Tag: Rainy day

Store Bededag in Herning…

Published on by Cyranny2 Comments

 

This morning, I woke to a cloud-covered sky, and I soon understood it would be the kind of day when you just take a break from running around, and you just let your batteries charge up for the next adventure.

It was time to leave Silkeborg, and move to Herning, just a short half hour train ride away.

 

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As you might have seen in my previous posts, most of the train stations I visited in Denmark have this charming red-brick oldish look. It was quite a surprise to find myself in such a modern building after hopping off the wagon.

My home for the night was just a couple of minutes of walking away from the station, and I went to drop my backpack, planning to spend the afternoon walking around town, the showers not being strong enough to force me to stay in all day.

 

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The top-floor window was mine… For the night.

 

The street were amazingly quiet and empty when I left the apartment. I knew it had nothing to do with the rain… Danes are used to rainy, windy days, and the weather doesn’t usually affect their outdoor activities.

A sign outside a pub answered my question.

It was Store Bededag. The holiday celebrated almost exclusively in Denmark takes place the fourth Friday after Easter. I remember clearly my first encounter with Store Bededag in Odense, in 2016. Just like today, I had found the streets empty, and all the stores closed for the day.

 

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The walk was nice, but I did have a little problem… I only had half a bag of mini almond cookies and my bottle of water, and a fast building appetite. Of course, I could have stopped in one of the few restaurants that were open, but the choice was scarce, and I didn’t want to spend that much money…

So I kept walking, letting my feet guide me, confident I would eventually find what I was looking for.

 

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And I did! For just under 20$, I came back with a little feast.

 

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For this little money, some bananas, cold cuts, cheese, two tebirkes (Danish pastries), potatoe salad, fisk frikadeller (Danish fish cakes), a bottle of remoulade AND an Easter brewed beer… I think that’s quite a deal!

 

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Fisk frikadeller with remoulade is a common meal, in Denmark. And one I don’t get tired of, when I travel through Vikingland… It is delicious and very filling after a long day spent outdoors. It is also a cheap option compared to the pricy restaurants in touristic areas.

 

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I ate my dinner in my little home away from home, and enjoyed a movie, snuggled under a warm blanket… The perfect ending to a quiet rainy day.

The rest was welcome, as I was about to move farther West on Saturday morning. To a little town I have never set foot in before… Thisted, here I come!

September Trip – Stockholm, day 3

Published on by Cyranny5 Comments

 

The lovely apartment we rented in Stockholm was in the Syndbyberg area, and literally 2 minutes of walk away from the Syndbyberg Centrum Metro Station. Easy!! I thought… Until I saw the Stockholm Rail Network map.

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Holy.Cow!! Ok.

I must say I was very impressed by the number of people working to give information to lost travelers. And every time I had to ask for directions, I got clear and easy instructions, always with a smile. We could learn from the Swedes here, in Montréal, although our Metro network is a lot less intricate!

We got to the apartment in (almost) no time, and after a short show-around, our lovely hosts let us to settle in our temporary home.

It was pouring rain on our first morning in Stockholm. We weren’t surprised, the forecast being clear about rainy weather all week long. It didn’t really matter, since we had planned to go get our Stockholm passes, and have a first tour around the city in one of those big red busses.

We had a quick breakfast, and headed to the tourists’ bureau, dressed to face the shower outside.

 

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The Stockholm Pass is a card that allows you access to more than 60 of the city’s most popular attractions. It also gives you access to Hop On – Hop Off busses that drive you to all major sites, and allow you to get historical information about Stockholm while going along. Note though, that the Hop On – Hop Off boats might not be included as indicated on the website. We were denied access to the little red boats, because apparently there were some issues with the contract between the Tourists’ bureau and boat company. There are other cruises along the canals included, so just ask when buying your card, if you are visiting Stockholm.

We also took 72 hours transportation cards. These give you a convenient access to as many train, metro or bus rides as you need during your stay. Which is especially nice and money-saving, if you don’t live downtown.

We had decided to ride one of the Red Busses, and stop by the Vasa Museum. The busses were supposed to pass by every stop on a twenty (or about) cycle. Probably due to heavy traffic downtown, we had to wait almost an hour. Cold and soaked, we “hopped in”, hoping that the heavy rain would stop while we were visiting our first museum.

 

 

Many people were heading straight to the Vasa Museum, so we decided to take a walk around and were tempted by the Vikingaliv Museum. Unfortunately, it wasn’t part of the attractions included with our pass, so we settled for our previous plan.

The Vasa Museum isn’t too impressive from the outside, put aside its size. It just looks like a big brown box in the middle of the trees.

But don’t get fooled. It is absolutely amazing.

The ship built in the 1620s at the request of King Gustav II Adolf sank during its maiden voyage, in Stockholm’s harbour. 333 years later, after much efforts, the ship was brought out of the water, restored and displayed at the Vasa Museum.

 

Walking around the ship is just breathtaking. It gives the feeling of jumping back in time, and I couldn’t help but wonder how human hands could built such huge, yet detailed vessels… The story around the Vasa is also very interesting, and the many pieces of history displayed around the sailing war-boat are fascinating.

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Diver suit used to dig out the Vasa from the botom of the water
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Diving bell, used in the early exploration of the Vasa underwater site, to bring back some artefacts
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Jar Jar? What are you doing at Vasa Museum??

And a couple more details from the ship itself…

 

It was still raining when we finally left the museum, so we decided to finish the Red Bus tour, thinking it would help us plan the days to come. Those pictures aren’t my best, but they were taken from the bus, with wet windows… The best I could do at that time!

 

 

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It made me smile to see this Sweden supermarket. Anyone living in Québec knows the major chain “IGA”… Who also uses red signs.

It was the last shot taken on this grey but fun day… Hopefully, day 2 would be less cold and wet!