Europe : 5 May - 2 July 1998

This page describes a trip by Paul Kilfoil (accompanied for part of the time by Mildred Kilfoil) to Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and England. Check out my travelogues page for details of other trips I've done.

If you enjoyed reading this, please send me an email. All correspondence is appreciated!

[Tuesday 5 May 1998 : Cape Town, South Africa] We flew from Cape Town to Vienna via Johannesburg (where we endured a tedious two hour layover) on Austrian Airlines.

[Wednesday 6 May : Vienna, Austria] We landed in Vienna, took the train from the airport into the city (Wien Mitte station) and checked into Pension Kraml, a very nice place just off Maria Hilfe Street. After catching up on some sleep we explored the area around Maria Hilfer Street, an elegant street that leads directly into the city centre and along which there are many shops, restaurants and hotels.

[Thursday 7 May : Vienna, Austria] After breakfast we strolled down Maria Hilfer Street, across the "Ring" and into Vienna city centre. We spent the day exploring the sights, such as the huge and imposing Stephensdom (Cathedral), the Ankeruhr clock, the Sacher Hotel (where you can eat a piece of the famous Sacher torte at some astronomical cost), the Russian monument, the Hofburg and lots more.

[Friday 8 May : Vienna, Austria] Today we bought day passes for unlimited use of the Tram/Bus/Metro (underground train) system, and used them to visit parts of Vienna outside of the city centre. Schonbrunn Palace is stunning, and can justifiably claim to rival Versailles in Paris (which I visited in 1990). We also visited the new waterfront area alongside the Danube River, where there are loads of restaurants, bars and clubs. That night we had Wiener Schnitzel for supper, which seemed appropriate seeing as we were in Vienna ...

Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna

[Saturday 9 May : Prague, Czech Republic] We checked out of our very pleasant guest house, took the metro to Vienna's South Station (Sudbahnhof) and from there a train to Prague, arriving late in the afternoon. Made it to a Thomas Cook office just before they closed and cashed some travellers' cheques into Czech crowns.

[Sunday 10 May : Prague, Czech Republic] The heat here is intense, not at all what I imagined Eastern Europe to be like ... I walked around for four days in shorts and a T-shirt, and drank litres of water. Visited Prague Castle (hrad) on the hill above town ; we also saw the porcelain statue of Jesus (which wears a different outfit every day of the year) in the Church of Our Lady Victorious and the Basilica of St George, inside which there is a glass tomb containing St Ludmilla's skeleton.

[Monday 11 May : Prague, Czech Republic] Continued to explore Prague, an intensely captivating city. It's not called the "City of a Thouand Spires" for nothing - there are towers everywhere. Walked around Wenceslas Square, old town square (Starometske Namesty, which has an astronomocal clock with a bell-ringing skeleton) and Charles Bridge with it's multiple statues. The Czech Republic only threw off the shackles of Communism in 1989, but since then it has been embracing free enterprise with enthusiasm, more so than most of the rest of Eastern Europe - the city centre streets around Wenceslas Square are filled with brand-name stores such as Gucci, Benetton and (unfortunately) McDonald's, and there are neon signs and huge advertising signboards everywhere. However, most of the churches that were shut during the Communist era have either remained closed or are now used for concerts or music recitals.

Prague in the Czech Republic

[Tuesday 12 May : Prague, Czech Republic] After spending some time figuring out Prague's tram system (which is quite logical and straightforward), we took a tram along the Vltava River to Mala Strana Gardens, where we rode the funicular up the hill to the Petrin tower. The top of the hill is a wooded park and quite pleasant to stroll around in. When we decided to go back down again, the Communist-era woman at the funicular ticket office refused to sell us tickets unless we had the exact change. I was dumbfounded - the price of a ticket was not much and we had enough money, but only in large-denomination banknotes. She simply would not budge and would not let us go down. She could not be made to grasp the concept that we had no way of getting change without going down the hill, in which case we did not need the funicular! I was about to walk down into the city, get change then come back up again (because my companion would not have managed the steep descent), when some British people came along and overheard the absurd conversation we were having. They were kind enough to give us a few Kroner, enough to buy two tickets and we rode down the hill. The whole incident was surreal, and showed that whilst free enterprise and democracy may have come to the Czech Republic, not all Czechs have changed their attitudes.

That night we had a fabulous Czech dinner at a small restaurant just off Republic Square - pork cutlets and mushrooms, very tasty. Had a last walk along Charles Bridge, enjoying the festive night atmosphere of buskers, musicians and jugglers.

[Wednesday 13 May : Vienna, Austria] Took a train to Bratislava, but on the Slovak border we had passport trouble ; the guards would not let us in, and after sitting in the border post for half an hour while they conferred they put us on the next train back to the Czech Republic. However, rather than ride all the way back to Prague (a journey of more than 4 hours) we got off at the Austrian border and caught the first train to Vienna, which was much closer.

Charles Bridge in Prague

Heroes' Square in Budapest

[Thursday 14 May : Bratislava, Slovakia] Visited the South African embassy in Vienna, sorted out the passport issue then tried once again to enter Slovakia, this time by bus. There was a tense wait at the border while the guards examined our passports, but to our huge relief they let us in this time. After a long walk from the Bratislava bus station we eventually found a room for three nights at the Sorea Hotel, a nice place two tram stops from the city and right on the Danube River.

[Friday 15 May : Bratislava, Slovakia] Bratislava city centre has been almost totally rebuilt since the demise of Communism and is now quite attractive, with immaculately tiled sidewalks. Westernization is catching on, but not quite to the extent that it's done in Prague. Bratislava isn't very big - you can easily explore the entire city on foot in one day. However, you only have to go a little way out of the city centre to see how derelict some of the more non-touristed areas are. Grassalkovich Palace, for example, is crumbling and ramshackle, with unkempt, overgrown and weed-choked gardens.

[Saturday 16 May : Bratislava, Slovakia] I walked over the hugely impressive new bridge (Novy Most) which crosses the Danube River. It has 2 massive angled concrete arches on one side with heavy steel cables across to the other side - very unusual but an amazing sight. On the other (south) side of the river you can take a lopsided lift up one of the arches to the "flying saucer" rotating restaurant on the roof. Incredible views all round. From there you can see mile upon mile of dull concrete apartment blocks south of the river, built by the Communists to house workers. We also visited the Bratislava Castle perched on the hill above the city, adjacent to which are the new parliament buildings. At first glance the castle appears old (although well-maintained), but in reality it was only built in 1957! The original castle, dating from the 10'th century, was destroyed in 1811 and remained in ruins until the 1950's.

[Sunday 17 May : Budapest, Hungary] Took a taxi to Bratislava train station and boarded the 10:35 AM train to Budapest. No problems with border guards this time, but our luck with the weather ran out as it started raining. It rained virtually non-stop the entire three days we spent in Budapest. We stayed in a basement apartment, which, because of the relentless rain and grey skies, was dark and gloomy.

New bridge over the Danube, Bratislava

[Monday 18 May : Budapest, Hungary] Budapest is divided into two parts - the old town (Buda) and the modern centre (Pest), with the Danube River between them. We explored Pest in the rain on our first day - it's still very drab and Communist-like. It was a real struggle to find a shop that actually sells postcards. One fairly impressive area is Heroes' Square and the Millenium Monument, built in 1896 to commemorate 1000 years of the existence of Hungary. Behind Heroes' Square is City Park (Varosliget) containing Vajdahunyad Castle and the statue of Anonymous, the secretive scribe who painstakingly documented much of Hungary's history.

[Tuesday 19 May : Budapest, Hungary] Walked over the Chain Bridge across the Danube to Buda, the old town, then rode the funicular up to the Castle District. Saw plenty of evidence of the failed 1956 uprising against the Communists in the form of bullet-holes in walls. Visited lots of old churches, museums and castles then sought refuge from the persistent rain in a book-cum-coffee shop. Great coffee and pastry ...

[Wednesday 20 May : Vienna, Austria] Before leaving Budapest we exchanged all our Forints (the worthless Hungarian currency) then caught a mid-morning train to Vienna. My companion for the last two weeks flew back to South Africa from Vienna ; I saw her off at the airport before returning to the city and getting on the overnight "EuroLines" bus to Berlin.

The Reichstag (parliament) in Berlin

[Thursday 21 May : Berlin, Germany] Arrived in Berlin knackered after spending a sleepless night on the bus. The route from Vienna was via the Czech Republic, and (as usual) my South African passport again caused a major hold-up at the Czech border. Finding a place to stay in Berlin was difficult, as it was a long weekend in Germany. I found a room for a night in one pension, but had to move to another for the next two nights. However, the second place was better because it was only about 50 metres from the Charlottenburg S-Bahn station (which itself was only two stations from Zoo Bahnhof, Berlin's central station) - very convenient.

[Friday 22 May : Berlin, Germany] Berlin is a HUGE place, but the public transport system is fast and typically efficient. I bought a day-pass for each day that I was there, and used it to travel all over Berlin on the U-Bahn (underground trains) and S-Bahn (above-ground trains). Berlin resembles a massive construction site, as the rebuilding of post-Cold War East Berlin continues. The contrast between the wealth and affluence of what used to be West Berlin (which was part of non-Communist West Germany) and the old East Berlin is vast and shocking - nearly 10 years after unification of the two countries the areas in the east are still desolate, grim and grey. Many buildings in the east have not even been repaired after suffering damage in World War II, which was 53 years ago! However, the area around Kurfürstendamm in the west resembles any smart shopping district in London, Paris or New York.

[Saturday 23 May : Berlin, Germany] I spent the day exploring Berlin, visiting sights such as Checkpoint Charlie (no longer a tense border post but a busy street intersection with smart new office blocks), the museum at Checkpoint Charlie (fascinating), Brandenburg Gate, the East Side Gallery (a section of the Wall, about a kilometre long, that is still standing and which has been painted with murals by various artists), the Reichstag, the zoo with its famous Elephant gates, the Topographie des Terrors depicting the atrocities committed by the Nazis in World War II and the overwhelmingly monstrous Russian war memorial in Treptower Park. Schloss (castle) Charlottenburg is impressive - it was virtually destroyed in the war but has been completely rebuilt and is the largest palace in Berlin.

The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, during the day (above) and at night (below)

[Sunday 24 May : Hamburg, Germany] It was extremely chilly as I tramped around Berlin for the last time. The cold eventually drove me into a coffee shop, where I drank many cups of coffee (and ate many German pastries) while catching up on my diary. That evening I caught an overnight train from Berlin to Copenhagen in Denmark, which necessitated changing trains in Hamburg at 2 AM and waiting on the freezing platform for two hours. The temperature at 4 AM INSIDE Hamburg's train station was 3 degrees Celcius (this was in late May ; what must it be like in January or February?)

[Monday 25 May : London, England] Arrived in Copenhagen knackered after a sleepless night on the train from Berlin via Hamburg, had breakfast then caught the bus to the airport and flew to London on Scandinavian Airlines (SAS). Landed at Heathrow, took the Underground ("Tube") to Tower Hill, collected the keys to an apartment that had been booked for me by the company for whom I was due to work for the next week and moved in. Monday was a Bank Holiday in England, but I spent the next four days working.

[Saturday 30 May : Oxford, England] I checked out of the apartment in London, took the Tube to Victoria and caught a bus ("coach" as it's called in the UK) to Oxford. Spent the afternoon exploring this university town then stayed the night with some friends who were managing a pub in Oxford.

[Sunday 31 May : Copenhagen, Denmark] Took a coach direct to Heathrow Airport from Oxford, and caught my Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) flight to Copenhagen. When I arrived there I took the bus into town and checked into the Saga Hotel for three nights [Aside : Two years later, in 2000, a high-speed railway line to the airport was opened, making it much easier to get into Copenhagen from the airport].

[Monday 1 June : Copenhagen, Denmark] Explored Copenhagen, visiting (inter alia) Rosenborg Castle, Christiansborg Palace, Amelienborg Palace, Tivoli (the oldest amusement park in the world), the "free" city of Christiana (in reality just a bunch of squatters in a derelict and abandoned military base) and the botanical gardens. In the early evening I strolled around Nyhavn ("new harbour") as the sun was setting - it is now a trendy area of swanky restaurants and bars.

Oslo in Norway

[Tuesday 2 June : Copenhagen, Denmark] Went on a guided boat tour of Copenhagen, past the statue of the little mermaid. Visited the Carlsberg Brewery in the morning (the pillars of the brewery gates are two impressively carved stone elephants), then sprinted back downtown to the Danish Resistence Museum, getting there hot and perspiring just in time for the 2 PM guided tour. Afterwards I strolled down Stroget, which is apparently the longest pedestrian shopping street in the world. A motor cavalcade containing the royal car of the Japanese Emperor and Empress, who were on a state visit to Denmark, happened to drive right past me.

[Wednesday 3 June : Roskilde, Denmark] Checked out of the hotel and caught a train to Roskilde, where I visited the impressive Danish Viking ship museum. I had a 30-day ScanRail Pass (allowing unlimited use of any train in Scandinavia), and this was the first day I used it. The museum contains the remnants of five viking ships, all over one thousand years old. There is also a yard where modern-day viking ship replicas are built. After a quick look at the Roskilde cathedral I caught a train back to Copenhagen, collected my luggage and got on the overnight train to Oslo. Amazingly, the entire train drives onto the ferry for the short trip over the North Sea to Sweden! There are train tracks on the ferry which are lined up with the ones on the dock. Incredible.

[Thursday 4 June : Tonsberg, Norway] Arrived in Oslo to find that virtually every hotel, guest house and hostel in the city was booked solid. So I phoned a pension, booked a room for two days time and got on the first train south to Tonsberg, a small town on the south-east coast of Norway. The youth hostel in Tonsberg was mostly empty so I managed to get a private room there for the next two nights.

Stortinget (parliament) in Oslo

[Friday 5 June : Tonsberg, Norway] Used my ScanRail pass to hop on and off trains all the way down the coast, visiting the villages of Drammen, Sandefjord, Larvik and Skien. Sandefjord is a very pleasant seaside town.

[Saturday 6 June : Oslo, Norway] Took the train back to Oslo and checked into the pension I had previously booked. Oslo is a beautiful city, and I explored it thoroughly over the next 3 days. You can walk right up to the front door of the Royal Palace - there are no fences or gates of any kind! I explored, and got lost in, the many confusing cobbled alleys and courtyards of the The Akershus Fortress.

[Sunday 7 June : Oslo, Norway] I went by ferry across the Oslofjord to the Bygdoy Peninsula, where I visited the Fram Museum (containing the polar ship "Fram" used by Nansen and Amundsen), the Kon-Tiki Museum (dedicated to the many expeditions undertaken by Thor Heyerdahl) and the Viking Ship Museum where I saw the almost perfectly preserved "Gokstad" and "Oseberg" viking ships. These ships were built around 950 AD, making them more than a thousand years old. Afterwards I walked the long way round back to Oslo, via the open-air Vigeland Sculpture Park.

An Oslo-Bergen train approaching Myrdal

[Monday 8 June : Oslo, Norway] Took the Oslo metro ("Tunnelbana") up the mountain to Holmenkollen, where I visited the Holmenkollen Ski Jump and Museum. Browsed round the swish new Oslo Shopping Centre and explored the very attractive and up-market Aker Brygge waterfront area - fancy restaurants, hip and trendy bars and fashionable clothing boutiques, all with prices to match.

[Tuesday 9 June : Bergen, Norway] Took an early train to Bergen on Norway's west coast, arriving there late in the afternoon. The scenery en-route was fantastic. The highest point on the railway line is a town called Finse, which even in June was covered with snow. People who got off the train there put on ski's and skiied home! Some people were collected by friends/relatives in dog sledges. In Bergen I found a great place to stay - a newly-renovated guest house near the centre of town and the train station.

[Wednesday 10 June : Bergen, Norway] Visited the impressive Bergen Aquarium, and had a delicious lunch of smoked mackerel that I bought from the fresh fish market on the waterfront.

[Thursday 11 June : Bergen, Norway] Rode the funicular up the steep mountain behind Bergen for a fabulous view of the city, countryside and fjord, then walked back down again. An area of Bergen near the waterfront consists of preserved medieval buildings (from the "Hanseatic" period), and these are fascinating to explore.

[Friday 12 June : Bergen, Norway] Took a local train east to the village of Voss, where there is a perfectly-preserved old wooden "stave" church that is several hundred years old.

[Saturday 13 June : Flåm, Norway] Checked out of the guest house and took a train east to Myrdal, where I got off and caught the branch line train down the mountain (north) to Flåm, a tiny village at the head of the Sognefjord. This train (the Flamsbana) is a marvel of engineering, as it twists and turns its way down the mountain, past stunning waterfalls and through numerous tunnels and switchbacks. I have no hesitation in putting this trip on my Best Train Trips in the World list.

[Sunday 14 June : Flåm, Norway] There's not much to do in Flåm so I took a ride on the ferry up the Aurlandsfjord and Naeroyfjord (the narrowest fjord in the world ; it's only 250 metres wide but 11 km long) to the village of Gudvangen. Both these fjords are branches of the Sognefjord, the longest and deepest fjord in Norway at 204 km long and 1300 metres deep (yes, over a kilometre deep). Explored for a while then came back to Flåm on the late afternoon ferry.

[Monday 15 June : Lillehammer, Norway] Took an early train up the mountain (south) to Myrdal and then connected with the Bergen-Oslo express eastbound. In Oslo I checked e-mail then caught a train north-west to Lillehammer.

The train from Dombas to Andalsnes

[Tuesday 16 June : Lillehammer, Norway] It thrashed with rain as I explored Lillehammer, but as I only had one day I couldn't wait for it to clear ... I got completely drenched. However, I climbed the ski-jump used in the 1994 Winter Olympics (954 steps, a LONG climb) and watched as a bunch of guys practiced. I also visited the Olympic Musuem and rode the scary bobsled/ski simulator.

[Wednesday 17 June : Andalsnes, Norway] I left Lillehammer and continued north by train to Dombas, where I changed trains and took the scenic route down the mountain to Andalsnes. A very enjoyable roller-coaster two hour ride, as the train descended into the valley past waterfalls, cliffs and through many tunnels.

[Thursday 18 June : Geiranger, Norway] From Andalsnes I took a bus over the Trollstigen Pass to the tiny village of Geiranger, a spectacular trip - hairpin bends, soaring views, waterfalls and frozen lakes on the summit. The snow was TWO METRES deep on each side of the road at one point! It was ICY cold on top of the mountain where the driver stopped for a 15-minute break. The legend of "trolls" originated on the Trollstigen Pass. Geiranger is an incredibly picturesque (but very touristy) town, perched on the side of a mountain next to the Geirangerfjord. It consists of a few houses, a number of restaurants and pricey hotels, loads of souvenir shops and tons of tourists. Most tourists come up the fjord by boat ; when I arrived there were two huge cruise liners moored off-shore.

Geiranger fjord

[Friday 19 June : Alesund, Norway] I left my gear at the backpackers' place I was staying in and walked onto the car ferry that was going up the Geirangerfjord to Hellesylt. Given the number of well-heeled tourists in the streets of Geiranger, it was no surprize that I was the only passenger on foot. In fact, this worked to my advantage, because the guy collecting tickets assumed I was in a large tour bus that drove on board and did not ask me for a ticket or money. Going through the Geirangerfjord the scenery was jaw-droppingly stunning, and when the ferry got to Hellesylt I walked off after a free trip. I spent some time browsing around Hellesylt then took another ferry back to Geiranger ; unfortunately this time there was no large tour bus and I had to pay ... Back in Geiranger I found that the place in which I'd left my gear was all locked up. The manager had gone off somewhere and I couldn't get in to pick up my stuff, which was extremely irritating because I wanted to get on the first bus to Alesund so that I didn't arrive there too late. After trying in vain to get in I gave up and walked around Geiranger until mid-afternoon, by which time the manager was back again. I eventually got on an afternoon bus to Alesund on the west coast ; Alesund is a town built almost entirely in art-deco style, quite different from typical Norwegian architecture you see elsewhere. Because of the delay in Geiranger I arrived in Alesund quite late, so I had to explore the town in the evening.

[Saturday 20 June : Trondheim, Norway] A long, tiring day on various buses, ferries and trains, from Alesund to Andalsnes (bus and ferry) to Dombas (one train) to Trondheim (another train). Arrived in Trondheim at 10 PM, and had a hard slog up a steep hill to the place I'd booked to stay in. Of course, this far north it's still broad daylight at that time in mid-June.

[Sunday 21 June : Trondheim, Norway] A long lazy day of relaxing and exploring Trondheim. The weather up here is way better than the rain and wind that I experienced further south, which is odd - I would have expected the reverse. The hot, sunny weather in Trondheim also gave me my first glimpse of another aspect of Norwegian life ; walking around the city during lunchtime I kept coming across girls sitting on the grass in their underwear or even topless! There is a hilly, wooded park in Trondheim and people lying around in there were frequently stark naked. I guess sunshine is so rare this far north that when people get a chance they strip off and enjoy it. Most Norwegian girls are pretty good-looking so I wasn't complaining (and please note that back in 1998 I wasn't married yet) ...

Narvik ... a long way from anywhere

[Monday 22 June : Trondheim, Norway] Had a last look around Trondheim in blazing sunshine then caught the overnight train north to Bodo in the Arctic Circle. The entire trip was in sunshine ; this far north at this time of year the sun barely sets (and doesn't set at all beyond the Arctic Circle). On the way we went past a small village called "Hell" (!)

[Tuesday 23 June : Moskenes (Lofoten Islands), Norway] Arrived in Bodo in the morning, the terminus of the Norwegian rail system (there is a train line further north in Norway, from Narvik east into Sweden, but that is operated by Swedish Railways and is not connected to the more southerly Norwegian system). I explored Bodo briefly ; it is a nondescript place devoid of any style or character, although rather bigger than I expected. It was a short walk from the station through town down to the ferry terminal, where I rode the midday ferry across the Norwegian Sea to Moskenes, one of the southern Lofoten Islands - a pleasant 4 hour trip. At Moskenes there is absolutely nothing other than the ferry terminal and a small shop ; the next bus south to the tiny village of A on the other side of the island was a long wait, so I started walking. It was 5 km in very hot weather (amazingly, given that I was well north of the Arctic Circle), but I trudged on and arrived in A just under an hour later. The town's name comprises just one letter - a Norwegian "A" with a tiny circle on top, pronounced "Aw". I stayed the night in a converted fishing hut (called a rorbu) amid stunning scenery. Apparently the Lofoten Islands are blessed with a very mild and balmy climate due to the Gulf Stream, a warm Atlantic Ocean current that flows eastwards and hits the Lofoten Islands dead-centre.

My route from Narvik in Norway through Sweden

[Wednesday 24 June : Narvik, Norway] A LONG day on the bus over dozens of bridges, a few tunnels and multiple ferries north through the Lofoten Islands and Vesteralen Islands and back onto the Norwegian mainland. The weather was amazing and the scenery stunning, but it was about 10:30 PM by the time we got to Narvik. The youth hostel had moved since my guide book had been published, but I managed to find it and arrived there to check in with a swarm of other backpackers. Saw the Midnight Sun ; the Sun reached it's lowest point (well above the horizon) at about 12:30 AM before turning and rising again - there was no darkness at all.

[Thursday 25 June : Narvik, Norway] I explored Narvik briefly in the morning, and found it to be an interesting place ; a pity I had not planned to stay another night. Narvik was the scene of bloody fighting during World War II and there is a memorial in town to the many soldiers who lost their lives there. I changed all my Norwegian currency into Swedish kroners at a bank then caught the mid-morning Swedish train east to Kiruna, Boden and Lulea in Sweden, through stunning, rugged scenery. This branch line train terminated in Lulea on the Swedish east coast, but I got off shortly before there at a place called Boden. Boden is a major Swedish railway junction ; it was from here that I took a train northwards round the Gulf of Bothnia into Finland in 1992. This time I was heading south, and after a brief wait I changed onto a mainline train bound for Gothenburg on the south-west coast of Sweden..

Gothenburg town hall

[Friday 26 June : Gothenburg, Sweden] Arrived in Gothenburg 26 hours after leaving Narvik ; the train had sat on the tracks in southern Sweden for two hours during the night due to some fault. Turns out there was a Billy Joel/Elton John concert in the city the next night, so all accommodation was fully booked. I managed to get an absurdly expensive room for one night at the City Hotel. Had a delicious "all you can eat" pizza lunch.

[Saturday 27 June : Malmö, Sweden] Gothenburg is an attractive city and small enough to be easily explored on foot. There is a huge multi-level shopping mall called Nordstan near the train station and Liseberg, the largest amusement park in Scandinavia (bigger even than Tivoli in Copenhagen), is in Gothenburg. I also visited the famous Fish Church, which is not a church at all but an indoor fish market that is shaped like a church - hence the name. In the late afternoon I took a train south to Malmö. The place I wanted to stay in in Malmö had no private rooms left, but they let me sleep in the dormitory which worked out very well ; there was nobody else in the dormitory so I had the place to myself for two days - acres of space, a choice of six different showers and 12 different beds.

Ystad in southern Sweden

[Sunday 28 June : Malmö, Sweden] In the morning I took a train south to Ystad, a medieval town on Sweden's south coast. This local train system (called pågatåg) is amazing in that the trains are fully automated, with no driver or conductor! The countryside in the southern part of Sweden (the province of Scania) is flat and boring, and the views from the train in every direction were of cultivated fields. Ystad, however, is an extremely interesting town, with cobbled streets and half-timbered medieval houses. After a pleasant morning exploring Ystad I returned to Malmö in the afternoon on another automated train. Apart from the crumbling castle and gardens, there's not a great deal to see in Malmö, I'm afraid.

[Monday 29 June : Copenhagen, Denmark] Took the train north from Malmö to Helsingborg, where I boarded the ferry (free with a ScanRail pass) across the North Sea to Helsingor in Denmark. From there I caught a commuter train south to Copenhagen to find the city overrun with people trying to get OUT ; the Roskilde music festival had finished that weekend. People were sleeping on every available space in the train station, and the queue to buy tickets was over TWO HOURS long. I eventually found a place to stay for the night in a filthy, disgusting flea-pit of a hotel in the red light district. The dust and grime were millimetres thick on every surface of the room, but at least the sheets were clean.

Vienna city centre, Austria

[Tuesday 30 June : Copenhagen, Denmark] My last morning in Scandinavia. I walked around Copenhagen, did some final shopping then converted all my remaining Danish currency into US Dollars and Pounds Sterling. I caught the late-afternoon train south to Vienna via Hamburg after waiting in the queue at Copenhagen train station for over two hours - the station was clogged with people from the Roskilde music festival trying to leave. The train was packed to the rafters. In Hamburg I had five minutes to get across about 10 platforms and change trains, so I had to sprint with all my gear and just made it, panting and out of breath. Thankfully the Vienna train was half-empty, which made for a much more relaxing overnight trip.

[Wednesday 1 July : Vienna, Austria] Arrived at Vienna's West Bahnhof in the morning and took a slow stroll through town to Wien Mitte train station, where I caught the local commuter train to the airport at Schwechat. I had several hours to wait before my Austrian Airlines flight to Cape Town so I used up my last few schillings in the "Billa" supermarket in the airport basement, read and explored the duty-free area.

[Thursday 2 July 1998 : Cape Town, South Africa] Arrived back in Cape Town after two sleepless nights (one on a train, one on a plane). And that was the end of Europe 1998 ... next stop Spain, Portugal, Andorra, France and Monaco in 1999.