Greetings From Norway!
With a quick few days to take in the sights of metropolitan Oslo and cherish an awesome meet up with a Lagunan-turned-Norwegian pal whom I haven't seen in 25 years (Shout out to Kim! And Tamra for suggesting it!), I was back on the train aiming for Norway's west coast. From the look of it, Norway is like Denmark's wild cousin. Steep rocky terrain lined with autumn colored forest. Waterfalls pouring over tops of peaks. River rapids racing the trains. Fog creeping through the crevices of the sheer cliffs. Almost the exact opposite of flat Denmark. This is the Norway I've heard about.
According to most Danes, Hans Christian Andersen, the 19th century author of classic stories like The Ugly Duckling, The Emperor's New Clothes, and The Little Mermaid, is the most renowned historical Danish figure. In Copenhagen, you can't go far without a HC Andersen reference. A Hans Christian Andersen gift shop (equipped with animatronic characters) here. The walk-through-his-life-story Wonderful World of HC Andersen there. And a larger than life statue of the man pitched right next to Copenhagen's City Hall. All the tributes to this tale-teller appear fitting now as they seem comparable to my feelings of wonder for this city.