and now we are in norway! a long day and ready for some sleep in a proper bed although, as usual, i loved being on the train through the night. but there were a lot of creaks and i couldn't resist peeping out of the window (lou had opted for the top bunk) every time i was aware of the train stopping or even if it wasn't! the sparks that flew as we hurtled through rain and sleet, magic!we were served breakfast on a tray in our compartment and then the bunks were put away so we could sit up and enjoy the remaining time.
copenhagen station reminded me of an ecclesiastical building, a lofty rectangle with what, at first, i assumed to be wooden beams arching above the void. on closer inspection i realised they were metal, shaped and coloured to resemble carved wood. high up on one side there were tall arched windows of plain glass each with a stained glass town? shield set in its centre. who was it who called our huge stations 'cathedrals to steam'? the concourse contained all the shops, cafes etc comfortable placed so not a lot of walking or searching was needed. we drank coffee, bought the lunchtime sarnies with the pretty krone decorated with jenny lind and went in search of our first scandinavian train.
our seats were the first seats in the first carriage with a table between us. this was to be the theme of the day; getting into our allotted wagon, wrestling our cases into the baggage section and then walking the length of the carriage to find our seats. a couple from the sleeper train, she from dublin, he from manchester, were heading for stockholm and northern sweden and sitting across the aisle.
the bridge i was so excited to be crossing turned out to be not such an exciting experience. the train track hangs under the roadway and the view is fairly unexceptional. i had expected to feel dwarfed by the expanse of water we were crossing but no1 the land on either side is flat and uninteresting and there was no sense of the grandeur of the bridge whose spans we o nly glimpsed from far away. maybe by car it is better!
we left this train at linkoping and crossed the platform for a local train. very modern and only one carriage but a doubledecker we shared this with a teenage boy who sniffed constantly and a dog i swear was a young pitbull!
a hour later we were on the snowy platform of katrineholm waiting for the third and final train of the day to oslo. the waiting room was too many flights of steps away to lug those cases so we stood and waited in the cold. at one point a fast train came whistling through at high speed. the wind it made as it whisked along blew up the snow from the track so it appeared to be levitating on a cloud of misty white. turner would have loved it!
onto our final train and, after lou waved our tickets to dislodge three young ladies from our allotted seats, we settled down for the five hours ride. all through the compartment there were people plugged into the available sockets using all manner of technology, iphones, tablets, laptops to listen to music or watch films. the older generation were reading books and magazines! :) the buffet car called the bistro but just a tiny booth in the middle of first class sold coffee and redbush tea with free top ups! the sunset was gloriously colourful and meant the snow cloud must be lifting in the west. sure enough the skies were clearing when we got to oslo. a quick visit to burgerking in the station (neigh!) and off to find the hotel. a real bed with lovely soft bedding in a real room that deesn't creak!
copenhagen station reminded me of an ecclesiastical building, a lofty rectangle with what, at first, i assumed to be wooden beams arching above the void. on closer inspection i realised they were metal, shaped and coloured to resemble carved wood. high up on one side there were tall arched windows of plain glass each with a stained glass town? shield set in its centre. who was it who called our huge stations 'cathedrals to steam'? the concourse contained all the shops, cafes etc comfortable placed so not a lot of walking or searching was needed. we drank coffee, bought the lunchtime sarnies with the pretty krone decorated with jenny lind and went in search of our first scandinavian train.
our seats were the first seats in the first carriage with a table between us. this was to be the theme of the day; getting into our allotted wagon, wrestling our cases into the baggage section and then walking the length of the carriage to find our seats. a couple from the sleeper train, she from dublin, he from manchester, were heading for stockholm and northern sweden and sitting across the aisle.
the bridge i was so excited to be crossing turned out to be not such an exciting experience. the train track hangs under the roadway and the view is fairly unexceptional. i had expected to feel dwarfed by the expanse of water we were crossing but no1 the land on either side is flat and uninteresting and there was no sense of the grandeur of the bridge whose spans we o nly glimpsed from far away. maybe by car it is better!
we left this train at linkoping and crossed the platform for a local train. very modern and only one carriage but a doubledecker we shared this with a teenage boy who sniffed constantly and a dog i swear was a young pitbull!
a hour later we were on the snowy platform of katrineholm waiting for the third and final train of the day to oslo. the waiting room was too many flights of steps away to lug those cases so we stood and waited in the cold. at one point a fast train came whistling through at high speed. the wind it made as it whisked along blew up the snow from the track so it appeared to be levitating on a cloud of misty white. turner would have loved it!
onto our final train and, after lou waved our tickets to dislodge three young ladies from our allotted seats, we settled down for the five hours ride. all through the compartment there were people plugged into the available sockets using all manner of technology, iphones, tablets, laptops to listen to music or watch films. the older generation were reading books and magazines! :) the buffet car called the bistro but just a tiny booth in the middle of first class sold coffee and redbush tea with free top ups! the sunset was gloriously colourful and meant the snow cloud must be lifting in the west. sure enough the skies were clearing when we got to oslo. a quick visit to burgerking in the station (neigh!) and off to find the hotel. a real bed with lovely soft bedding in a real room that deesn't creak!
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