It had been a tremendous experience so far. Bergen exceeded all expectations. Oslo proved to be a slight disppointment, but I still admire its First World standards in civility and transport system. Copenhagen is much more cosmopolitan.
We realised that we had only one full day in Copenhagen left, as we were due to catch the late morning flight back to Singapore on the next day.
So once we reached dry land again, after the overnight ferry ride from Oslo, we immediately went to the central train station in Copenhagen and left our backpacks in the luggage lockers.
The central train station is a massive building, and acts like a nerve centre, where one can be connected to local cities and other destinations in Europe from this station.
While roaming along the streets of central Copenhagen, we decided to take the path less trodden and head away from the main shopping street, into the minor sidewalks. We were richly rewarded, when we stumbled upon, by accident, this shop called Friis and Company. My missus loves the bags, shoes, belts and accessories from this boutique. Its hallmark is that of a crown found on all its items. I have to say that their products are really quite pretty. It's a pity then, that Friis and Company has not yet found its way into our shores yet.
We spent a lot of time in there, as my wife nearly wanted to get everything she saw. I didn't help - I actually stirred her up even more, by encouraging her!
She was trying to decide which bag to buy, as it came in two colours - pink and grey.
In the end, I recommended the pink one, and she got it! Here's her making her payment at the counter. She was certainly one very happy customer.
And here she stands, right outside the shop, with her glorious buys.
Along the way, we saw some interesting sights:
All that walking made us very hungry, so we chanced upon this Chinese joint, and decided to have our lunch there.
The food was quite palatable, sometimes awful, but it did its job in filling our stomachs.
In the late afternoon, we stopped by this cafe for a drink, so we ordered 2 hot chocolates and watched the world go by.
We agreed that the waitress was quite pretty so we asked her if she could have a picture with my wife. Here you go - a blonde Norwegian beauty and a gorgeous Singaporean babe - a lethal combination.
After a satisfying dinner at our favourite Thai joint, we made our way back to the central train station to collect our backpacks, and took a bus back to our hostel after that. We lost no time in heading back to the comfort of the hostel room to rest our overworked legs.
The next day, the bus ride to the Kastrup Airport went without any hitches. It was good to be on that plane, back to Singapore.
In the airport, however, I came across this large advertisement:
In Shakespeare's Hamlet, I remember how one of the soldiers, after an encounter with the ghost of Hamlet's murdered father, chillingly remarked to his spooked colleague that, "There is something rotten in the state of Denmark." This advertisement resonated with me, having studied Hamlet in my A Levels some years back. It is a terrific book, I must say.
It's now early August, and sometimes my mind starts flirting with thoughts of my next holiday destination. It might be Shanghai, Moscow, Barcelona, Tokyo, Christchurch... who knows? But wherever we may go, we will surely have a great and memorable time. Being away, in a strange and foreign land, is one of the best things you can do.
Finally, a big part of why this trip was magnificent is because I have the perfect travelling partner - my beautiful wife.
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