Back from my trip – Scandinavia, Part One – Copenhagen

I’m back home from my amazing trip. First, let me say that the cities of northern Europe are beautiful. I had never been to this area of the world before. And it was nice to be in a place where the sun’s rays weren’t as strong as central Texas! But of course, I did make sure to wear sunscreen every day. But it was great not to sweat it off immediately…

If you’re interested in details of the first part of my trip, read on. If you’re not too interested in travel observations, skip this post and wait until I resume my normal musings on skin cancer…

I landed at 7:00 a.m. in Copenhagen during a downpour. I was fretting that I should maybe get a day room at an airport hotel to get a nap since exploring in the rain, while super tired and jet lagged might not be a great idea. I have a tendency to get really crabby when I’m over-tired as it is, let alone be soaked and over-tired. But by the time I got off the plane, bought a Metro ticket to downtown and rode the train to the stop to get to my hostel, the rain had stopped.

I had to wait from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. to check in. Although I wanted to get out and explore, the rain started up again and I didn’t have coins for a locker to store my backpack. I was so out of sorts that I ended up claiming a hammock in the lounge and dozed until it was time to check in. Once I managed to check in, get my backpack stowed, and relaxed for a little longer, I was ready to head out into Copenhagen to explore. My hostel was really close to Rosenborg Castle Gardens and so, I started my wandering there.

The gardens and the Castle were beautiful. I spent lots of time just aimlessly stopping to smell whatever flowers were still blooming. I took a ton of photos of the castle as well. I’ll post a few later, once I manage to get my photos off my digital camera.

I then made my way over to the Kastellet. There were a ton of people out running, walking, and enjoying the nice weather. Walking over the drawbridge of the moat, I got a happy feeling. How can you not enjoy a drawbridge? I walked all around the interior ramparts, exiting by a lovely old church. But since I was close to the waterfront, I decided to pay a visit to a much maligned symbol of Copenhagen, the Little Mermaid.

I don’t know why people seem to loathe the sculpture so much that she’s been vandalized repeatedly in the past. Set so close to the breakwall that people were clambering over the rocks to get a selfie with her, the Little Mermaid glances forlornly back towards the sea. If you know the real story, not the Disney version, you understand why she looks so melancholy. From here, I made my way back to the hostel along the waterfront. Stopping to pay my respects to the royals in Amalienborg Castle (where I nearly got run over by the royal nanny on her way home), I caught a great view of the Black Diamond as well.

Nyhavn, the line of brightly painted building set along a canal, was the picturesque ending to my day of wandering. I was lucky enough to catch the setting sunlight illuminating the buildings before making my way back to the hostel in a sudden and torrential downpour.

The next day, I decided to take a 3 hour free walking tour of Copenhagen with the delightful Ben, a Canadian now living in Copenhagen. For many miles, our group walked while Ben explained the history of what we were seeing as well as providing some juicy gossip to go along with our history lesson. We stopped for a moment so we could all try the polse (Denmark’s answer to the hot dog for you North Americans). It was delicious and came with a mountain of fried onion bits on top. Then we finished our tour in the courtyard of Amalienborg, where we watched the Changing of the Guard ceremony.

I continued to wander a bit more after the tour ended before finally heading back to the hostel to get a good night’s sleep before catching an early flight the next day…

To be continued…