Denmark | Nyhyn & Chilling at PapirØen (The Paper Island)

Second DIY trip with Anna.

We decided to venture places ‘unventured’ before (no, there is no such word exist).    

I was sincerely impressed with Anna, knowing that she is very much a city girl, trolley dolly and tour group type of traveler. The first time she agreed to travel with me is to the Balkan countries where we covered Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Austria and Germany (Frankfurt). To be honest, I was a tad worried as everything was not pre booked and these countries is not as modern as London, Paris or US that she frequented. But I was surprised that she coped really well and don’t mind all the long tiring walk (after all, I am the type that absolutely love to walk and wander around the city, especially old town). In fact, she wandered alone in Frankfurt, Vienna and in Sarajevo. Tabik spring…

I can’t recall how we plan, decide, or whatchamacallit… all I remembered was Anna whatsapping (or was it a call?!!) me saying we going to both Iceland. As we are flying via Copenhagen, that smart woman did the math and said we can actually extend our transit in Copenhagen for a few days with an additional RM600 (IF I remembered correctly). And so we did.

1 month later, we were in Denmark.

The only thing we did was book a flight and our 1^st city location, we plan to book the stay in Reykjavik the day we arrive Copenhagen. Smart huh. NOT.

We figure we shall learn to travel spontaneously. Since I was able to do the same in South India, I am sure we will fare well in this trip. We did bump into a few hiccups when we were in Iceland, kinda panicky one.

Anyway. Copenhagen is super easy to navigate oneself. Really. Super. Easy.

Stay in the city and your life is a bliss. Even if you don’t stay in the city, the city itself is pretty straight forward. You can even do your own walking tour. In fact, ‘get amazing lost’ in the city… you’ll find your way back in no time. Trust me (and all we have is a paper map). We stayed a walking distance from the stay, roughly a 10 mins walk or so, and this 10 mins walk is very pleasant and we will be walking by bakery shops, canal and old churches. There are a few ways to get to the city and my favourite is the route where it takes you through Nyhavn or New Harbour… it is the icon of Denmark.

Nyhvn

Almost everywhere can be done on foot, Nyhvn, Tivoli Gardens, Hard Rock Café, The Little Mermaid, Christiansborg Palace, The Radhus or Town Hall and etc. That is, if you up for a walk lah, a very very loooooong goooood walk. Hahhahaha…. As you walk into the street of Nyhavn, you’ll see the 17th-century colourful waterfront buildings, canal with boats docking, cafes and pubs blasting soft music in the evening sunset. Been to many cities in my travels, yet only Nyhvn gives me this ambience hence I always have the urge of going back, reliving my memories.

Papiroen or Paper Island

In one of our walks, we heard music by the warehouse at the rivedbank, people enjoying the sun, breeze and snack. We check the map and found out this place is called Food Market on Paper Island or Papiroen. We knew it’s a place we must venture…

This is the place where you sample Denmark street food. Yup!!!! Street food.

Opening Hours (Autumn / Winter)

Monday – Wednesday 12:00 – 9:00pm

Thursday – Saturday 12:00 – 10:00pm

Sunday 12:00 – 9:00pm

Copenhagen Street Food

PapirØen/The Paper Island

Warehouse 7 & 8

Trangravsvej 14

Copenhagen

The Fishy Story of Salmon and Whale (and Herring too) of Ryekjavik, Iceland

Mind the shaky photos.

I was fishy on the fishes’ intention.

(Stare suspiciously)

As many might know (or don’t), I just came back from a long 16 days trip (kinda long if you have day/pay job). As I scroll my trip album, trying to pick and strategise on whether to post what inspired me the most, or which touches me the most, or perhaps do the normal way ie by day or even by destination. After pondering for awhile (bear in mind that am yet to complete India post and perhaps a few other tiny post (The craftsmanship of a Lion Dance and The Story Behind Kampung Baru), I decided that I write best and fast when the topic touches the very heart and soul of me (drama giler). So goes…. The Fishy Story of Salmon and Whale (and Herring too) of Ryekjavik, Iceland.

The plan is to have a fancy (basically it is a non-self-cook-meal that we usually have in order to save money) meal at every city or country we visit. The idea was good until we found out the cost of having a so called fancy meal in Scandi, mahai ya’mat. Plan terkubur makanya. So we tweaked the plan a little, we will (must) have a meal in Iceland and it MUST be fish centric, salmon specifically as we both love salmon. So we did just that. We had a seafood buffet in Ryekjavik. The start of our fishy story.Hem……

Started with Anna wanting to take a full day Golden Circle Package that I forego as I feel that the Golden Circle trip should be done in a spread of 1 week or so and for me, it must be a self-drive (kengkonon adventurous giteww). Claiming and vowing ‘I WILL BE BACK’ to Anna, I embark on city exploration on foot, on my own for the whole day. We went out separate way. As time running short, Anna did what she do best, asking tips from the operator on where best to experience local cuisine and we were advised to head to Restaurant Ryekjavik in the city / near Harpa. A yellow colour barn like restaurant that has a wide spread of seafood buffet among others. Upon scanning the menus and price, we agreed to splurge here (since we did not in Copenhagen). I guess why not kan.

With Anna’s loyal Google Map and Waze, we walked from Harpa bus stop to the restaurant, a short and quick 10 mins walk. But of course we took 30mins to 45mins as we stop at every souvenir shop we see (souvenir sini mahal giler-giler ok so jangan lah mengharap). We found the shop and start enquiry at the counter, the options was kinda interesting. Well, you have whole buffet course, the main course without dessert and etc. So we made a wise choice of having on the main course (partly because we are kedekut. Ahaks). Without further ado, I hearby present what we saw, and ate…. (picture heavy).

No, there weren’t any pork dish served at the buffet (at least not when I was there), I saw only chicken and lamb, and apparently the lamb dish in Iceland is to die for. I wouldn’t know as I did not try any.

One of the key reason on why we agreed to this resto was that it also serves whale meat. I guess it kinda narrow our options, reasons and excuses pretty fast and easy. *wink*

All I can say is, I have never sampled so many type of salmon dish in one meal in my life before. It was a fish overload day / week for us.

So, should I recommend this to you or/and should you give it a try?

A definite yes.

Swedish Museum of Natural History

I paid a bomb for this.

Money well spent.

I told myself that I should cover a few museums (different type of museums during this trip) and I did just that. We covered few free museums in Norway, Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm and Fram Museum on Finland. And I have to say, worth every penny. I personally feel that one should at least visit one museum in a trip to better know their culture, history or just look at how they curate a museum. So far, I have no complaints in this 3 Scandinavia countries I visited, in fact I highly encourage you to do the same. One tip being, google free entrance fee museums, there bound to be a few for you to discover.

There are 2 types of museum, one being interactive and the one is a living museum of which I also covered Stockholm – Skansen (to read more, click HERE). The other one I visited was the one in Romania which is also pretty cool I must say.

There are 9 permanent exhibitions about nature and the development of mankind that one can experience here, showcasing on the universe and the earth, animals and plants. Aside from this, they also have this cool IMAX-3D-dome film at the Cosmonova, you can choose one of these film - Mysteries of the Unseen World, Galapagos, Journey to the South Pacific and Astronomy x2. Do tale note that the tix is a bit pricey but if you are those that enjoy a walk in a museum, then this would be fun especially if you have your kids with you. 

When we were there, there were an exhibition on owls, little did I know there are so many types of owl and I did manage to learn a thing or two on their habitats, habits and etc. And some of them are so beautiful and regal. Kinda explain why Harry Porter/Hogwart chooses owl as pet.

Their Human and Animal section was amazing, most kids linger at this area, very educational. I think Malaysia should have one similar, I don’t mind being a curator. #serious

It covers from dinosaur era to mankind, none was left out – the animal and human body, bones, cells and even the carpet print! They make it fun and interactive thus creates and increase interest and able to sustain children short attention span. The leisure area for parents or family to hang-out nearby was comfortable too but I doubt they would want to sit, I saw a lot of the parents were enjoying themselves too.

We were also being educated on minerals – colours, type, location, effect and usage. I came out feeling smart (providing I remember all the detail and facts, Ahaks).

I have to say, the 2 showcase that excites me are the Life In Water and a Human Journey. The earlier shows how this animal can grow in size which is pretty big and awesome (and scary). Where else the Human Journey showcase was rather interesting especially on the interactive portion, it actually guides youngster and adults in what is restricted, endanger, extinct and etc. Pretty good I feel.

Aside from these, there are also showcase on human evolution, climate change, antartica etc.

Since our interest and priorities are different, both Wahidah and I split and ventured into this natural-history-maze-wonderland  on our own and met back  at the entrance on Cosmonova. 

#TravelTips 1 : If you wish to cover this massive compound, give and take half a day.

#TravelTips 2 : And perhaps bring your own snacks if you are traveling on low budget. It is kinda far and the food at the museum is pretty expensive (for Asian travelers especially).

#TravelTips 3 : You can purchase your tix via cash or credit card

#TravelTips 4 : It is cheaper to get a combo – museums and Cosmonova

#TravelTips 5 : It is cheaper if you have Stockholm card

#TravelTips 6 : Bring an earphone to listen to English translation at Cosmonova, else you are required to pay KR15 for an earphone. OR you have to listen in Swedish (Ahaks).

Regular hours

Tuesday-Friday 10-18

Saturday, Sunday             11-18

Extended hours, holidays

Talk About Technology at a Museum - Stockholm

I was fortunate (more like insisted) to visit a museum in Stockholm (museum name will be revealed in the next entry), the vending machines impress me a lot; for a moment I really thought I was in Japan. Then there was the museum displays and the 3D movie… memang excited sakan.

There’s a few must visit places when I travel, regardless of the price (if I find it good enough); (1) UNESCO sites, (2) Museums – my first priority will be free entry museums or at least affordable and last but not least (3) Zoo!!! How can you not like zoo right?!? Then the rest of the attractions follow suit.

This is a teaser of what I see in Stockholm. Next entry I will include the coolness about this museum and how I wish I too can be a museum curator. I will be ecstatic.

Oh! By the way, I will be traveling soon. To a country that is rich in culture and heritage, and nature too. Follow my Instagram for instant/live updates.

Santa Claus Village, Arctic Circle

Dashing through the snow,

In a one horse open sleigh

Over the fields we go

Laughing all the way.

Santa Claus Village

After all, it’s 8km away from the Rovaniemi Airport, might as well right.

We did a quick few hours pit stop here enroute to the airport. We didn’t see Santa though as the queue was very very very long and we (or at least I) have nothing to wish for… Ahaks.

They have a few activities here but we only pick a few… the main reason why I wanted to visit this place is that I wanted to step on the Arctic Circle Line. Yes, you can do that… it ajer pun. Kiasu dak?! Hahhahahaa…. I will share more tips on luggage area and taxi to the airport from here. I find it hard to source for this info when I was preparing for my trip. Will definitely make a point to share with everyone.

Attractions

Arctic Circle: The Arctic Circle cuts right through Santa Claus Village. A white line denoting the Arctic Circle (at its position in 1865) is painted across the park. Visitors officially enter the Arctic area when they cross the line. The line is a very popular photo spot for visitors.

Santa Claus' Main Post Office: A large variety of Christmas related items, Christmas cards and CDs are sold in the post office. All mail sent from this post office is postmarked with a special Santa Claus postmark. Visitors can also specify their mail to be sent at the next Christmas, regardless of when they actually visit the post office and send their items.

Santa Claus's Office: A Santa Claus's Office is located inside the main building of the Village, for visitors to take photographs and chat with Santa Claus. However, there is an "office hour" for Santa Claus and he may not be in the office all the time even when the Village is open.

Other attractions: There are also many shops and restaurants inside the park selling a variety of items related to Santa Claus and the Lapland region.

Source : Wikipedia

Aside from this, jeng jeng jeng… there is also Santa Park of which I did not visit, it is rather expensive and most of my money was spent at Ranua Zoo.

Attractions

Elf Show

Santa's Workshop

Gingerbread Kitchen

Sleigh Ride

Elf School

Elf Workshop

Post Office

Source : Wikipedia

  

I don’t even know how to describe my excitement in Rovaniemi, first was the snow; its everywhere but everywhere, then the Ranua Zoo – the northern most zoo, followed by the northern most McDonald (apparently taken over by Russia), the Arctic Circle Line and now this; the Santa Claus Village! How lah not to love Finland.

The annoying part was the Igloo Bar & Restaurant and Igloo Hotel cost EU18 per entrance, aisey mannn….. mahai nya. Snowman World lagi. Aish… Bila nak kaya raya ni.

Anyway, nothing much for me to story mory here as I did not fall town, tripped on ice or do anything stupid. So, layan gambar ajer lah yek.

For more Santa Claus Village picture, please visit my Facebook Page HERE.

Entries on : 
Santa Claus Post Office at Arctic Circle
Yummiest salmon : Helsinki Old Market Hall
Ranua Zoo, an Arctic Zoo of the Lapland (Part 1)
I found my Wolverine in Ranua Zoo, an Arctic Zoo (Part 2)
Huskey sled. Reindeer sleigh. My Finland Trip! (Part 3)