Stockholm

Copenhagen - Bergen - Voss - Flåm - Sognefjorden - Oslo - Stockholm

The land of Victoria Silvestedt - that is how I used to relate Sweden with. How correct I was. Stockholm, the capital city, boasts of blondes in such a huge number that it is difficult to keep up with admiration. Where hazel green eyes, golden flowing hair and voluptuous body are a commodity the city is truly a land of fantasies. We started our three days with the trip to one of the archipelago that comprises Stockholm.

Having a sumptuous lunch with some of the hottest exchange students and a stroll at the island, we came back for a night at Stureplan - the centre of friday night parties at Stockholm. We spend a couple of hours observing people before coming back to our abode.

The next day we planned for Vasa Museum and an elaborate stroll to Gamla Stan which is the oldest of the 13 islands that Stockholm is made of. We started with the Change of Guards and missed it by a whisker of a second.

Vasa Museum was huge and elegant. The story of a ship recovered after 300 years in the sea was elaborately displayed.

Gamla Stan was awesome with narrow streets and curious cosmopolitan crowd. We did not buy anything but the walk through the cobbled paths was enough to occupy us all.

The next day we had to go back to Copenhagen  We covered a building which is claimed to be the biggest spherical building in the world.

We were back to Copenhagen and faced a little hurdle when a train accident changed our train routes and we reached our destination one hour later.

Voss

Copenhagen - Bergen - Voss - Flåm - Sognefjorden - Oslo - Stockholm

It was a short and lonely stay at Voss - for seven hours to be exact. I wanted to cover the entire stretch from Bergen - Oslo in daylight. The problem is there are limited trains from Oslo at night for Stockholm / Copenhagen  Hence Voss came into picture and how beautiful it turned out to be ! The first two hours I invested in walking uphill as much as possible. From up the view of Voss was amazingly simple. Seated comfortably by the side of an elegant lake the city couldn't be more peaceful.

One of the best thing about Europe is the pleasant weather which combines with less pollution to provide you enough oxygen and zeal to stay upbeat. Without much sleep the earlier night I was still fresh and still striving up the mountains that surrounded the town.

While coming down I managed to take quite a few pictures of the lake under the changing intensity of the sun. It was like a slow movie at play by the nature.

My train was late at midnight. The town entertained me till then. In these parts of the world in the middle of September it does not get dark before 9. The last couple of hours were spent finishing a novel which a friend had gifted a couple of months back.

Bergen

Copenhagen - Bergen - Voss - Flåm - Sognefjorden - Oslo - Stockholm

The overnight train from Oslo to Bergen was half empty. We were able to stretch our legs as night approached. However the first couple of morning hours were crucial and so we set our mobile alarm for 5 AM. The morning was unforgettable. We were passing through fjords. Sky high mountains rose from nowhere and the train would have to tunnel through or meander as per the wishes of nature. We reached Bergen at around 7.

We refreshed ourselves at the station and went straight for the Information Office for a trip to fjords. The two famous fjords were more than 200 miles away and would take atleast two nights to visit. We were disappointed. Seeking instant redemption we went for Mount Floen through a elevator train. 

The view from top was worth more than other days because it was sunny with pleasant breeze at the top. I realized that I am at the edge of Europe.

We decided to walk down to the town as it was much more fun given the warm weather and multiple viewpoints.

Later we settled at Brygge which is a world heritage site thanks to its old port history. The fish market nearby was also enticing with fresh offerings.

At 3, I parted from my friend as I had plans for Stockholm the next evening with Sumeet and Rohit. But before that I had to travel to Voss which would serve two purposes. One I would be able to see the famous Oslo-Bergen rail link in daylight. Secondly Voss is simply beautiful from what I have heard.

Copenhagen

Copenhagen - Bergen - Voss - Flåm - Sognefjorden - Oslo - Stockholm

• Book a hotel near the main station. You will need both the trains and metro to traverse not only within Copenhagen but also to nearby attractions like Christianshaven.
• There is not much in Copenhagen - Tivoli Gardens, Carlsberg Breweries and the statue of the mermaid were all that we could figure out.
• Jelling and Helsingor are one day trips from here. So is Malmo in Sweden. We loved the crossover to Malmo which is sea on both sides of the railway track.

Although I am here to stay for a good four months, I couldn't suppress my wanderer self from expressing my first impression of Copenhagen. The first noticeable point is elegance. From the wooden flooring at the airport to helpfulness of a railway employee in directing us everything is presentable and beautiful here.

Damhussoen Lake @ Copenhagen

Stonehenge

• Reaching Stonehenge using public transport is cumbersome. You have to take two trains and a bus if you are coming from London to see the large stones.
• As such the arbitrary arrangement of stone logs is not very remarkable so if you want to really appreciate it, read about the history of these stones.
• You are not allowed to touch the stones which is a bit downer but probably important to preserve them. Round trip hardly takes much time however.

Trip: London > Stonehenge > London

We took the early morning train from Sheffield for Salisbury. There is bus at regular interval from Salisbury to Stonehenge. By the time we reached there it was noon. It was nice to see so many people together at an isolated place in UK. Stonehenge is big crowd-puller.

Stonehenge near Salisbury

Windsor

• Windsor Palace has a well defined path and audio guide to help. It takes couple hours to cover end to end. Walk around the village of Windsor as well which is equally charming.
• The outfit and gear of Tipu Sultan was the highlight for me. The sheer size of the outfit meant he was a giant and a fearsome warrior.
• The ferris wheel outside the castle is good for a high point view of castle. The sentinels are perfect to take a picture with them still and you enjoying.

It was one of those weekend trips in UK. This time we planned for Windsor Castle. The Castle of Windsor is the winter residence of the Queen. The place is well connected with London. We started from Sheffield at 8 and were in Windsor by 12. We started of with lunch near the station. Being a weekend, there was a good crowd there.

Souvenir Shop, Windsor

The trip within the castle is well set and the crowd moves in a sequence. There are points within the castle from where the outside is visible and one can see the large spread of area in which the castle is built. There are a lot of royal stuffs kept there but the most captivating article we found was the armour of The Great Tipu Sultan. It was huge.

View from Ferris Wheel, Windsor

We came out of the other end of the palace and wanted to buy some souvenirs but they were costly. Instead we decided to spend the money on a ferris wheel which was located just outside the gate. From the top of it not only we had a top view of the castle but the entire Windsor city.

London

• A combination of underground tubes and ferry along Thames can take you anywhere within London within half hour. Use both at tandem for highest efficiency.
• All the landmarks are well spread across London but the one to be attempted first is London Bridge which in itself is a museum and is close to London Eye.
• Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus are two most buzzing places in London during day time. Hyde Park is another hot spot.

Although the first time I was in London was in the first week of April, it was only by the end of June that I feel I truly explored the city. That was a weekend when Raghunath mama took me around the city on his new Volvo.

Near London Bridge

We started early morning for Tower of London. It is where the famous Kohinoor diamond is kept among other articles that the Britishers collected during their colonial reign. The establishment and its surrounding is charming enough at the bank of the river Thames. The London Bridge is adjacent to the Tower. We spent the afternoon eating light and sauntering around the place.

St. Paul's Cathedral, London

Started in the noon, we reached Trafalger Square in no time. The place was suppose to open up with a large ground in from of the British National Library. Instead there was a giant structure temporarily built resembling the Jagannath Temple of Puri, India. Free food was being served to an enormous crowd, mostly Indians, gathered at the Square.

Buckingham Palace, London

We ate Indian food quite delightfully and then moved on to a nearby park. Later on we visited Buckingham Palace and clicked few photographs.