Day 10--Copenhagen

I do well with continental breakfasts. It usually means I get to spread brie and Nutella on bread. They have fruit and cereal and salamis too, but I rarely try those.

This morning we got to see what it is like to live in rainy, dreary Copenhagen.  I decided to walk to the meeting point for our guided tour, but my abysmal sense of direction led me briskly walking in the wrong way. When I stopped to ask for help, I found I was on the wrong side of the canal. 

During my long walk I noticed that the commuting Danes did not seem to notice or mind the downpour, so I tried to be like them.  I did get soaked, though. I had plenty of time to make my way to meet our guide, who was dressed in a top hat and asked us to call him Hans Christian Anderson. 

kids ride up front in the big grey carrier

He took us to several Anderson sites, the town hall, the cathedral, and through Copenhagen neighborhoods.  We learned about the life of normal Danes, and it explained some of the things we were seeing.  They have to fight off the dismal long winters, so they like to light candles, even at breakfast, and I had seen that here. They also are very into biking, and there are various ways children ride along with their parents. Danes can more easily find bike parking than space for cars, and the bikes do line the streets.

With some help from H. C. Anderson, we ordered smørbrod, or open faced sandwiches that are common lunch items. These were tastey constructions of bread, then a slice of roast beef, topped with horseradish and water cress.  We ate these in a cafe that served lovely danishes.  They actually have a mister to keep the sweet treats from drying out, so it looks a little like a sauna on the danish shelf.  Food is expensive here, as we had heard, and I sort of miss the easy, cheap, recognizable sandwiches on good bread you could get anywhere in Germany.

In the afternoon, as the rain abated, we walked through garden and into the Rosenborg Palace. This museum commemorated the life of King Christian IV, Denmark's favorite king of the past. While his life was not as eccentric as that of the Bavarian king Ludwig II, he did have big personality. He fought in several battles, and when cannon shrapnel took his one eye, he had the fragments of the bomb made into earrings for his girlfriend. We saw them--probably the oddest love gift I have ever seen.

We saw the crown jewels of the Danish royalty too, then made our way to see the palace where the current queen lives.  She was not home, though I believe her son and his family were in their palace next door.  We saw the guards standing at their posts. 

Then walked further north of city center to see the small but famous Little Mermaid statue.  Lots of people were getting their picture taken with her, and I think it was a very pretty statue. 

The Danes are very proud of their few famous countrymen like Anderson.

On the way we also saw this swan family, which made me think of another H. C. Anderson story, the Ugly Duckling. 

We are back at the hotel now, and here is our view from the hotel.