Oslo to Copenhagen

An anonymous pobbledocketeer has suggested that Scandinavians sound a bit drunk when they speak because their languages just do that. I haven't noticed that but I have made the following Sound Scandinavian Guide.
1. Say aaaaah, eeeeeh, eye, oooorrr, oooooo
2. Repeat but bend your knees and move up and down to create a sing-song effect for each vowel sound.
3. Add dee or bee after each vowel to make aaahdeeehhbee-eye-dee-oooorrrbeeoooodee and vary as needed.
4. Congratulations, you now sound Scandinavian. Don't try this in a bar.
Of course I'm talking nonsense and they don't sound like that at all. In fact the language sounds very soft and it is a bit like a song - the vowels are parabolic, always rising or falling, which must make us Brits sound quite flat to them.

As you can see from the photo, Copenhagen is not at its best right now. In fact, I found it quite grim - noisy, touristy etc. Wherever I looked there was a McDonald's, tourist-trap cafe, 6-lane road, building site. In the station a kid chucked some litter over his shoulder and scowled at me. When Anna G and I arrived in Copenhagen two or three years ago I remember the station as an open, airy space. Today it was hot and crowded with frowns, including one I prepared specially. Maybe I caught the city on s bad day but when the City Night Line train was announced it was as if angels had come to rain flowers from the ceiling and sing polyphonic versions of Bob Dylan. I was so pleased that I went to the front of the train when it came in backwards and had a chat with the driver, Alan, who told me no, driving trains backwards is not scary once you've done it a few times. He let me take his picture. I knew he was wondering if I was a foamer - the word that American train drivers give to train-spotters on account of how the sight of an approaching train triggers an excess of saliva production. I wanted to tell Alan I wasn't a foamer, I just wanted to ask some questions about being a train driver, but I didn't think it would translate into Danish properly so I just acted normal instead. Then I reached up and shook his hand and realised I'd blown it. I moved back so he could climb down from the cab and get away.

All the long-distance trains in Europe are given names; this one is called Borealis, meaning Of The North. Along its side is written 'Voitures-lits' - possibly the most romantic words in Europe, or at least in the top ten. Unfortunately I'm in the 'Voitures places-assises' but it's more interesting here in a compartment with five others including a young family. At this stage sleep seems unlikely.

Now, I forgot to include the lift from Trondheim station to Yousif's flat when I arrived there and the bus going the other way. Including these, then, the legs total stands at 22 to Copenhagen. Will we have a winning pobbledocket? I don't think we have one yet! The contest has been blown wide open and it's all to play for. Extraordinary.