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The hostel in Bergen, Norway last night wasn’t much better from the previous night. This one had 36 beds in one room, which is a record for me. In addition, bright fluorescent lights were shining directly overhead must of the night. Finally at 3AM someone figured out how to turn them off. This place had another record for me, 13Mbps download speeds. Anyway, I checked out and looked around town very quickly and then hopped on the train back to Oslo, Norway. Seven hours later, I arrived in Oslo. Took another quick look around this city and then the day was about done. I haven’t really had much time lately to walk around or explore on my own, seems like I’m traveling so many hours of the day. But I think that will change soon.

I had a scare today when I left my money belt (passport, credit card, rail pass) in the shower. When I realized I forgot it, I ran back but it was gone. Went to reception and they said they didn’t have it. They said walk around all the hallways until you find the cleaning guy. Thankfully, I did and the cleaning guy did pick up the money belt and nothing was missing.

Maybe I didn’t sleep the best, since I was up by 5:30AM. I tried to use their computers to get some work done but you can’t use the internet connection before 8:00AM for some reason. Anyway, I waited around for breakfast at 7AM and ate quite a bit. In Norway they have bread and toppings include cheese, meat, ground up fish, beats, and jam.

I had this “Norway in a Nutshell” plan take a series of trains/boats/buses to see the famous Norwegian Fjords, but it didn’t happen according to plan. First, I couldn’t make the first long distance train because it is Saturday and less local trains run on weekends. Actually, only if I skipped breakfast I could have made it. So starting off over two hours behind, I thought I could still see the Fjords (only the most scenic thing in all of Europe) since there is so much daylight. Right before starting the boat portion, I found out there are fewer buses running today too. So I wouldn’t be able to make it to my final destination by the end of the day if I went ahead. I looked into staying at my current spot, but the only hostel in town was full (of course, Saturday night) and I didn’t have a tent. I’m getting tired of weekends in Europe.

The train from Oslo was great though; beginning by passing farms, rolling hills, and lakes. The train continued into higher mountains passing numerous cottages, finally going above the tree line, with fresh snow everywhere melting into white rapid rivers. The highest station was over 1100m above sea level.

So I skipped the main Fjords and besides, it is supposed to be cloudy and rainy the next day. So instead I did a little bit of backtracking and took a train to the nearest big city (Bergen) in search of accommodation.

I left my host, Ola, and his couch and then ate lunch at a cheap Thai buffet just down the street that I noticed the previous day. Good enough for the only meal of the day. With not much time to spare, I took a quick look around town and made it to the train station. Today was a train from Gothenburg, Sweden to Oslo, Norway.

It was a nice clear day and especially in Scandinavia the air seems extremely clean and clear. So far in Scandinavia, everything seems a little less chaotic and calmer too.

Norway is the most expensive country in Europe, possibly the world. This means my standard of living traveling through this country is going to hit rock bottom. It sure showed today when I found the worst hostel yet in Oslo, Norway. It was an old school and I got to sleep in a classroom with no beds, pillows, or blankets, only a mattress on the floor. I wrapped a shirt around my eyes to block out the over 20 hours of daylight and put in earplugs to block out all the kids staying in the hostel and was able to sleep OK.

I walked around Copenhagen for a few hours. Saw a strange commune called Christiania. Then I walked past the royal houses and an amusement park right in the downtown of the city. Next, I caught a train to Gothenburg, Sweden. This train crossed a new combination tunnel/island/bridge which spans the international border crossing over the Baltic Sea. Here I was surprised to be questioned by Swedish police; they wanted to know where I was coming from and where I was going. I said I visited Jesper in Copenhagen and I’m going to visit Ola in Gothenburg. This was the first time I’ve had any questions since arriving in London.

Arriving in Sweden, I had to find a phone to get directions to my host. I asked a woman, but she thought I was a criminal that would steal her phone. Even offering to trade my passport wouldn’t earn her trust. Then I tried a pay phone, but first I had to buy some food to get some change. Only problem was I didn’t get the correct change (in Swedish Crowns) needed for the phone. Finally asked someone else to use their phone and he sure didn’t want me to talk long, kept bugging me about the battery and finally almost forced me to stop talking. But I did get my directions.

Today I spent the first half of the day in Hamburg, Germany. I was able to walk through some of the parks, down by the docks, and downtown. Then I got on a train which headed north toward Denmark. At one point, the entire train moved onto a ferry for an hour to cross a part of the Baltic Sea. In the evening, I arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark. At the train station, my couch surfing host, Jesper, picked me up and drove around on a quick tour of the city. Then we had some traditional Danish food (meat & potatoes). Jesper is an IT consultant and also a wood craftsman (made his own speaker cabinets and tables).

I finally bought a used novel that I can read on long train rides. I haven’t had a chance yet, since German and Danish trains have lots of plugs in them, so I could keep my computer going and have been reading eBooks on there.

Denmark is the first Scandinavian country I’ve visited. They don’t use Euros here and the language is Danish (although English is widely spoken).

Today was mostly a travel day. I took a series of three trains from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Hamburg, Germany. I was able to find a couch for the first time in a while to use. Mario is hosting me in Hamburg for one night.

I spent the day walking around many of the city’s unique sights and also some resting. After this, I’m not sure if I’ll be spending the night in the same place two days in a row for a while at least. The last few days I’ve been surviving on one meal per day: the breakfast buffet at the hostel. It has been saving me quite a bit of money since any meal is pretty expensive in this city.

After my only night in Luxembourg, I woke up early and caught an early train towards the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands. I did make a quick stop in Cologne, Germany on the way though. In total, I spent about 6 hours on the train today. Amsterdam is nice, everyone can speak English well and they have everything here. Lots of canals and bicycles everywhere. I might have a little cold right now, nothing serious though. As for weather, it was cool and dry through most of Switzerland through Germany, but then since Munich it has been more hot and humid.

I started my day early in Frankfurt, Germany. After a breakfast buffet, I checked out and headed to the train station eventually making it to Bingen (small town along the Rhine River). Then I boarded a ship which cruised down the river to the city of Koblenz. This part of the river is famous for its many old towns and castles along the banks. After the ship, I boarded another train heading towards Luxembourg.

Even though Luxembourg is a small country, they speak their own language: Luxembourgish (a mix of German and French). The city I went to has the same name as the country and it is the only big city. It was raining pretty hard when I arrived, so I waited the train station for a while. I risked no reservations for today, but I had to try the sole hostel in the city. The city of Luxembourg is really nice; there is a deep valley cutting through the center resulting in winding bridges, paths, and roads. I was lucky; there was a bed free for me at the hostel.

My 29 year old roommate in the hostel has maybe the most ambitious travel plans I’ve heard yet. He is driving around the world on a motorcycle. He started in Japan, then crossed Russia, then Central Asia, Middle East, down to the bottom of Africa, and recently took a ship to Europe. Eventually he will head over to North America and then South America.

Once the rain and clouds cleared, I was able to walk around the city and got some photos. For some reason there was live music on various stages throughout the city today too. Next, the plan is one night in Luxembourg and then make my way to Amsterdam tomorrow.

Today a lot of trains, from a fancy high speed (I saw 256kpm) to a hot, crowded local train. I made it from Munich to Frankfurt (also stopped in Bonn since I had time).