Copenhagen, Thursday, July 23rd
A room with a View of an IMAX
We awoke with renued energy, snotty and coughing all the way to breakfast. The breakfast was much the same as Stockholm but much, much more crowded. It was chaos, and the staff seemed overwhelmed with the number of people wanting eggs, meats and cheeses. We struggled to find a table in the 3 immediate rooms and finally found a spot in the 4th room – the lounge in later hours. We ate our fill and made a plan for the day. A walk to the center city and a canal cruise.
The canal cruise was a 30min walk from our hotel, along a pedestrian way lined with varied shops and eateries. The buildings in this city are amazing, interesting and unique to behold. My picture of them do nothing to proclaim their beauty. I would need more than an iPhone and a brief moment to capture that scene. Here is one I found to be most interesting – in materials, design and placement.
unique building – one of many
About half way along the route, a concert of some sort was being set up as today is Mid-Summer – a huge celebration in Scandanivia. So huge, in fact, that next year I plan to celebrate it at home. In Scandanivia, summer is 2 months Maximum, so they find any opportunity to be outdoors and celebrate. We saw posters of music festivals all along our walk and wished we had a few more days in the city to join the frivolity.
We made a deal with Lincoln at the onset – walk the whole way without complaint, and simply ask us if a break is needed. The plan worked flawlessly – until about 3/4 of the way there. Then the wheels started to fall off as the temperature started to rise and the cobblestones continued in the distance with no sign of water ahead. However, he mustered up the strength to make it to the dock with much encouragement and patience from the rest of us.
We elected to take the Grand Tour of Copenhagen on the Stromma sightseeing boat since we only have one day and a little in tow . The boats are completely open and the sun was shining intensely, and these combined made our decision completely perfect.
On the boat, in the hot, hot sun
The tour was fantastic. We went under 18 amazing bridges – each different from the next.
Bridge
Same bridge – other side
The views from the water were perhaps more captivating as the brilliance of the water’s reflective properties magnified all of the beauty of the designs. Many of the buildings are painted with bright, vibrant hues – perhaps to outshine the darkness that envelopes many of the days here.
Brilliant Hues
Houseboats are plentiful and full of character. I found myself wondering if I could surive on a houseboat – perhaps in Seattle.
House boat with character and style
Our guide was insightful and offered many bits of trivia I found interesting and sometimes comical. For instance, many of the people in a section of the waterfront called Christiania (imagine a modern-day Woodstock – complete with free-living in all that that intails), like to swim (bathe) naked, and their “houses” range from tents to houseboats to squatting in structures. And there are people, “jumpers” who wait along the banks for boats to pass and at just the right moment, jump in the water to make the largest splash possible onto the passengers. There are also sculptures – all white – dipicting the struggles of an enslaved Denmark.
Enslaved Denmark
We also saw the Little Mermaid sculpture,
Little Mermaid
the Opera House and the Theater House (with glass windows into their dressing rooms),
Theater House
The Royal Yact that always has to be on stand-by,
Royal Yact for The Queen
The Royal House,
Royal Palace
A fantastic church spire, and so much more.
Brillant Church Spire – whose stairs were build the wrong direction, so the designer decided to climb the length of them and jump off in disgust.
It was a great day followed by a lovely lunch. First, I must mention the party wagons that we saw in abundance and heard until all hours. We happened to be in the city not only on midsummer, but also on the high school graduation night. It is a very big to do and all of the various classes rent large “party wagons” and travel about the city – drinking and listening to music and stopping at each graduate’s home for 15min to have the families send everyone off properly. It’s fantastic and joyful and nothing like our graduations in the states.
High School Grads in Wagons
We dined on fresh fish and rose’ wine and made our way back to the hotel for some much needed rest by all. Mind you, it was a solid 30min return trip and needed the promise of a treat for Lincoln to make it!
Shrimp, avocado, and Mayo was on every menu up and down the canal.
Restaurant sign
We had a brief rest and then readied ourselves for dinner on the town. Food in Copenhagen is for real, and I only wish we had more opportunity to capitalize on its bounty. However, one dinner out would have to suffice. We selected Sult after reading many mommy blogs and gluten free blogs. We were not disappointed. The food was wonderful and the service was lovely. I ordered the Danish Blue Mussels
Danish Blue Mussels
Tip had the Fish & Chips
Fish & Chips
and Bryan and Lincoln shared the Redfish
Redfish
As many of you know, we eat fresh redfish we catch at Rockport often, and we all thought Sult’s redfish was wonderful. We treated ourselves to dessert and cab rides to and fro and hit the sack after an eventful day in Copenhagen.
Next up…Travel day to Odense, Billund and Legoland…