09/10-11/2009 - Tampa FL -> Dulles Airport DC -> Copenhagen,Denmark

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Set out on a 30-day adventure: 3 days in Copenhagen, 10-day Baltic Sea cruise and 18-day Transatlantic cruise. Ports of call will be Stockholm, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia; Tallinn, Estonia; Gdynia, Poland; Oslo, Norway; Copenhagen, Denmark; Edinburgh, Scotland; Dublin and Belfast, Ireland; Reykjavik, Iceland; Qaqortoq, Greenland; St. Johns, Newfoundland; and Ft. Lauderdale, FL - USA. I flew from Tampa to Washington Dulles and met up with Judy, Rodger and Roxie from Denver. We arrived in Copenhagen on 09/11 around 7:30 a.m. Went through customs, got our bags and checked in at the hotel. Judy and I went walking to scope out the city, while the other two rested. We walked past Tivoli Gardens and realized it was only about 10:30 a.m. - we of course thought it was mid-afternoon. We continued on to City Square where there is a statue of Hans Christian Anderson. In fact, there are several Han's statutes around the city. We checked out the canal rides for later and walked past and around the working Christianborg Castle - King & Queen live elsewhere. Then we went down Stroget Street, which is like an outdoor mall (only delivery vehicles are allowed) with shops, pubs and restaurants. It is probably 2-3 miles long. We stopped to rest several times. Then we walked back to the hotel and picked up Rodger and Roxie and got a taxi to the canal ride. Saw several sites along the way including the opera house, the "Little Mermaid" of Hans Christian Anderson fame and we stopped at Nyhavn for a few minutes. This is a popular place for folks to hang out. The rich people sit at the outdoor cafe's eating and drinking and the rest of the folks sit along the canal wall eating ice cream or drinking beer. Had to watch for pick-pockets in this area, but we had no trouble. The "Little Mermaid" watches out for and protects all who enter or leave the Copenhagen port. Ate an early dinner and we were all sleep by 7-7:30pm. Copenhagen is an interesting city. It appears to be a city of “anything goes.” They actually have “sex clubs” that are open 24 hours a day. We saw quite a few “ladies of the evening & day - round the clock” in action. However, they seemed to scatter when police approached so guess it isn’t really legal, but the part of town we were in near Tivoli seemed to see quite a bit of action. In fact, we had to sleep with ear plugs. Fortunately, Roxie and I were on the 4th floor and heard the noises, but we were so tired it didn’t keep us up.

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Photos

Met the First Family
Delaine & Judy with President & Mrs. Obama in the Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C.

Alley off the Stroget
The Strøget is the world's longest pedestrian street for shoppers of all taste. There are also quite a few cafes/restaurants along the street.

Canal Ride
We rode a boat like this in the afternoon. It goes up and down Copenhagen's many canals.

Absalon, Warrior Bishop of Copenhagen
Absalon took control of Copenhagen, then known as Havn, which was nothing more than a village of fishing huts. Being aware of its strategic importance but vulnerability, Absalon built a stone fortress to protect the area against the Wendish pirates which he defeated.

The Fishmongers Wife
She is made of marble and stands on the canal side guarding the area where once stood Copenhagen's fish market.

Copenhagen
Rear of Christiansborg Palace on right. The palace sits right in the middle of town.