Blogs from Region Hovedstaden, Denmark, Europe - page 3

Up early to catch our original train, plus two more. At the third train station, all trams are relocated because sadly, someone has chose to commit suicide on the tracks. Crossing over into Denmark, the trees become shorter, and there are acres of solar panels. We are quizzical regarding the seemingly new trains left out in the field to decay. Our seat partner explained that Denmark had purchased all new train cars from an Italian firm and none of them have ever functioned, hence the waste, plus the loss of a whole lot of krone. The Danes are not overly happy with that! The temperature has dropped as autumn has arrived, along with the lovely change in the colour of the leaves. Copenhagen is a very clean and hugge (the Danish word for cozy) city of ... read more

The weather we've experienced while in Denmark is tricky. Essentially, be prepared for rain, cold wind or warm sunshine at all times. I thought the weatherman back home had a difficult task. The weather app here is all over the place. One minute it says 80% chance of rain each hour for the rest of the day, the next it says 0%. If you go outside and it's warm and sunny, ten minutes later the clouds cover the sun and you wish you had a heavy jacket. So, with that in mind, we started our walking tour on Tuesday morning in a drizzle. We had our rain coats, ponchos and umbrellas in our backpacks. We were prepared for anything Mother Nature threw at us. When you travel this far, nothing gets in the way of plans ... read more

We got off the plane well rested and ready for an adventure. The airport, just like Iceland's, looks like the IKEA catelog. Everything is crisp, clean and efficient looking. The one thing I notice is the FREE Starbucks kiosk as we walk down the hall. Medium roast and tea bags. I don't know many that would pass that up except the Whitson women. We've got things to do and places to see! **Actually, it's because we'd have to carry the cup with us or stand and drink it and neither one of us could manage to juggle our luggage AND a hot cup.** We walk straight out since we've already been through customs in Iceland and we don't have anything to declare. The ticket machines for the Metro are easy to find and after asking the ... read more

THE CRUISE Arrival in Copenhagen The plane landed in Copenhagen. We took the metro from the airport to the city center. On the way up to street level, Aylin lost her footing and tumbled backward down the escalator. She was spinning around, trying to grab something so she could stand up. Luggage continued to bounce from step to step. I had two bags of my own. I left them to go down the stairs and reach Aylin. It was terrifying. Somehow she got to her feet. She was a trooper and insisted she was all right. On the street, after turning in circles for a bit, wondering which way to go, a young man, pushing his son in a stroller, took Aylin’s bag and escorted us to our hotel. We had a comfortable double room at ... read more

Copenhagen is immediately impressive in a grand majestic way. A bit like Vienna in that this place is clearly rich and royal but was perhaps once richer and royaler and more important. There are no tall modern skyscrapers on the skyline, rather there are abundant palace turrets, castle towers, church spires and the ancient roller-coasters of Tivoli Gardens (the amusement park opened in 1843! Which makes it only the second oldest in the world. The oldest is also in Denmark). The lack of tall buildings, combined with the squares, parks, gardens and especially the canals and wide harbours give Copenhagen a sense of being open and spacious. Despite being a capital city, you never feel like you are on top of people. The extra wide pavements probably help as well – extra wide to accommodate cycle ... read more