This trip starts in the capital of Denmark, continues on a territory of Sweden and ends in the capital of Norway. It consists of two stages, with a train change in the native city of Kal, Ada and Hasselblad.
1. Copenhagen Central Station
An early cloudy morning in Copenhagen with a little intermittent rain. Takeaway coffee is around its consuming peak. Parked bicycles wait for their riders. Passengers, with me as one of them, wait for their trains.
The Copenhagen Central Station (København H in tickets and timetables - H stands for the Danish word Hovedbanegård) is massive, mature and full of dignity. Its wall holds a huge hexagon sign with a crown and wings - a former logotype of the DSB (Danish State Railways). It is sweet that the company uses a street poster to wish everybody a pleasant journey and a wonderful day.
In my head, I wish the same to the local birds. And go inside, under the high ceiling of the station.
The platform where my train is expected to appear is crowded. The pace of a working day is fast. Sets of cars come and go, following each other every few minutes. There is a little delay in the schedule, some changes in track numbers and departure times are being made on the fly.
I am a bit confused and lost in unfamiliar toponyms on information boards. I almost get on the wrong train. I am not sure why the screen says “Helsingborg”, but a railroad employee (hooray for that good man!) clarifies the situation and points me to the right vehicle.
The right one is on the track 5C, with orange lines near its doors. Saved from my own absent-mindedness by a well-timed piece of advice, I finally start my trip in a proper manner. This is the happy end of the chapter one.
2. Øresundståg
The train I am in bears the name of Øresundståg, a railway network which operates in Denmark and Sweden. The train is modern, fast and full of people. I use an unfolded additional seat between cars and wait until we reach Malmö. A lot of passengers leave the train at that station, so I can start looking for a vacant chair bothering as less persons as possible.
There are three important words which can be found near some of the seats - “Kan Vara Reserverad”. This expression means “Can be reserved”. If you don’t have a reservation (it has to be bought separately from a ticket), you are invited for a quest of finding free place, which could be tricky in busy hours. Anyway, as far as I can see, this works mostly in theory, while in practice there are so many people that they just sit wherever they can.
I go through the 2nd Class car. The chairs here are positioned in rows of four, have a sizeable head-supporting elements and upholstered with a blue textile. In my personal opinion, all this offers an impressive level of comfort for a 2nd Class of a regional train. This is how this car looks when it’s empty:
Good for me, my ticket allows me to occupy a place in the 1st Class, although it’s not much different. Of course, this car is also comfortable. And this is a picture of it without passengers:
I manage to find a seat and continue my ride in a completely relaxed mode. My chair is made of a kind of leatherette. I can use a table, a coat rack, a socket and a cleverly designed on-floor place for the luggage.
A train staff member with a food trolley appears. He offers a coffee, and this refreshing drink is included in the ticket price. I also notice another nice sign of caring attitude. At some moment the train stops somewhere between stations. This stop lasts no more than a couple of minutes, but the voice message (English version is included) tells the passengers that everything goes according to the plan, and we are just letting some other train through.
The landscape is flat and mostly agricultural. There are lots of fields, and I especially like the yellow ones - they look bright and optimistic in contrast to the overcast sky. Another thing I am always glad to see outside the window is wind turbines, and the view includes a fair number of them.
Without significant changes in scenery we arrive in Gothenburg. There is some good news: the weather is better here. Hello, sun! See you later, Øresundståg!
Interlude: about the route
The distance between Copenhagen and Oslo is about 600 kilometers. Gothenburg, where the train changing happens, is right in the middle of the route. During the first part of the journey the train leaves Denmark, crosses the Øresund strait (using a long tunnel and an even longer bridge) and moves to the north of Sweden. Then, the second train makes its way further to the north and reaches Norway.
This two-act voyage lasts seven and a half hours plus the time between the trains. In my case, the whole adventure starts at 8:27, then I have one hour of leisure in Gothenburg, and finally, at 16:52, I set my foot on the Norwegian land.
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3. Gothenburg Central Station
I meet the sunny midday in Gothenburg (Göteborg, if you prefer an original Swedish spelling). There is no time to walk around the city, so I wander near the Central Station. Fun fact: this is the oldest of all the railway stations in Sweden. And its 19th-century building is in good shape.
The architecture and interior are full of interesting details here. Complicated light fixtures, various wooden elements, stone basins, huge roof lanterns, intriguing patterns, window walls… Apart from all this beauty, the building is stuffed with cafes, shops and other things that modern traveler needs. Including free Wi-Fi (the name of the network is quite welcoming - “All Station Guests”).
Time flies faster than usual when there is an internet connection. My only hour in this place comes to an end. I walk outside, closer to the platforms. There are trains of different types, shapes and colors. It is one of those moments when I understand the railway geeks who want to ride each and every train on this planet. Too sad but life is so constructed that it’s not possible to be in two or more places simultaneously. So I guide my steps to the specific track.
4. Vy Class 73
The train that will get me to the final point of this trip is already here. It is ready for boarding in advance, and I can take a decent look at its exterior.
It’s a Class 73 specimen, having a high forehead with a driver cabin, big nostrils of headlights and a thin yellow smile on a protective shield. The train is well-rounded in shapes and bright in colors. It has four cars for more than two hundred passengers and a tilted system for building up a higher speed on road curves.
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The company that operates this vehicle has been recently rebranded. In the past it was called NSB, now its name is Vy. The change happened just about a month before my trip, so a lot of trains still have the previous name and logo on them. I look at the NSB symbol which becomes a vanishing item of reality. I guess, this is one of the last chances to look at it not in the railway museum.
But enough of lyrical speculations, it’s time to move forward - both metaphorically and physically. I get on board and enter the 2nd Class car, where I am about to spend the next four hours.
As in an Øresundståg train, the arrangement of seats here is “2+2”. Some places have a fixed wooden table between them, others are equipped with unfolded plastic tray tables. Windows are big enough, seats are rather comfortable.
Some time after the departure a ticket control takes place. This time, due to official requirements, the conductor asks to show not only a ticket but also an ID with a photo. This is not a great bother, and the conductor is nice and friendly. He is in a good mood, smiling, making jokes and exchanging ironic remarks with passengers. This amplifies the overall emotion of coziness, and I feel myself even more pleasant here.
Speaking of coziness, my favorite essentials are presented. I mean a socket and free Wi-Fi. Nothing stops the modern living from being exactly what it is: a constant charging and discharging. I am plugged in, relaxed, safe and sound.
There are some additional features. They are located at the doors, between the train cars. The first of them is a coffee spot (as far as I understand, it’s free for all passengers - regardless of the class of one’s ticket). The second is a set of paper bags with quite an unambiguous illustration on them. I skip the latter option and have yet another cup of a hot beverage.
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While I am indulging in leisure, the landscape changes. The final part of the route offers a lot of rocks, forests and lakes. The closer we get to Oslo, the more numerous are trees, the bigger are hills, and the wider are water surfaces.
And then the train enters the metropolitan area and stops. This trip is over.
5. Oslo Central Station
When the ride is pleasant, it usually feels shorter than it actually is. This is exactly the case. I leave the train with a kind of a bittersweet feeling, but we will definitely meet again.
The sky is clear. The sun still shines. I am at the third central station for today, which somehow looks like an achievement.
The Oslo Central Station is the biggest in Norway and it is relatively new. It meets passengers with a spectacular outdoor sign and examples of contemporary public art.
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We are of the same age with this building, but it looks fresher than me, at least in the evening. I will explore this place later, that’s for sure. But now - after spending a nice day in a company of railroads - I go to the Forenom Aparthotel, where I will stay for some time.
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Epilogue
Before putting the full stop at the end of this long text, I would like to recommend the aforementioned apartments. There are some reasons to do so. The place is just in ten minutes of walking from the Central Station. An apartment includes a tiny kitchen. This way of staying is cheaper than a regular hotel, which is important in an expensive city like Oslo. And the last thing I like about this is that there is no checking-in and no interaction with any personnel: you just get the code via email and SMS and use it to enter the building and your room. Isn’t this nice?
OK, that’s almost all for now, my patient readers! The last thought: the trip from Copenhagen to Oslo by train is far from the worst way of spending a day, so book your tickets on Omio, ACPRail or SJ and enjoy the experience! And the very last thought: I think it makes sense to get a seat reservation in addition to a ticket if you travel via Øresundståg in the busy hours of a working day. Best of luck! Hugs, kisses and so on.
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