Scandi 24 Reflections

Warning! This is blog is mostly words with few pictures!

Some believed that we were mad to take on this type of holiday at our age! Yes, it has been 'challenging' in many ways. There were a few moments when we thought: why are we doing this: OAP's embarking on the sort of thing that is normally done by teens or twenties? One son, even volunteered to rescue us if things went wrong! Ageism?

My head still can't get round the totality of the experience: all that we saw and did, let alone all the thoughts and challenges these things provoked. However, we managed. The stumbling abilities of a couple with over 50 years of learning how to blend each others strengths and weaknesses to good effect, actually paid off! It would be possible but harder for a solo traveller. Jenni got a free rail pass as my carer - she did brilliantly. With moderate to severe hearing loss you have no idea what all the announcements are about.

Several approaches have jostled for prominence in concluding the Scandi 24 blogs. Titles such as"Scope for Adventure" or "Can You Take It?" came to mind in summing up this type of 'holiday'. One could even write an essay on what is it that makes a holiday.

So first, several points about the nature of this type of holiday: an experience we would strongly recommend.

Things do go wrong. For example, I began writing this during the worst experience of our three weeks! We had decided to take the final journey home in one marathon 24 hour stint. In hindsight not a wise decision. This included a lengthy, middle of the night, stop in Cologne Station. We can now advise you not to do this , unless you want the company of police and a lot of very sad people. To cap it all, at the last minute, we discovered that our first train of the new day was cancelled.

Following a long detour to the Netherlands, we got to Brussels after our Eurostar had left for London. If I had not been wearing my Sunflower Lanyard which sometimes gets me special assistance, I think we would have stayed there over night. Deep thanks to Eric and Dora who picked us up late in the evening at Chester to get us home more than thirty hours after we left Copenhagen. Can you take it when things go wrong?! Anyway, what's the risk: an extra night somewhere is not going to kill.

Second, everything is digital whilst younger people will fail to understand the problem, this is a challenge for our generation. Imagine walking out of a station in a city you've never seen before and trying to get to an incomprehensibly named address which is too far to walk to carrying luggage. After getting the public transport directions on Google Maps, you need a ticket. There is no other way to get one than to download the relevant App, guess the zones you want to travel in and buy your digital ticket which is a QR code on your phone. You pay by card and so your bank requires authentication. Then all that's left to do is work out whether you are catching the bus going left or right and which side of the road it is on. All that is not necessarily as obvious as it may seem in an unknown city. Are you adventurous?!

It is a different mindset Going by rail gives depth to the experience: a stronger connection with the landscapes you pass through. Unlike planes, trains go to the centre of cities. So, despite the sting in the tail, rail gets a strong vote. On Inter-rail the relatively cheap extra of travelling first class is brilliant.

The hostels, apart from the first that got our booking wrong, worked well for us and we would use them again. Eating out can be incredibly expensive, so the hostels enabled us to slash our food costs with very little effort. This meant we were able to spend more on doing and seeing the things that make a holiday special.

The rewards The challenges and the negatives were heavily outweighed by the rewards of independent travel which are immense. The choices we made enhanced the richness and diversity of our many experiences. We saw and absorbed so much: our heads are full!

Obviously, the drama of the geography of South West Norway is something we will never forget. While we were there the weather was marvelous, so much so that the fjords that usually have so many waterfalls were unusually dry. Now that I'm using a desktop I can show you the picture I could not on the tablet. It illustrates what the Kjosfossen Waterfall normally looks like compared to what we saw.

This experience was one of many that touched on the challenge of climate change. On return, I was astonished at what was still growing in the garden. This collage of pictures tells the story.

Forty years ago it would have been impossible for outdoor tomatoes, runner beans and sweet peas to be growing towards the end of the first week of October. The grass was growing as though it was May. Scandinavia is generally ahead of us: renewable energy, use of electric cars, banning cruise ships from running engines in port. Much to reflect on.

As the quick collage shows, we have been exposed to all sorts of scenery, history, culture and art in four countries. We have enjoyed a lot of impressive architecture. We were taken out of the inherent smallness of our rural OAP life. This in itself relates to the themes of this website.

I'm reminded of the issues raised by Rebecca Solnit and discussed on the Livetheflow Themes page. https://www.livetheflow.com/talk-the-talk

She pointed out "Many people nowadays live in a series of interiors – home, car, gym, office, shops – disconnected from each other. On foot everything stays connected, for while walking one occupies the spaces between those interiors. One lives in the whole world rather than interiors built up against it."

Whilst it is important for many who live busy stressful lives to enjoy a holiday that is just another box, one that is about escape, being pampered and just relaxing, that is not the case for most retired people. Inter-railing and Hostelling provided a wealth of "out of the box" experiences: chances to live in the whole world rather than interiors we have built up against it. Being out of the box was perhaps the key element of this holiday. It was enhanced by travelling outside the peak tourist time. There were a few places where we, as tourists, were in a small minority. Like the back street cafe where we had our last meal. It all helped us absorb the places we visited.

Of all the countries it was Denmark that left the deepest mark on me. Denmark is consistently ranked among the world’s happiest countries. Why? The experts tell us this is because of free university education and good health care, a high minimum wage, a good work-life balance, having safe environments and stunning landscapes with a high adoption of renewable energy sources.

Is there something more going on? Only recently have they relaxed Sunday trading restrictions. There are still a lot of shops closed on Sundays. To add a controversial observation: whilst only 5% attend church, over 70% identify with their CofE equivalent. They seem, as a nation, to be closer to original Christian values than perhaps we are in our multi-cultural post-Christian society in the UK. The city atmosphere was different: gentler and less driven. If I had to live in a city I would vote for Aarhus.

I was impressed by the bikes. In city centres it seemed there were more bikes than cars. At junctions there were normally three sets of traffic lights: one each for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles. See the lights in this picture:

They were extraordinarily disciplined. Even if the road was clear, with very few exceptions pedestrians always obeyed the lights.

Maybe it was all the cycling they do but we did not see many, if any, obese Danes. Perhaps cycling like walking is a more 'out of the box' activity in itself and has its own social implications.

One-offs

Scandinavian eggs are white. Ours are brown. Why?

Neither of us recollect seeing a pothole in Denmark.

There were an extraordinary number of naked ladies around [statues in parks].

THANKS

I dare not analyse the deeper psychology of why I do these blogs. Sufficient to say, I enjoy trying to capture photographic images and the writing helps me to create a record and to reflect on what I have seen.

I trust that those of you have followed, have enjoyed some of the beauty and striking things we have seen and been similarly stimulated and given cause to reflect.

Don't hesitate to get in touch if you want to consider a similar inter-railing holiday. We learned a few things to pass on!