Ahoy, Copenhagen!

(Rob:) We're halfway through our trip and we've had a pretty eventful couple of days! It's 9:45 PM and Susan is cashed out on the hotel couch. I'm listening to some Johnny Cash I picked up today at a used CD shop (currently "It Ain't Me Babe" with June Carter Cash.) Here are some pics from the last few days of our journey:

From Monday morning, here's Susan with our guide Hilde on a road overlooking the city of Oslo. It's the locale of a famous painting by neurotic Norwegian artist Edward Munch called "The Scream":

He said the painting was of a vision he had of walking along this road with a couple of friends when he was struck by a panic attack. The work has come to symbolize anxiety and fear in our postmodern world. We visited the Munch museum and saw lots more examples of his generalized psychosis and paranoia towards all aspects of his life. I think his name (pronounced "Monk") was the inspiration for our family's favorite TV show about a neurotic detective named Monk (although I can find no independent confirmation of this theory.)

This one's for my mom, who said she wanted to see more Norwegians:

We also went to a huge sculpture park of works by Gustav Vigeland. He sculpted naked people of various ages in ways to symbolize different emotions and stages of life. Here are a few of his statues:

It was a fascinating place to visit, very different from anywhere I've been before in that it's a public space that is so totally devoted not only to art, but to one artist. Click HERE to see some more photos of the sculptures in the park.

On Tuesday morning after the concert, Susan and I knocked around downtown Oslo some more.

We went to a book store to peruse the local Springsteen literature:

...when whom did we meet but Charles Giordano, the keyboardist filling in for founding E Street band member Danny Federici, who is home undergoing treatment for melanoma.

He was really nice and we talked for a little while about how it felt to be suddenly called and asked to jump into a band with 35 years of experience playing together. He said he really hoped that Danny would be able to rejoin the band soon, but that he was enjoying the challenge for now. Susan thanked him for doing what he does, that it gives us the recharge energy to go on doing what we do in our lives. He seemed sort of touched by that and gave us both a big handshake before going back to his shopping.

(For any Springsteen fans reading this, you should really watch a clip from the official Bruce Springsteen.net website of the very end of the last concert they played in the US with Danny before the European leg began. Bruce introduces the band like usual, then unexpectedly goes over to Danny and brings him front and center for a solo bow. There's a moment when Bruce lets his guard down and his face briefly reveals a man in pain who's already missing his friend. Powerful stuff. Click HERE.)

We saw a crowd gathering near the front of Bruce's hotel, and within a few minutes most of the band emerged on their way to the airport. Here's a shot of Little Steven with his assistant we had seen him with the night before:

Shortly thereafter it was time for Susan and I to say goodbye to Norway as well- We went to the port and boarded the Pearl of Scandinavia bound for Copenhagen:

I thought it was going to be a "ferry ride", but as you can see it's a big "Love Boat" type cruise ship. We had a cool cabin with it's own private deck and even a hot tub for when it's warmer than 3 degrees out.

The ship left port at 5:30 PM and arrived 16 hours later in Copenhagen. Initially it was kind of cool, an I can see why some people really like cruises. There was a movie theater and two pools and a lot of stuff to do and the restaurants were very nice. The bad part was that once we left the protected waterway of the Oslo fjord and hit the wide open North Sea, it got REALLY wavy and bumpy and stayed that way for hours into the night. We didn't get sick, but neither of us could really stand up at all. It was so wavy that I swear the hotel desk I'm sitting at right now continues to bob and weave under my fingertips. We just stayed in bed in the cabin and watched TV. Luckily, there was some quality stuff on: we caught the second half of "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and a really good episode from the first season of "The Wire"! It's safe to say this was our last cruise (at least for another 40 years or so when we might fit in better with the cruise-going peer group.-- the place was like a floating Lubby's Cafe)

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We got checked into our hotel room and then quickly were whisked off on a driving tour of Copenhagen. So far our impressions are that it's a very beautiful old city filled with beautiful young people.

It seems more "European" than Oslo in some way; the architecture seems more cohesive.

There are a lot of bicycles here, and some of the buildings are 500 years old.

This place is just up the street from the hotel; we may have to check in later on this week:

This guy is roasting almonds in butter and sugar and it is the best thing I've ever smelled:

Everything is very Christmassy-

Behind us across the water is an area called Nyhavn (or "New Harbor") that has a cool craft market:

Here's the iconic "Little Mermaid" statue from the Hans Christian Andersen story-

Our guide told us the real fairy tale story which differs quite a bit from the Disney version. No funny Jamaican crabs in this one.

We finished our tour with a visit to Tivoli Gardens, sort of a Christmas village / market / amusement park type place. It was pretty stunning at night with all of the lights on.:

Tessa, they have a pirate ship!

Here's a pic from tonight's brief video chat with Tessa, Sam and Abbey:

This is a good time to pause and sincerely thank our friends Beth and Ruth Ann, who are making this trip possible by staying home taking care of our kids and taxiing them to all of their various practices and events whilst we gallivant around the world!

(Beth with Susan and I at a concert last summer)

I don't have a picture of Ruth Ann in my laptop, but she's been Sam's nanny since he was nine months old. Both of these beautiful women are the best friends anyone could ever ask for, and we are forever in your debt!

Signing off until tomorrow!
Happy Birthday, Cody!

Comments

[Stacy Page]

All I can say is WOW!!!! Man, I would love to be there. Have fun. Love, Stacy

[Gramma Judy]

Hi. What fantastic photos! The one of Steve looks as though it was taken by the paparazzi! Way to go, Rob!

I checked out the rest of the sculptures. Weird but entertaining. As for the artist who painted the "Screamer", I relate a little too much. Scary.

I also checked out the Bruce clip. That was heavy stuff. I wish him well with his melanoma treatment. Also very scary stuff.

I am so glad you guys are there and able to share your adventures with us. It's almost like being there too.
Looking forward to more.

Love,
Mom/Judy

P.S. How would you like to have been on your cruise ship in a category 5 hurricane? Trust me, it is bad.

[Delores Herzberg]

Greetings from cold and snowy MN. BY now you know we are not traveling to KC this weekend because of the ice, sleet, and snow all the way through Iowa and Missouri. Its around zero here at night with about 6 inches of snow so a real good start for a true northland winter. I sure enjoy reading your updates !!! MIM

[Delores Herzberg]

One more thought-- the people on the ship must have been old, elderly,white haired, retired looking or just plain weird. MOM

[Zanny]

Where do I begin!!! What a cool blog! As a fellow Bruce fan, I can not believe your luck in running into band members! Such a thrill to actually get to talk to them and thank them for what they do. Those are precious moments for sure. About the cruise...WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!!???? I get a panic attack like Munch just thinking about getting back on a boat after our ride of puke and death to Key West and back. I agree, you are in a much more "quaint" and picturesque area now. Beautiful. Just Beautiful. I am so glad you are having such a fun time. Love, Zanny