Magical Days in Odense: Boat Trip Thursday Night

As usual, we attended the now 'not' Harry Potter Festival in Odense, and this year I had purchased tickets for the 'Zoolomagical Boat Trip in the Dark' for Anna and Lea.

For some reason, this year the check-in for the ride had been moved to the bank opposite of the quai, which caused some confusion, but eventually all the participants found their way over there.

 

Anna and Lea, too. The next couple of photos were taken from the far side of Odense Creek with zoom on my new Canon Ixus - I am somewhat impressed!

 

Luckily, the girls were placed on the same boat.

It still took a while before they departed, as the other boat had to go first, and it seems the skippers want to maintain a safe distance between the boats as they navigate up the creek to Odense Zoo.

I used the waiting time for snapping some pictures, and you can see the best results below.

After the boats left, I had to kill three hours, so I went to the Old Irish Pub in 'Elf Alley' Odense, to wait for my Wife and have a few beers.

GoB: Painting Interupted

I had my hopes set high for today's progress, but as Lea has been ill (a stomach ailment) the last couple of days, and she felt well enough to crave some daddy-time after lunch, I did not get as much done as planned.

I base-coated the bases and scythe handles - I had hoped to at least also paint the scythe blades, but that will then have to be done tomorrow morning.

Unluckily, I dropped one of the skellies, and the scythe broke, so I had to glue it (with some Revell liquid poly cement), and it now needs to have the joint smoothed out.

Annoying set-back, but at least the poly cement seems to have welded the handle very well, so the clean-up should run seamlessly.

It would have been so much nicer to have these models ready for the Agrax Earthshade  wash by now, but the stars seem to have not been right for that.

Instead, we watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as part of our current reprise of the series - and the film that I think is the focus of Knight Models' first set for the upcoming Harry Potter Miniature Game, due in 2017.

Harry Potter Festival 2016: Zoomagical Boat Ride

The day after the Hogwarts Express ride, the girls went on the evening Zoomagical Boat Trip on Odense Å from Munke Mose to Odense Zoo, where some scary and wondrous stuff awaited them.

I still do not know how to manually set my camera for less than optimal lighting conditions, so the photos are not all that great, but I think you will get the overall mood.

Off they go!

The previous tour returns to Munke Mose

The late tour was somewhat delayed, and I walked up the river to look out for the returning boats.

At a bridge, I noticed this:

The return of the late tour. The kids had a great time, and if you ever visit Odense with kids during week 42, I can heartily recommend the festival.

Harry Potter Festival 2016: The Hogwarts Express

Odense Central Library each year organizes a Harry Potter Festival in the weekend of week 42 (Autumn School Break week here in Denmark).

This year I managed to get hold of 2 tickets for the Hogwarts Express (vintage train from Odense Railway Museum) trip, which marks the beginning of the festival on Thursday evening, and is one of the most popular events.

I took a bunch of photos from Byens Bro (the City Bridge) which traverses the railroad station area and tracks, and I apologize in advance for the many almost identical pics.

The pupils start entering the train.

The Express has taken off.

The following photos are from when the train returned to Odense.

The kids retrieved by my Wife - and Lea has spotted me! A certain professor is supervising the disembarkation.

The mandatory photo in front of the engine: