as we have future plans to move here for a few months. However, it appears nobody wants to work with us if we are not looking for a place now. I guess they figure we’d be a waste of time. Since tomorrow is our last day here we may just have to find another way to enjoy it.
09/22/16- Well, it happened again. An AirBNB host cancelled our reservation one day before we were to arrive. This one actually contacted us stating her reasons (which I understood to a degree), but still not very happy with how easy it is for someone to try and screw with a vacation plan. Luckily I saw this notification early morning and was able to spend a few hours getting it corrected. Overall with the two cancellations and rebookings plus what AirBNB gave us for the trouble we were able to book better accommodations and have an extra $100 refunded back to us. I’ll take that!
With that taken care of we were off on our way to the beach. We went to the dock to find the ferry that would take us to a particular island. They had tours that took us to three different islands but we only wanted that one, but in order to do so we needed to walk to the other side of Old City and take the bus to the Port. When we get to the other side we find that the timetable is very seldom to go to the island and it takes an hour to get there. Figuring that would eat into a chunk of our day we found a better beach close by.
But before we continued on I wanted to confirm our ride to the airport for tomorrow morning, since our flight left at 6:05am. The bus would leave from the cable car entrance (which we were at yesterday and was about a fifteen minute walk). With luggage going up hill that would not be ideal for us that early in the morning. We opted to just use a taxi and our BNB host graciously helped us out with one.
Finally we are now on our way to start our day. We took the bus towards the beach area of St Josephs (not before waiting almost half an hour for it to arrive) and during the half hour long trip kids were piling on like they were just let out of school. 1:10pm on a Thursday seemed odd. We hit the end of the line of the bus and begin our walk towards the beach, but apparently it is further than we thought. It took us an extra twenty minutes of walking before we hit a dead end. We recheck our GPS and it was trying to take us back where we came from and to go around. Not having any of that I looked around for steps that went straight down to the beach and found some nearby. I went first to check it out making sure it took us to where we needed to go and soon after navigating tons of steps, I made it to the street below. I text Sharece the all clear and she followed suit.
Once at the bottom we realized we hit an old, abandoned hotel that was bombed during the civil war in 1991. It was quite neat but eerie to say the least going through the rubble and seeing the devastation that still existed today. Trees were overgrown to the point of no return, graffiti littered every wall, windows were knocked out and debris was simply everywhere. I would have explored further, however the sandals I was wearing were not fitted for this type of mission. The whole experience was very moving and brought reality to a history lesson once learned. I took a few shots and continued downward to find the beach. After a few more stairs we located our oasis. A perfectly laid out private resort that apparently only the locals really go to. Ahhhh, finally a bit of heaven.
Several hours were spent swimming in the 75 degree water, laying out in the sun and drinking at our cabana (all of that cost a total of $24 for both of us by the way). As the sun started to come down we walked back to the bus and it was a straight shot to the Old City.
Our last adventure here started out with us wanting some food. We couldn’t decide on what so a banana split seemed decent enough. We walked the town in search of one but the menu either didn’t have it or didn’t have any place to sit. But in the far corner of the town we did find one place that looked promising. As we were being seated we saw another patron have a plate full of mussels and I thought that is exactly what I wanted. Sharece ordered a tomato salad and a glass of wine. Why is this being in detail well because when her salad came out it was only tomatoes and nothing else.
When Sharece asked about it the waitress became snooty with us explaining that we should have ordered the MIXED salad if we wanted lettuce not the TOMATO salad. We then asked if there was a way to exchange it for the other and it was at this time the owner came rolling in. The waitress said a few words in Croatian to him and he proceeded to pick up my plate and her glass of wine and asked us angrily to leave. No problem at all, just got a free glass of wine, bread and a portion of mussels- I’m happy. Not wanting to end the night off that way we did sit down at another restaurant and ordered a true salad.
09/23/16- 3am came way to fast as we had to catch a 6:05am flight. The taxi driver was waiting outside the walls for us promptly and we made it to the airport around 4:20am. Once they opened the doors we found out the crew doesn’t start until 5am and we were all gathered around the check-in machine trying to get it to work. Unfortunately it kept telling everyone “Not Found”. We actually already checked in online, however I was needing to get a printed boarding pass.
We start to queue outside one of the ticket booths when a worker came out to turn on her machine. Suddenly there was a mad rush to the counter as people were jumping in line. As we all stood in that line for a few minutes they opened up all the other lanes. And you guessed it another mad rush to fill those spots. Fortunately we were already close to the front and got through with no long wait.
Our first flight goes off smoothly and takes only about 45 minutes and we are in Zagreb, Croatia. Passport control was fast and soon we were on our next flight to Copenhagen after about a 90 minute layover. As we grab our bags for baggage claim we notice the outside zipper of our luggage is ripped. Inspecting inside we find Sharece missing one of her Go Walk shoes. We quickly go to the lost baggage area and make a claim. Most likely the incident happened during the transfer in Zagreb and won’t being see that shoe again but we were given an email address to submit a financial loss claim. Fat chance of that happening with a European Airline though I’m sure.
After buying 3-day passes for the metro and cashing out at the ATM we jump on the metro that takes us straight to our neighborhood location for our hotel (Frederiksberg Station). The walk from the station though was a bit tiring for about fifteen minutes, especially with luggage and after being up so early. The stairs inside the place, however, was even more tiresome as it was on the 3rd floor and no elevator. Needless to say I broke a sweat by the end of it all and our place has no air conditioning. Luckily we have our own private balcony where we could let the cold windy breeze in to cool us off.
After a bit of time adjusting we hit the metro once again to explore (along the way we were in awe over the housing architecture that each building had- very uniform in nature). First stop was Nyhavn (which is where we originally had our AirBNB before it was cancelled by the host). We arrive out of the metro to see a massive construction zone going on. As we make our way around it to see the beautiful houses lined down the water front we are overwhelmed by tons of tourist every which way. For once we really felt fortunate not have stayed in this area.
Continuing on we walk by Amalienborg Palace just as they were doing the changing of the guards. Down the road was a massive domed church that we were able to enter. The ceiling reminded me of Rome as it was just beautifully done. Walking further we hit a huge star shaped park that took forever to walk around only to find The Little Mermaid statue just off the water front. There were already quite a bit of people standing in front of it taking photos, but I was able to manage a few myself with no problem. Even purchased a souvenir for my wall.
Now our legs are beat every which way. The metro doesn’t extend to too many places so walking was our main way of getting around so far. We looked for a bus to take us back up towards the next metro stop but none could be found. Took us another fifteen minutes but located a train station that did the trick. Not long we were back at Frederiksberg station. Before going back to our hotel we stopped at a market inside the mall area to buy some breakfast items and such for the next few days. We also looked around for a new pair of shoes but unfortunately the mall was closing. Not sure why at 7pm on a Friday, but we would have to look for them another day.
Made it back to our place somehow beat tired and ready for bed. Only two more days left on this trip. By the way, we tried to scan our metro passes several times but could not get it to work. I know they are good but somehow we must be doing something wrong. Luckily nobody stopped us today to ask about our tickets.
09/24/16- Good night’s sleep all around. Took our time this morning as we didn’t want to plan too much for today. Our first destination was back to Frederiksberg Center to find Sharece some shoes. They had a Skechers outpost store there and found some that would work. When we tried to flag down an employee to get the proper shoe size we were asked to wait in line at the counter for assistance. This was very confusing as it seemed like it would delay the process of purchasing an item. While in line we took a look at the price and after the conversion to USD found the shoes to be over $110. Figuring this couldn’t be right I googled the rate and unfortunately that is how it is. We left to find another store and they were just as expensive. These shoes in the US would be around $50 to $60. Thinking back on the items we have bought so far I realize everything is more expensive here. We decided to purchase the shoes at the first store we went to and if need be we could return them before we leave as their return policy is 14 days.
Now off to our first real destination. We take the metro a few stops down and as we leave I see an attendant there. I ask about how to validate our metro passes and he replied, “By putting them in your pocket.” Looks like they were electronically validated the moment I purchased them so no worries there. Continuing on down the road we run into Rosenborg Castle. This was actually a very nice find as there were several floors dressed up how it was many years back while it was still in use as well as an exhibit of the crown jewels.
We then venture down the Latin Quarter and are amazed at the amount of stores they have. I thought this would be merely 17th century buildings to see but it was actually a thriving shopping area. We then find ourselves back at Nyhavn but this time we took our time. Some fabulous photo opportunities and finally found a souvenir shop to rummage through. With that completed we found our way back at our BNB.
Sharece was exhausted and falling asleep so I decided to venture out at night by myself to Tivoli. This park is located just outside of Copenhagen Central Station and looked very cool at night. Had to take the metro and then a train to get there but it didn’t take long. As I walked up to it I realized that I am heading for a theme park (much like a smaller version of 6 Flags) and had to pay admission to enter. The cost ending up being about $15 US so I thought why not.
It was true what I heard as it lit up pretty nicely. More than that there were roller coaster rides, amusement park games and a live band playing. It was well worth the money spent. I even won a few stuffed animals from the games area. As I was walking back to the BNB I put my guard up a little to ward off any “would be attackers” just in case before it dawns on me… I probably look like the thug people try to stay away from.
09/25/16- Our last full day on this trip has finally come. As we have already explored much of Copenhagen we wanted to check out a new area today so we went over the bridge to Sweden. We took the metro to the airport and from there hopped on a train that went over to Malmo. Once we crossed the bridge, however, we were stopped at the first station and everyone on board was asked to show their passports. I am glad we decided to bring ours today.
We were soon on our way and arrive shortly after noon. We wonder around a bit at first not really knowing where to start. There are some nice buildings around but all of them say closed to the public. Finally we stumble upon the town square where they are having an open air market going on. I saw a beanie that I liked and asked how much but the equivalent in price was around $45 US. No thanks!
Our guide book shows a castle of a sort down the road so we journey through the park (which was quite nice) and find it to be only a museum that looks much like a factory. There was a windmill along the way which was pretty cool to see. A little dejected we head back towards the train station and buy a souvenir for our wall. With some time left before our train leaves we see a lighthouse in the distance. The walk would have been too far away but we were able to get some cool pictures of it along the water front.
We hop on the train and take it straight to Trelleborg. Here we were wanting to see an old Viking fort figuring that would be a neat experience in itself. After walking about fifteen minutes (passing by an actual Shell gas station and 7/11) to get to the area we realize that it is not what we were expecting. The fort itself was pretty cool to see from the outside, but there were no attractions around or barely even any people for that matter. It seemed like it has been used for festivals before but since then very neglected. We took some photos and almost left before realizing there were some other buildings around. One of them was a small museum that was okay to see. The whole place seemed to be just a shadow of what it could be if they really wanted to do something with it. Either case, we had fun and enjoyed the experience.
With very tired legs we journey back to our BNB. We grab a few items at the market in Frederiksberg for tomorrow and call it a day… or pretty much a trip. We capped the night off with a bottle of wine and a cheese sampler upon our balcony.
09/26/16- Ending a long trip such as this always leaves me with mix-feelings. On one hand I am glad to have spent a great few weeks away and my body is ready to go home. On the other hand I kind of don’t want this journey to end just yet.
So on to today. Our flight is not until 3:10pm so we had time to sleep and be out of the BNB around 11:30am. We took our luggage down the flights of steps and then the fifteen minute walk to Frederiksberg station. The shoes we bought Sharece were not working out so we returned them for a full refund and then continued on to the metro to take to the airport. Our 72 hour metro pass actually expired at 11am, however, since we were not asked at all to present it over the course of the past three days we figured we’d be fine. With luck on our side we made it through successfully without a hitch.
Immediately we find a kiosk and check in and find we are seated together. That’s a relief. Then head over to baggage drop only to find we have to wait in the long line with everyone else for an attendant. Luckily we got there early enough where we didn’t have to worry. Security wasn’t a big deal to go through and since our ten hour flight doesn’t provide meals we bought some sandwiches at the shop with our leftover Danish Crown.
About a thirty minute delay kept us from leaving on time but we made it to Los Angeles (non-stop) in less time than expected. I was able to watch all three Hobbit’s in a row and get a little sleep. Upon landing the plane made some strange noises I’ve never heard before and almost sounded like an engine went out at one point, but we made it safely. But because we landed 45 minutes early we had to wait an hour taxing before finding our gate. This was only the beginning unfortunately.
Customs was a pain in the butt as we waited in line to go to the kiosk- no problem, but the next line was bundled up with everyone and took over an hour. All of the other countries have a separate line for their citizens so unsure why we don’t at LAX. Then we find our shuttle service only to have to wait another 90 minutes before our ride came to pick us up. To top that we were the last ones dropped off. We had our car parked in Burbank because it was cheaper so it still took us thirty minutes to get home.To sum up our plane landed at LAX at 4:45pm and we didn’t get home until 10pm. That’s never happened before.
Overall it was a fantastic trip and very thankful everything went the way it did. Can’t wait for Australia/NZ next March.
END OF BLOG
