Day 14

Um...wow. Last night and today have been absolutely crazy. A bomb went off in Oslo and 80 people were killed in a shooting at a labour party rally near Oslo. It is terrifying and incredibly sad. Our hearts go out to those who died and to those families and friends that must now deal with this tragic loss. Suzie and I are okay. We were about three or four hours (by train) from where these events transpired so we were safe. Today we were supposed to head back to Oslo and spend the night there, but fortunately we were able to chart a new course that avoids the city and takes us back to Denmark.
We are, to say the least, unsettled. The fact that we missed the bombing by only one day is frightening and has kind of thrown us off balance. Amid the confusion and frenzy of planning and replanning, the credit card we have been using disappeared. Fortunately, Suzie has an ATM card that we can use. Also, while we were trying to get our stuff together that night, a violently drunk Russian man was raising hell at the hostel we were staying in. He ended up breaking a door and yelling all night. At one point, as I (Dylan) walked past the room he was in, he started slamming the door repeatedly. I assume this is how he broke the door.
Before we left on this trip, my mom told me about the time she was robbed while traveling in Paris. The robber crept into her hotel room while she was sleeping and, well, robbed her. She said that after that happened, all she wanted to do was go home. I think Suzie and I are at a similar point as my mom. We are going to enjoy the last couple of days of our trip but it is going to be a great relief when we finally get home.
Quick recap: a bomb went off in Oslo the day before we were going to be there, a raging drunk Russian raised hell at the hostel, and I lost the credit card. But, we're okay and well..in Europe. So we are going to try to make the most of our last few days here.

Day 13

We are currently waiting to catch a bus to Stavanger. There is no rail line there because it requires ferries to get across the various stretches of water. So this means that our bus will be alternatively driving and boarding boats. It's also promised to be a beautiful journey.
Our last few days in Bergen were some of our favorite yet. On our first day we explored the city and the harbor. The huge fish market on the dock was particularly impressive. There were whole lobsters, crabs, shrimps, and large fish for sale, as well as fresh-fish salads and sandwiches. We had some staple Norwegian fish soup and fish and chips.
We caught a tram that took us to a high hill overlooking the whole city. The view was breathtaking, as was the forest around it. We then took the trail that lead back into town. The forest felt like it was straight out of an old fairy tale. We kept expecting gnomes to pop out at us. The city supposedly also got that vibe as they built a children's park full of statues corresponding to our imaginations. Naturally, we played on all the equipment and took pictures with the creatures.
We then went and explored a small street dominated by local designers. The prices were a wee out of our range, but we enjoyed the atmosphere. Bergen had a lot of the culture we were missing in Oslo.
Yesterday we did some more sight-seeing. We went up to the old cathedral and looked around the university campus. Both still suffering from colds, we decided to relax and go see Harry Potter. We found the Norwegian commercials before the movie hilarious. Let's just say that the Europeans are a little more lax about what they put in commercials than at home. That night we enjoyed some free Norwegian waffles with brown cheese, went and got some Chinese food, and then returned to our hostel to find some old Russian people gathered around the piano singing traditional folk music and dancing. It was extremely enjoyable and adorable, and they seemed like the happiest old people we'd ever seen. We were sad to leave that hostel today because of the sheer variety of people we met there.

Day 11

Sorry about the complete drought when it comes to entries. Our health has been a little weird the last few days, but we are finally in the haven of the Bergen library.
So, the ferry that we took to Oslo ended up being a giant cruise ship with 6,000 private rooms, a disco, a grocery store, and a spa among the usual bars, decks, and restaurants. The ride went smoothly and we arrived in Oslo and realized we were completely lost and had no way to get to our hostel. We took a taxi, which was outrageously expensive, and found that our hostel was well outside the city. However, there was still a bus that went out to it, so we took it into town after we were settled to find some dinner. We had planned to get some sushi, but because it was ten at night, bars seemed to be the only thing open. After walking around for at least an hour, we found one open sushi place. The fish was fresh and absolutely delicious, but of course again ended up being really expensive. Upon arriving back at the bus terminal, we realized that our bus stopped running around eleven, and that we were stuck once again taking a taxi.
The second and third nights in Oslo we stayed in a beautiful hotel in the middle of the city. Our room looked out at an old church and street cars. However besides seeing Munch's The Scream and eating cooked whale, Oslo was rather uneventful. Despite the seemingly diverse populace, the city itself seemed culturally stagnant. From our tourists' perspective, we didn't get the vibe that there was much to do other than shopping and sightseeing. But, that's not to say our time in Oslo wasn't fun.
Yesterday, after experiencing hell on earth figuring out the bus system, we got on a train that took us to Bergen. The ride certainly lived up to our expectations. It was startling beautiful. After going through rich forests and fjord country, we ascended into higher altitude where the landscape looked like it was coated in lichen and moss. When we got high enough, we saw glaciers and mountain peeks and high lakes and streams. The train ride felt as if we were passing through Middle Earth.
The city of Bergen lies in forested country with equally beautiful architecture. It's definitely the most quaint place we've visited. Our hostel has a friendly, community feel we hadn't experienced yet with people from all over the world, and an American staff. One person even knew about the fire and asked us if it was out yet.
This morning, we slack lined with passersby in front of a fountain that puts Ashley Pond to shame. If we can get in, we're planning on going to a concert tonight in a venue called The Garage. End transmission.

Day 6

All the Danes have been much friendlier since we got out of Copenhagen. Odense felt so much more like the quaint Denmark we expected. During the night we spent there, it rained a lot and we got soaked as we walked past H. C. Anderson's house on our way to get pizza. However, the streets were still impossible to navigate on. We had intended to go to a place that served "the best kebabs in town!", but after following a map as closely as possible it seemed to have disappeared, so we went for pizza. The people who owned the place spoke Danish, Italian, and English. The menu was a little indiscernible, and we ended up getting a pizza with shrimp and tuna fish on it and a calzone with spaghetti in the middle. They turned out to be cheap and delicious. We also bought cheap beer at the super market. The prices have decreased a lot since we escaped Copenhagen.
Yesterday morning we got on the train to Aarhus, Denmark's second largest city. To our surprise, it turned out to be a rainforest. Our hostel was right in the middle of a ton of huge beautiful trees. Aarhus hosts many jazz festivals throughout the year, and we managed to catch the end of the latest one. Upon choosing a random bus station, we followed the sound of live music and entered a packed bar. The music was great, and we split a liter of beer for about twenty bucks. After that, we went walking along the canal and made it to two more bars. One had blaring techno, our favorite was a remix of the song at the beginning of the Lion King. The other played a lot of indie music we recognized and had several foosball tables. We watched one of the games, and based off their skills figured these people frequented the bar. After feeling very splendid we then noticed our ravaging hunger and ate dinner at 7/11 once again at about two in the morning. We have taken a liking to the chocolate milk that comes in a box with a little Danish girl on the front. We caught a taxi back to the hostel, smelling strongly of cigarettes and booze.
This morning we got up and went for a hike on the trail leading right out if the hostel into the rainforest. It was finally sunny, and all the bugs were out. There was also an abundance of bright orange slugs. The path we took lead us into a higher end neighborhood with a stunning view of the sea. Even the mansions here seem to be reasonably sized, and everyone seems to have the same tiny car if they don't just ride a bike or the bus. We caught a bus into town and found some more live jazz after being approached on the street by two people in a row who asked if we needed help finding our way. Even in the city, the pace of life seemed so much slower and the people so much friendlier than in Copenhagen. The second band we saw was comprised of four guys only a few years older than us. It was a hipster quartet. After seeing a couple more bands we went into the huge cathedral. There were several hundred years worth of art style represented in all parts of the church. There were also grave stones built into the floor. It was chilling and beautiful. Upon leaving, we heard loud drumming and saw a circle of people on the courtyard. In the middle of the circle were people dance fighting - called Capoeira. The native Brazilians were absolutely incredible at it. The Danes who partook were very enthusiastic, but not quite as coordinated or talented.
After shopping a little and eating, we went to the train station. We are now on are way to Frederickshavn, where we will spend our last night in Denmark. Tomorrow we are catching an eight hour ferry ride to Oslo! We'll update as soon as we can once we're in Norway.

Day 4

This morning there was a light drizzle. That is when all the slugs and snails come out. Right now we are on our way to Odense. Apparently the d is silent. We are still getting the hang of pronunciation here. We are hoping that in a smaller city people will be a little more friendly. Getting our tickets for today ended up being quite a hassle, as we apparently filled out the Eurail passes incorrectly. The general vibe is that tourists here are a major inconvenience even though most everyone speaks fluent English. We'll update tonight if we find some downtime.

Day 3

Unfortunately, there is only wifi in the train, so we couldn't update yesterday. Also, jet lag kicked our asses, so we were asleep during most of the day, but we are safe in Copenhagen. It turned out that Felicia (we don't know how to spell her crazy Danish last name) was on the same flight as us and she filled us in on some fun Danish factoids. Apparently there are three times of Danes: people who love tourists, people who hate tourists, and people who are terrified by tourists. Also, young Danes are almost nocturnal. This likely stems from the fact that it does not get dark here until around ten or eleven at night. It gets light again around four in the morning. Most clubs don't even open until 1:00AM. After you party all nigh you can follow up with more partying at an after-club. These typically are open around 10:30AM. The youth then go sleep on the beach until 9:00PM and then start the whole damn process again.
Upon arrival, Felicia and her boyfriend took us, via the metro, to the bizarre hippie drug-vending commune-esque Christiania. There we enjoyed our first Danish beer. It was a delicious pilsner with a light and distinct taste. It was the local brew made in Christiania by hippies or drug addicts. After a slight detour on our way to our hostel ( the street numbers were in odd groups that were not necessarily in numerical order), we checked in to a small double room with a bunk bed and hopefully no bed bugs. We then proceeded to nap from 1:00PM until 9:00PM. Being jet lagged made it quite easy to adapt to the Danish youth sleeping schedule.
We showered and started the night by navigating to the Latin Quarter where we consumed a scrumptious sandwich from 7/11. But srsly, compared to a Smith's sandwich, it was pretty good. We chased our meal with the cheap beer giant Tu Borg at a quaint little bar. American classic rock played in the background as beer slid down our gullets.
This morning, we slept for another three hours and went out for some sight-seeing. Navigation was even more difficult as there were no street signs and a lot of the city seems to be under construction after the flooding they had a few weeks ago. We saw the historic district and the beautiful parliament buildings. We then climbed something called the spiral tower. At its top we were able to see basically all of Copenhagen. However, it made us both feel a little sick, so we went back to the hostel and ended up sleeping again for about five hours.
We forced ourselves to get up around 7:30 PM and found dinner on a nice street entirely devoted to nice restaurants along one of the canals. The 'reasonably' priced dinner cost over a hundred dollars. I guess we didn't really realize how expensive everything would be. Big Macs are ten dollars here. Coffee is six. They can also charge you a dollar to brush your teeth in a public restroom. Also, there are underwear stands at the train station as you stand in line to pee.

Day 1

Well, our flight leaves the ABQ airport in an hour to Atlanta where we will catch a flight to Copenhagen. Until then there won't be much to update, except please do not call or text my (Suzie's) cell phone. We got an international phone, and the rates are absurd. We'll still have good access to email and facebook, so you can contact us that way. We may or may not respond right away, as we will be quite preoccupied.