Copenhagen, Denmark

We were finally on solid ground for a week in the capital of Denmark after dismebarkingthe ship around 9am. Grabbing a taxi we stuffed our luggage long with our friends, Tom and Debbie and their luggage and took off to the apartment we were staying at. Tom did some homework and found a great two bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. The first day we got settled, unpacked and took a stroll down the canal that was next to our apartment. The area is called Nyhaven which means New Harbor, but is really the oldest harbor in the city. It used to be a "naughty" place where sailors would take shore leave to drink, eat and "other activities" (wink, wink). Now it's a posh place to meet friends, have dinner or a drink and live. The next day we met our host couple Karl was emailing through his police connections. Rene and Marjbritte were great hosts and showed us many places in Copenhagen, how to get around town on the buses and what we should see while we were there. They took us on a walking tour and gave us a great introduction to this wonderful city. It's a mixture of old and new and seems to be a very vibrant and clean city. The following day we walked to the Rosesnborg Palace which is now a museum, but was once the summer home of the royal family. The rooms are furnished with items from the fisrt king, Christian IV to Frederick VI. Plus the crown jewels are stored there. In fact, one of the displays for the royal christening outfit was out because the Queen's grandchild is being christened this Sunday.

The weather was on and off most of the time we were here, but it didn't deter us from exploring. This day we went on a bus tour of the city called the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus. What a way to see a city! It takes you around most of the important sights and lets you get off to visit for a while and then catch the next bus and continue on your tour. We were taken to the harbor where one of the most recognizable symbols of Denmark is - The Little Mermaid. This poor girl has had her head cut off three times and her arm once. Thank goodness they still have the original mold so that they can remake whatever body part is taken.

I'm sorry, but I had to take a picture of something very unusual to us, but seems common place to Europe- a public bathroom! That's right - a bathroom underground in the central plaza. Go figure!

Okay, on with our tour. Did you know that Sweden is only 17 miles from Copenhagen? We didn't either until we found out that it is connected by a tunnel and a bridge! Well guess where we went? You got it - we went to Sweden for the day. The cute town of Malmo is just across the channel and we had a wonderful time walking the streets and seeing the old buildings and the outdoor restaurants. We had a great Japanese lunch in one of these places and were very warm and comfortable because they have heaters between the tables and blankets on the chairs for us. Our final day we went with Rene and Marjbritte to the coastal town of Dragoer, prounounced Drower. It is a quaint fishing village that hasn't changed in many years. Fishing boats still sail out of the harbor for their daily run and bring the day's catch back to the shoreline so that they can sell the catch fresh. Houses are still thatched roofed and the streets are still small and cobblestoned. In fact the houses aren't really big either.

Well,folks, we are traveling back to the USA tomorrow. I hope you have enjoyed taking this journey with us and maybe we have peaked your inner travel bug. Our next adventure will be June of next year when we go back to Ireland for a motorcycle tour with the Blue Knights.