Our time in Stavanger has been pretty awesome. A balance of being active and resting in equal measure. No dramas to report and everything went as if planned with precision – unless ice cream was involved. In truth, the plan was not to plan. The journey back to Oslo was the reverse of Thursday’s trip…

The next two days were set aside for rest and a little sightseeing. To start with, I made sure I didn’t stiffen up from our hike by doing a mix of pilates, yoga and tai chi. To the trained eye, though, it probably looked more like me flailing my arms about than anything graceful. Either…

Today was rock day! We’re currently nestled between Pulpit Rock and the Floating Rock – almost equidistant as the bird flies. Setting ourselves the challenge of climbing one is one thing, but getting to the start is another. The Floating Rock would have meant a journey of nearly three hours, including a ferry crossing. Tempting,…

We now enter a very different culture. Oslo. Having cancelled our overnight stay we pushed on to get the train to Stavanger and came across a minor problem. The train wasn’t running from Oslo to the west coast at all – engineering works had taken over our plans. Instead of the scenic glide we’d expected,…

Before I tell you about the Color Fantasy, let me share a bit about food prices in Germany. Supermarket costs are similar to the UK and picking up supplies has been fairly easy. Eating out is much more expensive compared to home. The tax system is structured differently, making eating out a luxury. But the…

Packing up this morning I felt smug – I thought knew I could pack my bag with space. Turns out, I couldn’t. It took three attempts. Every time I turned round I found something I’d missed. I knew something was off when I had to tighten the straps. On the plus side – I did…

Packing most things the night before meant we only had a few finishing touches in the morning. Oddly, it felt too easy – we all thought we must have forgotten something. Bags zipped up with space to spare, we decided it must just be experience paying off. We headed for the 7.38 from Berlin to…

It was time to leave – another early start to catch a train to Kiel. This time it was a local train, a fairly short journey by comparison. As we left our apartment, I had a moment to reflect on all we’d done since arriving. We’d packed so much in – learnt plenty – but…

After a few heavy days of history we wanted to lighten the mood – so we planned a segway tour of the city. First though – a few checks. There’s a minimum weight limit for segways – otherwise I guess they’d never move. David, Cam and I had been on one before. Charlie hadn’t. We…

Outside our Berlin apartment door, the pavement is set with small brass cobbles. They’re called Stolpersteine – stumbling stones. Each one carries the name of someone who once lived here, along with the year they were taken away and their fate. They shine in the sun, but their stories are heavy. On Sunday we visited…