We’re off! Nice surprise #1: Meeting up with newlyweds Amanda (our niece) and hubby Brian at the Detroit airport before they leave on their honeymoon. Seemed like a good excuse for champagne.
Another smooth 8-hour Delta flight to Rome, then a few hours and two trains later, we’re in Florence.
Nice surprise #2: dinner out with Atlanta friends Chris, Lisa, Finn, and Laney who just happened to be in Florence too.
Wednesday meant a quick side trip to Monsummano to reconnect with Olga, our friend and innkeeper from our previous stays in Tuscany.
Milano station
A beautiful train ride through the Alps on a clear day and suddenly we’re in Lucerne, Switzerland.
After consuming more meats than prudent at The Ampersand restaurant (beef, chicken, lamb, and sausage—all grilled and all fantastic) we walked off our dinner along the Reuss River as the sun set.
Postcard-perfect Friday morning.
Today’s adventure: cogwheel tram and cable cars to the 7000-foot Mt. Pilatus, seen in the distance.
The view from the summit, looking south to the Swiss Alps.
Sing with us: “The hills are alive . . .”
The view north-east with Lucerne far below.
After all that mountain climbing we ate at White Castle (Ok, so it was a really nice restaurant named Weisses Schloss). Mike’s dad will appreciate the fact he consumed the whole wienerschnitzel. Another outstanding dinner.
Major shoe crisis averted when Annmarie’s delaminating shoes were repaired and new heels affixed by a friendly cobbler who knew no English but was open on Saturdays.
Mike likes nice logos . . . and squirrels . . . and beer. Trifecta!
Left Lucerne Sunday morning for Darmstadt, Germany. On route, Mike jumped off the train very briefly at Karlsruhe where his dad was famously stationed in the army “while defending his country” back in ‘48.
In Darmstadt we met up with Annmarie’s college friend Margaret and her charming son Max (Darmstadt residents) for a great tour of the town.
The tour included many fantastic sites of early art nouveau architecture and design.
A highlight was the Vortex Garden full of fanciful interpretations of spiraling water.
We capped off a great day with schnitzel and local beer outside at Sitte Restaurant.
Monday was a tiring day of tight connections, late trains, and hot compartments but we made it to Copenhagen in the early evening. This is the view from our room.
First stop Tuesday morning was at Juno the Bakery for fantastic pastries.
Danish textile exhibit at Designmuseum Danmark. The exhibits themselves were as well done as the works they were featuring.
While walking through a park to eat our supermarket-purchased lunch, we stumbled across a puppet theater rehearsing for performances next week. With great music and props but no dialogue, it told a bittersweet story of an alligator who unwittingly becomes caretaker of a seagull chick.
Inside Fredrick’s Church impressive sanctuary.
Toured the majestic Rosenborg Castle, dating from the 1600s, and home to King Christian IV.
The Great Hall in Rosenborg Castle with the king’s and queen’s thrones.
The trombone hasn’t changed much since the 17th century. Nor have those that play them. (Ceiling painting detail in Rosenborg Castle).
The Danish king’s crown.
Wrapped up a busy but thoroughly enjoyable day at the Tivoli Gardens, one of the first amusement parks dating from 1843, smack in the middle of the city.
Walt Disney visited Tivoli and inspired him in the design of Disneyland.
The sun is up around 4:30am. So are scores of runners, bikers, and swimmers. Not a lot of body fat on Danes, seemingly.
Wednesday morning visit to the State Museum for a special exhibit on Michelangelo, featuring about 20 actual-size casts made from the originals along with drawings and letters in his own hand.
Michelangelo’s “Moses”
Michelangelo’s letter to friend complaining about his patron, the pope.
Then to the Church of Our Savior with its distinctive spiral spire which you can climb . . . mostly on the outside. Challenge accepted.
Determined to overcome Mike’s crippling fear of open heights—especially when also testing 16th-century engineering standards—we made it to the top. Great views in all directions.
Our big night out in Copenhagen was dinner at the Michelin-rated Selma restaurant.
We try to not be obnoxious with the food pics but the 8-course meal was as good as it was good looking.
Thursday morning train across the beautiful Swedish countryside which we found to be very reminiscent of upper Michigan.
Reunited with honeymooners Amanda and Brian, with Rich (Mike’s brother) and Lynda in Stockholm.
Friday: wedding day! The entire party boards a boat near the city center for the 45-minute voyage to the wedding venue.
We share a moment with Martin, the groom.
While onboard, Mark, father of the bride, ably served up the refreshments.
Zoe and Martin alight just prior to the open-air ceremony. The rain held off until later in the evening, thankfully.
The ceremony (no photos allowed) was followed by a great reception overlooking the water.
We took a taxi back to our hotel at 1am where it was still fairly light outside.
The lioness stalks her prey.
Our hotel staircase.
The rest of the gang leave for home very early tomorrow morning so we had a farewell dinner at Kryp restaurant. The reindeer roast with cherry compote and mashed potatoes was fantastic.
Started our Sunday with a long walk around the Kings Garden area, full of waterside hiking trails, sculptures, and museums.
Ended the day at the ABBA Museum. We danced. We jived. We had the time of our lives. (Actually, it was kinda fun).
Monday meant a long travel day from Stockholm to Oslo but the views from the train became more picturesque as we sped north into Norway.
We arrived in Oslo on a mild, sunny afternoon and checked into our hotel with great views of downtown.
Lots of very modern architecture rings the waterfront area including the library (left) and opera house (right).
Opera House.
Started our Tuesday at the massive Edvard Munch Museum which gave us a new appreciation for a guy known for just one painting.
And, naturally, that painting, “The Scream”, is mobbed by phone-snappers the moment it’s revealed once an hour.
Ferris wheel through the Munch museum’s mesh outer windows.
Then to the Nobel Peace Prize center for a humbling look at how the prize came to be and the lives of past recipients.
The prize.
A pre-dinner cocktail at Himkok distillery.
Ended a great day at Lulu where we watched Gabriel, our Romanian chef, effortlessly prepare our Japanese-inspired dinner in Norway. Fantastic.
Annmarie gave me a fancy set of markers for Christmas which I hadn’t used yet. When the Apple Pencil I typically use for iPad doodling crapped out the day before we left on this trip, I took it as a sign to go analog. To follow are a few doodles from the past two weeks, starting with the Florence train station.
Tuscan landscape.
Lucerne.
Lake Lucerne.
Copenhagen puppet show.
Rosenborg castle, Copenhagen.
Last day before heading home. We started with a trip to the Nordic Folk Museum, Norway’s version of Greenfield Village—albeit much, much older. The highlight is this church dating from the 1200s.
The church’s interior was dark and dramatic, covered in religious imagery.
Took a ferry back to the city center for a quick peek in the imposing Oslo City Hall.
The main interior space is where Nobel Peace Prize laureates receive their medal.
The walls are covered with frescos telling the tale of modern Norway, seemingly.
A cemetery was right across the street from our lunch spot so we paid our respects to Edvard Munch.
Our last stop was Ekenberg Park, high on a forested hill just outside of downtown Oslo. The park is full of art installations, including these lights hanging from the trees above. Their colors slowly change which made for a pretty magical spot to rest after a climb.
The title of this dramatically-sited sculpture in is “Dilemma.”
“Anatomy of an Angel.” Believe us, there are much, much stranger sculptures than this in the park (photos available upon request 😃 )
One last deep breath of crisp Nordic air high above Oslo before heading to the airport for our very early flight home on Thursday morning. Thanks for following us on the adventure and see you soon!