Region Hovedstaden

We have left Norway. Woke this morning to a grey drizzly morning, and were very thankful for the lovely rain-free day we had yesterday exploring Oslo. So after breakfast and leisurely packing up we went to the airport, as no point hanging round, and getting wet. Oslo airport very organised and not to large. We did have one drama though - Amr, very unusually, made a crazy mistake....we were at the self-serve bag drop, had had boarding passes and bag tags printed, and Amr put his bag up before he tagged it, then scanned the tag (which was still in his hand) and off went the bag away on the belt before he could catch it!! General panic (by us) but SAS are very efficient, and assured him that they would catch it and tag it before it got any further....but it was a moment of horror, and we didn’t feel totally secure until it came out, actually one of the first! at Copenhagen.

So all was well, and it was SO easy to get into the city from the airport - the metro goes right to the airport and took us to right near our hotel. We knew which stop, and it is quite in the centre with many shops, restaurants and hotels nearby. So easy, and even cheap by Norwegian standards! About equivalent to $15 for the 2 of us. The train to Oslo airport, which was very handy and easy also, was about 4 times the price, and even had seniors from 67, so Amr just missed out!!

Our hotel is great. It is another of these Scandinavian modern minimalist hotels. Small spotless rooms, everything works, everything fits, no nonsense! If there are 2 people there is a second doona, pillow and set of towels in a drawer under the bed (you always get a doona each here it seems). And amazingly great wifi in all the hotels, and even on the boat.

So, once we had dumped the bags we went out to get a feel of the city. It is flat...no mountains in Denmark. Also, just remembered, we saw what I think was “the Bridge” as we flew in! We had left the clouds over Oslo, and it was even sunny here, though has descended into rain this evening. Reasonable forecast for tomorrow though. We can’t help noticing all the absolutely beautiful young Scandinavian girls...they all have perfect skin, and are remarkably gorgeous - maybe from lack of sun!

We walked around, it was Saturday afternoon, and a clear day, so everyone was out and about, walking in the cobbled pedestrian streets. Saw the royal palace (slot, which I realise is a Schloss)..but am not sure if this is the royal residence, or just a show place, as there were no visible guards like Buckingham Palace, but maybe the Danes are more casual!! Will find out more...Amr plans to find the Danish design museum tomorrow, and also we found another Viking museum here which should be good! So if it gets rainy there is plenty of inside stuff to do. Had dinner at a restaurant along a canal were there are many eateries. It was lovely...I actually had a very nice steak, and Amr had Danish meatballs. Cold by then. We had come south, and when we arrived felt too hot in thick jackets, but it certainly cooled off. Not much photo taking this afternoon.Lue lisää