April 29
We didn’t post Friday as not much happened. The flight from Paris was uneventful. We checked into our beautiful townhouse in Copenhagen. Then walked about 10 minutes to the Metro from the 4-stop ride to central Copenhagen. We had a delicious lunch in one of the outdoor cafes, then it started to rain, and the temperature dropped about 15 degrees. We didn’t have the umbrellas or Lynn’s sweater, so we decided to make it an early day. We did a load of laundry, played Rummikub, watched the ballgame (Cubs won 1-0) then went to bed…. very exciting.
Yesterday, though, was a full day. Our first stop was to Tourist Information where we got all the scoop on Copenhagen. Lynn has been here twice, but it’s been 16 years since the last visit with mom, so she didn’t remember much. We decided to visit the Carlsberg Beer Experience just outside of city central. They have a shuttle bus, so it was very convenient. The museum told the story of Carlsberg beer and we saw the Jutland horses. These are very stout, strong horses that used to pull the beer wagons but now are used for special events. We had time to kill before the return shuttle, so we took a wagon ride around the little town. It was actually very nice. We capped off the visit with our complimentary glass of beer then headed back to city central.
We walked the Stroget (pedestrian street; actually quite a few streets), Peter had a Danish hot dog for lunch and, of course, ice cream for dessert. Then we headed over to the canal for a one-hour ride through the Copenhagen canals. The day had been cool but sunny and clear but about halfway through the canal ride, the sky got cloudy, the temp dropped, and it rained just a little. Luckily the rain stopped when we got off the boat, so we walked the Stroget some more on our way to the Tivoli, stopping to check out the Round Tower. It was built in 1642 and is used as an exhibition hall. There were a couple of art exhibits and a nice view from the top.
We stopped for dinner in yet another outdoor café (we are loving our outdoor cafes) before arriving at the Tivoli around 7pm. We got there just in time to watch a cute show at one of their outdoor theaters. After the show we checked out the rest of the park. It’s been over 25 years since Lynn visited the Tivoli, so she didn’t remember any of it. There are over 20 rides and tons of restaurants and shops. We’d already eaten so we bypassed the restaurants and didn’t ride any of the rides. We couldn’t believe how expensive the rides were. First you have to pay to get into the park then each ride cost from $6 each for the children’s rides to $17 each for the adult rides. Crazy expensive! Actually, all of Copenhagen is very expensive. We’re not sure if it’s because of a bad exchange rate or the cost of living but we paid $30 for a 10-minute cab ride on Friday. That same ride in Lisbon cost $6.00. Even Paris wasn’t this expensive. Anyway, we actually only stayed at the Tivoli about 90 minutes before heading back to the train. We were both tired and, as usual, Lynn’s hip was sore so going home seemed like a good idea. By the time we figured out what train we needed to take from the central station back to our Metro (also not as easy as Paris) it was 9:30 before we got home. It had been a 12-hour day, so we were tired. So, tired that Lynn barely stayed awake for the last 2 innings of the Cub game (we won 3-0) before falling asleep.
We have a more leisurely morning today. We’ll leave our townhouse mid-morning for the central station, then catch a train to Malmo in Sweden. The trains run every 20 minutes and it’s only a 35-minute train ride. We’ll spend two nights in Malmo before heading up to Gothenburg Sweden. These are two cities Lynn has never seen so she’s looking forward to new sights. We’ll fill you in later.
Love to all from us.