Copenhagen: Danish with Coffee

Hi All,

It was with great sadness that we left our cruise ship, our cushy home for the past week.

especially since we only recently found out about the unlimited caviar

As I looked out from our lanai one final time, I observed they were putting up a net below the gangplank. I asked a crew member the reason.

He replied, “It’s to catch disembarking passengers who fall from the gangplank as they turn around mid-way and try to get back on the ship.  It’s a pretty common occurrence.”

And as we stepped off the gangplank and into Copenhagen, Jill blurted out, “There’s something Rottman in Denmark.”  (She had been waiting to say that since we planned the trip– I thought she going to burst).

Anyway we arrived in Copenhagen and all things Danish.

like sweet rolls and coffee cake.

 

 

We elected to stay at the Andersen Hotel named for the famous Danish storyteller, Hans Christian Andersen.

or so I thought when I made the reservation.  It turns out that Andersen is the fifth most common last name in Denmark (ahead of Olsen and Johansen).

 

Although there was no “The Princess and the Pea” Suite in the hotel, there was, right next door, a Copenhagen landmark

 

Jill and I were in awe of our honored neighbor (that should read “I was in awe of our honored neighbor, Jill wanted to change hotels”).

 

Hans Christian Andersen is one of the icons of Copenhagen. And as we wandered around the city, we saw streets named after him

 

and visited his famous statue in City Hall Square (just across the street from Tivoli Gardens) where kids climb up on his knee

and pose for pictures

I didn’t think his statue looked anything like he did in the movie

the statue was much more….metallic

 

Bronze likenesses of Hans Christian Andersen abound throughout the city.

Hans on a horse

I thought he was a cobbler not an equestrian

Hans sitting

in some, he looks more like Danny Kaye

and Hans incognito

which was a sort of a bust

 

But it’s not only statues of Hans Christian Andersen but of the characters who are the titles of his well known stories.

The famous “Little Mermaid” statue

who looks nothing like the Ariel we know and love

The famous “Thumbelina” bronze

which gives new meaning to “you’re no bigger than my thumb”

or the image of “The Empresses New Clothes”

and she thought she was wearing a fine gown, how embarrassing.

or “The Ugly Duckling”

Oops, Jill must have changed the picture

Sorry, the “Ugly Duckling”

Damn

 

the “Ugly Duckling”

whatever

Anyway, you get the idea.

 

We went past a lovely area called Nyhavn and walked past the house he used to rent when he wrote some of his most well-known stories.

It used to be a low-life, cheap, place for sailors to live, now it’s a very picturesque neighborhood, bursting with outdoor cafes and people.

 

 

It was such a charming and delightful scene that I couldn’t stop taking pictures

I barely noticed that Jill had gone back to the hotel

Of course I immediately went after her

right after taking a couple of shots of the reflection of the pretty buildings across the jetty

Just across the river is the new Opera House

which looks like a graduate wearing a mortar board

and it’s only accessible by swimming (which means no black tie events).

Strolling through a city new to us is always an enjoyable experience. We saw lovely steeples

And the people of Copenhagen sitting in the sun in the park (it was a glorious day)

I was reminded of the lyrics to an old James Taylor song: “I’ve seen spires and I’ve seen Danes…”

 

As we walked around Copenhagen’s old town the morning of our arrival, we found ourselves in a open area called Gammeltorv Square. There was a lovely fountain which, on closer examination, was rather unique in fountaindom.

perhaps a close-up

 

Ah, Copenhagen.

 

We strolled past attractive streets

Jill posing at every opportunity

By the old Court House

The courthouse is on the right and the jail is on the left (Jill is in the center)

And of course one of Denmark’s best known landmarks,

“The Leaning Tower of Copenhagen” where Galileo Nielsen discovered that if you drop two trolls of different sizes and weights from the top at the same time, they both hit the ground at the identical moment

Just in case you didn’t know, trolls are Danish and pleasing

Large Danish Troll

Small Danish Troll

Which is probably why “a sweet roll”  is synonymous with “a Danish”

 

Our first evening, we went to Tivoli Gardens

Jill and I in Tivoli Gardens — the reason that we may look different is you are looking at our mirror image.  I took this picture (with the camera in my hand) while we were facing a mirror.  Isn’t that interesting?

 

Anyway, we went to Tivoli Gardens for a Smørrebrød dinner at Grøften Gardens — three sandwich courses: herring, meat, and cheese served in that specific order with Danish beer

like a seder

 

We enjoyed our meal, but we discovered that Dane’s deign to dine on Danish dinners.

Our waiter (left) was helpful and very friendly and spoke English better than we did

he was a great Dane.

 

Dinner was followed by the weekly Saturday night Tivoli Gardens fireworks display which started at 11:45 pm, just after it started getting dark. Having seen many fireworks shows, our jaded expectations were not high,

but they (the fireworks) were incredible.

The next day we visited a typical Danish house of worship, the church of Lutheran  pSychodelic Drugs

or LSD, colorful on the outside

and plain on the inside

the opposite of a jelly filled donut

 

There was some great Danish graffiti

with a variety of techniques

both in color and black and white

 

And as we bring our latest adventure to a close, we raise our glasses

and toast, “SKOAL!!”  (BTW, in the left picture, it’s my hand holding the glass).

Thanks for following along and until our next adventure (and more bad puns),

Love,

Richard and Jill

Jill hasn’t read this yet, but I’m going to assume that she’s going to be okay with sending it out…which I will (after she looks it over)