I arrived in Copenhagen late Wednesday morning with the girls, and we immediately went to the ATM to get some Danish krones. The Danes have one of the cutest currencies out there since all their coins are shiny and covered in crowns and hearts. After checking into the hostel, Lauren, Emily, and I set off to explore some of the city. Our first adventure was climbing 400 steps to the summit of the Church of Our Savior. The view was gorgeous, though unfortunately the cloudy sky inhibits my pictures from conveying this beauty. The church tower is also home to several bells that began ringing during our struggle to reach the top. I don't know how the hunchback of Notre Dame could ever stand such a volume! After getting our feet back on solid ground we walked over to a bakery where we split a delicious dessert made of marzipan, strawberries, and cream. Needless to say it was heavenly. 
On our second day in Copenhagen, we made our way to a beautiful park that was home to the famous Little Mermaid statue. We rounded a harbor full of sailboats to stumble upon an unusually rowdy scene. Unbeknownst to us simple tourists, there was a big football match (and by football I mean soccer) that weekend in Copenhagen. Some of the visiting fans were taking the opportunity of drunkenly turning the Little Mermaid into an effigy. A few men actually scaled the rocks to dress the statue in a t-shirt and scarf supporting their team. It was humorous to say the least. After seeing the statue, we walked around the rest of the park. Part of it is a somewhat active military fort called Kastellet. I got to see my first old-fashioned windmill there too! 
After the park, we walked down the street and saw the palace where the Danish royal family currently live. The palace has guards stationed outside the doors and they look a lot like the British ones. One tourist was posing for a picture next to one guard, but I guess she was standing too close because he promptly stamped the butt of his rifle on the ground and then used it to shift her over a foot. I think she was surprised and a bit shaken by the suddenness of the whole action. Walking further down the street, we stumbled upon an jeweler's shop with a small amber museum located just above it. Copenhagen is known for its amber since in history many residents harvested it along the shores after the waves had torn it from the ocean floor. It reminded me of Jurassic Park.
We spent the rest of the day struggling to get to Frederiksborg Castle just outside the city but it was unfortunately closed by the time we got there. However, the outside looked so beautiful that we knew we had to come back the next day and try again.
Unknowingly, we picked the absolute perfect time to visit Copenhagen, for it just so happened that on our second night the entire city was having a huge celebration! Early every November, at exactly 8:59 pm, all the bars release Christmas beer! They only have it for the Christmas season, so everyone goes crazy when they can finally get it! Lauren, Emily, and I weren't that familiar with the city night life so we ended up stuck in an area filled with posh bars and no idea of where to go for a glass of Christmas beer. After wandering for a bit, I got fed up and stopped the first young person I saw. The second he opened his mouth to give us directions, all of our mouths dropped. There was no mistaking his Irish brogue. Out of all the people I could have asked for help, I stop the one Irish tourist. And he wasn't just any Irish tourist! His name was Shane and he was actually a teacher at a high school that three of my friends from Maynooth graduated from! (Upon my arrival home, I asked one of my friends about Shane and he told me that he had accidentally punted a gaelic ball at Shane's head and, in turn, Shane punted it into the river haha!) As corny as it may sound, I have to say it. Small world! With Shane's guidance we continued on our quest for Christmas beer and we weren't disappointed! We entered a bar and were handed free Christmas Beer! Though I must admit that it actually tasted pretty gross to me. 
We headed back to the hostel to get some sleep, and I think I should take the opportunity to tell you a bit about the building our hostel was neighbors with. You may have heard of the Bella Hotel because apparently President Obama went there for a conference on climate etc. (we were told that the windmill in front of the hotel was built because of Obama's visit but that it actually doesn't work because it would make too much noise) The cool part of the building is that it actually leans more than the Leaning Tower of Pisa (it leans 15 degrees while Pisa only leans 3.97). The top juts out 10 meters farther than the base.
The next morning we went back to Frederiksborg Castle and I am so glad we did because it turned out to be my favorite part of Copenhagen. Let me tell you, Danish royalty don't mess around. The castle is huge with several stone spiral staircases, hundreds of rooms, grand halls, a church, and a park for a backyard. We spent hours just winding our way through the building and grounds. I especially enjoyed looking at all the paintings of members of the royal family. I think that the men had a secret competition to see who could groom the most ridiculous moustache, which would be a genius form of torture! Think about it. All the Danes would be forbidden from laughing the foolish caterpillar growing on their lord's face. Absolute torture!
After taking the train back into the city, we wandered around the downtown shopping streets a bit before finally grabbing our bags from the hostel and rushing to catch our train that would take us to the airport. This train was significantly more uneventful than our last one, although we did get to make friends with some Germans. Traveling is exhausting and I was extremely happy to finally see Ireland again. It is quite possible that I kissed the ground in full view of all the taxi drivers lined up and waiting for passengers. They can judge me I don't care!
No comments:
Post a Comment