Copenhagen Denmark Day 1 & 2

We are landlubbers once again. Disembarked the ship this morning in Copenhagen, hailed a taxi, and checked into our hotel and unpacked – all by 10:30 am. We then hit the streets of Copenhagen. Our hotel is about a 1/2 mile walk from the hotel to the city hall and central plaza, where we purchased a 2-day pass for the hop-on-hop-off English double decker tour bus. We rode around the city on two different bus routes, just getting the feel of the city. We stayed on the bus most of the day as we were really tired. There was commentary in eight different languages (we used disposable headsets). We saw the famous little mermaid statue, and during our brief stop for photos, the heavens let loose and it poured. Two minutes later, it stopped and the sun came out. We passed by Tivoli Gardens, which we are planning on doing tomorrow. We had cool weather and brief, but intense cloudbursts all day long.
We stopped at an area called Nyhavn, a picturesque canal filled with moored sail boats and canal cruise boats. This harbor was established in 1673, and its most famous resident was Hans Christian Anderson. We walked along the sunny north side of the canal where there are outdoor cafes, restaurants, and bars. It is said to be the world’s “longest bar” (there are perhaps 100+ little establishments, one right next to the other) and the home of many tattoo parlors. It was wildly crowded and most people were sunning themselves and drinking beer, including us.

There are bicycles everywhere. The streets have special lanes just for bikes. There are bike corals everywhere. At the rail and bus stations, there are acres of bikes and they have double decker storage! They ride rain or shine; just put on a raincoat and away they go. Some bike owners put plastic bags over the seats to keep them dry.

The city of Copenhagen was founded in 1197. Much of the original buildings have been destroyed over the centuries due to various wars and fire, so much of it has been rebuilt, mostly in the 17th and 18th centuries. The new and modern buildings are right next to the old ones, making for a very stark contrast. Our hotel, the Marriott, is right on the main canal and looks over a panorama of old and new apartment buildings and a promenade along the canal.

We passed thru an area called Christiania, a free love, hippie, drug culture area where we were not allowed to take pictures. The “houses” used to be workers shacks, and have since been “creatively individualized” with colorful and bizarre facades.

The tax rate here is very high. Income tax is between 40% and 50%. VAT tax is 25% on everything, except alcohol and tobacco, which is 30%. Prices in the stores are also very high. We walked down a very crowded and narrow cobblestone pedestrian shopping street. Young ladies are wearing hightop sneakers and many have pink, purple, or orange hair. We ate really traditional Danish food for lunch and dinner: KFC and Hard Rock Café!!! I guess we needed an American fix after eating fine cuisine on the ship for two weeks. Stopped at a 7-11 to pick up some fresh bagels (they actually have a bakery display in the store!) for breakfast as the hotel restaurant is outrageously expensive and there is no convenient place for breakfast. Coffee costs $6.

Everyone we have come in contact with speaks English. Copenhagen is old but modern and is a very interesting city. We are looking forward to spending more time here.

Copenhagen – Day 2

Finally, good weather!! After eating our 7-11 bagels for breakfast (cost for 2 bagels, cream cheese and a 12 oz bottle of diet coke was $20), we headed back to the city hall plaza and boarded the double decker hop-on-hop-off bus to the Carlsberg Beer factory tour. The factory is no longer in use and is now a museum. Everything there was original equipment and buildings from the 1800s. Most impressive was the stable area with the stalls and cobble stone floors (and of course horses). At the end of the tour, there was a very modern tasting room. Most breweries give you a taste of their product; not here – they give you a whole bottle or glass! Mind you, it is 10:30 am and here we were having a beer. I even had one! Michael finished his beer and since there was no way I was going to drink my entire glass, he polished off mine. Just before he finished mine, I decided to go to the bus stop just in case it came early (and I needed a few extra minutes because, frankly, I was dragging fanny). The bus did come early and no Michael. I asked the driver to wait and he was gracious enough to do so. Michael finally comes charging up. I asked him why he was so far behind me and said he had gone up to the bartender and inquired about the beer I had. The bartender said he should try the dark blonde (I had the blonde) and so Michael had another glass. What a way to start the day.

We went back to the city hall plaza to pick up the red bus, which would take us to Nyhavn to pick up a canal boat tour. While on the bus, we met up with some folks from the cruise ship and they invited us to join them for lunch at a place they had heard about. We get to the restaurant and they are serving a buffet brunch. Since we had plans to have dinner out with other folks we had met on the ship, we decided not to eat that much. Got back on the red bus back to the plaza and had lunch at Burger King (which cost $25). We never got the canal cruise.

Then on to Tivoli Gardens. Michael was wearing shorts and he decided to go back to the hotel to change into pants as the restaurant we planned to have dinner at was somewhat upscale and once you entered Tivoli Gardens, you could not exit and then get back in without paying again. I found a bench by the restaurant to wait for him. At this point, I am functioning on fumes. I laid down on the bench for a blissful 45 minutes until Michael joined me. Tivoli Gardens was created in the 1840 to give the people something pleasant to do as a way to avoid an uprising. It consists of an amusement park, a midway, hotel, restaurants, concert hall, outdoor theatre, fabulous gardens, lakes and fountains, aquarium, royal guard marching group with horse drawn carriage – it was so quaint. It is an absolute gem in the middle of a major metropolitan area. We enjoyed a concert and pantomime theatre show. We never did eat at the restaurant that was recommended to us. It would have cost $300 per person for dinner and wine. Found an authentic Danish restaurant and had a delightful meal and good companionship at a reasonable price.

There are no Starbucks anywhere in Copenhagen; there are McDonald’s, Burger King, 7-11, and Dominos. Almost everyone smokes just about everywhere. People don’t have a cell phone glued to their ear. There is no jaywalking and people wait for the traffic lights to turn green before proceeding across the street even when there is no traffic coming. We saw babies everywhere -- lots of them -- and 90% of them were blonde. The little ones all had pacifiers and toddlers sat compliantly in carriages. No little ones running about.