Copenhagen !

Kelly flew from Dublin to Frankfurt and got on the train headed to Hamburg. I hopped on 2hrs later in Gottingen and we were off on our Scandinavian adventure !

We switched trains at Hamburg. Destination Copenhagen, capitol of Denmark !

What we didnt know was that the train boards a ferry...that's right, the train drives right onto a ferry and makes a 40 minute crossing across the Fehrman straight from Puttgarden to Radby.

You have to get off the train (in case the ferry sinks), so we followed the signs :

Turns out the seance symbol means cafeteria, buts that's ok as we were hungry.

We also changed our money on the ferry, Denmark is not on the Euro so we got some Kroners. I miss the old days when every country had its own money.

We arrived in Copenhagen at 10:15 pm after 6 hours on the train (8 for Kelly...plus a flight...ugh)

After checking in our hotel, we headed straight out to a local restaurant where our waiter was very pleasant and the food scrumptious.

The next morning we had the complimentary breakfast buffet at our hotel. Although we passed on the herring, we did have some very pink salami-ish meat...and chunks of brie...yum

Then it was time to hit the streets and see what Copenhagen was all about. We headed for the main pedestrian only shopping street, the Stroget...much like Dublin's Grafton street.

We did some wandering, of course.

and when we got too chilly, we plopped down in a cafe for some cappuccino...and the best little cookies ever.

We then made for Rosenborg Castle and the Kings Gardens (Kongens Have)

Its a pretty Renaissance era castle built by King Christian IV...there are a lot of guys named Christian running around Denmark...including me.

There were soldiers patrolling around the former Royal residence. As usual, rulebreaker Kelly got shooed away as she got too close to the building in a restricted area.

I'm sure the gardens and castle are more impressive in the summer, but even in the winter it was a neat sight.

Next we headed down towards one of the canals for lunch. We knew we found the right area when we saw the brightly colored buildings, the sails and kids climbing a giant anchor.

We surveyed the menus from 10 or so places until we decided on a Mediterranean themed cafe that had heat lamps outside.

It also had a lovely view.

This is me enjoying the view.

After some bruschetta and too much wine for the middle of the day, we took off again. This time to see some official looking government buildings also patrolled by guards. This place must be important, they wear fuzzy hats.

Now even more emboldened by a half a bottle of wine, Reckless Kelly the Lawbreaker started scrambling behind barriers and even had to be told to get out of one of the red guard stations.

It was everything I could do to keep her from stealing one of their cloaks.

This is the guy who yelled at Kelly. I took his picture, I'm sure that made him happy.

Next stop...the Marble Church.

Very impressive. Saints painted on the ceilings, lots of marble...very nice.

In the last two years we've seen so many churches...but this one was surprisingly impressive.

More wandering followed...lots of statues of Christians

here, Christian X

Copenhagen is very safe and clean (except Christiana, that's a whole separate post)

In the picture below some parents let their kids play with the friendly neighborhood, beer drinking musician. We couldn't stop smiling either, it was very cute.

Dinnertime ! We went to a traditional Danish restaurant that is normally closed on Sundays, but was open for a private party in the back. They said we were welcome to eat in the main restaurant, but they were only serving one dish, we said bring it on.

Frikadellen (Meatballs)...this picture isn't flattering, but they were delicious. Served with warm mustardy potato salad and cool lightly pickled cucumber slices....and a large Carlsberg.

Day two was a day trip to Sweden ! (separate blog post also)

Upon our return we napped, then wandered around looking for dinner.

We found a mini-Copenhagen instead !

and, although it sounds lame, we went back to the same restaurant...it was just that good.


More Danish delights awaited. Kelly had some chicken pot pie looking appetizers that were very good. I opted to gamble and go for the local specialty, Herrings.

The Herrings were in a creamy herb sauce and served with capers, onions and fat with apricots mixed in....yes fat. All very delicious with the local bread.

For our entrees, Kelly had a pork tenderloin and I had a Hamburg steak (Hamburger) that came with an egg on top like Claytons ol' Truckburgers. Potatoes, and more pickles of course....and two.....count'em two bottles of Vino.

After rolling ourselves home, we went to bed early-ish so we wouldn't miss our 730am train.

It was a beautiful day for a train ride....look a wind farm ! You see lots of them in Northern Germany and in Denmark...very clever.

Also a lovely day for a ferry ride !

A quick stop in Hamburg for lunch and to change trains. Then I got off in Gottingen for another week of coaching as Kelly headed to Frankfurt airport and back to Dublin. What a trooper.