Scandinavia 28 Greenland is not green

Not a lot to report on our trip’s last day. We caught a train to the airport, and we had a lot of trouble getting information about our flight—like a gate assignment, and whether or not they would feed us. Also, there was a real scarcity of seating in the airport. Lots of high-end shopping, though.

Once we got on the plane, we were told that this was a substitute plane. Boy, was it tight—no knee room AT ALL. I kind of had a meltdown for a while. On the other hand, they did give everyone a sandwich and a beverage. This first flight was a 3 hour flight to Reykjavik, Iceland. Once it landed, it did not taxi up to the terminal. Instead, buses came out to the plane, and drove us to the terminal. We were trying to find our way to our next gate, but first we had to go through passport control—twice! But we made it to our gate, before the flight left.

The last flight was much better. It was a 6 hour flight, but we had knee room and a screen on the seatback in front of us. And we got 8

to see glaciers flowing in Greenland! Greenland is not green (sort of like the labeling on “fair and balanced” news channels) but it is impressive. Greenland is NOT on our “want to visit” list however; I much prefer my ice in a glass.

And now we’re back on our home continent. Good to be back, except the gravity feels a little different.

Travel Journal Scandinavia 26 Peacock Theatre

We watched 2 pantomime shows, featuring Harlequin and Columbine, with the clown Pierrot. They were staged in the Peacock Theatre, with a front curtain that opened as shown. There was some pretty good dancing, too. The performances were about 25 minutes each. One was called Harlequin Mechanical Statue, and the other was The Tailor Deceived.

At 10 pm there was a “free” concert (included in the admission price). The singer, Jessie J, is from the UK, so she was singing in English, but like most rock concerts, we had a hard time understanding the words. There was another show that night—a Summer Revue, I think more of a variety show, but it was in Danish so we didn't go. There was a large crowd for the free concert. I don’t know, but I don’t think it was like a typical large rock concert. Much too sedate.

Beer was available in take-away cups, but I think they solved the litter problem. There was a 5 Kr deposit on the cups, and they had machines around the grounds where you could redeem them (like the soda bottle redemption machines at the grocery store). But 5 Kr is about 75 cents, so it was worth redeeming. On the other hand, beer was cheaper by the 5’s and they had cardboard carriers designed to carry 5 beer cups. The park was selling a LOT of beer.

Finally, at 10:45 it got dark enough for their “Illuminatrions” light show, which took place over their small lake. With fountains of water, smoke machines, and lasers, it was an impressive 10 minute light show.

All in all, we enjoyed the evening. It was something very different than we usually do, and it was relaxing. Good ending to a good trip.

(to be continued)