It started off a little shaky. I had to wake up very early so that we could catch the 7:00 train. Daria called around 6:50 saying her bus was running on holiday schedule, and she wouldn’t make it in time – the problem? The next train didn’t leave until 10:00. The day before when Julia and I had bought tickets, they gave me one ticket marked “3 youth”, so I had to rush in and ask if they could split it, and then we had to find a place to leave the ticket so that Daria could pick it up. We finally found a place about 6:57 and rushed to our train.
The train ride was exciting. We kept having to find new seats as people who had reserved seats at various train stations kicked us out. Finally we found a car with enough non-reserved seats for all of us. In the same car there were a woman and a man sleeping on Julia and Marcin/Angela, respectively. There was also an American businessman, most likely drunk, who, like us, couldn’t find a permanent seat, but was very upset about it and ended up lying on the floor so he could sleep. He then woke up and began to periodically talk to us – sometimes he was really nice, like when he said “I hope you do well in your life” and then assured me “I am positive you will”, and sometimes bizarre to rude, like when he berated Andrzej for speaking English in Denmark. “Speak Danish!” he kept saying, and then told us how rude it was to spend time in a country and not know any of the language, then told us how the Danes really like it when we speak Danish…even though the whole time he’d been complaining about there being no train seats, he was speaking English, and even though most of the time you try to speak Danish to a Dane they switch to English. He also told me that redheads are descendant of Mary Magdalene, was disappointed when I was American and not Canadian “because everyone’s American”, and then was very strange to the Polish guys when he found out they were not American as well. I spend so much effort trying to banish negative American stereotypes, and then I meet people like him…Ah well, I’ve told all my non-American friends it is their duty to tell anyone who says Americans are stupid that they’ve met a normal American who can vouch for many other normal Americans.
Legoland itself was wonderful. Cheesy, aimed mostly at children, but when has that ever stopped me? This is the girl speaking whose dream it is to work at Disneyland. The rides were silly but fun, and there was one that was the coolest thing I had seen. They gave you a card with a chip, you inserted it into a computer, and then designed your own ride. It downloaded the sequence you had picked, and uploaded it into the chair when you got to the ride.
Firetruck race? Heck, yes!
Me, in the future. (Goal for the future - become a Lego archaeologist?)Plus, everything made out of Lego? Best thing ever.
A bunch of tourists
Of course there was H.C.A.
My dream car
Authentic Egyptian hieroglyphics
I don't think I'd mind being haunted by this ghost
My childhood dream magnified by about a billion
And there was an aquarium!And Lego City? It really must be seen in person, because photographs don’t do it justice.
Nyhavn
Giving a real canal tour - with audio
Rosenborg
Scottish castle
Sleeping Beauty castle
Border of Austria and Germany - my reaction "I've BEEN here!" 
Amalienborg, finally able to fit in a photograph
Sweden
Chinese theatre
Norwegian marketplaceIt was overcast all day, and decided to actually rain a bit at the end of our trip. When it stopped raining, the temperature dropped quite a bit. Sadly, there was a gap in the bus times, so we had to wait an hour, and all the restaurants in Legoland had closed, so we had nowhere to sit inside. But we improvised:
The bus ride back to the train station was occupied by conversation with a Legoland employee. At first I was excited talking to a Danish person, but then he went on and on about American stereotypes. I already spent my energy ranting about this to my friends, so I won’t do it here, but in summary – I realize America isn’t perfect, and I realize most people don’t mean any harm. But when you say, “No offense, but…” and then go on to insult my HOME, I do take offense. If you want to have a real conversation about American politics or things, I am more than willing to hold one…but to have such a conversation with me in a good humor, you should not start by making blanket statements about how we’re greedy, lazy, stupid, much-too-conservative, stingy, or any other such attitude. It doesn’t tend to get you on my good side.
To counter that, I will say I’ve had lots of really nice discussions with people – about America, about Europe, about their own countries. However, after a long day in the cold, I have enough tolerance to laugh along with lawsuits and even provide some of my own for about ten minutes…when it turns into 40 minutes of “And you guys actually have trailer trash? What’s that about?” I start to get cranky.
However, we left the Dane at the train station, and the train ride was much more productive and enjoyable. Julia and I somehow ended up talking about Polish with Andrzej and Marcin A. (I say “somehow ended up” like it’s not that common…that’s a bit of a misnomer…) and had an impromptu Polish lesson. I’d learned a few words here and there, all through listening, but this time I got smart and spelled them out phonetically in a notebook so I could actually remember them.
Wow, that's some really impressive Lego work. I miss playing with Legos! :D
ReplyDeletePeople who think all Americans are like that don't KNOW any Americans. They see American television, spend too much time on the internet, whatever. My country annoys me, too, and some of it is true, but not all Americans are the same. It's like an American saying, "All Muslims are terrorists!" Is it true? OF COURSE NOT. Ugh.
As you know, I still hold a grudge against that British lady when we were on the train. She was so RUDE. Harumph!
But that's one thing that makes me really anxious about traveling--I hate being judged whenever I speak. If I never opened my mouth, they'd never know. :P