Island coincidence

Train #1: Södertälje syd to Malmö

It is the best way to begin a journey, taking the SJ high speed train to the south. Very quiet, super comfortable, coffee and fruit on tap. Who could ask for more? Certainly beats going to an airport, waiting around for hours and being herded onto a plane with hardly space to sit comfortably. No, give me a train any day.

I even managed to be sitting in one of the single seats with a table. I was sharing with a woman of about my age who very kindly put her legs in the aisle so I could stretch mine out, under her seat. Definitely better than a plane where they complain if you merely shuffle in your seat.

Anyway, the trip to Malmö was largely uneventful. In fact, the only thing that happened out of the ordinary was when a man, having poured himself a coffee, was on his way back to his seat, when the train lurched a bit. He quickly grabbed the top of my seat with his free hand.

Unfortunately, he managed to spill some of his coffee. Even more unfortunately, it was on the trousers of the man sitting across the aisle from me.

Of course, there were apologies thrown all about and the guy who copped the coffee said it was all fine. Except that, once the coffee guy had walked on, the man with the now damp trousers was not particularly pleased. He spent the next little while brushing the liquid away with a damp tissue. He grumbled to himself for a bit.

But, really that was it, and we pulled into Malmö station exactly on time.

Train #2: Malmö to Copenhagen

I’ve written before about the Öresundståg habit of naming their trains after famous people from the area the trains operate in. Well, today I saw one named after a film.

The train was called Flickan från Backafall, which is a 1953 Swedish film directed by Bror Bügler. The film is based on a poem written by Gabriel Jönsson called Vid Vakten (At the helm) from a book called Flaskpost (Message in a bottle) written in 1920. The poem was also turned into a song by Gunnar Turesson. It has become the signature tune of Ven, an island where Backafall is located.

The poem tells the story of a young sailor on his way to the Caribbean and his longing for a girl who waits for him back at home.

The train I was on had no name, just a number. It ran easily and calmly over the Öresund Bridge and into Copenhagen station with no fuss and, again, on time. And so, as the clock ticked around to check in time, I walked into my hotel and had a brief rest before heading out again.

I always stay at the same hotel, being a creature of habit, and yet have never explored that part of Copenhagen. I was very surprised to discover a planetarium not ten minutes walk.

Of course, the minute I texted Mirinda to tell her about it, she had already been and said how brilliant it was. And she was right.

As well as a fascinating exhibition about space, generally and a dark world of how it all began (including an amazing star floor that you walk across, making the cosmos flutter and swoosh), there was a film showing in the huge cinema.

The film I saw was all about volcanoes and an amazingly amazing dude called Carsten Peter. He has no fear. Dropping into an active crater on very long ropes, he thinks nothing of posing in front of a lava lake that’s bubbling and churning meltingly behind him. His photographs are extraordinary but not so much as the footage of him exploring some of the world’s most dangerous places.

The planetarium is named after Tycho Brahe (1546–1601). Apart from everything else he did (and he did a lot) he was responsible for Uraniborg and Stjärneborg, a couple of observatories on the island of Ven – one of which he had built underground. Such a coincidence. And, of course, now I really want to visit Ven.

After a lengthy and very enjoyable journey around the universe, I headed out, around the back of the planetarium to sit with an apple juice in the beautiful evening sun.

Then, finally, back to the hotel. Tomorrow I have a long train ride to Cologne. I needed sleep.