And we’re off!

 The day has come and we’re off. 

Our send off crew. 

onboard and in our tiny little seats on the plane

Here's a little story about our flight from Dallas to London. While everyone was boarding, there was an older man who was being quite obnoxious trying to get his and his wife's suitcases in the overhead bins. He was in everyone's way and wouldn't move and acting like he was the only one on the plane. He finally found a spot for the bags and was seated just across the aisle and one row back from us. He then began to carry on a loud conversation on his cell phone and continued talking on his phone after the announcement had been made to turn them off. Shortly one of the stewardesses came and asked him to turn off his phone. He said no. She asked him again nicely to turn it off so we could push back from the gate. He said no, he was having a conversation and got really ugly. His English wasn't the best (he was Indian). Another stewardess joined in and he just became more irate. The second stewardess said, that's it, he's off the plane. So they went to the front and talked to the head honcho. Then they unlocked the doors and the head stewardess and another stewardess came back and asked him to get his things, he was getting off the plane. He said no, he can't get off the plane. His wife is on the plane. This went on forever with him apologizing and saying he didn't do anything wrong and he was an American citizen. They told him this had nothing to do with his citizenship. Anyway, to sum it up it took security and four steward/stewardesses to finally escort him and his wife off the plane. Then they had to get their luggage out of the belly of the plane so we were an hour late leaving Dallas.

Nevertheless, here we are landing in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Got off the plane and onto a train into the city centre to find our lodging for the next two nights.

Copenhagen train station

I just love European train stations. They have so much character.

We are in room 210 of the Steel House, which is a hostel. They have dorm rooms with a shared bath down the hall but they also have some private rooms with ensuite.

I booked a twin room but I guess they only had a room with 6 bunks, so we have lots of beds but no room for our bags.

These are the steps to the upper bunks. No thank you!

After checking in we decided to take the hop on/hop off bus and boat tour of the city. We've found it's a good way to find out where everything is and get all the interesting history of the place. One of the interesting tidbits we heard was that there are actually more bicycles in Copenhagen than people. There are 5 bikes to every 4 people. I'm not sure how they know that but they pride themselves on being one of the greenest cities in the world with a goal of being carbon neutral by 2025. That should put a real kink in tourism since the city is full of buses, boats and automobiles. 

Jo Anne, all the bicycles reminded me so much of Amsterdam and Tiffany stepping off the curb in front of the man on his bike. I won't repeat what he said here.

Copenhagen City Hall Square

The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek is an art museum. The collection is the private art collection of Carl Jacobsen, the son of the founder of the Carlsberg Breweries.

This is the spire atop the Church of our Savior, a baroque church in Copenhagen. It is most famous for the external spiral staircase winding to the very top, offering incredible views over the city. It is also noted for its carillon, which plays melodies every hour from 8 am until midnight.

Christiansborg Palace is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament, the Danish Prime Minister's office and the Supreme Court of Denmark. Several parts of the palace are also used by the Danish monarch, including the Royal Reception Rooms, the Palace Chapel and the Royal Stables. Therefore, it is home to three supreme powers: the executive power, the legislative power, and the judicial power.

Nyhavn is a 17th century waterfront canal and entertainment district. It is lined by brightly colored 17th and early 18th century townhouses. There are many historical wooden ships in the canal. This is probably one of the most photographed areas in Copenhagen.

The boat we were on barely cleared the bridges. They must have quite a system for keeping the water in the canal at a certain level to ensure safe transport. Speaking of the canal, the water is tested everyday to create a safe swimming environment and you can see many people enjoying the water, even on a cool day like today. 

The Copenhagen Opera House is the national opera house of Denmark and among the most modern opera houses in the world. It is also one of the most expensive ever built at a cost of over 2.5 billion DKK. The roof is really interesting because it is huge, thin and hollow. The back and front roof do not connect in the middle so each side works independently. The roof overhang is almost 102' in the front, quite an engineering feat.

a narrow canal with some pretty fancy yachts

scraping by under another bridge

Frederik's Church, known as The Marble Church (Marmorkirken) for its rococo architecture, is an Evangelical Lutheran church in Copenhagen. It has the largest dome of any church in Scandinavia spanning over 100' and resting on 12 columns. The inspiration was probably St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

The foundation stone was set by king Frederick V on October 31, 1749, but the construction was slowed by budget cuts and the death of Eigtved in 1754. In 1770, the original plans for the church were abandoned by Johann Friedrich Struensee. The church was left incomplete and, in spite of several initiatives to complete it, stood as a ruin for nearly 150 years.

In 1874, Andreas Frederik Krieger, Denmark's Finance Minister at the time, sold the ruins of the uncompleted church and the church square to Carl Frederik Tietgen for 100,000 Rigsdaler — best I can calculate about $7,000 US — on the condition that Tietgen would build a church in a style similar to the original plans and donate it to the state when complete.

The deal was at the time highly controversial. On 25 January 1877, a case was brought by the Folketing at the Court of Impeachment, Krieger being charged with corruption over this deal. He was, however, eventually acquitted.

Tietgen got Ferdinand Meldahl to design the church in its final form and financed its construction. Due to financial restrictions, the original plans for the church to be built almost entirely from marble were discarded, and instead Meldahl opted for construction to be done with limestone. The church was finally opened to the public on August 19, 1894.

Inscribed in gold lettering on the entablature of the front portico are the words: HERRENS ORD BLIVER EVINDELIG (Danish: the word of the Lord endureth for ever – 1 Peter 1:25, KJV).

I know that's a lot of information but I found it fascinating.

The building just to the left of the church is the Amalienborg Palace.

Dragon spire on Borsen or Old Stock Exchange

The intertwining dragons on the 197 foot spire represent the Kalmar Union. This was a close relationship among the Nordic countries of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The tower was finished in 1625 and replaced in 1775. According to legend, it has protected the building from multiple fires that destroyed its neighbors on Slotsholmen over the centuries.

Kastellet is a citadel located in Copenhagen. It is one of the best preserved fortresses in Northern Europe. It is constructed in the form of a pentagon with bastions at its corners. The high grassy banks are very unique.

The Little Mermaid is a bronze statue by Edvard Eriksen, depicting a mermaid becoming human. The sculpture is displayed on a rock by the waterside at the Langelinie promenade. It is 1.25 meters tall and weighs 175 kilos (I'll let you do the math). Based on the 1837 fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, the statue has become one of the most visited tourist attractions in Copenhagen since its unveiling in 1913.

Rows and rows of yellow colored houses with red wooden shutters and green window-frames.

The area is called Nyboder. The houses are old though, built in 1631. From the start this was a privileged area to live in. Originally they were built by King Christian IV to house his Danish Navy personnel and their families. Nyboder offered priviliges to its residents: their own private hospital, schools and even a police force. However, in return every male resident (even all the boys born into Nyboder families) were obliged to perform military duty.

Tivoli Gardens, the world's second oldest amusement park, lies in the heart of Copenhagen. The world's oldest amusement park is located just a few miles north of the city. Dyrehavsbakken (“The Animal Park’s Hill”), commonly known as Bakken (“The Hill”), is the oldest amusement park in the world and first opened around 1583. Astounding!

Tivoli Gardens Food Hall. These are smørrebrød (open faced rye bread sandwich) quite popular here. That's what we had for our only meal today and we wouldn't do it again. But we have to try the local foods, right?

A few fun facts about Denmark and then I'll close. It has the oldest flag (over 800 years old). It is known for coining the term “hygge” (it’s pronounced hoo-ga, by the way) to describe an atmosphere or situation that is cozy (the best way I can describe it is a sense of pure contentment). I've already mentioned cycling. More Michelin Star restaurants than you can imagine, with one having a 3-month waiting list and a price of $700 per person. It is home of the LEGO and of Hans Christian Anderson. And, last but certainly not least, luxury licorice (could there possibly be such a thing?)

It's now 11:10 and I've been up since yesterday morning so I'm calling it a night. By the way, the weather here was beautiful today! We didn't have to put on our jackets until the sun went down. 

"No need to fear what God will ask of you, because in the asking is always the promise of grace to empower your heart and hands."

Godnat - good night