We all left Berlin this morning--Karen went to London and Kendra, George and I arrived in Copenhagen without a hitch. Our place is delightful--a large apartment that the kitchen side opens onto a courtyard that is used by other residents as well. There are millions of bikes everywhere--our guide told us there are 1.8 bikes for every person here. We learned that as a pedestrian, one must watch out! We arrived with great hunger so went off to the grocery stores our hostess suggested. Our neighbourhood is trendy--lots of moms biking their kids around. Our first explore ended in being caught in the rain which included lightning and thunder. We didn't melt and had umbrellas with us so our clothes just added to all the laundry we had to do. Washing machines, dryers, and dishwashers seem to take forever here. There is something in the sink cupboard that is called a "Quooker". It has nothing to do with the stove but is connected to a tap by the sink that when turned on produces the most hot, boiling water imaginable. There is no need for a kettle.
Our walking tour was marvelous--the guide was from England but was very knowledgeable about Copenhagen. Factoid: the IKEA catalog is the second most widely translated book right after the Bible.. Factoid: the Danes love their monarchy and Lego. Seems Lego beat Barbie as the best toy!. We saw many sights but were assured that seeing the Little Mermaid, the star of the Hans Christian Anderson book, was a disappointment and overrated so we skipped it. Kendra had a Danish hotdog. Our walking tour was 3 hours long, interesting but I was ready for it to be over. Then hunger struck again--as Danes export lots of pork that is what I had, George had salmon and Kendra had a cooked cabbage, cheese salad. We checked out Licorice chocolates as licorice is popular here.
The canal boat trip showed us the city from the water. Some of the bridges were so low that only the boat with everyone sitting down could pass through. It was very pleasant as the cold days that I have previously complained about are now hot days and being on the water was cooler.
On the way home, we stopped for some Carlsburg and Turborg beer which are the two top beer rivals but are owned by the same company. George and Kendra did a taste test and decided they were much the same. Beer at the 7eleven costs 14.75 DK which is about $3.00 CDN. We had a relaxing evening and played a hilarious game of Quiddler. By midnight we were feeling pretty punchy and didn't have the ability to plan the next day so who knows.....
Next morning, we started out with coffee and a lovely Danish pastry at the best bakery in Copenhagen (according to our hostess). There were some pigeons walking around moving their heads as they do when they walk. George wondered if they get headaches because they move their heads so much.
We managed to attend a tour of Christiansborg Slot (read Parliament)--our guide was just OK but the house was interesting. There were many photos and sculptures to see. Women comprise about 40% of the parliament. We saw copies of the constitutions. They don't have an upper house. There was an elevator which goes up and down all day and doesn't stop so people just step in or out according to what floor they want to be on. I said that that would be enough to discourage me from wanting to be a member of Parliament. So George said that the elevator would dismember the MPs. We also went to the tower and had a great view of the city. We could see the bridge that goes to Sweden. That is where we are going tomorrow.
We had lunch at the library--what an amazing building. There is an outside terrace that has chairs so it is possible to sit and watch the traffic on the canal so that is what we did. We also checked out the library and found a cartoon wall with some really funny cartoons most of which had won prizes. One was from Canada. The building made us want to stay and study.
In the evening, we visited Tivoli which is a massive park with rides, entertainment, food, gardens and a 100 year old roller coaster. We went directly to the beer garden as it was hot. Later, after strolling around, we found the special roller coaster and Kendra and George took a ride. (My favourite ride is the carousal so I didn't join them.) I think I could hear them scream!
Tomorrow we will pack and pull our suitcases to the train station and we will be off to Linkoping, Sweden. We will stay with former neighbours from Mount Pleasant in Ottawa. They and they two daughters moved to Sweden a few years ago.
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