2022 Denmark - Sweden

      Up a little after 7 per usual for the morning workout, this one intended to be the big one of the week. We mapped out that a warm up to Djurgarden wasn't actually all that bad (2ish miles), so while it wasn't amazing to wind through throngs of people over concrete, it wasn't too bad to get there. Djurgarden is another island with an amusement park and a bunch of museums (Vasa among them), but the east side of the island is woods/farms with a lot of paths and one along the exterior of it. We warmed up to the foot of the bridge we agreed to meet at and then set off for our respective workouts. A bit hillier than I anticipated at times, and the gravel was a little loose for perfect workout conditions, but it was probably the best spot we could have picked for this type of a workout where you are trying to get 8-12 miles of speed work in.      Grabbed some lunch at the room again, then set off to find some more cardamom rolls and coffee closer to the cent...

 Well- with our metro passes now fresh in hand, we set out for Neckareservatet via the metro. The place is huge. Something like 6 miles across and 4 miles wide and seemingly limitless trails criss-crossing it. You'd probably get the hang of them eventually, but we just hacked around the first bit without knowing much of where we were going and I vaguely used the sun. This was also scouting out for a potential workout loop for tomorrow's long run, but we ultimately decided early on that this wouldn't be a great spot both for the potential of getting lost, but also the excessive hills. It looked a lot like someone had plunked a huge trail network down in the boundary waters. Lots of rocks, conifers, and some oak and other deciduous mixed in. We eventually found our way and left again via the metro; perhaps a 15-20 min ride back.      Recharged a little at the apartment with some lunch (we've consistently been getting lunch supplies and then eating breakfast and lunch i...

      Well, we took the luxury of sleeping in today and ended up paying for it a bit in that we hadn't budgeted enough time to get out to a park Kim had suggested to run in and still get to the laundry place in time, which was only open until 2. We also were trying to get a Metro pass at a 7-11, which took much longer than expected and we ended up scrapping our morning trip out to the park for a run again around the neighborhood. I was nervous that perhaps the subway pass was a poor decision after the debacle. It was a little less than 40$ a person and I wondered if we'd actually use it that much (9x was about the amount to break even)      We ended up catching the bus though to one of the only self-service laundry places on the island, which was still pretty expensive: $10 a load, but at least that accounted for drying as well. We grabbed some Cardamom rolls and coffee while we waited for the washer and then caught some more lunch supplies and wrote a than...

      Despite barely half a day in Stockholm, we snuck in a quick run this morning and were off to Uppsala to visit distant relatives and check out the town. Ingegerd and Lars are something like 4th cousins once removed but have met a lot of my relatives and even traveled to the U.S. for a couple family reunions and to visit Pete and Kirsten. I had gotten their contact info from Kirsten, and knew all this, but even so as we boarded the train, I had this thought of what the heck are we doing visiting a couple of random people that we've never met.      The visit turned out to be a highlight of the trip. They met us at the station and while neither one of us knew what the other looked like, they were clearly looking for someone and we were clearly looking for someone, so it wasn't that hard to meet up. We spent the day with them, first meandering through the campus and checking out the Cathedral. It was cool to learn about Uppsala's history. So much of it; wh...

     Up fairly early this morning for one last run along the Copenhagen channels. We both did a workout, which was nice to get the legs moving again before another travel day. We showered up and headed over to the train station, stopping at a kiosk to get one more set of Danish pastries before boarding the train. It’s nice how much smoother it feels to navigate a train station you’ve been to a couple of times.      The train ride was long, but not too bad. I read a little, napped a little, and brushed up on Swedish history (when exactly was Gustavus Adolphus’ reign?).      Two older Swedish women in seats next to us put our nutrition or lack thereof to shame with snacks of cucumbers and radishes, rather than pastries. We at least packed a healthier lunch of sandwiches.      Rolled into Stockholm around 3:30 and struggle to get a ticket as I ended up buying a commuter train instead of the Metro. We learned later that with the me...

      Last full day in Copenhagen today. We were pretty beat from the bike trip so for better or worse, the day started rather lated at ~10:15 with returning our bikes and doing the run back out to the parks near the canal. It was 60ish and rainy/humid, which actually made for great running, if not a lot else. We started out together and then split, individually both get turned around a bit, but ultimately had a good run.     The plan was to do laundry today, but after getting back a little after noon, we scrapped that plan and instead headed for some Danish hotdogs in the center of town with all the rest of the tourists. Walked past Nyhavn, which is what all the post cards have a picture of. Just about everybody was down there taking a picture, so we snapped one or two with the crowds and then didn't bother walking the stretch with the density making it painfully slow.      Next up to the Round Tower which is the oldest continuously functioning o...

 After some debate the previous night, we decided to skip a run and sleep in a bit before setting off on the final leg of the bike journey. I had mapped out a nice route, but I think it was a good call to get some more sleep and rest the legs. Biking has been a lot of work! We enjoyed a 2nd consecutive traditional Danish breakfast from our host which was again absolutely amazing. They offer so many different things: 3-4 different breads, 3-4 different vegetables, an egg, a couple types of cheese, coffee, juice, yogurt, a few types of fruit. It's hard to even decide what to focus on and certainly not possible to finish it all. We chatted with our host some. He was older, an artist, and somewhat quirky; although you never know how much the language barrier plays into it. The place in general was great though. It was a room with a loft above it set back off the main drag a few blocks on a gravel road in the thick of woods.       Mols Bjerge National Park we just en...