Copenhagen

Copenhagen

In yet another of a long string of extreme early morning departures, we slipped through the thawing snow towards Bullostrasse (BoUUUllostrasse) station near our "Come2friends" apartmenthaus in berlin. it was the unfortunate hour of 4:30am. It feels like a large portion of my trip thus far has been spent thrashing around in the frozen darkness of the wee small hours in attempts to catch cheapo early morning flights.

We again kicked the butt of our fellow early morning cheap-o travellers in requisitioning the entire front row of the easyjet cheapmobile. I, however, did not enjoy the flight as I was sandwiched between Jed and a window and couldn't move.. or breathe. I must admit, it is pretty cool sitting up the front- you get to see all the stuff the flight attendants do (their main duty apears to be opening and closing cupboards in a random fashion throughout the flight).

I won the race off the plane- and as there was no customs or passport sightings AT ALL, i was the overall first person to get through to the bag collection. Why I care about this, I have no idea- but during this trip I have noticed I seem to have an inherrent tendency to view everything (subconciously, I feel) as a race. Especially eating. and getting off planes. Life is NOT a race - unless you're a sprinter when yes, it probably is.

We caught the train to Copenhagen central.. which is spelled KobenHaVen or something. We got very excited as a train approached and raced to the yellow line, only to realise it was a horrible ugly goods train and that our fellow passengers were mostly laughing at our embarassment.

Copenhagen central is a particularly beautiful station - with a huge high vaulted ceiling. We graually found our way through the ice towards our accomodaiton. When we arrived however, there was nothing there. Just a block of flats with a green door, some boarded up windows and the names of people beside every alarm buzzer button. DIdn't look like Sweet4you guest house to me (Come2friends in berlin a least had a sign.. although we do see a disturbing trend in the use of the word number word formula in naming hotels).

We stood outside in the snow, wondering what to do. Was sweet4you a scam hotel? had phebe's credit card details been stolen by nigerians? were we orphans in a strange city? well, apparently not. Upon calling the booking website, we were able to reach the owners and found out that our room would not be ready until 1. It was 10am and we were very cold. Our apartment appeared to be located in the middle of the red light district, and all the bars in the vicinity where we could have sheltered were named "Erotic Corner", "Porno Shop" or "Spunk" (which is particularly distasteful).

Also we were carrying luggage. We retreated back to the central station to wait in the warmth. We found a Danish shop, and being in Danish-land, we had Danishes. THE BEST. EVER. DANISHES. The Danes can do a good Danish. But they sucked at coffee. It was litereally dishwater. We sat in that little cafe, stealing mcdonalds free wifi ad taking up space for several hours. The toilet was really unique, in that it offered a selection of underwear and beauty products for sale, shoudl weary travlelers require refreshments. It was also free to use the toilet - but to wash or apply make up cost 10 kroner. Very interesting system.

we also encountered a particularly disturbing person at this time. THis creepy english guy just went and sat down with two lovely danish girls who were sitting nearby our suitcase hovel. They were very polite girls, and humored him when he asked where their boyfriends were. However, when he offered them money for favours they sensibly ran away. He sat there for 5 seconds, then hobbled out after them. I hope they are ok. he seemed a bit feeble and drug-addict-y so i think they would have been able to fight him off if push came to shove.

We were a bit dubious about our living arrangements when we returned to the apartment complex. It seemed a little "dodgy" to be sure. However, once inside it was actually very modern and nice. HOweve, the floors were very very dusty. I think ou cleaning lady was scared when we came in and left wihtout mopping. but the floors were covered with grit which was unpleasant on the footsies. The bathroom was another interesting bathroom (2 from 2 so far). It was very small and so had a shower that was kind of.. just a shower head in teh room. whenever you showered, the floor was flooded with water. The tiles were heated to help the water evaporate, but the combination of heating and gritiness made the bathroom especially creepy.
There was also a mystery staircase.

WIth only a few hours of sunlight remaining on this, the first clear day we had seen so far and the promise of constant rain for the remainder of our stay, we ventured out on an extreme photo-taking adventure. Although extremely nerdy to say, I felt like I was in a kind of live-action game of Pokemon, where the pokemon were the sights of the city, and we had to "catch them all". All I can say regarding this is- what is wrong with me?

Anyway, we roamed past the CIty town hall square (and statue of Hans Christian Andersen) and onto Stroget, Europe's longest pedestrian shopping area. This street is great - filled with happy people and a myriad of interesting shops- including the best lego shop ever. We ran in and were transfixed with joy. Every lego set you could dream of were there - including the oldschool medieval and pirates sets (my favourites!!). THere was an activity centre where you could create your own lego guys to purchase from the pieces in teh tubs. THere was also a section at the back set up like a giant lolly shop - wehre you could "pick & mix" lego bricks to your own desire in clear plastic cups of varying sizes. There were giant lego statues everywhere! Also, there were special screens that you stood in front of with the lego box of your choosing. The screens had a webcam attached and played back an image of you as usual, but the box was converted into the lego model, fully built with the lego guys moving around. There were rockets flying and horses gallopin around everywhere. It was AWESOME!

Pressed for sunshine time after our distracted visit to the Lego store, we raced up to our next stop - the Round Tower. A 17th century tower located in the heart of the city, it is unusual in that rather than ascending via a spiral staircase, the path up is a spiral slope. Riding a bike down the tight curve would be a dream come true. At the top we were met with a gorgeous panorama of the city. The sky was puctuated by spires and churches - and in the distance high smokestacks and wind power turbines. Copenhagen is a super-environmentally friendly city- burning waste for power and also harnessing the power of the prevailing winds. These industrial structures did not "spoil" the view at all, enhancing it with their inbteresting shapes and inherrent eco-friendliness.

COpenhagen is a simply gorgeous city - wonderfully scandanavian. HOwever, everyone here speaks perfect english. Everyone. Even random policemen we talked to spoke perfectly and had even visited australia. A lady stopped us in the street to ask if we needed directions as soon as phebes map was beign opened. The people in this city are just wonderful. We didn't have a single negative encounter.

after wandering the full lenght of the epically sized Stroget, we reached the Nyhaven - a canal with lovely restaurants. The canal was frozen solid. Even the wide ocean channels were pure ice. Jed was determined to walk on the ice, and there was a lot of conjecure over the likelehood he would meet an icy doom. We were distracted from this dangerous course of action by the extreme cold that was settling with the darkness. We took refuge in the nearest bar - randomly a scottish bar called "McJOy's - the GastroPub". NOw I don't like the sound of any of the words in that title- except maybe "the". But the beers were good, and we discovered a lovely cider that tastes just like apeltiser.

Denmark is famous mostly for Carlsberg brewery and Lego, and having seen both those things on our first day (the cider being a carlsberg creation) we decided to head back to Sweet4you. It was freezing and a LONG way home. Halfway, Phbe and Jed escaped into a taxi. Moments later, a fog of doom decended on the city. It was as thick as pea soup and like walking through suspended snow. Tom, Lucy and I wanted to die. Delcious crepes along the way gave us fortitude. mmmm country ham crepe. unexpectedly good.


Day 2

We left the apartment excitedly the next morning, on our way to visit Tivoli Gardens. Located in the centre of town, Tivoli Gardens is the world's second oldest theme park, and apparently was the inspiration behind Disney Land. We figured if Walt disney was impressed, we could not go wrong.

HOwever, it appears Tivoli Gardens is a Liar and WHore and it was CLOSED! nowhere on the website did it say it would be closed. we were so excited, and our dreams of copenhagen funtime amusements was dashed. Deflated, we continued with our plans for the day and walked down the Stroget towards Amelienborg Castle.

On our way, church bells were ringing. We all spontaneously stopped, realising that it wasn't random church music ringing out accross the city, but "Belle (little town)" from beauty and the beast. It was amazing. We just stood there in awe, our amazement only growing when the bells launched into "gaston" as their second number. How could the bells do this? it was simply magical. We asked a lady in the church how they worked, and she told us the organist sits up in the tower and plays a piano that is connected to the bells. He plays different music every day. WHat a simply wonderful thing to happen!

We walked down Nyhavn to the wider canals, where we again became obsessed with the idea of walking on the ice. WOuld it be OK? COuld it be done? there was alot of conjecture, but not alot of action on the subject. We walked along some dangerously slippery gardens and emerged virtually unscathed in front of the palace.

Amalienborg Palace is the winter home of the royal family, and is centred around a giant plaza with four roads leading in from each compass point. As we walked into the space, we became aware of a large number of guards (similar to the british palace guards- even with the same hats - only wearing blue tunics rather than red) standing across from each other, as if in a dress-up staring contest. Police were directing pedestrian traffic. We asked the regular policeman what was happening, and discovred we were lucky enough to be witnessing the changing of the guard. We also asked him if it was safe to walk on the ice and he said probably yes. He went on to tell usthat it is never this cold in copenhagen and the canals rarely freeze over. I asked if Princess Mary might make an appearance. He said he doubted it as she was in hospital about to birht her tewins. How exciting.

Watching the Changing of the guard was an excellent experience. FIrst, the new guards came out, marching in line. THen they were joined by drummers and fife players (we later found out there are normally brass as well, but they were with the queen on offical duties). They did some itneresting yelling and gun manouvers then marched, with the band playing extremely cute fife tunes as they all marched around the plaza. Extreme cuteness happened when the guards stopped or turned. THey would all "shuffle" into correct position. Like we wouldn't notice the shuffling. THey would stop, then from the left of the squadron begin shuffling sideways to get the right spacing. It was very wonderful. THey then took the flag inside and te woule group marched out into the streets. We later found out they march a very long way- all over the city every day. It is extremely cute.

After this, we wandered out of the plaza to the nearby marble church. THis church is a circular, single domed building. INside, the dome is gorgeously decorated and we sat inside for a good 20 minutes just enjoying the internal splendour.

Next, we found danishes for lunch AND a chemist to buy painkillers (the catch-cry of this trip ahs been "do you have any painkillers" followed by an annoying trek to find them. I don't know why they don't just stock up). Then, off over the canals to CHristiania.

Christiania Free Town is a crazy, semi-autonomous hippie colony in the middle of the city. THere is no hard drugs, fighting, or even heavy beers in christiania. just lots of stoned people. TO be honest, it is a bit of a dump - but well worth seeing. There are alot of great craftsmen and artists residing in the area and almost every public building is covered in their artworks. We wandered around, stopped for a (light) beer, jed told the world's most boring story, then we got out before the sun went down.

All you can eat pizza was the go for dinner. Jed and Phebe had 8 pieces, I managed 9 but tom kicked butt with 10. I ate a lot of salad dressing (and slightly less salad). It was like pizza hut restaurant - except withou thte desert bar.

DAY 3

Our last day. We went to visit the little mermaid. SHe is very beautiful - and not as far out to sea as I imagined. In fact, due to the ice, we were able to walk right out and touch her. Tom and a massive stack attempting to do this- and great mirth ensued. We walked back through the icy star shaped fort down towards Christianborg castle to visit the crown jewels. ON our way, we yet again encountered the marching guards. They were so cute- And had the brass instruments with them as well this time. It was a lovely accompaniement for our walk. The castle was very nice - and a little bit mish mash - oh and also quite small. THe roayl family havn't lived there for years - but it has been used as a storage space for family heirlooms so is chock full of fabulous stuff. The jewels in the treasury were certainly a sight to behold - along with bottles and barrels of wine dating back to the 17th century.

Also on this day we went a little crazy in a gift shop - I came away with a leather hippo, but fared well comparet do the others - who left with creative face egg cups, amusing man shaped hooks using a certain portion of the male anatomy as the hanging section, similar hippo to mine and scotty dog salt and pepper shakers. All fabulous. the shop was called Zane and I recommend a visit to anyone who wishes to part with lots of cash.

OUr transport to Amsterdam was going to be quite different - even a little "oldschool"- enter the Night Train.

Crammed into our sleeper cars, we spent a rather fun night on the rails. Sleep was hard to come by, but just lying awake on a 3 tiered bunk on a high speed train was quite exciting in itself.

and our next port of call was also exciting. Hello Amsterdam.