Copenhagen December 1

Our sightseeing started with a visit to Christiania, a section of Copenhagen that was established as a commune in 1971. You go through a gate from an orderly upscale neighborhood to a grubby mishmash of older buildings, walls covered in graffiti and questionable stores and eateries. Mary liked the “art,” but I felt uneasy and was relieved to head out the gate that said “ this way to the EU.”

We also visited the Church of Our Savior that has an immense pipe organ held up by elephants.

We joined the tourists on a 90 minute canal tour where we learned more about the Royal Opera House (they had professional divers dive off the roof into the canal) and the various neighborhoods. The canals were dug hundreds of years ago to expand harbor commerce. The tour guide was a young rosy cheeked Dane who reminded the passengers at least a dozen times to sit down as we passed under bridges.

Copenhagen. December 2

More impressions of Denmark

1. Mary and I can pass as Danes! People start speaking to us in Danish and we have to request English (that everyone seems to speak fluently). The Danish people are tall, very good looking people. Many are blond or red head. Older women seem to go grey naturally and they look great. The dress code outdoors for women is puffer jacket/coat, scarf and hat. Men wear black overcoats and look really smart.

2. We have encountered many reminders of Hans Christian Anderson; his statue, references to where he lived and then a charming ride in Tivoli retelling his stories. I noticed swans and ducks in the canal, and we got to see the famous Little Mermaid statue. It’s really little! One night Mary and I listened to one of his stories…about a preacher and his dead wife; it was so maudlin.

3. Back to food. We have enjoyed Danish open sandwiches, smørrbrød, every day. Toppings like pressed salmon, herring, roast pork sit atop rye bread and are layered on with creamy dressings, pickled cabbage, fresh dill, etc. You eat with knife and fork. I would love to try to recreate this at home but finding the bread will be the challenge.

Today I enjoyed doing some errands. I found a walk-in hair salon called Come on In and got a barber style haircut. (It looks good.) When it was time to pay I was told they only accept cash. I didn’t have any! (Everyone, even the guy roasting nuts in a cart, wanted a card. ) They directed me to a cash machine a few blocks away and so I was able to settle up. Then I visited a small supermarket for provisions for our long train ride tomorrow. Fruit, cheese, skyr, and organic grainy crackers.