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It rained, but at least the rain ate into the snow. The fog over central park cleared the remnants of ice and slush. The threat of a minus ten day still hung over the city, but that wasn't until the next day.

The rain was cold and constant and we went in search of indoor sights. The first we reached was Grand Central Station, which was celebrating its centenary.

Ali and a bunch of commuters

We bought one week MetroCards and not for the first time reflected on how expensive public transport is in Brisbane. In New York, $2.50 will get you from one end of the city to the other. You can travel as much as you like all week for $30. In Brisbane I'm lucky not to spend $9 a day and I live a stones-throw from the city.

The must-see attraction for Ali was the Museum of Natural History, which I had visited on the last trip.

Christmasaurus?

Our tickets included a pass to the Dark Universe space show in the planetarium, presented by Neil deGrasse Tyson.

It was a visually impressive and engaging presentation, and a neat addition to our price of admission. We both commented that if Oliver had been on this trip he would have loved the presentation (though it may have been a bit basic for him - for us it was at the right level).

Teddy stands watch over the museum

The last time I was in the museum the entrance hall was being renovated, so it was good to see the dinosaurs, the murals and the Roosevelt quotes without scaffolding.

Also people appreciate the seating

Apart from the planetarium, we spent most of our time in looking at the mammals, the ocean room, and the people of the Americas.

It was still raining when we set out for our hotel to get some warmer clothes. We used the subway exit and stayed underground and indoors as much as possible.

Sunset behind us, caught the reflection in that building on the right.

Rockefeller plaza is atop a subway hub, and we were able to get there with minimal shivering.

Last time I went up to the Top of the Rock during the day and the Empire State Building at night, and Ali charitably offered to do the opposite this time around.

By the time we reached the top of the tower, the rain had cleared, and we had a clear view of the city at night.

There's that weird building again.

It was especially interesting to see Times Square from this angle, where it became a blazing flame of neon, like a laser bonfire in the city's heart. At the same time Central Park was a pit of darkness between us and Harlem, with fairy-light trails across it, marking the few paths.

Times Square

Up top we could feel the cold change coming. The temperature dropped fast and while we would have loved to stay to get more photos we could not stay outside for more than a couple of minutes at a time. We got one photo together but neither of us could manage a convincing smile in the cold.

We spent a little time outside with the crowds around the ice-skating rink as they waited for the ice to be cleaned, and ducked through the Lego store but didn't buy anything (though I took some photos for Tom).

That's where we were. Up there.

Before we left we had picked out a spot for dinner. Another subway ride and we were at the edge of Little Italy and we walked the five blocks for some Italian.

Ali had the lobster risotto.

Would you believe we stayed for coffee and dessert?

Travel days; overnight in Berlin

It was eight hours by train from Copenhagen to Berlin. I was lucky to be seated in a cabin with a family from Melbourne, and passed most of the trip talking with them.

We saw a number of engineering marvels (wind farm in the ocean, intercontinental bridges) but the best of these was a ferry which took our train from Denmark to Germany. Quite astounding.

I took no photos of anything. I was in Berlin only long enough to walk around for some air and get irresponsibly drunk with Germans.

Things to do near Drammen

Mum sent me an email. "Drammen doesn't look very exciting." She wasn't wrong. Some pretty bridges and a nice river, but I didn't get far from the train station while I was there.

What Drammen did do was let me spend a day exploring Horten (The sunny part of Norway! It rained the entire time I was there). Overlooking the fjord in a spot called Borre is the Midgard Historical Center.

Built in a barrows field, the center has a number of artifacts recovered from the field on display. Most of these were discovered when the barrows were being dug to lay train tracks.

A sword and a spearhead

The center also provided the most comprehensive information about life in the viking times that I've seen so far. The collection was small but very well curated.

This sword was intentionally bent out of shape before burial, the theory being that it had to 'die' to travel to the afterlife.

But even without the artifacts on display, my trip to Borre would have been worthwhile for one piece of information I gathered while there - details about Viking era Novgorod, the one city I am not able to visit on this trip. My research so far had given me everything I needed except one crucial detail - Holmgard, the fortified island on the Volga, was an earth fort, not a stone fort.

Long spearhead for stabbing, short spearhead for throwing

I'll happily recommend the center to anybody looking to fill a day in southern Norway. It only takes an hour or two to see the exhibits and has a good cafe, friendly staff, and is situated in an interesting and historic part of the country. They tell me it stops raining sometimes, as well.

A decorated thing that was buried. Really, that's what the card said!

The field the center is situated in is supposed to be the burial place of the Yngling kings, but given that the same claim was made of the barrows I visited in Uppsala, I'm not certain how much credit I'd give the theory. The Ynglings seem to be the subject of a Scandinavian pissing contest - I've got more buried than you do.

Barrows! Well, barrow.

The rest of the day was given over to getting to Oslo (bus to Skoppum, train to Drammen, pick my bags up, train to Skøyen, bus to Oslo). The next day; Viking ships.

Stavanger to Drammen

After the walk to and from Pulpit Rock, I failed to take any photos of Stavanger whatsoever.

Do not let this impact your view of the town. It was a very nice place, I just failed to take photos. I left early in the morning for an eight hour train ride to Drammen.

I have noticed, taking trains in Norway, that I am always high above something or far below something or, often, both at once. Through this part of the country I also passed more farmland than I've seen so far.

Moo!

In Drammen I experienced a common travelling issue - I needed more vegetables. Luckily there was a Lebanese restaurant outside where I was staying. They interpreted "vegetarian meal for one," as "give me all the food you have in your kitchen," and sent me back to my room with a shamefully large bag of take-away.

It was really good.

I still hadn't worked out if it was possible for me to get to Horten in the morning, or if I would be carrying on straight to Oslo. I set an early alarm.

A change of scenery

"This will be my first night train," I said to Bjorn, who was sharing my cabin.
"That's strange," he said. "Why?"
"We don't have them in Australia."
"Oh, I see. I've been making this trip now maybe thirty, maybe forty times. It has become very boring. Where are you going?"
"Trondheim."
He whistled. "Long trip. Been to Norway before?"
"No,"
"You will like it, I think."

Sweden from the train window. Very pretty.

We reached his stop a little after five in the morning. I spent the rest of the trip to Storlien snoozing and taking photos from the window of the train. The landscape did not change much as we travelled; nice houses on the edge of lakes and rivers, all very flat.

Lots of trees, also

Storlien itself was deserted; a ski town closed for the summer. The train to Trondheim took us to the border. The change was stunning.

Norway: not so flat

My supervisor had told me that the trip down the fjord into Trondheim was one of the best train journeys he had ever taken. It was easy to see why. The train followed a fast-flowing stream all the way down to the fjord. Mountains rose and fell away on either side. Small communities were built into the pockets of flat land against the slopes, between the water and the stone.

I hadn't slept well on the train and crashed a little when I reached the city. But the sun stayed up a long time, so there was still opportunity to explore.

This photo was taken just after 9pm

I found a lovely spot for dinner and tried a local specialty; fish soup.

It tasted exactly as good as it looks.

Two cities in Austria

Our last day in Vienna started with a visit to the University, because it was O-week and that seemed like fun.  The university was beautiful, so we stopped in for a coffee.  One of our dorm-mates had to head in to register for classes, so we had a chat with him about university life in the city.  He described it as "very nice, but still lots of party."

Then a quick train-ride from Vienna to Salzburg.  The Austrian countryside was exactly as I expected; rolling, picturesque hills and tiny villages as far as the eye can see.

We checked into our hostel in Salzburg, and the Liar and I weren't staying in the same room for the first time during the trip.  We had booked one bed in a six-bed dorm, and one in a four-bed dorm.  We scissors-paper-rocked for the rooms, and I celebrated my victory by moving into the four-bed dorm.

A couple of hours later I found out I would be sharing with three lovely girls whom I immediately began referring to as 'the Angels.'  It was like living in a slumber-party.  They invited us to join them for dinner, and we got our first look at Salzburg's old town.

The Salzach is another blue river, and it rips through the heart of Salzburg.  Over the next few days I would spend many hours running by this river.

As night came on, the city lit up.

We had a traditional Austrian dinner, lots of sausage and grilled meats and dumplings and potato.  The Angels tried a wheat-beer, and found it quite agreeable.  Salzburg itself felt very sleepy, very relaxed; the perfect launching pad as we got ready for Oktoberfest.

Czech the windows...

We took the train from Berlin to Wienna, which took us the whole way through Czech.  The only photos I have are through the windows of the train, and it wasn't a pretty day.

There was also a little awkwardness on the train when it was discovered our Eurail passes didn't cover us for travel through the Czech Republic.  We didn't know we were going through the Czech Republic, but in retrospect this was something we could have figured out with a map and a ruler, so they earned our 30 euro-squids.

That was about all we managed to do that day.  The train took just under 11 hours, and we arrived at the hostel a bit before midnight.  The next day would be dedicated to exploring Wienna.