I set out today (Friday June 10th) for a spontaneous weekend of awesomeness. I have a Eurail pass that permits a ton of “free” (more accurately, prepaid, so I had better use it) travel, and I thought I would get away from this rainy town and see the rest of the country. I checked the train schedule and saw that a train was leaving for Trondheim (about 4 hours to the north) and, half an hour after it arrived in Trondheim, a night train (where I could rent a cheap cot and sleep on the train instead of having to find a hostel) was leaving for Bodø, which is the northernmost town reachable by train, well, well into the Arctic. Score! I packed a tiny day bag and set out for a super memorable adventure! Surely this would be the farthest north I have been. I planned to take some sunny pictures in the middle of the night.
Problem 1: heavy rains and flooding have stopped the trains to Trondheim, and you have to take a bus for most of the route there. This is FAR less comfortable than traveling first class on the train, which is what I would have been able to do with my pass.
Problem 2: the bus also arrives quite a bit later than the train, which would cause me to miss the train to Bodø. Bye bye, Bodø.
Plan B: take the train to Stavanger, on the west coast, which is supposed to be quite cool. The trip should be quite scenic, too, as it follows the coast and goes through Kristiansand, a sweet tourist town.
Problem 3: the only train to Stavanger today is a night train. This is good! I enquire into the cost of a cot, expecting it to be about $35-50. It costs $150. So no Stavanger, then.
Plan C: just go to Kristiansand; a train is leaving soon and Kristiansand’s really supposed to be a cool town, a hidden gem that mostly locals go to instead of international tourists.
Problem 4: I check online to find a hostel or cheap hotel in Kristiansand. It’s a long weekend and all the locals have apparently booked every bed in town.
Plan D: grab a train for Copenhagen, Denmark. Anything to get away from the rain and have some adventure! The last train to Copenhagen left hours ago.
Plan E: Same for Stockholm, Sweden.
Plan F: take the train to Armpit (that is, a handful of towns that I haven’t heard of but technically have semi-important train stations there). Problem: I would be arriving late at night with no place to stay.
I decided on Plan G: limp home to lick my wounds. I am going to consult the train schedule again to see if there’s something I can do tomorrow morning that won’t require an outrageously expensive night train. Problem # 314: It’s still a long weekend, and now I’m starting late, and won’t be able to make it as far as I wanted. Don’t forget Problem # 315: Tomorrow is Saturday, and fewer trains run on Saturdays.
If all else fails, I’ll do Plan H: get on the local train and explore each metro line from one end to the other, seeing more of Oslo in the process. Who knows, that might be the best trip after all.
I’ll get back to you later. I’m pulling out the train schedule.
(Minutes later)
Okay, 7:25 AM to Stockholm. Let’s do this. What have I got to lose? Either a too expensive hotel or a night on the streets. But at this latitude, night is almost day. Happy with my plan! Still spontaneous (I thrive on spontaneity), yet not reckless. Stay tuned to this channel.
(The next day)
Woke early to do my epic Stockholm trip and . . . just didn't feel up to it. I slept in instead. I tried my explore-town-by-bus-and-tram routine, which was fairly rewarding. The forecast was sunny and warm, with 0mm of precipitation. It rained the whole time. Yay.
