Copenhagen II

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Well, I sure saw a lot of Copenhagen in 5 days! While Sandy was talking and listening,I ran around the city and even got as far afield as Roskilde. The Museums are great and thanks Greg and Annie for the Denmark guide book,which I almost wore out. The idea of the 2 ½ hour bus trip on the first day was great as it helped us know what was where and gave me a list of places to visit. The first was the round tower, a19th century observatory which you walk up to view the city. Then the National Museum and the Carlsberg Glyptotek, a museum established by the founder of Carlsberg beer! I also fitted in a visit to the Carlsberg Brewery! The Glyptotek is an eclectic mix of Egyptian relics, Greek and Roman marble statues and fragments, modern (up to 1890) sculpture, including Rodan's “thinker”and “the kiss” and Danish art up to 1890. Over 10 000 pieces of amazing stuff,all collected by one VERY rich man!

I managed to visit a number of churches and halls, and have a good idea of the roles of the various kings. My favourite is Christian IV,who was the big builder and town planner. He did leave the treasury empty at the end of his reign though. Christian V planned a Marble church, but used all the money for a statue of himeslf,so there is only marble on the ground floor of the marble church! Somewhat like the dowager emperess in Beijing, who spent all the money on a marble boat!

I had a half day trip on a train to Roskilde, to visit the viking museum and cathedral. Roskilde was an early capital of Denmark and 18 of the kings and many of their wives are buried there, starting with Harald Bluetooth in 986! The viking museum was great and I have a better idea of their ships and life. They not only had the recovered boats from under the water,but had built,using the tools of the vikings time (8th to 11th centuary) built.replicas which had been sailed across the northern seas. The biggest boat recovered was 60m long,and held 100men! It was built in Dublin in 1042!

On the Monday night we had a welcome function at the Town Hall and were served fantastic food (found out afterwards it was prepared by Denmark's version of Jamie Oliver) and unlimited beer! The room was fantastic and the walls covered by heraldic shields, even gilded walrus skulls!

Last night was the conference dinner for Sandy's conference and I paid to come along. I thought that the price wans steep at $150, but thought that it would be a great night, but.....The venue was great, the National Museum and we were entertained by men blowing Viking horns and the worst acapella group ever heard. We had been served a glass of welcome bubbles, but the music started as the grog ran out!

The food was traditional Danish,but served in tiny portions, one serve every hour! The beverage service was abysmal! We could buy bottles of wine at $100 each, or soda water at $15 each! We left after 4 courses at 10.30 and those that stayed were served the 8th course at midnight! Up until that event I had a good impression of the Danes, but they are really a Lutheran Society and have a lot in common with the Prohibitionists! We had a Danish lady at our table and she was highly embarrassed. Sandy was responsible for this conference in Brisbane last year and we had great functions with never ending food and alcohol.

Anyway,we continued with the tourist stuff and this afternoon after the conference finished did a boat trip around the harbor. This gave us a different perspective and rounded out the experience. Tonight we had a great meal in a cafe with 4 of Sandy's colleagues and a great night was had by all. We sat outside wrapped up in blankets provided by the Cafe,a different way to have an out door eating experience. Since I have been here I have worn my beanie,and was forced to buy gloves and a scarf to cope with the cold. Clever Sandy had brought all these with her.


The Danish life is interesting. They are a very egalitarian society and have a stable government,led by Social Democrats. The welfare state is alive and well., but the cost is income tax at the level of 50% of wages. I saw little poverty, but homeless people do exist. Half of Copenhagen's population ride bikes to work and stations are surrounded by acres of bikes. Bike path's abound and there is free bike scheme for the CBD, that's where Campbell Newman got the idea from. The Danish “style” is evident in shop windows and classy furniture and household items reflect this. The new public buildings (Opera House 2005,playhouse 2007 and Black pearl,a public library) were all designed by Danish architects and were great buildings. It appears that the late Jan Utzon was not alone.

We're in England now enjoying Gavin and Helen's hospitality and most unexpectedly sunshine!

pj and Sandy

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