InterRail 2009, chapter 1: Setting sail

This is my opening entry to the blog where I will posting all my future travels and excursions. As the previous blog (Three months in Japan) didn't work out how I planned it (mainly because I was too lazy to update it frequently, shame on me), I will be putting up all my future travel updates into this particular blog.


Moving on!


July 7. 2009, 4am

I started on my first InterRail. Left home at 4am to Kamppi bus terminal in Helsinki. Met my friend, Petter, and took the five o' clock bus to Turku. Arriving in Turku harbour around 7:30am we went into the terminal and waited for our 8:45 boat to Stockholm. After a tiring, 11 hour boat ride we made our way straight to Stockholm railway station and reserved seats for the night train to Oslo, Norway. I slept fairly well on the train - the seats were comfy enough and I even managed to squeeze myself into a position in what I could feel relaxed.


July 8. 2009, around 8am

Morning glory. We arrived in Oslo well rested and anxious to experience the city. We popped into a tourist info and grabbed maps of the city and inquired information about cheap hostels. We took off and I checked a dorm room at hotel Perminalen (a nice place place, with free breakfast and nice staff. Not the most inexpensive though). We headed out to do some obligatory sightseeing. Oslo is very beautiful, and the atmosphere is lovely. People are nice and cheerful and willing to help you out if it's help you need.

Petter left for Malmö in the afternoon and I rented a bike and started exploring the city even further. I managed to bust the rear break from my rental bike and almost crash landed on my face doing so. The break wire got entwined, don't ask me how, around the hub of the rear wheel and that's when shit hit the fan. The bike worked fine, but the rear break was busted. I loved the huge park with loads of different statues of people, many in weird positions and peculiar circumstances (e.g. a man kicking babies). Very interesting and quite fitting for my weird imagination and sense of humor. There was also this big Obelisk in the center of the park that consisted of statues of people entwined together.

Later in the evening I went to the central train station and reserved a seat on the night train to Copenhagen, Denmark. Sent a bunch of couchsurfing requests to possible hosts in Copehagen before hitting the sack.


July 9. 2009, 8:30am

Woke up, had breakfast at the hostel, surfed the internet for a while, headed out into town. Returned my bike rental card and told the nice people at the tourist info about the previous accident with the bike. They said it was okay since it wasn't my fault and all that. They were considered about my health and wellbeing though, which was nice of them.

One thing I hate the most is the fact that I forgot to take books with me on my travel. Nothing beats a good book, and it can save your life from a boring 12 hour train ride. So, I went into a book store and browsed the classic books shelf. I balanced between works from Haruki Murakami, Joseph Conrad, and Homer for example, but ended up picking Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift.

Later, I darted around town, had a bite to eat, had some lemon and mango sorbet, and grabbed some snacks for my upcoming night train ride to Copenhagen.

Checked CS (from this point forward I will be referring to couchsurfing with an initialism: CS) and there were no hits yet. Now I'm just waiting for a couple of hours until I go to the station, board the train, and work my way down south.