Copenhagen

2 days in Copenhagen. Tuesday evening we found a grocery store to buy cereal and milk and then walked into town. We went to the door of St. Ann's Church and were allowed to slip into a mezzo soprano and organ concert halfway through. Thursday morning we took the bus out to see the Little Mermaid Statue, surrounded by tour-bus-loads of tourists taking pictures. I enjoyed much more the statue at the other end of the harbor of a bear + looking at the boats, one with these perfectly coiled lines on the bow. Lots of beautiful sailboats along the waterfront and the canals.

Perfectly Coiled Lines

We walked along the waterfront, stopping to see a replica of a Viking ship and the royal yacht across the water. We walked across a bridge and through the guardhouse into the 5-pointed kastellet (fort) and up on the ramparts.

Ross & Rich Kastellet

Kastellet - Lots of old houses are this typical red.

Then we spent several hours in the Danish Design Museum: British textiles after WWII, Danish chairs and pottery. But we found interesting Danish design everywhere. 

Danish Lamp hanging in the foyer of the Design Museum

After finding a bakery for bread and pastry, we sat on a bench for a picnic lunch, too tired to do much else. Too far to walk home and back, so we spent an hour reading Time magazine (Ross and JLFM) and an encyclopedia about Danish history in the library in the Black Diamond (a modern building that matches its name). I liked these carts with book holders and bookends to borrow.

Library Cart with Book Racks and Book Ends to Borrow

Book rack in use

My Danish relatives took us to Tivoli for dinner and to wander around while their girls went on the roller coasters and other rides. Christina and I sat on the grass and talked while watching a ballet of the Steadfast Tin Soldier. None of those Hans Christian Andersen tales ends happily.

Sunday we spent several hours in the art museum, walked through the Botanic Garden, and were too tired to do anything else, but Rich wanted to stop at the National Museum to see the Viking exhibit. Of course, it was great, and we stayed till it closed. I especially liked a Viking weather vane & the rune stones. Plus I saw the best St. George and the Dragon statue ever: Medieval wood, the knight life-sized. Not sure how big dragons are supposed to be, but very dramatic with both the horse's and the dragon's tails whipping out behind. I always like the dragons better than the knights.

Medieval St. George & the Dragon Statue, National Museum

Copenhagen has lots of great towers, mostly brick with copper tops.



Brick and Copper Church Tower

Copenhagen Street

Boats on a canal

Overall, I didn't love Copenhagen, in spite of the boats and bicycles and wonderful bike paths and neat design ideas. It seemed too sterile, not enough street life compared to Hannover, and not enough greenery. I missed trees and grass and gardens. I know that there are hidden courtyards behind these 6-8 story apartment blocks, but I rarely glimpsed them from the street. It didn't help that the prices were so high that it hurt to buy basic groceries. Christina said they pay more taxes than either Sweden or Germany. I did love the guards and train conductors, helpful and with a sense of humor, unlike the steely bureaucratic seriousness of the German ones. When I asked a guard at the art museum if I could take pictures, he told me that I couldn't "take" anything, but I could use my camera freely. When I didn't smile or laugh, because I was taken aback that the guard would actually joke with me, he told me it was a joke, thinking I didn't get it. Guards at the Viking exhibit at the National Museum and at the Design Museum were also helpful and friendly. One explained all about the Jelling Stone when I asked. Similarly, the conductor on one of the trains was a pregnant, pretty Danish woman with a white shirt and a skirt. However, she was tough enough to throw a scary man who didn't have a valid ticket off the train. The sign below in the botanic garden was typical of the more relaxed attitude of the Danes.

Sign in Botanic Garden: You are welcome to sit on the grass here

Well-designed grocery basket with wheels and a handle to pull it (with expensive groceries)

On Friday we took a quick walk back into town to walk along a canal and see boats. We passed some people in coveralls fixing bikes. I asked them what they were doing and they explained that they were a volunteer organization based on a U.N. environmental resolution offering free coffee and bike repair on the corner to bike commuters. There's a great idea I'd like to take home to Los Angeles.

Free coffee and bike tune-up on a busy commuter corner