Photo TR: TPR 2014 SCANDI Tour - Bill's Awesome Revisit!

[Nrthwnd]

Finally! After five years, me and TPR go back to revisit some of the amazing parks and places that are part of Scandinavia. With a stop in Iceland on the way there, and a sidetrip across waters to Germany and a fave park there. This was "like" a repeat of the 2009 tour. But of course, with so many different parts to it...like herrings, LOL!

 

So first day, to the airport, a quick meal, calm my nerves, and away (+ a day) to Copenhagen!

Where my TPR Tours all start. A basic #10 envelope. Eventually packed with bits of paper and info.I have found along the way, prior to the tour.

Lunch, before boarding at YVR. And salads with meat would prove to be a type of meal I'd come back to,

again and again, through the tour.

And there's an AQUARIUM in the International Departures area of YVR!

And there happened to be two divers in it, cleaning the glass and making sure all the fish were happy fish.

So many people came by, just stopped, and watched. Then they took photos, heh.

I wish I had an aquarium at home This Big! (o:

My gate.

Where the 7 hour stop is - Iceland!

The plane awaits....

Edited November 7, 2014 by Nrthwnd

[BCTom]

I notice that they are *not* loading our luggage onto the plane. A *tiny* detail that was overlooked.

[Nrthwnd]

^And then they announced what had happened, and we rolled back to the loading dock, LOL.

Which I remember, was also cutting short your transfer time in Iceland. But you did make the

connection, yes?

 

Hey, the tour was already turning exciting...for better or worse.

[Nrthwnd]

"And now - a word or three about the photos I took on this tour..."

 

This is now the fourth TPR Tour I have done, using my new (well not so new now) digital camera.

And I must say, I really improved in a few days of starting to take the pix. So much so, I started to

take more time in setting up shots, rather than just snapping away. And after getting back home here,

I found that some photos taken were much too dark, to even figure out, myself. So I started playing

with exposure, and ending up with a few interesting takes on a single pic, I hope you enjoy seeing.

 

Here's an example below, and although it consists of three photos, the rest are (mainly) in twos, or solo.

This is the load/unload station of Piraten, at Djurs Sommerland on the tour.

Even I can't recognize who's in that waiting crowd. So....

I lightened it all up a bit. Now you can make some faces out. But I decided to push the exposure button a bit more, and...

Instant Art! (o;

Edited July 7, 2014 by Nrthwnd

[AJMouse]

:o You could turn this into a Photo TR: TPR 2014 SCANDI LSD Tour topic, Bill!

 

Looking forward to your updates!

[Nrthwnd]

^ LOL, of course! What was I thinking? Actually, this is about the only one I went

psychadelic on. The other photos, not so much.

 

But thanks for the suggestion, AJ

I spy with my little camera......you there AJ!

[Nrthwnd]

06/12/2014 - 6 Hours in Iceland Airport....Day Ends with Danish Steak Dinner!

 

The flight over had nothing exciting (thankfully) to cooment on, except for that "forgotten luggage cart"

the plane had to return for, from the tarmac, lol. But it put a dent in Tom's connecting flight to Copenhagen,

via Reykyavik, and he had to really run for his flight. I on the other hand, had an hour cut off my original

7 hours I was having to wait in the airport, for my connection. So that helped the wait. But not much.

 

When I finally did get to Copenhagen, I also had a good sized bottle of schnapps from Duty Free for the group's

upcoming Snack/Alchohol Exchange on Friday evening. But that would wait. I also want to say this was The Fastest I have ever gotten off a plane, gotten my bag (second one down the ramp!), left the airport, gotten my train ticket (open cashier spot just as I arrived), and a minute later my train arrived! I was impressed!

 

Several of us had planned to get a "good steak dinner somewhere," that turned out to be at a steak house right

beside Tivoli Park's entrance! The staff were very pleased to have us there, and our waiter was especially fast

and efficient in making sure we enjoyed our meal and evening there.

 

The price was good and included the place's salad bar. I think we were all happy with what we got and ate. It was a great start for getting to meet up with a few old tour buddys, and meeting new ones as well.

 

And that waiter (damn forgot his name - anyone remember?)..... mmmmmm. That's all I'll say.

I think it means, leave your mental baggage at home. Good words for this tour. This was in a hallway at Reykjavik airport, after we touched down.

Iceland Family portrait. I think.

Open faced sandwich for lunch at the airport. Great presentation, and an eventual mess to deal with, lol.

The schnapps I bought for the exchange the next night.

Ceiling of our waiting area at the airport. Interesting.

Arrival in Copenhagen, and this is my train car to Central Station.

Our Steak House, right by Tivoli!

Group shot, taken by our handsome waiter.

Dinner. Steal with garlic butter was heaven. Potato was excellent. Salad Bar was varied and plentiful. A good meal that night!

More of the group. Hi JC! (all in black, left) Glad we're going to be roomies again. (o:

Lauren at the Salad Bar.

Another shot of us all.

Our Personal Photographer takes a selfie. Like I said, handsome, yes?

AJ attempts to drink a rather LARGE BEER.

And he succeeds! Way to go AJ!

Entrance arch of Tivoli. We'll be back in a couple of days.

Construction fencing artwork, on our walk back to our hotel.

And we make it back, for a good night's sleep. Ready for a Bonus Park tomorrow!

Edited July 8, 2014 by Nrthwnd

[gisco]

Thanks for starting this Bill. It seems like so long ago.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Thanks Bob. And, I know! Only a week's gone by and it feels like it was

before Christmas! Ah well. Will do my best, for the memories.

Speaking of memories... shameless, Bob. Shameless. (Sarkaniemi Park, Finland)

[gisco]

If you are going to whore a coaster, there is no use hiding!

[Nrthwnd]

^ That's so true....

Our Bonus Park in Denmark.

[Nrthwnd]

Annnnnd one more, but this "coaster" might be... 'debatable'.

 

 

 

(EDIT TO ADD: Couldn't resist. One more, and it's a VID

and NOBODY {to the best of my knowledge} rode it!

Will post After Midnight, PST.)

Peek-a-boo? (Linnanmaki Park, Finland)

[Nrthwnd]

~ (almost) Midnight Video ~

 

This is something we found at Liseberg park on the tour. And as some of us (myself included) had "heard"

of something on the tour that "sort of" was a powered coaster. Or maybe not. And it involved planes. So

it was either a kids' flat ride, or something families could ride together.

 

At first thought, "this must be it". But it looked too small and definitely NOT a powered coaster by

any means. So I didn't ride it. And I don't think anybody rode it.

 

But I taped it anyway, the whole cycle, which was nearly 2 minutes. Testing my film skills, lol. It's

pretty tame and not that much of a thrill. But all the kids on board seemed to enjoy it...

 

[coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=MVI_5315_02k5[/coastertube]

 

And that's that.

[Vtafro]

Bill wasn't this at linnanmäki?

[Barge84]

^I thought that at first, but the video was of a different ride than what we're thinking of.

[Nrthwnd]

^^ Nope and ^ Yep.

 

I discovered this one in Liseberg, in their newly renovated children's area.

 

If you watch the video, you see overhead railing with "cars" rolling past. That's

part of their new set of rides for kids and their parents.

 

But I immediately thought of Pilotti in Linnanmaki, like you.

But it wasn't.

Edited July 10, 2014 by Nrthwnd

[Vtafro]

Sorry, video isn't working on ipad.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Hmmm. I'm not geeky enough about this, to know what's not right, lol.

You could try going right to the TPR Video Downloads page. Mine is

still in the new videos section, titled Liseberg: Plane Ride. That's

the best I can suggest to you right now.

[cfc]

Thanks for starting this Bill. It seems like so long ago.

 

Hell, for me it was five years ago.

[Nrthwnd]

06-13-14 ~ Bonus Park Day - Sommerland Sjaelland

 

Our extra park, for those who arrived a bit early, was a great choice. This park was like

many I have seen across Europe, that not only have an amusement park for families, but

also camping grounds, some times a water park, and generally enough stuff to make a

family vacation destination possible.

 

A lot of the rides were geared to the younger set. But there were a few attractions here

and there, that adults could ride and appreciate too. Like an "almost cheesy" jungle cruise,

that was fun to ride. Go karts (for those who wanted to prep up for that TPR Indy at Power Park)

to ride, ropes courses to climb about on (for those who wanted to prep up for the next

day's Big Ropes Course), two credits to ride, and lots of landscaping to just walk through and relax.

 

A great buffet lunch was served up by the park, and as an added treat for us, a performance

artist was in rehearsals for his show at the park...and him and his "manager" (?) decided to

do one of these rehearsals just for us!

 

I mean, how often do you get to see...a man shot out of a cannon?!!

 

 

On to some photos.... and then.... Captain Munoz!

Our day's schedule - this is for those of you who haven't done a TPR Tour (yet) and are curious how a day's schedule runs. And any changes made here may or may not be on the paper. Some times the changes were given to us verbally, which was okay.

Our Ansgar hotel room, cozy and we had it for four nights!

Light effects.

Nice hotel courtyard with water display.

On our way to the busses, and the park.

Well, at least the city is trying to help.

On our way, past some interesting factories.

This one was perforated all through it!

I see flags!

And an entrance gate you couldn't miss. We're here!

No remember JC, we're in the SLIKFIDY parking lot.

Map. It's a pretty big space, including the park.

A playground, and one of our two credits in back.

Nicole manages to drive a mini race car around.....a bit.

And here's the second credit everybody's waiting for...

Shameless. All of us.

A really great buffet lunch served to us. With beverage! (o;

Go kart tracks to practice on, before The Big Race at Power Park.

Last minute checks on the electronics and such.

And now - I give you - CAPTAIN MUNOZ - Flying Daredevil!

Captain Munoz himself, waiting before the Big Boom! (To be continued...)

[BCTom]

Our Ansgar hotel room, cozy and we had it for four nights!

 

How many nights did you sleep IN your room?

 

I was really surprised by the extra park. I wasn't expecting much but there really was a lot to do. The obstacle course was really good and the jungle cruise type ride was really good. The interactive elements, where you could send a text to turn on certain effects, was extremely cool.

[Nrthwnd]

How many nights did you sleep IN your room?

 

Um....I will admit to....three.

 

Captain Munoz: The Human Cannonball!

 

This was a surprise when we were at Sommerland Sjaelland. I don't think anybody expected

this to be here, and yet, there he was! With what looked like a very shady Vegas-style "promoter".

 

So I got a video of most of it all, and although long, the BOOM is worth it.

 

[coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=MVI_4639_k64c[/coastertube]

 

And here's the rest of our day at the park. Before dinner. And before the Snack and Alcohol Exchange.

I got a photo with Captain Munoz! After the Boom!

The more adult of our two credits, at the park.

A ropes and balance course. Precursor to what was ahead the next evening.

Neil enjoys his first (?) ice cream on the tour. The first of many, for a lot of us. (o;

A small and rather quaint candy display. Very small, compared to what was ahead of us.

(Think: A wall of lollipops!)

Edited July 11, 2014 by Nrthwnd

[thrillerman1]

Thanks for the Scandi updates, Bill. Looking forward to more!

[Nrthwnd]

06-13-14 ~ Welcome Dinner at Wagamamas ~ The Snack-Alcohol Exchange

 

After spending most of the day at Sommerland Sjaelland, we headed back to the hotel, freshened

up, then proceeded to go to our first "official" meal of the tour - at Wagamamas Restaurant,

adjoining Tivoli Park. Described as "Japanese Fusion Cuisine," most of the time, it comes in

bowls, lol! For my few visits there through the TPR Tours, it's all good, and I definitely look forward

to eating at one of it's franchises in the not-too-distant future.

 

After that, we were back to the hotel and did The Scandi Snacky Snack Exchange and as well,

The Scandi Alcohol Exhange the same time.

 

It.....went.....well..... I am pretty sure. And whatever happened to me...well, I really would

enjoy seeing a video or even a photo, etc.etc. Or...maybe not. And by the way, THANK YOU Caeser for

getting me back to my room. And sorry JC, for all the overnight "hangover noise."

 

Now to the photos....

Wagamamas is simplistic in design, from it's signature sign, to the interior.

Where some of us sat.

And, the rest of everybody.

I started with a nice appetizer of big shrimp, marinated and skewered.

My main dish was basically a salad, but with MEAT on it! And it was great! (o:

And "tastes" are being exchanged.

The Exchanges Start. Here's some of the booze on the main table we used as our "tasting bar."

And there were snacks everywhere else in the room!

My cheesies from Canada. Hawkins Cheesies are still The Best Anywhere, for me.

Where some of the snacks had to end up. Mmmm, I see Moon Pies.

And little Baby Bottles of Booze...

The Everybody's Happy Shot - with Shots.

I managed to get one of these little mini-boozes. Thanks to whoever brought them!

And Aaron, here's where my Vegemite ended up in our kitchen. Thanks for the tube of it!

[Nrthwnd]

*** Near/After Midnight BONUS Photo!***

 

Or thereabouts, time lines depending.

 

This little surgary tidbit uis being given to an old theatre friend of mine,

from over 40 years ago, we've known each other. And she's now Directed

AND Choreographed a repeat showing of last summer's hit - Legally Blonde -

at one of my past alma maters - Theatre Under The Stars or TUTS

(1969-Carousel/1970-MyFairLady/1971-HelloDolly!{with Val)/1972-Brigadoon

1975-FiddlerOnTheRoof/1977-WestSideStory as Riff).

 

We're seeing the show this Wednesday. So PINK it is, in this treat I picked up

in Tusenfryd, Norway! Along with a small bouquet of mini-carnations.

Hope she likes it.

It's what I couldn't get over - all this - SUGAR around me. More than I'd ever seen, even at Disney!

And for the record - in 1974, here is Val and yours truly, in our 'duet' in the "Tea For Two" number, in a local production of No,No,Nanette. She was Nanette. I was lead dancer. We both turned professional from this production. And so it goes...

And here's a colour shot, taken from a balcony. Sorry for the slight glare in middle. It happens.