Scandinavia - Day 3 - Overnight ferry to Oslo

 

Overnight ferry to Oslo

After one last ride around Copenhagen during the morning, we caught the overnight ferry to Oslo.

This is billed as a mini cruise, as you get a sleeper cabin, and buffet meals are included. The food, although plentiful, was not very good quality, so that was a bit disappointing, but the trip was still good value, as the cabin and meals cost less than a hotel room.

I did make up for that, though, by buying stamps. I was shocked when I purchased 3 postcard stamps and paid 21 CAD. I would like to think this was a mistake, but when I brought the stamped postcards to ask for them to be posted, the woman looked carefully at the stamps and assured me I had enough postage! I should hope so.

Scandinavia - Day 2: Copenhagen

Today, mid-morning, we flew to Copenhagen. We took the train from the airport and once again I was unpleasantly surprised to be dumped off in the middle of a bridge. It has to be the strangest train station ever.

When choosing hotels, I'd had a hard time deciding on a good one. Hotels here are not cheap and the hotels in the area I was familiar with were booked-up, so I had to choose somewhat at random, ending up with "66 Guldsmeden".

A 900 m walk is not very long, but on a warm day, over cobblestones and irregular sidewalks, while carrying a backpack and pulling a large suitcase containing a folding bike, it can seem endless. We made it, however, and found the hotel had a delightful courtyard where we could pause for a drink and cool off a bit before checking in.

The room was also lovely, and breakfast the next day was delicious.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the city. I had visited here before, in 2015, so I enjoyed showing Dave some of my favourite places, such as the yellow rowhouses, the star fort, and of course The Little Mermaid.

We also climbed the Round Tower and the tower at the Church of our Saviour.

 

The Marble Church

After a day of cycling and walking, we decided the perfect dinner would be at this wonderful Turkish buffet. I had been here before and was not super impressed, but this time the food was fresh and delicious, so we tucked in enthusiastically!

Copenhagen churches

April 29, 2015

The Church of Our Saviour - Copenhagen

Who, upon seeing this golden spiral on a church, would not want to climb to the top? When I visited Copenhagen at the beginning of March, early in the morning on the day I had to leave, I walked past The Church of Our Saviour. 

When I stopped to take some photos, a man who was quite possibly the city's Oldest Inhabitant stopped to chat with me.

You can go up there," he told me, in rather good English. "It just opened in March."

Upon learning that I was Canadian, he told me that he had been in the merchant navy and had sailed on a ship that went up and down the west coast from Vancouver to San Francisco.

Of course I wanted to go up there, but it was closed, so like (and unlike) Robert Frost, I left that climb for another day, hoping that I would someday be back.

And when I came back eight weeks later, I headed straight from the train station across the bridge to this church, where I wound my way up 400 steps to the highest point possible. And it was amazing!

                                                                                            Copenhagen is a bit of a fairy tale city even from the ground -- but even more so from the top of a tower. 

The photo above shows the inside of the church. Not too shabby.

After that exhilarating climb, on my way out of the Christianshavn neighbourhood, I spotted another church that looked interesting: Christian's Church.

 I walked up the street and spoke to the man standing at the door, who told me there was a special service going on, but that I could visit the crypt. 

Why not? The door was open, so I entered.

It was a bit creepy, but something different and interesting. These wrought iron gates, dating back to the 1700s, are varied in design and elaborate and quite beautiful. There were probably 50 of them.

And the church yard was quite beautiful as well -- a shady and quiet retreat in the middle of a busy city.

Leaving this neighbourhood and crossing the bridge, I came upon yet another church -- the Naval Church:

This was built in 1563 and is quite spectacular, with a model ship suspended from the ceiling.

March 5 - more Copenhagen by bike

After breakfast and a friendly conversation with the guy who was clearing tables (he was Asian but spoke good English and had lots of advice for me -- including "you should rent a bike"!) I reclaimed my bike from yesterday and set off. 

Somehow yesterday when I was in the Latin Quarter (at the synagogue and Ankara Restaurant) I missed the Round Tower. I couldn't figure out how I'd missed it, but then realized that it was at this point that the hail started and distracted me from my sightseeing efforts. So, that was on the agenda for today.

I first went to Amalienborg & Frederiksstaden. This is the home of the Royal Family. It is quite spectacular. There were guards on duty wearing the beef-eater-style hats. One was kind of nasty to me. When I arrived, I wasn't sure about riding my bike inside the palace area, but I noticed that other people were, so I went ahead. I stopped to take some photos, and since I really didn't want someone to run off with the bike, I locked it. I walked a few paces to get the angle I wanted for the photo and the guard called me and told me I couldn't leave my bike there. I asked him where I should park it, as I didn't see any bike parking. He said, “I don’t know.” So then I said that I was just going to take some photos, not leave the bike, and I explained that I had locked it because it wasn't my bike. He said, “You can’t leave it there.” I asked again where I should put it, and again he said he didn't know. Very helpful! So I finally just ignored him, took my photos and left. I figured he was just on a power trip, and it seems I was right, because he didn't fine me or anything! 

the grumpy guard! The palace buildings are big and beautiful, and there is an impressive equestrian statue in the centre of the courtyard.

Near here I also saw 

The Marble Church:

 and The Russian Church:

After this I rode down to the Nyhavn area again; this is the canal with the old houses on either side. I rode around there a bit, enjoying the sight of all the old buildings, and then went to Kongens Nytorv (King’s New Square.) This is an interesting area, with a lot of nice old buildings (lots of construction going on right now, however) including the Hotel d’Angleterre -- a beautiful expensive hotel where celebrities apparently stay regularly. There is an old theatre, another palace, another equestrian statue, and the Magasin du Nord, Copenhagen’s oldest department store. I went in there and explored a bit. It has a lot of the same old stuff that everywhere else has -- Boss, Ralph Lauren, etc., but also some uniquely Danish -- or at least European designs. I was tempted by a 2-for-1 sale on scarves, but decided against them. Even with the sale, they were still kind of pricey. I did go to the toy section and saw the Andrea toy and took a photo.

The food section in the basement (seems to be the way of things here) was amazing, with the most incredible chocolates and candy. There were several Easter displays; I took photos of those, as they are quite different from what we would see at home. Licorice candy is apparently big for Easter, also licorice combined with chocolate in some fashion.

After my foray into Magasin, I rode down a street called Holmens Kanal, and ended up at Christiansborg Slot, which is the seat of the Danish parliament. This was very interesting. There is a tower you can go up in for free. You have to go through a security check first (light) and then take two different elevators, followed by some stairs. Once at the top, you go outside on a balcony and can see all over the city. That was a pretty good deal! There were a bunch of chatty older ladies in the elevator with me both times; I’m not sure what they were up to, but they sure seemed to be having a good time.

By the time I finished exploring this area (again, lots of interesting old buildings and statues) it was almost time for the changing of the guard at Amalienborg, so I had to figure out how to get back there. I asked a woman who was walking her baby (in an old-fashioned pram -- there are lots of those around here) for some help, and she showed me on my map, so I set off. It was an easy ride (the bike lanes really do make it nice getting around) and I arrived just in time.

This changing of the guard was really spectacular, much better than the one in Stockholm. For one thing, these guards wear the beefeater uniforms, not just military uniforms. And they have a large band with drums and brass instruments. Apparently they actually march through the streets of Copenhagen from the other palace I visited yesterday (a few blocks away) to this one -- they do this each day at 11:30. So that was really interesting to see.

This ceremony went on for quite a while, so I didn’t stay for the whole thing. Apparently they just stand in two rows facing one another for about 15 minutes before starting another part of the ceremony. So I left during this standing time.

I rode down to Hans Christian Andersen Boulevard, past Tivoli amusement park, which is closed until April or May, and then to the Radhus Plaza (town hall.) Here there is a statue of Hans Christian Andersen, as well as other statues and other beautiful old buildings (yes, they are everywhere in this city.) It struck me funny that there is also a Ripley’s Believe It or Not and a Guinness World Records Museum -- typical tourist area! This square or plaza leads to the shopping street, so I checked out the souvenir shops to see if I could find a mug for Dave, but no luck. I also went into Tiger, which I had read about somewhere. It turns out it is kind of like a dollar store, but a lot classier. I googled it and it says it is a Danish concept store with stores all over Europe and in Japan. It definitely has a Japanese flavour to it. There is some really cute stuff and very cheap, but of course I am limited in what I can bring back.

Then I rode way down to Frederiksberg Have. This is a large park with an old palace, which looks a lot like a school. In fact, it is used as a training school for army cadets. The park is quite fantastic, with a canal and tree-lined paths, herons and other birds, and some different types of buildings, which I didn’t see. Apparently there is a Chinese Pavilion and a Swiss Chalet, but I missed them. The zoo is also here. There is a fairly steep hill to climb to reach this park, which means the view from there is quite good also. It would be nice to see this in the summer. I was sort of tempted to go to the zoo, but that is something that would be more enjoyable with children along -- maybe one day I can take Zoe and Avery!

On my way to this park I stopped in a Forex store. I have seen a lot of them and wondered what it was. It is the Danish Wal-Mart. It was kind of interesting to see a store like that done Danish style. But mostly it’s junk, just like Wal-Mart at home. The Tiger store has much more flair.

I rode back the same way I came, and then wove my way up the narrow streets to the Round Tower. So, it turns out I was right there yesterday, right at the time it started to hail. This is why I was distracted and missed it. Actually, I did see it, but it didn’t register what it was, as I was taking shelter from the hail. I paid the 25 DKK fee to go up (about $4) and that was money well spent. The climb up is fun and interesting, which different things to see along the way -- the inside of the Trinity Church, an old “privy,” the bell loft, and some other things. Then at the top, you can go out onto a platform and see all over the city -- similar to the view from the other tower, but this one is more central (the other tower is closer to the waterfront.) So that was a very good way to end the day.

view from The Round Tower