Friday, August 23
Today might just end up being a travel day. I'm on a train, and the wifi isn't working, so i'm gonna try and get some log done before the end of the day.
It's raining in Oslo again today, so no hike for me. I never even made it up to the rooftop garden at the hostel, which is disappointing. I guess i could've gone up there in the rain, i just never did.
I went to the grocery store for breakfast again - Kiwi, it's called, by the way, how have i not mentioned that yet? - and just grabbed some simple things. Banana, danish pastry, clementine juice, some Pepsi Max for a caffeine boost later. I gathered my stuff, and left.
I really liked that hostel. Good vibe.
I took the bus back to the train station, had a seat, and finally went to reserve my seat on the train. This is the first one i've looked at that required reservations. Even though i was pretty sure i knew what train i wanted, i dragged my feet on making that reservation, because i didn't know if i was going to do more morning things in Oslo yet.
Turns out, reservations need to be made between 90 days and 3 hours before the train departs. I was at the station one hour before departure. I couldn't make the reservation. Probably would have been a good idea to figure this out ahead of time.
There's another train from Oslo to Stockholm leaving at 2:45pm, which was four hours away at the time. I tried making that reservation, went through the whole process, hit the checkout, and it appeared to accept my payment. But no confirmation email came through. The reservation didn't appear in my Eurail account.
"Don't see your reservation? It can take a few minutes for the email to come through," said the web site.
I waited. It wasn't coming. I checked back into the "Reservations" section of my Eurail account. "Reservations can take up to thirty minutes to appear." Okay, when did i book the reservation? I couldn't remember how long i'd been here. I checked my phone, the metadata on the last video i recorded, just outside the train station, was almost an hour ago. So it's likely been over thirty minutes.
Every train the app was showing me required reservations. The high-speed trains always do. What if i couldn't get a reservation today? That would throw a bit of a wrench in my admittedly very loose plans.
Even though i thought i was already seeing all the trains that went to Stockholm today, i went ahead and tapped the button to add the "Does Not Require Reservation" filter to my search results. Suddenly, several more trains popped up.
These are much slower trains, but there was one leaving at 11:58, which gave me half an hour. It has a 75 minute layover...in Gothenburg. And it arrives in Stockholm two hours later than the 2:45 high-speed train, at 9:45pm. Which feels pretty late to be checking into a hostel or hotel, which i still haven't looked for. But if that reservation never comes through...i guess this is the option.
So i needed to figure out, in the next 20 minutes, whether that reservation was real. Kept refreshing the Eurail app and my email, nothing. Went looking for an information kiosk. Found one downstairs, but it was just for Oslo city information. They had a sandwich board outside talking about the five different versions of The Scream that Edvard Munch created, three of which are on display at the museum, and also a link to a web site that would lead you to the exact spot in Oslo where Munch had the inspiration for it.
I asked a security guard where i could find information about my tickets, and he pointed me back upstairs, but to a third floor i hadn't even noticed before. Go up, turn left, it's nestled between tracks 8 and 9.
The clerk was unable to help me, she can't see the Eurail system from her computer. But she did tell me that, from what she can see, the 14:45 train is sold out. She offered to book me on a different, much later train, but i declined. She did confirm that the 11:58 train requires no reservations. I told her i would try calling Eurail directly, and if they couldn't help me, i would just jump on that train.
Back to the Eurail app, now almost certainly over an hour since i tried booking that reservation, i clicked the button that said, "Tickets still not showing up?" and from there, "Contact us." Instead of a phone number or a live chat, there's just a form you can fill out to have somebody email you. At this point, i had about 15 minutes before the free train, so i was not going to wait on a form letter.
Looks like i'm going to Gothenburg.
Out of curiosity, i stopped at a self-serve ticketing kiosk, which confirmed for me that all the high-speed trains were sold out. I had been curious to see what the regular ticket price for them would be, without a pass. Before i bought the pass, i had wondered if it would be cheaper to just buy regular tickets the whole way, but couldn't find any information on what they cost for non-passholders, and thought i would just like to have the flexibility anyway. For reference, the seat reservation i was trying to make came out to about four euros, which is less than five dollars. Since it was sold out, i couldn't get information on it, but i checked the price for the slow train from Oslo to Gothenburg. 720 krona. About $72.
So yeah, the pass is probably very worth it.
I'm on that train to Gothenburg now. I got nervous when they announced that the train was full, and started turning people away at the doors. This train did have the option for seat reservations; was i going to get kicked off? The seats around me weren't full yet, so how could they know?
But no, people did eventually filter into those seats; they must just be counting as you board. They accepted my Eurail pass, and i'm now cruising through the Norwegian countryside.
So i'm gonna have about another hour in Gothenburg. I think i'm gonna go see the fish church.
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Okay, so i'm a little annoyed about the booking for the hostel. I paged through some listings, found one that looks pretty good (STF af Chapman/Skeppsholmen, it's called), and tried to book it. As soon as i put in my credit card information, Firefox minimized itself on my phone. I thought maybe i'd accidentally hit the center button to go home, so i just switched back to the app. It was on a plain white page with a red box reading "15:00," and the text "Come back soon so you don't lose your booking!" and a thin loading bar across the top. This bar filled up to about 25% when i opened the page, and then stopped moving.
I waited.
I waited.
I WAITED.
Nothing. Tried refreshing the page, no change. Tried clicking back, got a pop-up that said, "Are you sure you want to leave this page? Your booking is incomplete!" So i clicked Cancel, and back to the same page, but now feeling that maybe it was doing something.
I W A I T E D .
Nothing. Clicked back, told the pop-up YES, but nothing changed. Clicked back. Clicked back. Back back back back back back back back back back.
The URL did not change.
Left that alone and opened a new tab, to try and book again. There's only one bed left! It told me, which i already knew. I went through the whole process again. As soon as i punched in the credit card, Firefox closed again.
Frustrated, not wanting to lose this bed, i downloaded the app. My mobile data connection is flimsy at best, and the WiFi on the train is not working. But i did manage to pull down the app. Searched for hostels in Stockholm, and...it's gone. All that's left are two dirt-cheap options that are rated below three stars, or two wildly expensive ones that are rated about 8 stars. For reference, the one i was after is on the high side of reasonably priced, and rated at 9.3 stars. It's the obvious choice.
I set my phone down, upset. Why did Firefox crash like that? I'm using the same web site i booked the last hostel through. Why did it affect my booking? Why can't i get into this god damned hostel?
My first assumption was that my booking is trapped in limbo somewhere in their system, and that's why they're showing no availability now. But then, why did it let me go through the whole process a second time? Or maybe someone else got there before i did, and had already confirmed by the time i got my info plugged in. But again, why did it pop up a second time?
I cut my losses and changed my dates, and found i was able to book for the next two nights in Stockholm, just not tonight. Only one bed available again, fancy that. I figured i'd end up flopping at the super cheap one that hopefully is not infested with bugs and won't stab and rob me in the middle of the night, but when i searched for tonight alone, several more hostels popped up.
Including STF af Chapman/Steppsholmen.
For fifteen euros more.
God damn it.
Well, hopefully they'll at least let me leave my stuff in a locker tomorrow, even though it's two separate bookings. Hopefully i won't have to move beds or anything. I went ahead and paid the extra. I'm just salty about it.
---
Getting close to Stockholm now.
My layover in Gothenburg wasn't bad. The train station looks very different when it's open and busy.
Unfortunately, my train pulled in about 15 minutes late, and the walking time to the fish church had increased from 20 minutes to 25 minutes, for some reason. Maybe because i initially just put in "Götenburg Centralstationen" for a starting point, and once i got there it was using my actual location, down on the platform. The extra 5 minutes each way, plus the loss of 15 minutes in Gothenburg, reduced my potential time at the fish church from 20-30 minutes down to 10. That's not enough time to see a fish church and get food from it.
Instead, i ate at one of the many shops inside the station. It was called Happy Me, and had a sign indicating that it's Scandinavian food, but the actual menu was much more eclectic. I did consider getting the Indian Dal, i freakin love dal, but i want to try things that are from the areas i'm visiting. So i got salmon toast.
They called it "salmon toast," but what i was delivered was a whole-ass freakin' panini, with as much mashed avocado as salmon on it. It was good! I'm pleased with my choice. Pretty nice chai latte too.
The ride from Gothenburg to Stockholm so far has been pretty uneventful. Looking out the window...Sweden looks just like Wisconsin. Absolutely everything i've seen from this train has been so incredibly comparable to the American midwest. Rolling farm fields, cows, rolled-up bales of hay, forests, straight lines of trees dividing the properties. Just like home.
The wifi is working on this train, though, so i've spent the majority of my ride looking up the schedules for the film festivals i'm trying to attend, and checking train schedules to match.
The bad news is, there's no possible way i'm gonna make it to Oldenburg. "The Sundance of Europe," they call it. Who calls it that? I'm not sure. Maybe just Oldenburg calls it that. In fact, i'm going to have to burn the entire day of September 12th just traveling from Berlin to Paris. There are no available night trains.
I poked around the schedule for L'Étranger for a minute, and saw some exciting things, but forced myself to go back and look at Berlin Fantastic first. The tickets for Berlin Fantastic go on sale one day before L'Étranger, and that day is Monday, so i need to be prepared. If i didn't get to L'Étranger today, it wouldn't be a big deal.
I'm going to miss the entire first half of Berlin Fantastic. That's fine, i knew i wouldn't be in town for the whole thing anyway. Not if i want to see Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and i do.
The second half of Berlin Fantastic looks, well, fantastic, though.
It looks like they only have one screen? Looking at the showtimes, and adding the film durations, still leaves about a half an hour for changeover between each film.
The full festival pass is already well sold out, it was €210. Individual tickets haven't gone on sale yet. If i bought a ticket for every film that i'm able to make it to, though...it would be €204. I am. Kind of tempted. To just park my butt in a seat at the theater for four afternoons in a row. Four feature films a day, plus the first day i'm there, there's a short film block with 10 entries.
The neat thing is, the screenings don't start until 3pm most days, so i'll still have the mornings to explore Berlin.
I ended up picking 7 films that i'm gonna try to get tickets for. Unless my impulse to do all of them takes over once the purchasing window opens.
Okay, so here's the thing i'm super excited about. If you know much about the history of animation, this will mean something to you. L'Étranger is doing a special screening of the fully restored workprint of Richard Williams's The Thief and the Cobbler.
If you want to wormhole for a while, go ahead and look that up. If not...just proceed with the understanding that this is something special.
The caveat?
The screening is September 13th at 9:30pm.
I had one, just one, single, solitary solid plan for this entire trip. One very important thing that i wanted to do. And that is to watch the sunset from the top of the Eiffel Tower on September 13th, Amanda's & my 21st anniversary.
I looked it up. Sunset on the 13th should be 8:07 pm in Paris. There's a bus that should get me to the theater on time as long as i'm on the ground and walking away from the tower no later than 8:55.
So depending on how sad and wistful i'm feeling, i could make it.
I'm going to buy the ticket.
But i'm also going to prioritize the emotional space that i need for this event. If i'm not up to it, or if i just decide to stay at the Eiffel Tower longer, that is the priority.
God damn, though. It would be incredible to experience The Thief and the Cobbler in the theater.
I think i can be forgiven for taking Amanda to a movie for our 21st anniversary if i took her to the Eiffel Tower first.
The rest of L'Étranger is...maybe a mixed bag. There's a lot of cool stuff in there...that i cannot go see. With the Berlin festival, for the most part, films that are in English have German subtitles; films that are in any other language have English subtitles. In Paris, films that are in French have no subtitles, and films that are in any other language have French subtitles. Which, i mean, yeah, we're in France so that's reasonable, it just doesn't help me any. My grasp of the French language is 1st, maybe 2nd grade level at best. So i'm basically constricted to seeing films that are in English (The Thief and the Cobbler is), or are silent.
Which brings me to the other really cool screening.
They are playing the 1922 Nosferatu with live musical accompaniment. I think i really ought to go to this one. That sounds like an experience.
That gives me three features and a block of shorts i'm gonna try to make in Paris.
I thought it would be more, but that's okay. The main film festival on this trip is Sitges, and i've already left enough space that i could do the whole damn thing if i want to. I'm very happy with the quality of the selections and i feel very lucky that i'm able to see these things at all. This is incredible.
I also started making a wishlist for Sitges, but they haven't announced the full spate of films on display yet, let alone any kind of schedule. What they have announced looks damn cool though, i'm very excited about Handsome Guys, a South Korean remake of Tucker and Dale Vs Evil, for some reason.
---
Getting into Stockholm was a little weird. The train station felt very dated, and not in a "preserving history" kind of way, just in a "we haven't done anything with this since the seventies" way. It's dimly lit and tough to navigate. I'm pretty sure there's only one bathroom in the whole complex, signs to point the way are not clear, and it's a pay toilet.
Stockholm itself is kind of weird, too. It's old city, like Copenhagen and Oslo, full of cobblestone roads and centuries-old buildings, but it's also just. Kind of weird. I don't know. I can't put words to it yet. I'm here through Monday, though, so maybe i'll figure it out over the weekend.
"Hi, i need to check in," I said.
"Name?" the clerk asked.
"Trevor Triggs."
"Ah yes," he said. "The man of many reservations."
This hostel is also extremely weird. It comprises both a building and a boat. While booking, i was unclear whether i was getting the boat or the building. I assumed building, because i would guess the boat costs more and would have been clearly labeled as a boat room when i booked. And i am indeed in the building, but i seem to be in the attic, in what was clearly meant to be a storage room???
It was pitch black when i walked in. I can't figure out if i have electricity running to my bunk, so i'm not gonna be able to charge my devices today. I'll figure all of that out tomorrow, i guess, when there's light.
My bunk is also directly below an open window. There's a loud party going on out on one of those boats, i saw the lights as i walked up, but their music is blasting across this whole neighborhood. Honestly, the volume i'm getting from here is pretty pleasant. It's a lot of dance hits, and of course this is Sweden so i've already heard multiple ABBA songs, but they also just played Naatu Naatu from RRR, so it's a pretty eclectic mix.
So far, strong preference for the Bunks at Rode. It's unfortunate i had to come into STF af Chapman/Skeppsholmen at 10:30pm, so i'm gonna wait until tomorrow and give it a fair shake. There's gonna be a breakfast buffet, after all, and that helps a lot.
Although i did get charged extra for that. i have no idea how much extra. He said, "Do you want to add a breakfast buffet?" and i thought for a second and then just said, "Sure" without any further questions. I think it was a lot. That's how they get you.
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