This was our first full day in Copenhagen, and also our first time to Denmark. If anyone wondered about Hint #2, a region of Denmark is an island known as “Zealand” translating to “Sea Land”. (Last year we went to “New Zealand”.) Last night we were beat from our 15 hour, three flight trip, and did little other than grab a bite to eat, and try to stay up until 9PM. Even so, we did not want to get up and going this morning, so we got a late start.
First thing on the agenda was a canal tour. We boarded this flat boat, headed around the canals, harbor, and saw some of the main sights from the water. It was a nice little cruise, but perhaps a bit unremarkable. However, the trip started in an area called Nyhvan. In Danish, Ny means small, and havn means harbor. Note that “Kobenhavn” is how they refer to this city we are in, so it must be Koben’s Harbor. So…who is Koben? No idea!
Nyhavn
We went under some very low bridges!
We did go by one bridge, that, somehow, they got wrong. The two sides were stopped some 40 feet apart because they realized the sides were not going to match up. I’m not sure how that happens, or how that conversation went when someone had to tell his boss… “Uh, Mr. Dane? Uh, I have some bad news…”
Oops!! Mismatched Bridge!
After the cruise, we grabbed a quick bite from a little shack that sold various “sausages” (hot dogs, really). They had one that was wrapped in bacon (tempting!), and various other things. The hot dog was barely a half inch diameter, but then 9 inches long! The bun was a mere 6 inches, so the dog stuck out on both sides. They put a bead of ketchup, and a bead of very spicy mustard, then piled it with chopped onions, some crispy things, and pickle slices. You could not eat it without dropping stuff everywhere! But, they were good!
Midmorning snack!
From there we headed to Rosenborg Castle, which was the palace from about 1650s to 1800s. There were guards out there with assault rifles, equipped with bayonets! Really? How bad were things going to get that you might use those? And they were wearing camouflaged uniforms…which did not match the wall, so what was the thought there? It started raining as we got there, but was mostly done by the time we finished. Anyway, inside we saw some beautiful rooms, beautiful ornate artifacts, and so forth. Also at Rosenborg Castle are the crown jewels (or at least some really good fakes, because sometimes countries hide the real ones). It is hard to believe they let us take pictures.
Rosenborg complete with moat!
Throne Room
The real crowns!!
The Crown Jewels!
Then we went to get a real lunch. There was a little sandwich place that was supposed to be very good. But, they call them sm0rrebr0d (where 0 is the o with a line through it…can’t do that on this computer!). These are so called open faced sandwiches, but they really just have a thin piece of bread and then a lot of stuff on it. This place, Ida Davidsen, has over 200 types of sandwiches and they’ve been doing these sandwiches for generations. The server told us “most people get two”, so we shared three. While waiting for them, we started wondering…isn’t this the place that was on Amazing Race? Yep! The racers had to memorize what was in a number of sandwiches. While enjoying that little fact, I noticed a framed letter next to Theresa’s head…from Dwight Eisenhower, in 1962, thanking them for their hospitality. So, this was quite the place! When the sandwiches finally came, they were VERY good!! I had a calf liver with bacon and mushrooms, and Theresa had a pastry that looked like chicken a la king. Then we shared this one with meatballs, potatoes, and pickled beets. All were fantastic!
"Sandwiches" at Ida Davidsen (not all mine!)
After lunch, we headed to Amalienborg Palace. It was named for one of the Queens, but wasn’t originally a royal palace. It was four palaces built for four wealthy noblemen. But after a fire in Rosenborg, the royal family took over the square. We got to see the changing of the guard (at least a part of it) and went through the museum. Several of the rooms were set up to represent how they were in various times of royal patronage, and we learned a little bit about the royal family. Apparently they are related to most of the other royal families of Europe, including the current “King” of Greece.
Amalienborg Palace and square
We headed off, and decided we had a bit of time to go see the Little Mermaid, a bronze statue placed about 1913, and a famous site for Copenhagen. It represented one of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales, which didn’t turn out like the Disney version…Yeah, OK. It was fine. It started raining on us as we hustled to a train to our next stop.
The Mermaid Statue (from the tour boat)
We continued to the Rundetaarn (Round Tower), a circular tower that is attached to Trinity Church. It is the oldest functioning observatory in Copenhagen – which is reached by a long spiral ramp. The tower was used by Tycho Brahe, a famous Danish astronomer. Given the importance of the building, when Copenhagen was mapped out a few hundred years ago, they used the center of the tower as the “zero” point for the kingdom and measured everything out from it.
Rundetaarn (Round Tower)
The ramp to the top
The "Zero" mark or origin for the Kingdom!
A view from the tower
Heading back through a pedestrian shopping area, there was a McDonald’s right there on the corner. So, we shared an ice cream, and caught the train home (well, Hilton, really). After some snacks in the lounge (because Theresa is still Diamond, until next year or next job?), we went to the Blue Planet, an aquarium. It was nice. There were a few details there that were unlike other aquariums, including a piranha tank. I’m not big on fish unless they are seasoned well. But, Theresa had fun!
"OK, so we are here right now, and we want to go ...here!"
We walked home, debating on whether we could beat the bus of not (since we would have to wait FOR the bus for 10 minutes). It drove by us just after we entered the Hilton property. Theresa got 23,000 steps today, a bit over her goal of 10,000. We are going to be sore tomorrow!
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