Kobenhavn (Copenhagen)

Before I get into today’s adventure in Kobenhavn, I want to take a few moments to recognize those items that have given their lives so that we may enjoy this trip. First, my sunglasses, lost somewhere in a bunker. Probably will be found years from now and mistaken as some kind of advanced Nazi / alien technology. Second, one of the phone power adapters. Fortunately, we have four of these so the loss of one, although an emotional event, won’t impact the trip. Third, my camera memory chip. This was a biggie! 32Gb that we could still read and save the pictures to the computer, but the chip wouldn’t work in the camera. The good, didn’t lose any photos; the bad, a new chip cost around $110.00USD (got a 128Gb, holds 9,999 pictures!). The show must go on!

Got out of the apartment early this morning to catch the train to Copenhagen. Bought a 24-hour ticket that includes bus & metro travel in both Copenhagen and Malmo. Great deal at $43.20USD for two people. The train ride took about 35 minutes and went back across the toll bridge that cost a fortune in a car, ~$40.00USD one way!

We left the Lambo (Lamborghini) back at the apartment for the day, parking cost was $22.00USD for the day. Yes, everything in Scandinavia costs, everything! The reason we’re in an apartment in Malmo, Sweden is because apartments in Denmark were twice to three times the cost of one in Sweden, so a quick 35-minute train ride made sense. The apartment is fine for us. The bath is a little on the compact side, but it is a two-bedroom so a little space to unpack our clothes and give them a chance to breathe.

First stop, the Christiansborg Palace. There has been a palace or castle on this site since 1100AD. As a matter of fact, after we tour the interior of the palace, we’ll go below and tour the ruins of the two other buildings that were discovered during the construction of the current palace. Entrance fee for all this and a tour of the kitchen is only $47.00USD for two, no senior discount. In all, there were 19 rooms in the palace that we toured. The royal family no longer lives here, they use it as a rental, but it is home to the Danish Supreme Court, and the Prime Minister’s office. Between me and the Misses we took a total of 113 pictures so way too many to include here but we did include some of the best ones below.

Now to the ruins……

And then the kitchen….

Done with the palace, now off to find Our Saviors Church. This church has a stairway on the outside that you can use to get to the top of the tower and view the city. Depending on the degree of difficulty and cost, we may just look from street level. The 400 steps, last 150 are outside, look to have an 8.5DoD and the cost was over my allowance so we’ll just take a few pictures from the ground then head off to find a good pastry and coffee. Also passed the old stock exchange building, or Borsbygningen in Danish, which has a very unique feature. Built around 1620, the building has a distinctive spire, shaped as the tails of four dragons twined together, and reaching almost 200’.

Skip the pastry, time for lunch. We found this restaurant that dates back to 1726, the Skinduksen (no English translation), offered a good variety for lunch, schnitzel for me and Mom-Bear, and wine. Price wasn’t too bad, ~$72.00USD for lunch and a glass of wine each. Best part was the atmosphere. Not sure if it was original or not, but this picture of Field Marshall Montgomery looked pretty interesting, and since the British liberated Denmark, could be original. If Gen. Patton saw this, he’d kick old Bernard’s ass. No wonder he was so far behind!

Finished up with lunch and decided to do a little souvenir shopping for all our friends back home. Can’t show the pictures of the actual gifts, I don’t want anyone to get too excited. But shopping makes you hungry so we had to duck in and try to have a late fika. We’d been wondering what these bullet-shaped pastries were ever since we landed in Scandinavia. Well, the mystery is over! Collette decided to try one and man am I glad it was hers. That’s a chocolate shell with caramel and nuts, on a cookie, filled with marshmallow crème. Makes my poor Danish look sorry but just right for me. BTW- Do you know how a Danish became a Danish???? A baker’s labor strike in Denmark around 1850 caused companies to hire bakers from Austria to keep things going. The Austrians made a pastry called, “Plundergeback” which became very popular. Once the strike ended, the Danish bakers adopted the new pastry but added more fat, fruit and egg in the batter. And there you have it, the creation of the Danish, only they called it, “wienerbrod” or “Vienna bread”. End of today’s lesson.

Tomorrow we drive to Kivik to the ancient king’s grave. Mostly a road trip through the countryside but as always, a little history is included. Till then friends……..