Pilgrimage to Copenhagen

Thirty years ago, almost to the day, my parents eloped to Copenhagen. I've seen the photos they took of themselves that day with their camera on self-timer - my mother looking beautiful in a black and flowery 1970s style dress sitting on the grass next to my dad who has dark hair and sideburns and a big smile on his face. But I'd never actually been to Copenhagen before to see the city for myself and I'd wanted to for a long time.

So when my friend John mentioned he might want to go there to celebrate his 30th birthday, I jumped at it. I was also keen to head back to Scandinavia because I spent a weekend in Stockholm in the summer of 2005 (John was also on that trip) and I absolutely LOVED it and was ready to see more.

Only three of us were able to make the trip (Sara was the third) but we had a fabulous time. On Friday night we went to a few bars and then stopped for a Danish hot dog at one of the many vendor carts. The hot dogs are long and thin, the buns are round and hollowed out, and you squirt ketchup or mayonnaise into the bun first and then drop the dog in for a perfect (and cheap) late night snack.

On Saturday the sun was shining and we made a bee-line for Tivoli Gardens - the 19th century amusement park in the center of the city. It reminded me a lot of Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia except a lot smaller. We had lunch and rode the biggest, fastest roller coaster they had and then decided to get out and see more of the city.

For John's birthday dinner on Saturday night we had a reservation at a French-Japanese fusion restaurant named Umami that the NYT travel section had recommended. It was fab-u-lous. I started with seared foie gras with eel, nashi pear and seaweed salad, and followed that with really fresh sashimi. Sara and John were equally happy with their scallops, assorted sushi, and wagyu beef. We washed it all down with really good cold sake.

On Sunday we had brunch and then Sara went to catch her flight while John and I continued our tour of the city. We walked north along the coast to see the Little Mermaid statute, found the Royal Palace and the Opera House by accident along the way and ended up out at a city beach promenade - an area of grass and boardwalk along the river covered with sunbathers. It was the place to be on a sunny Sunday.

We didn't make it to the Carlsberg Brewery (my parents took post-wedding photos in the atrium there) but we did see City Hall where the ceremony was performed and I ate in one of the Hereford Steak houses where they had their wedding banquet, as my dad likes to call it. Pilgrimage complete. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! Here's to 30 more years. Skål! (Cheers!)

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