So we do it like the Titanic.

Yes, that's exactly what you want to hear before getting on a ferry... clearly the alarmingly cheerful DB officer was not into history or films. In any case, this was the instruction Katherine and I were given as we waited for a replacement bus service to take us to the ferry to Denmark, having been told to leave our ICE train. It's a long story.

Lucy and Katherine's short (no pun intended) trip to Scandinavia was a wonderful lesson in spontaneity. We set off from Bad Salzdetfurth Solebad at 10:12 with a change of clothes, a train ticket to Hannover and hope. We had no accommodation booked, no further train tickets and no useable currency. But this didn't worry us too much. Perhaps the 45 minute delay for the Hildesheim to Hannover train was a warning that the next five days were not going to be simple. If it was, we ignored it, taking a different route to Hannover and then the ICE (super duper fast train) to Hamburg. The next stage was to buy a ticket to København/Copenhagen. The heavy police presence on our platform was slightly disconcerting, but the first section of the journey passed without complication. Nearing the coast, our happiness was interrupted by German border security. They proceeded to interrogate us (genuinely the most appropriate word). Somehow they found us an unusual pair of travellers: one English student living in Germany and one Irish student living in the Netherlands, going to Denmark and Sweden for five days. Maybe they had a point. We eventually managed to convince them that we weren't involved in drugs trafficking.

A few minutes later there was an announcement, informing us that there had been an incident on the track/involving a truck (we never established which). Either way, we were told to leave our high speed train in the buzzing village of Großenbrode (deserted) and wait for a bus to take us to a ferry. Katherine and I were so Irish/English that we didn't push our way onto the first bus, instead attempting to queue. Idiotic. Our politeness was rewarded with a long wait for the second bus, so long that the track/truck incident was resolved and we instead got a different train to the ferry port. At the port we are told to get on the next ICE train (the one that set off 2 hours later) to board the ferry. This was all a bit of a shock, we hadn't really realised that a ferry would be involved at all! After a windy 45 minute ferry, with very heavy doors (definitely gerbil proof), we arrived in Denmark. So we hopped back onto the second ICE, which celebrated reaching Denmark by going at 158km/h.

We arrived in Copenhagen just after eight in the evening, still without accommodation and useable money. By this point tourist information was closed so we also had no idea where we were going. We left the station, panicked and went back inside again and rashly booked a train to Sweden (the normal response to confusion). Our second attempt at leaving the station was more successful, and we managed to book ourselves a hotel for the night. The room was tiny but the location (right next to Tivoli Garden) was brilliant. We had a lovely evening, wandering round the Tivoli area and eating Chinese takeaway in the station.

Copenhagen // Nyhavn // The Little Mermaid // Rosenborg Castle // Danish Danish pastry

The next morning we obtained Danish Kroner, drank dubious tea and began our quest to see as much of Copenhagen as possible. Starting with the statue of the Little Mermaid, we worked our way though seeing the Amalienborg Palace (including the changing of the guard), Rosenborg Castle and the longest shopping street in Europe, only stopping for Danish Danish pastries (no, not a typo, just excitement at eating Danish pastries in Denmark!). The obligatory trip to the souvenir shop was completed, free hot chocolate was obtained and of course we climbed a tower. This one (The Round Tower) was very straightforward to climb with a spiral ramp up to the top. The love of towers continued as we walked to every tower we could see (too many to name). We also ended up in a delightful covered market... lots of free tasters (especially useful when food is so expensive).

As it was getting dark we went into Tivoli. Absolutely incredible. It was all decorated for Halloween and looked amazing, undoubtedly worth the 95 DKK entry fee.

Tivoli Garden

Our time in Copenhagen was almost over and we headed back to the station once more, ready for a night train to Sweden! There's no direct train from Copenhagen to Stockholm, so instead we got a normal train to Lund (in Sweden) and then changed to the night train. Lund was absolutely freezing. I cannot explain how cold it was waiting on the platform for the night train. Anyway, we got the train which unsurprisingly wasn't comfy at all (my neck might recover, Katherine's shoulders probably won't). Sleep or no sleep, we arrived in Stockholm central station at 6:17, walked outside and then back in again (it's becoming a habit). We got our Swedish Krona, ate muffins and waited in the warmth for a while. At the first hint of light we bravely headed outside to watch sunrise in Stockholm which was simply breathtaking. It certainly made up for the temperature and lack of sleep.

Once it was light we set to work seeing as much as possible in Stockholm. Gamla Stan, the palace, the city hall, you name it we saw it. And there was plenty of time for sitting by the waterfront and watching the world go by. Rather than climbing a tower we walked across a very high bridge near Slussen for panoramic views of the city. All this time, we had also been trying to find accommodation for the night. Unfortunately, as we sat outside the city hall watching sunset, we still didn't have any. And thus began the last ditch attempt to find somewhere to sleep. Walking round for over an hour, asking in every place we saw got us nowhere so we formulated a plan.

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Lucy and Katherine's foolproof plan for doing an all nighter in a very cold city.

1. Stay in the main station until it closes (until 00:45).

2. Go to Burger King under the premise of wanting coke and chips. Consume painfully slowly (01:00 - 03:00).

3. Go to McDonalds and repeat the process with different food (03:00 - 05:00).

4. Return to the station as it opens and stay until just before sunrise (05:00 - 07:00).

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Incredibly the plan worked beautifully. Whilst not ideal, the night was strangely enjoyable (being a Saturday night there were plenty of people around). We rewarded ourselves with coffee and Kanelbulle (Swedish Danish pastries) for breakfast and then went outside to watch sunrise over the waterfront (just as beautiful second time round). Our final morning in Scandinavia was spent wandering through the city, in my case taking hundreds of photos.

Stockholm Palace // city hall // Gamla Stan // Stockholm // the waterfront

At midday we headed back to the station to buy food for the journey home. As usual, everything apart from bread and pastries was extortionate so it was an uninspired selection. At 13:45 we set off from Stockholm bus station and began the mere 16 hour journey back to Hamburg. It's clearly not the most popular route (three other passengers) but at least it was quiet. The advantage to having not slept since Denmark (apart from 20 minutes in a coffee shop in Katherine's case) was that it was very easy to sleep on the coach.

The first interruption came in the form of a slightly confusing ferry from Sweden to Denmark (Helsingborg to Helsingor). Confusing because we had assumed we'd be doing the Malmö to Copenhagen bridge. The second ferry from Denmark to Germany (Rødbyhavn to Puttgarden) was at the wonderful time of 2am. Urgh. We eventually made it to Hamburg, had yet another failed attempt at procuring normal tea and just made Katherine's train back from Utrecht (and yes she made her lecture)! I decided to fight the exhaustion and cunningly bought a Niedersachsen train ticket, providing me with free transport around Hamburg as well as being my ticket back to Bad Salzdetfurth.

Although I walked to the Rathaus [town hall] from that point on I travelled by U-Bahn [underground]. Hamburg was on a completely different scale to the other German cities I have visited since arriving and I ended up being very relieved I could use the underground. After four hours of visiting numerous churches, St. Pauli, the harbour and shopping streets I began the journey home. The highlight of the exploring was the St. Nikolai church which had been destroyed in World War II with the exception of the tower, which now stands as a poignant monument against war.

And that is the story of the short trip to Scandinavia. In five days I spent 38 hours travelling on a combination of trains, ferries and a bus. In four nights I spent one in a bed, one on a train, one in a station/fast food outlet and one on a bus. But I did get to see two fascinating and spectacular cities. It was absolutely brilliant.