I cannot tell you how Ralph has been so excited about this Copenhagen piece I am about to write because among the three Scandinavian countries, Denmark was far by the most interesting, not to mention the warmest??? and cheapest as gauged by our numerous trips to an American classic - Mcdonald's. In retrospect, a single meal (regular fries, burger and a drink) of $6 - $7 in the US, doubles, almost triples in price, as in: Oslo $ 18.00; Stockholm $16.00 and Copenhagen $14.00 per meal per person. And really, I shouldn't have been surprised after buying our very first golden fjord bottled water at $5.00 per liter. Really, really, really...I should just get over it.

So, our day-and-a-half adventure in Hans Christian Andersen's hometown began when our Copenhagen-bound train passed by the largest windmill farm off the coast of Middelgrunden. At the station, getting around was a cinch, no left luggages, no grumpy train staff and no language barrier. And as our shoulders broke away from our heavy backpacks, we wasted no time building sets of new memories waiting to be etched in our own history. Without a definitive plan really, we scouted the busy streets of Copenhagen looking for the Tivoli Garden, tourist information, those cheap public bikes  before ending up in the National Museum for Free!

What we loved about this museum was the Asia/Pacific exhibit and the Children's Museum, of course. A seeming pre-Hawaiian welcome, Ralph was more than the proud local, ecstatic to see the Ali'i statue clothed in glorious red and yellow cape, crested helmet holding its kahili. Aloha! Among the vast asian countries represented though, the Philippines was surprisingly MIA...either the Danish have completely missed that 7,000 island archipelago floating below Japan and a little below of China on Google map or, we do a rather poor job in upholding our own customs and traditions, it's not even worth mentioning. I hope not.

From the Pacific Islands, we traveled back to the Middle Ages, where we gathered stones using a good old pulley, sat behind the castle's tower waiting to use our bow and arrow and well, rode a horse until the sunset. After the Museum, we headed back to find our first ever bed and breakfast room. To our not so quite dismay, the family hosting us had actually cancelled our reservation for some sort of house repairs, but was so nice and hospitable enough to secure another home for us five minutes away. Our host, who I shamefully forgot her name, but interestingly remember the fact that she was a retired college professor in music and loves to play the piano, was very helpful and accommodating. I would recommend them in a heartbeat as soon as I've dugged their information under these stack of grad school essays and files.

After settling in to our room, we stopped by a local market so I could whip up a steaming bowl of spaghetti and bread for dinner before falling fast asleep...well-fed, bathed and cozy as the spring Denmark air cooled the rest of the night. Tomorrow, is going to be one heck of a day, or in this case, Part 2 of 2. Thank God for another glorious day!

Luscious deep green valleys formed by high-peaked mountains with people in traditional full skirts running through endless fields of tulips backdropped by an azure sky, Sweden takes me to a soft-covered bed in a nature-inspired luxurious room overlooking glorious landscapes, eyes closed, feeling every stroke of a super relaxing Swedish massage. Ahhhh... my one true wish and as much as I hate to admit...remains yet, a wish. So here, we painfully traded our therapeutic kneading desires for a walking exercise and an eye feast of Gamla Stan, Sweden's Old Town Square - the royal palace just in time for their version of the changing of the guards, a walk around the main station plus the Thor movie at Filmstaden Sergel. 

At the heart of Gamla Stan, stands Storkyrkan (or The Great Church), Sweden's oldest church built circa 1300. Whew! that's some 700 years!

From all our backpacking adventures, Stockholm stacks up with our "no rainbows or roses" travel pile. We got in by midnight and as our routine called for it, we tried buying all necessary local train tickets to save time for tomorrow, but since Stockholm went high-tech with their chipped credit cards, it wouldn't take ours. Took forever to find an ATM then went back to pay in cash. No biggie, so we moved on to find our hostel. We arrived safely, only to get a cold welcome by the hostel's doors slammed shut - we were locked out. Not to mention the chilling breeze blowing on top of the Scandinavian freezing weather. Travel tip a couple of blogs ago? Yes. Well, at least we learned one important thing - the reception desk closes at 8PM. Good to know, good to know.

Like Norway, Stockholm is super duper expensive. So, it was the only hostel I compromised to sleep in a room of eight. Actually, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. Despite sharing a room with six other people, the rooms and bunk beds were built with some sort of privacy. The red bunk beds, not the typical ones, rises high up to the ceiling with a short wood panel attached to the headboard acting as a divider. Hostels who also purposely built a small bed tray, night light and wall plugs in each bunk wins us over and this hostel is one of them. 

Early next morning, we walked around the city in search of the Vasa Museum, until the lingering gray clouds decided to generously pour its droplets of condensed moisture over Stockholm. But really, what is rain and freezing wind compared to these backpackers especially Ralph? No way, Jose! And off we went, soaking up every single drop of rain like yellow sponges under running water. Oh yes, we did. Finally, we found the Vasamuseet, a nautical museum featuring a gigantic old-teenth century warship, the Vasa, hauled out from Swedish waters years after it immediately sank when it first sailed out. I would love to bore you with every historical detail like you know, maybe in Swedish or something, but since my fingers are already twisted...alright geez, here are the pictures, visually-trained, technologically-inclined, 21st century readers:

After the Vasa, we went to the Skansen Museum, an outdoor museum/park/zoo reflecting Swedish customs and traditions. Skansen seems like the place-to-be during summertime especially when the flowers are in bloom and families stroll its streets. But it was late spring and the rain won't stop pouring. Nevertheless, we still had our firsts - our first time to see a moose and a bear, and the first time barging in a Swedish college class looking for the aforementioned bear. 

Me: Hello!

Ralph: Hi, is this where the bear is?

Professor: No, this is a college class.

Giggles.

As to why they hold classes in those non-looking school building still baffles me to this day. 

Will Ralph and Jie survive the rest of their Swedish trip? Will Jie ever get her one true Swedish wish? And will the rain ever stop pouring? Tune in next time for another Exploring Scandinavia: Stockholm, Sweden Part 2 or something cheesy like dat...

The Scandinavia guidebook pages we have been skimming through has finally lifted its pages and breathed life to these seemingly faraway countries as we first arrived in Oslo, Norway. During our visit, Norway's neutral grounding in past world wars clearly reflect its city - a calming vibe, barely unscathed by traumatizing tragedies of what tore the world apart. The surrounding neighborhoods of Bygordy showed a love and value for family life where kids and parents giddily play in their backyard. And it has saddened us greatly when the news about its bombing and shooting hit global news. Heroin, on the other hand, holds Oslo captive to addiction. And although drug users are not considered harmful by locals, heroin use is so rampant, law enforcers can't help but let druggies slip by and simply drive them on the opposite side of the main train station. 

On a lighter note, Norway is a super clean city thanks to their love of the environment but a super expensive one for sure and we thought UK£ was bad! Ha! So well dying of thirst, we had no choice but to buy a liter of Imsdal water for $5.00! Water never tasted that gooood we tried to drink sips of it until we crossed the borders of Germany a week later. Seriously, no pun intended. We only had a day and a half here and made the best out of it sightseeing the city. One of our goals was to see Edvard Munch's original "Scream" painting but to our huge dismay was closed for a holiday. BUMMER.  Instead, Oslo gave us the Viking Museum, Vigeland Park, Nobel Peace Center and Oslo City Hall.

Unlike the other many cities we've been to, visiting Oslo literally felt that we were barely scratching its surface. We didn't even get a chance to see a fjord! Hmmm...so I guess the more reason to come back for more.

educates the public about the Vikings!!! It houses three humongous Viking ships together with relics and artifacts preserved for this sole purpose.

or the Nobel Peace Center dedicates itself to the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize together with their desire to educate visitors of other cultures, history, world problems and current news. 

or Oslo's City Hall remains as one of the best municipal hall we have ever seen, lavishly decorated in beautiful, bright palettes by Norwegian artists. Basked in rich wood, orange and golden hues, the congress meeting room exhibits an elegance and luxurious ambience that won't go unnoticed. Every year, the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize are awarded here. 

is a beautiful sculpture park by Gustav Vigeland portraying different stages and relationships of human life mostly in granite. 

Just as I thought we've already seen the most picturesque sceneries in Europe, Cinque Terre came. Unlike Monaco or Nice's somewhat luxurious countryside combination, Cinque Terre effuses with age-old charm and timeless beauty. Monterrosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarolo and Riomaggiore makes up the Cinque Terre (Five Lands) of the Italian Riviera. A pirate's nest, terrorized and pilfered by the Mediterranean counterparts of Jack Sparrow once upon a time, Cinque Terre now stands as a bustling sea town drawing both locals and tourists especially during Easter time. Local trains connect each village but the connecting hike up and down its steep mountains and narrow tracks with a breathtaking view of the towns from up high is a MUST, MUST, MUST!  

After Monaco, we took the connecting trains to Ventimiglia to La Spezia finally to Deiva Marina's camping grounds, Camping La Sfinge. Oh and just a word of advice, try not to make Ventimiglia your stop over or spend the least amount of time at this train station. In a nutshell, three guys hovered over us like hawks ready to "help us with our bags." Thank God for the Philippine commuter instincts kicking in! Oh yeaaahhh!

Beginning at Monterosso al Mare, we tackled the 5-mile hike ahead of us where my oh-so fab thighs got a good dose of a month's workout. Monterosso's trail proved to be the hardest one while the Corniglia to Riomaggiore trail the easiest. Connected by the Via dell'amore bridge, said to have been the sneak out spot of Corniglia and Riomaggiore lovers, it took about a good 10-minute walk between the two. Unsurprisingly, the lovers bridge belongs to one of many where padlocks populate its handrails. By the end of the day, we took the scenic ferry route back to Monterosso for a pirate's view of Cinque Terre, Italy. Que bella...!

Vernazza

Ah! My favorite of them all and this is why...

As the clock hit midnight, we finally arrived in Nice! Thankfully, the front guy was nice enough to wait and accomodate us. Beaten and tired, we immediately crashed hoping for some Nice love and sunshine in the morning.

Just a Tip: Check if the reception of your Euro Hostel is open 24/7 (some hostels aren't) and it doesn't hurt to let them know what time you are coming. Have a working phone and the hostel's phone number handy in case you get locked out of the hostel!

By 0800AM, we hit the streets of Nice ready to begin our day. Grabbing some breakfast croissants from Monoprix, we decided to stroll around the center before finally hitting the beach. But La Place Massena welcomed us first with its checkered tiles, huge fountain and towering poles, which sit men statues that light up at night.

Soon after, we found our way to the rockiest beach we've ever been in. Sat, people-watched, ate our fab croissants and tested the waters for some dipping. Unfortunately, the water was way too cold and way too flat to our liking but breathtaking nonetheless! Then, we walked up the access stairs to Colline du Chateau to see a panoramic view of Nice. To our left, the Mediterranean sea was amazingly aqua blue and the little town of Nice to our right was stunningly full of charm and character, one of the best views we had ever seen in all of Europe and we are truly thankful to God for those moments. 

Back down, we decided to bike the stretch of Promenade des Anglais, Nice's boardwalk/main street after seeing the parade of blue rental bikes on the side streets. But to our dismay, we failed to figure out how to actually rent them. Fortunately, we came across a small local bike rental shop which charged us 10€ / per bike for three hours! And there we spent the rest of  our day meandering with other bikers and roller bladers, basking under the heat of the riviera sun and enjoying the still seascape. 

The lure of a warmer weather after months and months of random snow and ice-frozen wind was just too hard to pass. Having spent a day in Switzerland, we planned to head straight to the south of France - Nice! But, you know, life has this funny way of crumpling a six-month travel plan before finally taking a shot and dumping it on a waste basket. Can I get an Amen? 

So the first challenge coming to Nice actually began right when we step foot in Geneva. We tried to book a direct train to Nice but na-da. The only option left was a stop over in Avignon and hopefully get a train to Nice from there. Well, sure. What's another city anyway? Arriving at Avignon and hoping for a straight shot to Nice, we tried to book our train tickets but in vain!!! We had to stop by Marseille St. Charles station for a couple of hours before reaching Nice oh Ville by midnight. Sucks but we just have to make do. Thankfully, Rick Steves, our handy companion gave another good to-do/to-see lists of Avignon to the T. 

(Left: Taking notes from Rick Steves on our way to Avignon inside the TGV train. 1st class? I think so.)

Avignon is really just a small town, much reminiscent of an Italian village with its really old, brick-walled buildings minus the colorful palettes of red, pink, green and orange. But it sure wasn't small when the train station declared the luggage lockers out of service, even the coin-op ones and a hunchback we will go! Bags in tow, we found Palais de Papas, home of the Popes during the papacy's rivalry with the Roman Emperor; Parc de Rochers des Doms atop the palais with a stunning view of the Rhone river and Sur Le Pont d'Avignon, the halfway bridge, cut midway caused by flooding.

Heading back, Avignon just couldn't resist letting us bid our adieu's without a take-home a gift - a nice rain shower served wet, sloppy and a bit muddy yet, paradoxically perfect to end our short and long Avignon journey.