20-Dec-15

One last train journey took Peter & Penny to their final Scandinavian destination, Oslo, Norway. The pair checked themselves into the tallest building in the country and reserved a romantic candle-lit table overlooking the sparkling Northern City. The Northern explorers made their way to the famous Fram Museum, to uncover the legend of some of the country’s greatest Polar voyagers. Having dipped their toes in the North Sea, Penny decided the North Pole would have to be a summer expedition! In keeping with the Nobel theme of Stockholm, the twosome visited the thought-provoking Peace Museum. Unfortunately, the only award they picked up on this trip was made of chocolate. At the end of an almost nearly perfect Scandinavian trip, the pair almost nearly missed their flight. As they travelled home from #10 Norway, the pair reflected on a lovely, though sometimes chilly, Christmas excursion in Northern Europe.

19-Dec-15

Jumping on their first sleeper train, Peter & Penny overnighted it through Malmo and into Stockholm, the capital city of Sweden. In the early hours of a December morning Peter & Penny meandered around the streets of Stockholm, and watched the city wake. Peter was very excited to visit the City Hall in Stockholm, the location of the annual Nobel Prize ceremony. Just as the sun was beginning to rise, the couple walked through the courtyard of City Hall, admiring the stone plaques on the wall commemorating Alfred Nobel and the huge, lit Christmas tree reaching up above the arches. The pair wandered back through the streets, with a cup of coffee while resisting the pickled herring on offer. Before continuing on with their Scandinavian farewell to Europe, Peter & Penny visited the Skansen open-air museum. They watched the glassblower making Christmas decorations, so the pair purchased one for their tree to remember their visit to #9 Sweden.

16-Dec-15

After Christmas, Peter and Penny planned to say goodbye to Europe for a while. As they waited for their visas to head west, they had enough time to skip north in search of snow and reindeer. With less than a week to spare they packed their thermals and headed for the almost nearly perfect region. First stop on their Scandinavian tour was country #8, Denmark. Arriving after dark, the two wrapped up tight and set out for the bright lights of Tivoli. There they found a true winter wonderland, a Christmas delight. Hours of fun later, dizzy from the rollercoasters, full from the fare and having found their perfect tree ornament, they returned to their hotel library bar to sip hot drinks and plan the day ahead. No snow yet, but on a crisp winter night Copenhagen certainly seemed almost nearly perfect.