Scandinavia 2017 - Epiloge

I love to travel, this blog makes that evident. I love to experience new places, see new sights and observe different cultures. It is easy, in a country that stretches "from sea to shining sea", to become myopic and unaware of the wealth of treasures and experiences that exist outside our national borders.

What I do when traveling may not be all that different then those things I do when I am at home, but the backgrounds to those things differ, sometimes greatly. Wandering the tiny lanes in Stockholm's Gamla Stan is something quite different than hustling down Chicago's Michigan Avenue. Stockholm's Durgarden, a beautiful urban oasis, serves the same purpose as Chicago's lakefront ribbon of parkland but with it's own unique flavor.

Copenhagen's bustle happens on streets lined with beautiful 18th and 19th century facades. In Chicago it happens among brawny, historic late 19th and 20th century buildings, many of them architectural masterworks.

In Copenhagen tiny pleasure and  sightseeing boats ply canals, in Stockholm boats provide transportation across the sometimes broad waterways which separate the islands of the city. I cherish the memory of riding on the top deck in the open air watching the fairy tale skyline of old Stockholm come into view.

 I look back fondly on getting lost on bikes in Copenhagen as the street names changed every 2 blocks. That was how we found the quiet cemetery with it's towering poplars, a lovely and peaceful spot to remember and reflect on loved ones who have passed on. It is something we may have missed had we taken a more conventional route.

But as I land in Chicago, as plane wheels touch the ground or a train I am on pulls into Union Station, I am glad to be home. It is my anchor, my place in the world which is mine. I love to travel, but I also love to come home.  

Scandinavia 2017 = A Royal Sendoff

We had an afternoon flight home which allowed us one final morning in Copenhagen. We decided to have breakfast at the small restaurant across the street, having enjoyed it so much the day before. They seemed to have eggs on hand that day as we didn't see anyone dash across the street to procure them as we had on our previous visit. We chatted with the proprietor. On our first visit he had apologized for the cool weather. After we informed him that it was no different than what we would be experiencing at home at that time of year, mid to upper 60's, he explained that he thought the entire U.S. had the climate of California. On several occasions we found that some Europeans don't have a concept of how vast the U.S. is. Several expressed surprise upon learning the the population of the Chicago metropolitan area exceeds that of the entire country of Denmark. The charming proprietor told us that he lived in 250 year old army barracks which, when built, were considered to be outside the city. He mentioned to me that he was planning a 1 month road trip to the U.S. with his family and if I had any "must see" suggestions. I was somewhat at a loss, the U.S. does, after all, take up a third of a continent, except to say that unless you are crazy about agriculture the states of Nebraska, Kansas, et. al. could probably be skipped. There is the surreal, rugged beauty of many portions of the Southwest, The history of the south and the east coast, and, of course, my beloved Chicago. He realized he would have to research and plan more thoroughly.

Being only a block from the palace there were a number of embassies in the area. Across the street from our hotel, visible from our room's window, was the Swedish consulate. We felt this was fitting since our trip began in Stockholm. In a row around the corner were the embassies of Venezuela, Portugal, The Netherlands and Ukraine.

The fountains across from the palace courtyard were turned up full that last morning, tall plumes of water shot up into the cool air. After waiting for the bus tour groups to move on we took photos before continuing to the courtyard for one last visit before returning to the hotel and leaving for the airport. As we walked across the courtyard one of the guards, in his tall fur hat, shouted sharply something in Danish and struck the butt of his rifle smartly against the stone sidewalk. A pair of black sedans with tinted windows rolled across the venerable stones, one disappearing into a recess in the Prince's palace, the other stopping just outside it. Was it the Prince? Perhaps the Queen herself? Or just the nanny escorting the royal children back from soccer practice or returning home after a trip to a Danish Walmart.

Scandinavia 2017 - A City Within a City

We noticed, during our time in Copenhagen, that it appeared nearly every building had a courtyard. Doors to the street would occasionally be left open offering the passerby a glimpse into this hidden world. I have seen this before in cities where front yards are rare. In San Francisco apartment buildings and Victorians hug the sidewalk in an even line. Behind them yards, home additions and even the occasional cottage can be found. In Mexico's classic colonial architecture the courtyard is often the center of home and family life.  In Amsterdam, as in San Francisco a separate world exists behind the centuries old canal houses which stand shoulder to shoulder along the streets. I was in the yard of one open to the public. A small wing jutted out of one of the homes next door. In the yard of the other sat a copper roofed gazebo. Across the small yard where I stood, sitting amid the flower beds, was a tiny caretakers house. There are also the half homes, originally slave quarters, in the yards of homes in New Orleans, not to mention the famous courtyards there.

They might all be considered cities inside of cities. Some of them may be purely functional, providing access to portions of the buildings difficult to reach from the street, but they can also be places for socializing, sharing time with friends and family or conversing with neighbors across the "back fence". Or occasionally they be a place of your own. An inner place of quiet and solitude away from the noise and crowds of the  city.