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Part 7
Brussels 16 July 01 It was finally time to bid adjeu to my friends and to the hospitality of Düsseldorf and Köln and continue on my merry journey. I boarded the train to Brussels. The Brussels station situation was somewhat confusing. According to some guidebook instructions, I felt I needed to get off at Brussels Center (Midi). However, when I got to this very large and modern station, I was sent back to the Brussels Sud station by a friendly and helpful tourist agent who also supplied me with a map. Dark, looking like a WW2 air-raid bunker, Brussels South did hardly look inviting, but got me to within easy walking distance to the city center and my hotel. Up the street from my acceptable little inner-city hotel, just across the main intersection (underground walkway, if you so desire), is a neat supermarket where I purchased all my foods. Going right around that corner, along the main street, takes you to the subway station and to another one of those great Internet and Everything places (open 24 hours a day). Most of that area seems to be a huge shopping center and many of the streets are for pedestrians only. Ranging further I discovered an outstanding used-books store called Librairie Polytechnique where I loaded up on paperbacks. It's located in back of a Marks & Spencer store (one of the chain that I frequented in various cities in the UK). The back entrance opens on the Place Des Martyrs, a square with a huge war memorial and a statue of Patria, and the bookstore is right there. Why do I mention that? Traveling around like this, books are your best friends to while away the long travel hours and evenings. Everyone seems to be looking for books and as soon as I read what I bought, I usually left them for others to snap up. Outside of England, the good stores carrying an ample supply of English-language pocketbooks, such as this one are a rare find. In front of Marks and Spencer there was a street vendor who was selling the most incredibly large and delicious cherries, of which I bought a couple of pounds. They were so good that I went back before I left Brussels, and in pouring rain bought some more for the trip to Amsterdam. Nearby was another great square with some high-school girls singing and dancing, trying to sell me and others junk food. I took the subway to the old World Expo site where I knew the Atomium to be. One of those things I always knew about, but never got to see. It was still an amazing sight and I am happy to have finally gotten to admire the great and well-maintained symbol of the former World Expo. Nearby I discovered a 27-screen movie house and took the opportunity to see Shrek in English. The center of Brussels, the grand square with the town hall and all of the guild buildings are indeed a world cultural treasure and absolutely unique. The place is typically crowded with tourists, but that doesn't mean much. The square is quite large and the many intrically carved and decorated facades are numerous and all around you and after a few minutes you will find yourself totally absorbed in the countless and mind-boggling details of the artwork.
An email: Amsterdam was real case of Déjà vu for me, since I spent some time there about 37 years ago. The city center seems untouched by the changes of time, other than details. Amsterdam is a charming place that easily embraces the visitor with its canals like a thousand moist arms and pulls you into the quietude of its timeless heart. I liked it then and still like it just as much today. The grachts are peaceful and calm, bordered by hundreds of house boats of every description from full-sized barges to defunct sailboats. Visitors are shuttled around by the thousands on anything that floats. You can see glitzy pleasure boats with huge buffets and extensive bars as well as little dingy dinghies with a piece of board for a table and with plastic bags with sandwiches and beer or water, and the whole range of water conveyances in between. The facades facing the canals are different in details only, but confusingly alike gracht after gracht. Each, typically topped by the indispensable hoist that permits furniture to be brought into the building through the windows, since steep, twisted, and narrow stairways are definitely not up to the task. The Dutch girls are as blond, natural, and attractive now as they were when I spent a whole young summer in Holland those many years ago. I arrived in an incredibly crowded main station on a sunny afternoon. The freaks, sporting their wild and Day-glo colored hair and abundant body piercing were strongly in evidence, as were the hotel touts. Often drunks, from the looks of it, who were trying to make a few pennies bringing new arrivals to various little hotels in the downtown area. I had my reservation (in more ways than one) and proceeded to find the Bloemgracht where Hotel von Onna was located. A long walk later, having asked direction (yes, I did) I finally arrived in a quiet part of town along a lovely gracht (canal), not far from the Anne Frank house, to meet the gruff old proprietor. An old and very, very wealthy man. All his rooms were the same price and all were totally devoid of any comfort. Not even a radio was on hand. When I asked him about that he answered that I was in Amsterdam and the last thing I would want to do was to watch TV or listen to the radio. I somewhat agreed, though this was a family hotel and not even close to the more "lively" bar and club streets of Amsterdam. When I pointed that out he just shrugged and turned away. For the quiet and nice location, I would probably stay there again, but at the end of the conversation with old Mc Scrooge, not expecting much from the next morning's breakfast, I went in search of a grocery store. I found a large and excellent one, near a large indoor mall down the main street leading back toward the station. Later, I would discover yet another more convenient one, right across from the great church with the ornate tower decoration, just a few minutes from the hotel. I was right about breakfast. Cheap stuff, however, the coffee was unexpectedly excellent and a second carafe was readily made available, while anyone asking for seconds of their cheap fare was frowned at. I brought my own cereal and milk to the table and ended up reasonably happy. Down the left, on the same side of the gracht as the hotel, there was a great little internet cafe, where I was entertained for hours sa young guys playing net-shootouts yelled and annihilated each other's players. Just a few steps beyond that one can find a bicycle renting place. The all-day rates are reasonable, and the bikes, Dutch-style are big and comfy. The immediate neighborhood had even more to offer and was in within a pleasant walk's distance from the rather exciting center of town. Better yet, as most of the rest of the city, reached by bicycle, but once there, the only way to go is to lock the bike at one of the many conveniently placed racks and walk with the crowds. Let yourself be swept away into the alleys and narrow streets, and soak in the smells of hundreds of little restaurants, bakeries, bars, and the sights of the charming integration of the old and the new. While all of this is going on, keep an eye and ear open for the frequent trolleys that move rapidly through the crowded streets. It's a great place to explore and to sample foods. I stuck to falafel places, since my only exercise was walking or cycling. One day I spent riding in a great arc around town to find a large old windmill and areas devoid of tourists. Getting lost is hardly a problem. Nearly everyone speaks English or understands German. I also visited the great museum plaza and stopped at the Rijksmuseum, the national museum, where one can adore, among countless other treasures, many of Rembrandt's originals. Holland, ever a sea-going nation, once was a world-class naval power and controlled a number of large and important colonies in Asia. At the museum one can explore that glorious past and the discoveries and victories of daring Duch naval captains and their brave crews. Another day, bicycling toward the harbor, I noticed a tall, square rigged old sailing ship, a replica, and thus found my way into the Amsterdam ship museum with had some really cool displays indoors and outdoors in a dedicated part of the harbor. I skipped the famous red-light district, where I did get an eyeful a few decades ago. Nothing has changed, to be sure, except I'd expect to see more black and Asian girls working there nowadays. After all, the trade in humans is an international one, and Blacks are considered very exotic by many Europeans. The real reason was that I was on a limited budget and that kind of excursion never comes cheap. I could have walked around those canals and ogled for free, but why torture myself. On the day of my departure I realized how comfortable I had become with this outgoing and inviting city. I managed to squeeze in a little river/canal trip, and just had a blast cycling around town. The Internet and Everything place is way downtown, and everything I needed, except for my own bicycle or motorcycle was on hand. Now, however, it was time to go to another yet unexplored area - Northern Germany and after that Scandinavia. Time to get back on the trail of the old Vikings. The Cetraal station was in its normal totally mobbed condition, and I stood in line for a long time just trying to get a train schedule (take a number). Getting to Hamburg became a major odyssey of changing trains and misunderstood or erroneous information. Once I accidentally got on a luxurious private express train only for business travelers. For them it was more convenient than a plane, though special tickets were required and even my 1st class Eurail Pass wasn't valid and I had to get off at the earliest opportunity, or pay a rather hefty fee. However, let's remember that I'm on my home turf here in Germany, and it was inevitable that I arrived at my destination. Part of Northern Germany was inundated by torrential rain storms and then shrouded by thick fog. It made for an interesting ride. I got to the Hamburg main station and while awaiting connection to Lübeck, I sat with some Philippine ladies who were eating a wonderful stir-fried vegetable meal with mushrooms at a Filipino-run restaurant there. My kind of food! I ordered, ate, and washed it down with a glass of beer. I was in hog heaven.
Lübeck 23 JUL Actually I had arrived in Hamburg pretty pissed-off, because of all of the train-schedule hassles, but the excellent meal had considerably improved my mood. By the time I left Hamburg for Lübeck it was getting fairly late and I arrived at last at my destination, Hotel Stadt Lübeck, at around 10PM. My older but comfortable hotel was just around the corner from the station and the old night manager made me immediately feel at home. After the old greed merchant's barebones Hotel von Onna, this one offered a spacious room, large bed and a TV. Breakfast was excellent and plentiful. No asking for second helpings of anything, just get up and get more, rendered with a warm smile. Shortly thereafter, I was on the way for a day-trip to Schleswig to see my first Viking excavation site: Haithabu. A place I had read about in a recent Spiegel article on the Vikings. The ride there was wonderful. I had no idea that the landscape would be this picturesque. Lakes, or more likely, countless quiet bays and inlets from the Baltic Sea, spotted with rocky little islands that were pine-tree covered. The ice age glaciers had done a great job on this area. What resulted was a peaceful and idyllic scenery. The small town with the strange name of Plös, was at the center of this lovely landscape. Here and there some enviable, lucky individual could be seen cruising around the quiet, island-dotted waters in a kayak. The train took me to Kiel, a bustling and noisy harbor town where the main industry, for generations, had been ship-building and refitting. There I switched to a small commuter train that took me over a long and massive bridge, crossing a canal that connected the Atlantic with the Baltic, that was traveled by large ocean-going vessels that were moving like pearls on a string, large and stately below the iron trusses of the railway bridge. Then finally I arrived in Schleswig, a sleepy little town, much smaller than I had expected. After all, the entire region is called Schleswig Holstein. Holstein! Now where have you heard that name before? Yes, the Holstein cows, ever-present all around here, providing dairy product raw material, ok - milk, all over the US, originate here. At times, on the little train, going through farmlands, you can smell the exact place from where they came. In Schleswig I discovered that tour-busses go to Haithabu from all over the place and very few people arrive the way I did - figures! I got directions from some old guy and then set out for a long multi-mile-walk along the shore to the place where the Vikings, about 1100-1300 years ago, had established a major trading post and town. In fact, it was their southernmost, and thus mostly ice-free harbor. While power-walking toward my goal, still a few miles away, the old guy, who had given me directions back in Schleswig, pulled up alongside in his small car, and offered to take me to the vicinity of Haithabu. I figured he was in his 70s and a little local homebody, but he surprised me by telling me that he owned a Vespa motor-scooterand would take it in the summers all along the Baltic, all over Northern Europe, and once as far as Italy. He felt he still had a lot of traveling to do with that old motors-scooter, bless his gypsy soul, and I wished him well and many more great and safe journeys. He was a wonderful role model for me or anyone with a lust for adventure in their heart. Haithabu (Hedebü) From the shoreline highway, where the old guy dropped me off, it was still a nice long walk into a lightly wooded area to get to the inlet that the Vikings used for their village and fortification, near where the museum was located. The museum itself was a bright, modern, and well laid-out place, definitely worth a visit. Certainly for anyone, who like myself, is interested in Viking lore and history.
NOTE: Two URLs here. The button is a German-lang. link to the Museum for opening times, prices, and location. I took a lengthy walk through the fascinating museum, which shows evidence of three shipwrecks that had been
recovered from the ancient harbor. There was also lovely and skillfully hand-made, museum-quality Viking replica
jewelry on display, for anyone to purchase. For me, more importantly there were weapons, lovely and highly detailed
ship models, and even a replica Viking ship under construction to be seen. Later, I took a stroll to the former
excavation site, long dormant for lack of funding. It was just minutes from the museum and disclosed an amazingly
large shield wall, indicating the large size of the former Viking establishment here. I climbed up for a look around
from atop the wall, which was now just a high and steep dirt barrier, all overgrown, and making a large half-circle
around the once teeming harbor village. The backdrop of the place, where the old cutthroats, slavers, adventurers,
and extortionists lived and rutted, is a startlingly beautiful bay, nearly devoid of any human presence. I was
told that a modern underwater archeological team had gone over the entire harbor with state-of-the-art sonar equipment
and discovered the remains of yet 4-5 additional Viking ships buried in the mud. In fact, the entire area still
hold lots and lots of artifacts to be recovered by future generations with more modern equipment. This is a wise
policy in place at most archeological digs around the globe. So far, the museum personnel stated, only about 10%
of the entire Haithabu area have been researched. I think the archeologist had thus far only laid bare a narrow
strip of the village, leaving most of it where it was, to be unearthed and analyzed by future scientists.
The following morning I rushed around and got some things, including laundry, taken care of and just made the totally crowded train to Kopenhaven. It was a fun trip and the train got much less crowded once we got to a beach resort town right next to the Danish border, where lots of the German kids were staying for the weekend. For the trip, the friendly lady day manager of the hotel even packed a couple of sandwiches for me. As it was, I was eagerly looking forward to my first look at Scandinavia. Copenhagen 27 July 01 Arriving in the large, sunlit central station of Copenhagen was a little like a case of deja vu, everything seemed so familiar, yet the language and people were shifted slightly in character. Pleasantly so, I must say. Well, the people, for sure. I do like the northern mix a great deal. Just like the Dutch, it appears to be some built-in preference of mine. Right across from the station is the Tivoli amusement park, and a major intersection takes you into every quadrant of this delightful city. Now, let it be said, there was a lot of human scum around the backside of the station as well. Certain liberal policies or attitudes permitted an aggregation of drug consuming individuals to be out in the open. Like one addict I saw, needle still stuck in his bleeding arm, passed-out in a cellar doorway. However, I have to say that this particular scene was limited just to that area and not in evidence anywhere else. The streets were clean, the people looked great, and bicycles were to be seen everywhere. In fact, it was possible to simply take a certain type of brightly painted publicly owned bicycle and ride it around town, as long as it would be returned to one of the official collection stands to be found at many major plazas or intersections. The bicyclist would range from young kids to girls, unconcerned in their mini-skirts, to women apparently in their 7th or 8th month of pregnancy. Great food stores and an abundance of activities could be found everywhere. This is another very easy to navigate city, best done on foot, by bike, or public transportation. I found my hotel a sturdy walk from the station, and for my entire trip, it was the least desirable of them all. While the area was convenient, though there were better ones, the place itself sucked royally. It sat atop two bars and a strip joint and the music went on until 3 AM. I visited neither of the establishments. The proprietor was totally into his bars and invited me to stop in etc. - oh sure! Far from being a prude, it was not what this trip was about, and I had still no intentions to hang around any places that were thick with 2nd-hand smoke, while fleecing you for all it was worth. For breakfast they gave you a little coupon to take to a small bakery/cafe across the street to get some coffee and some breakfast stuff, I forget what it was. I had my cereal in the room, and when I felt like it, went to get the free coffee, which was, as is usual in Europe, excellent. Away from the crummy hotel and railway station everything was really outstanding. The city was a cauldron of activity, there was a 24 Hour Fitness-owned gym, right across from the Tivoli atop a six-story building where I took aerobics classes and did weights. However, one of the first things I did was to take a commuter train to nearby Roskilde, to the famous Viking ship museum I've read so much about. The little town was lovely and I stopped to have lunch, something fishy, I remember, and walked, past the ancient city center, where the fountains were being renovated, and got to listen to the worst guitar player and singer I have ever heard, was putting on a one-man show. English was widely spoken, because when I loudly said that someone ought to pay him to stop playing and singing, there was laughter all around. A nice walk past a large old church and through a park took me to the fjord where the historic battle resulted in the purposeful sinking of a number of Viking ships.
NOTE: I assigned two different URLs here, one to the button and a different one to the text! Vikings! What can I say? The more is revealed, the more brutal that culture appears. It is possible that the
warrior cult had its own rites, while the general Nordic population marched to a different tune. The whole Viking
warrior cult reminded me strangely of the Japanese Samurai cult, part of, yet somehow totally divorced from the
rest of the people. There was much to be learned and to be seen here in the interesting and unique Roskilde Viking
ship museum. Outside, there were several small boats in the water that had been built in the Viking-ship style.
Also, across from the museum, on the waterfront, the keel for a brand new Viking long-ship was being worked with
adzes, while the boards that were to be shaped into the graceful hull, were split-off large tree trunks and were
stacked and ready for use, or soaking in long troughs nearby. It looked like this will be a 20 to 30-oar long-ship,
and there were still a couple of years of work to be done. All in all, this was a very educational and enjoyable
site.
On the last day in Copenhagen I spent time in the Danish National Museum. Another great place to purchase Viking replica stuff and jewelry. Being able to work out every day, and being around the very friendly and handsome Danes, went a long way to make up for the crummy hotel. I departed Copenhagen main station toward the Swedish border to catch another train, bound for Stockholm in Malmö, on the other side of the bay. In Malmö I got onto the X2000 Swedish bullet train. What a nice way to go. There is a steward, at least in the 1st class cabin, who brings sandwiches, coffee, and fresh fruit around. Service just like on an airplane, only with better food. For a moment, three stunning young blondes, with exotic dancer-type bodies, giggled their way into the first class cabin and out again. The sounded much like the Swedish cook on Sesame street. I was totally amused. Stockholm 30 July 01 Stockholm, wonderful Stockholm. I realize it was summer, so I certainly missed the winter-excitement of that city, though, I believe that it would be most efficiently adapted to that grim season. I was immediately struck by the cleanliness and absence of railroad station scum. It was great. I took the short walk to my lovely hotel and happily settled into the best bargain of my entire trip. The Hotel Adlon, located just steps from the main-station, across from a subway stop, and bus stop, at the corner of a pedestrians-only alley that lead right into the heart of the shopping areas and the market. It also was less than a 10-minute walk from the 24HR Fitness-owned gym. The breakfast, too, was the best of the entire trip, and they even offered free Internet access in the lobby, and for those who travel with a laptop, internet access in every room. Indeed, everything but a coin laundry was somewhere nearby. I never did find one of those and thought that someone with an enterprising mind could make a nice, albeit terminally taxed, income with a coin-operated laundry place. Lots and lots of students and tourists were around who were all looking for some place to wash their clothes. an email: The Adlon Hotel is excellent, caters to the business traveler (free internet connection in every room - and
I don't have a What Stockholm lacks in overt excitement, it makes up for in sheer livability and innate friendliness. Some of that may be the result of harsh winters where people have to rely on each other's generosity to survive. What I particularly came to see here was the Vasa. I've heard about it since my youthful days in Germany and finally would see the incredible royal warship. The experience, for me, was totally over the top. I got on bus number 47, directly across from the hotel entrance and once in the vicinity of the harbor, two naturally pretty and quite statuesque blondes told me where to get lost...I mean get off the bus. They told me that the Vasa ship display was located behind one of the city's main museum's (didn't make it into that one - no time) and I easily spotted it, once I started to walk in direction habor. There at last was the great building, the great hall, wherein I knew, the Vasa was enshrined.
You enter into the darkened building and there, in the center of it, occupying most of the interior volume, she hovered. The hull was nearly black, huge, like some medieval monster, reflecting countless photo flashes, the Vasa dominated the large building and captivated and awed every individual within. It is full-sized wooden warship, raised from the harbor after 333 years of being submerged and nearly completely intact. I would say that it and the Great Mosque in Córdoba were probably the two most impressive and memorable artifacts on this trip, so far. The entrance ticket also buys you access to a couple of ships in the harbor behind the Vasa building. One of them is a modern ice-breaker, wouldn't you know, and one a lighthouse ship. Both neat to see and fully serviceable. It was a glorious day for me and I sat and enjoyed the scenery of the harbor and all of the associated activities for the rest of the afternoon. In the distance, on the other side of the harbor, there was Stockholm's counterpart to Copenhagen's Tivoli. It is a sizable amusement park from what I could tell, and far more modern than the venerable old Tivoli. I tried to make a day-trip to Helsinki, being this close to Finland, but will have to shelve that for a future visit. A short order one-day roundtrip plane ticket costs about $500. The price is hugely different from the fare if purchased well in advance. Even staying for just one night, drops the ticket price to just $120. I will do that another time. I will definitely be back here again, and then stop in Helsinki on the way to St. Petersburg, Russia, which is conveniently close to the Finnish border. That's one of my future Europe trip plans.
Oslo 4 Aug. 01 Oslo, the quaint and oh so nice, capital of the northern kingdom. Another Scandinavian pearl to cherish. The trip up north was quite long and the many lakes and general landscape makes one understand why so many Scandinavians are drawn to the American northern states. Being so far north, I believe that long supply lines contribute to the general high cost of living. Here, you don't get much for your money. As lovely and inviting as this little capital is, a visit here can be unexpectedly costly. However, depending on your needs, mine are few and simple, it was reasonable enough. My room, at the Anchor Hotel, was spacious and located on the 8th floor. I had no complaints and the breakfast was very generous and acceptable. At $70 a night, I believe it was reasonable for Oslo and I would recommend it for that fact alone. They have cheaper rooms, in a hotel annex that is open only during the tourist season. Oh, and I finally did find that coin laundry. Across from Ibsen's grave (-yard). Venturing out into the very irregular Oslo street grid, I was pleased by the sizable amount of Nordic blondes in abundance. Many typically sturdy-framed and busty, fell into the category that I jokingly referred to the "teddybear" girls. God love 'em. What I had not expected were a surprising number of Asian and Indian people. They were indeed living very far from home and added a nice exotic touch to the scenery.
Not far from the spectacular Viking museum is yet another ship museum. This one contains ships inside and out of all kinds of explorer vessels. Great stuff, but to me, the Viking ship museum was it. I spent some time at the other museum, but did not go inside. Instead I joined the crowds of Norwegians who populated the rocky shore next to the museum and sat and enjoyed the view of the fjord and watched young and old wade or play in the cool waters. I just had to take off my sandals and wade in those waters as well. I got back in time for a gym aerobics class, run by a large Nordic girl, all shapely curves, who probably outweighed me by 5-10 pounds. We hit it off and had a fun class, to be repeated the next day. I was amused by the many red-haired or blonde females, all equally tomato-red from exertion with big smiles on their faces at the end of the high-low aerobics class. No slackers there. We were moving, grooving, and sweating - well at least I was sweating.
After seeing the disappointing "Planet of the Apes" movie remake in Stockholm, I felt I got a much better deal watching "Jurassic Park III" downtown Oslo. Just as in Stockholm, American movies are usually shown in their original English language version with Scandinavian language under-titles. One late evening I was amazed by a light, low in the sky that was brighter and whiter than anything I had ever seen. This particular Norwegian sunset was unlike anything I had experienced anywhere. There seemed be no color left to the sun at all. Just a bright white ball of light close to the horizon, while directly above our heads a thunderstorm was forming up. The next day saw me early on a train to Myrdal. I had heard of the "Norway in a Nutshell" trip and went to the station to get the necessary tickets. There are brochures available in the station. While my Eurail Pass was good for part of the trip, another part took place on a private train and required separate fare. Not a problem. Leaving Oslo, going ever more north and up in altitude, I admired the landscape and realized that I had seen nothing this beautiful outside the Alpine landscape in Southern Europe. Soon, however, following an engine change, the train was leaving the mist covered, mirror-like rivers, and pine-fringed lakes behind to climb into harsh rocky, snow and glacier inhabited territory, dipping in and out of the tree line. Rocky plateaus and mounds scraped smooth by the polishing power of the glaciers of the last ice-age. We stopped at Finse Station, elevation 4000 ft, and the highest train station in Norway, between Oslo and Bergen. it is also a center for outdoor activities for people from Oslo. There they go on mountain bike trips and mountaineering trips in the summer and to nearby ski areas in the winter. Sometime later the train finally arrived in Myrdal, where those passengers who planned to continue to Flom, back at sea level and at the end of a huge and craggy fjord, would transfer to the privately-run train. This little adventure was made more interesting by the stops of the train at a couple of waterfalls. One of them had an old building next to it, and as we were all watching the torrents of water cascading down in front of us and then disappear below the railroad platform and bridge on which we stood, the air was suddenly filled with music. From behind the building the Lady of the Falls made an appearance. Very cool and very Nordic mystical. Then on, steeply descending down into the canyon, ..er..fjord to arrive at Flom. Another trip to not be missed. Here, surrounded by the steep walls of the fjord, distant waterfalls racing down its sides, there one could stand, way inland yet watch large cruise ships slowly come and go between Flam and Bergen. That would have been the final part of the "nutshell" which I forsook. I simply didn't have the time to make this happen and felt that I did take part in the most important components showing the me the spectacular Norewgian landscape and a true fjord. After some restful time at the little Flam shore-side, I went back on the train, watched the Lady of the Falls once again and returned to Oslo.
But as I am fond to say, "I'll be back." and as you already can tell, I feel extremely comfortable in Scandinavia. On departure day I managed to squeeze in one more gym class and then took a taxi (Wait! This is me, the budget traveler speaking, a taxi? Yes, I relented, since I nearly ran out of time to get to the station.) The trip was surprisingly inexpensive and cost a mere 62 Kronas. Sad to depart, but I had a schedule to follow and still much to see, I took the train to Goteborg, from there another one of the neat X2000 trains to Malmö, and from there, at last, on a very uncomfortable night train, crossing the dark Baltic, on the open top deck of the ferry - who could sleep anyway, to Rostok, I believe, and then into the night on to Berlin.
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