Survivor Ellesmere

I got up at five this morning, which, since today is the start of summer time in Europe, felt like four. Add to this the fact that two people showed up in my hostel room last night between 11 and 1, and proceded to make lots of noise, AND one of them was a terrible snorer, and I am shocked that at six pm I am still awake. Most of this has to do with the awesomeness that is Bergen. But more on that in a bit, let me fill you in on my last day in Denmark.

I headed a bit out of Copenhagen yesterday, to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humelbæk, about a half hour commuter train ride north of the city. (Named after the three wives of a king, not the state. Conveniently they were all named Louisa, otherwise, the museum would have a more complicated name.) The trip there was beautiful - most of the track lies along the water bewteen Denmark and Sweden, and the sea was beautiful. I had great weather yesterday - super sunny. Not so warm, but I'm getting used to the damp cold. The museum was unfortunately undergoing renovations, so one of its four galleries was closed. It was still well worth the trip. Modern art (circa Andy Warhol, but not so much Andy Warhol) is my favourite, mostly because of the random things that got passed off as art then. Like the cushions painted and shaped like a sandwich and a baked potato that they had. My favourite part ended up being the bronze sculpture garden outside. Normally I'm not a sculpture person, but the location of this garden on a cliff over looking the water made it really awesome. And you had to explore a bit to find all the art. It's always nice to get rewarded for climbing down steep muddy embankments. After the museum I wandered around the town for a bit - it was a sleepy little town, most likely a bedroom community for the big city, but as it was right on the water, so pretty. I like beaches. They had also cleverly planted bushes to block most of the sea breeze when you were sitting on one of their benches. This made sitting for more than a second possible. Those Danes are smart. As I had to get up so early the next morning, I pretty much headed straight home from there, set my clock forward, and went to bed.

This morning I flew to Bergen, the gateway to fjord country, and, as mentioned, my new favourite city. Except for the language, it's a combination of all my favourite Canadian cities. But since it's in Norway, it's that much cooler. It has the seafood and wooden houses of Halifax, the mountains of Banff, and the feel (and rain) of Vancouver. Plus it has the hominess of Ottawa (which I realise only feels homey because it's my home.) After I left my bag at the hostel, I head out to explore the city. Note to any of you planning a trip here: don't arrive on a Sunday in the winter. Not much is open, including the tourist office. But after wandering the old town for a bit, I soon decided that, like Banff, Bergen is best enjoyed away from the town. There's a funicular up one of the mountains, and despite the rain/snow combination I decided to head up to the hills. The train only takes you about half way up the mountain, and then there are walking trails that take you the rest of the way. The hard part done for me by the train, I meandered my way up, imagining the views I would be seeing on a clear day (you could still see the city, so it wasn't a complete waste), until I got a bit too far up, the weather got a bit too blowy, the trails got a bit too ice covered, and I had to admit I wasn't equipped to go the rest of the way. I shunned the train on the way back and walked through the windy path back to town. Almost directly to this internet cafe, where I am currently enjoying a break from the rain that has gotten a bit too hard for proper wandering. It started to clear up a bit on my way, and I was able to see to the next valley. Bergen is pretty. Of the places I've been in Europe, this is the place that I most want to visit again. In the summer, when the weather's better and the trails are less snowy. I think I'm becoming more outdoors-y in my old age.

Tomorrow is my day for "Norway in a Nutshell", a train-boat-bus tour of the local mountains and fjords. I'm hoping I can get it all in, but as there is apparently no tourist information to dispense on Sundays, I am going on hope that there will be more info once I get started on the journey. Keep your fingers crossed for me that I don't get stuck in one of the towns along the way...