Henna’s first roller coaster was followed up the next day by her first trip to an open air drug market. This quaint leftover hippie community has just 3 rules; no running, no photos, and everyone has to have fun. Honestly the same rules as most day camps.

I have to say we were just one of many tourist families milling about pot plants and handmade jewelry. Jazz fest was going on in the city and in Christiania it was a real blast. Drug dealers tapped their feet to the rhythm, their face masks casually drooping below their chins. Whereas the rest of the city clapped politely, here it felt more like the way Kerouac described it in On The Road with wild hoots, the pungent smell of weed, and a lot of good vibes. After a little bit we got the hell out of there but it was a fun trip while it lasted.

A short walk from our campground through a forested path (a path we shared with dog walkers and, to Henna’s great delight, a lot of slugs) and a twenty minute train ride brought us to the world’s second oldest amusement park.  

 First opened in 1843, Tivoli Garden reportedly was favored by King Christian VIII as a way to distract the people from the messy business of politics. Given all of Chicago’s worries, I can see King Rham soon creating his own amusement park.

   Tivoli Gardens is really a whole lot of fun and a must stop for amusement park aficionados (among other things it was Walt Disney’s inspiration for his own parks).  Key attractions include the Rutschebanen roller coaster which has been operating since 1914 . To keep the car at a safe speed the coaster includes ride operators that apply hand brakes at key junctions. This was Henna’s first and, judging from her reaction, maybe last ever roller coaster ride. 

 Besides the thrilling, Tivoli also includes gardens that are lit up at night, concerts (like Snoop Dog who is rapping there in two weeks), carnival games, and the occasional firework display. You are also welcome to do what we did which was stand under the wilder rides to gawk at the riders being twisted upside down and then back again. Maybe next time that will be us.

So much to say about Copenhagen but let us start with our digs there. After losing a lot of land to Germany in the mid to late 19th century, Denmark encircled the crown city with forts. After WWI they decommissioned most of these forts and people now camp, bike, and picnic in the cannon shadow. Very cool place to stay in Copenhagen.

Felt guilty that the cannons were pointing toward Sweden

Looking for "quakers"

After thanking our Swedish hosts one last time we headed to Denmark via a short ferry. On the Denmark side is the almost mythical Kronborg castle which among other things was the setting for Hamlet.

Kronborg Castle

Rebuilt after a fire in the mid 17th Century the castle is a sprawling museum of tapestries, minimally lit crawlspaces some so dark you need a flashlight, and a statue that supposedly comes to life whenever Denmark is threatened. It even has a moat (how cool is that?).  With all that it is hard to imagine a Medieval Times doing well anywhere in Denmark.

After the castle we stumbled south toward Copenhagen. Like a fed bear we have lost most of our gathering instinct so it might take a few nights before we are able to feed ourselves. Until then does anyone know of any Danish relatives we can crash with?

In between eating, laughing, joking,  being treated like royalty (no, actually like close family who have been away for a long bit) and then more laughing we did a bit of sight seeing. Höganäs is truly a lovely, peaceful place with a bustling harbor, a small downtown and  a fun beach.  There used to be a lot of coal mining here and that produced a significant amount of clay which is now used for pottery.  Almost everyone here has a Höganäs made vase or flower pot. Some live in century old houses with straw roofs. Most have bikes and enjoy riding on the trail running parallel to the sea.  The people living here are all very nice and the ones related to us are even nicer.  Today our hosts Christer and Astrid asked if we should go swimming first then eat ice cream or the reverse. This was the most stressful thing we have had to contemplate since arriving here. We very much like Höganäs and love hanging with our Swedish family.

Höganäs

Peter of Kullabygdens Keramik at work

Berit, Hasse, Corey and Henna

Hasse holding a memory

Alice showing off her masterpiece

Traditional home with straw roof

"Heaven"

The edges around the city were grittier than we expected, but after two days we really fell for Stockholm. Stockholm is a lot of water interrupted by cobble stone streets, tight shopping quarters, and churches older than the U.S. of A. Mostly we walked and walked and walked only resting for ice cream and pastries. We also made good friends our first night camping with a Finnish family (by way of Scotland and Northern Ireland) who we hung with until the wee hours. The good times spent with new friends was a preview for the exciting and altogether awesome moments we were later to spend with family.

Single lane traffic, repressive speed limits, and traffic cameras everywhere make for slow driving in Norway. A little north of Lillihammer the traffic got better and then we were launched into a national park.

National Parks in Norway are a rugged, not so marked thing. What we saw via E6 though was pretty impressive. With a careful eye out for musk oxen (those suckers are mean) we walked to a birding tower and saw many bugs. Afterwards we took a short hike to an overlook. It was a bit of Wyoming smack dab in the middle of Scandinavia.

We then camped south of Trondheim and arrived in Norway’s 3rd largest city in the morning. It is a beautiful place of wooden houses on the fjord and a majestic centuries old castle peering down from above. That day we made two friends. The first was Lise at the Jewish Museum whose grandfather was one of the few Jews who returned to Trondheim after World War II.

Trondheim is home to the most northern synagogue in the world. The heartbreaking story of this community is ultimately one of resilience and involves, among other things, over one hundred thirty Norwegian Jews fleeing the Nazis by skiing ten days over the mountains to Sweden. My smart phone cannot do any justice to their story so expect more later.

We also were lucky enough to meet champion cargo bike racer Ola and his charming ten year old son Malte. Not only did Ola share with us enough insider tips to help us avoid the tourist traps he also gifted me a very cool Swedish military  knife. His genuine concern that we see as much quality Sweden as possible (along with his good humor) has been one of the highlights of the trip. Thanks Ola!

Then yesterday was work. A lot of driving, misadventures looking for camping, and then finally paying too much for a hotel where we ate salads for dinner. But Stockholm is near and armed with good advice by Ola we are ready for whatever the road gives.

Hee hee

Lillihammer, site of the 1994 Winter Olympics, is one charming little town. Unfortunately Norway mostly closes down on Sunday (by law only restaurants, small grocery stores, and a few other random shops are allowed to remain open).  There also was a big bike race that circled and went through the town seven times which meant a lot of sudden street closures (as well as motorcycles and other support vehicles whizzing by at break neck speeds). But the giant ski jump area was mostly left alone and Henna and I walked 936 steps up before taking the lift down.

Norwegians know how to do charming

Looking down

Woke up at five this morning nervous about the flight to Norway. Got to the car rental place by 5:45 and then waited half an hour for someone to drive us the few miles to the airport. The check baggage line stretched on and on but we were told all the flights were delayed due to conveyor belt malfunction. We believed them. By 7:45 we were clearing security when we heard last boarding call for our flight to Oslo. I sprinted far ahead to a distant gate, Corey and Henna knocking over tourists left and right behind me. Arrived at gate 8 breathless. Told we actually had to go to gate A (other corner of airport). More running, more chaos in our path, and I was not sure we had enough gas to make our flight. We did and by the time we spy the Norwegian fjords much of the stress has been forgotten. Shortly after arriving in Oslo we are given free ice cream.  And then on the express train to downtown Oslo an attendant repeatedly checked in on everyone.  Imagine that level of care being given on the blue line.  We did enjoy Oslo but would have had more fun if we were not so exhausted.  Now we are at a Best Western between Oslo and Lillihammer resting up for the next chapter.

Our last night in Iceland was the quietest with us finding a motel close to where we will soon drop off the car. With the curtains closed it was the darkest night in a week. Before heading to bed we took in the waters at the Blue Lagoon. Iceland’s most iconic attraction, by the way, is a man made pool fed by underground sea water warmed by the earth that is used to move turbines before soothing muscles. It’s still pretty cool (actually hot).

So now we are off to the Kingdom of Norway. It’s 5 AM and it is time to wake up Henna. Will let you know how it goes.