I write this blog entry about my time in my second Scandinavian country visited this summer. After two weeks in Norway, having had an amazing time, enjoying stunning scenery at every turn, and happily encountering really friendly people, it was sadly time to leave. Whilst sad, I was also excited to start the next chapter of my summer travels. I was also quite ready to leave the in Arendal. While it had all the right amenities, with a great amount of space, a nice quiet location, and an absolute bargain at around £28 per night for a flat with kitchen, bathroom and living room (seriously, I still cant believe this price for anywhere, let alone Norway!), there was still something about it that didnt make there. I did not meet the owner, and he at all prior to, during, or after my stay there. All I heard was footsteps upstairs in the middle of the night, and lots of snoring. The bed in front of the door to ensure it couldnt open in the middle of the night helped me feel better, but I was still happy to leave.
To take the local bus to Kristiansand on the Saturday morning, I awoke at a much respectable 6.10am rather than the initial 5am planned had I taken the Intercity bus. It was a pleasant journey along the lovely Norwegian coast in those parts, and I still had a nice two hours to explore Kristiansand, Norways fifth largest city at around 110,000 people, before my onwards ferry journey to Denmark. The city was neat and orderly, with the whole central area made up of gridiron streets. It was founded in 1641 by Christian IV, King of Denmark and Norway, at the time when the two countries were in an uneasy union. It began as a garrison town, and has had much of a military history due to its strategic position overlooking the Skagerrak Strait which links the Baltic with the North Sea and beyond. As such, the citys central coastline is dominated by the lovely old Christiansholm Fortress, which I included on my pleasant walk around town, along with a beautiful part of town called Posebyen. This quarter was once home to French sailors who used to rest in the port, hence the French name reposez bien which developed over time
into Posebyen. The area had a romantic, whimsical feel to it, with its whitewashed houses, blooming flowers, and pot plants - it certainly had a French feel to my mind.
After my pleasant walk through town, I headed to the port area to board my Fjord Line ferry onto Denmark. This one was much quieter than my previous ferry experience full of teenage Norwegian footballers. It seemed they were now heading back to Norway, as the ferries which were arriving were absolutely full of them again. I felt sorry for the regular passengers on these boats, but felt quite happy to be escaping the crowds as my quieter ferry began its journey.
A short three hours later, the ferry arrived at a small town on the northern tip of Denmark called Hirtshals, which seemed to be the main Danish sea link to the outside world - the port area was huge! It was late afternoon, and the air felt warm and to the cool, crispiness of the Scandinavian peninsula. The first thing I noticed was the land was just flat - this was highly noticeable after the mountains and valleys of Norway. Denmark
is in fact one of the worlds flattest countries, like a pancake - its highest peak is a mere 165 metres! Most of my home city of Sheffield is higher above sea level than anywhere in Denmark. It was actually my second time in Denmark, after having spent time in and around lovely Copenhagen in February 2019. After having gotten used to speaking Norwegian for two weeks, it was also a bit of a shock to now be exposed to a different language. Prior to my February 2019 visit, I had done a similar amount of Danish language learning on DuoLingo, but after having subsequently tried a bit of Swedish, and then with this Norwegian foray, I was a little rusty.
