Photogenic street by the harbour in Nyhavn
Random ice rink in front of Kongelige Teater
Shot of houses and church spire
The main shopping drag of Strøget
Organ of Helligandskirken
Helligandskirken
Detail outside of Helligandskirken
The interior of the Cathedral with statues by Thorvaldsen
City HallWednesday 2/4- Managed to get all over the city. The entire city is walkable, but you have to mind not getting killed by cyclists. The weather, not so good. There is this thermometer thing in the City Hall square that goes from -20-20 degrees. I have never seen the thing move from -2 to 1 the entire time. It misted and drizzled the entire day- never seen anything like it- maybe Cambridge. It hovered around freezing, so a third of the time it rained, a third it iced and a third it snowed in little pellets. Started by going to the Round tower, which is an observatory from the 17th century. Went into the rest of the churches including the Marble church with its large dome, the Catholic church and the Russian Orthodox church. Saw the Royal palace and the changing of the guard. I did have a nice lunch in a cafe- roast beef sandwich with horseradish sauces that brought me to tears. Was so cold so warmed up by going to the Museum of Danish Resistance, which may be a bit overblown and sort of tries to make up for a good deal of acquiescence to Nazi rule. Then walked to the statue of the Little Mermaid which is not in the scenic position I thought it would be- more like smokestacks and docks for the background. Then walked past the old naval housing and through some old fortifications to the National Gallery which contained more Danish art than I knew existed. Some nice Medieval and Renaissance stuff, too.
By this time it was dark so headed home but detoured to try to find a plug adapter and some food. I found the one electronics store in all of Copenhagen- fona. Amongst all of the Bang & Olufsen TVs and Tivoli radios that made my wallet cry was a plug adaptor kit for 199kr which translates to well over $30. Naturally I balked. On one of the pedestrianised streets I popped into Tiger, a shameless Danish version of Target but the size of a two bedroom house. Went to the Irma supermarket but could only afford two bananas and three small waters. Apparently potato chips are highly revered in Denmark. A small bag (100g) costs $3. The bananas were not in great shape and cost $3. In fact, I'm not sure if anything cost under $3. (As a side note- the smallest coin in the country is 9 cents and I saw it only once in three days.) Found a likely candidate for the adaptor- a supermarket cum mini-Target upstairs. My hopes were dashed when the man told me that they didn't carry any but that it was a shame since many people come in to ask for the very things. Note to self: open adaptor store in Copenhagen. In my quest for the adaptor I settled on Vietnamese take-out which was not great. So endeth the second day.
Sub-tropical gardens in the Glyptothek
Bronze portrait of a Roman man
Vespasian
Detail of Caligula's eye with paint remnants
Portrait of a Roman boy
Pompey the Great
A Roman woman of the Flavian era
Portrait of Matisse's wife
Old quarters for Danish sailors
A think piece on how war is incompatible with the tenets of religion, or woman jogging in front of cannon with church.
You are so beautiful, to me...
Like the American Indian tear commercial from the 70s...
Swans around the old fortifications
The marble church in the distance over the moat
The Little Mermaid
Random Anglican church
Catholic Cathedral
View of Marmorkirken from Amelienborg Palace
Changing of the Gaurd at Amelienborg Palace #3
Changing of the Gaurd at Amelienborg Palace #2
Changing of the Gaurd at Amelienborg Palace #1
Russian Orthodox Cathedral
Marmorkirken Dome
Marmorkirken
Old Christmas trees in the masts of the ships (see Berlin photos)
Trinitatis Kirke Detail
Trinitatis Kirke Nave (the organist happened to be playing)
Trinitatis Kirke altar
Ice from freezing mist on the top of the Round Tower
View of Church of Our Saviour from Round Tower
Looking south from the Round Tower (left to right: City Hall, Cathedral, St. Peter's)
For some odd reason they don't take the old notices down...
The Round Tower
Niels Bohr outside the University
St. Peter'sThursday 2/5- After dealing with the appalling snoring of my neighbor with my trusty earplugs for two nights, it was time to move to the Hotel Absalon down the street. It was a palace- ensuite bathroom and I couldn't even touch the wall with my arms outstretched! All this can be yours for $160 a night. Not giving up in my quest for the adaptor, I went to the Tourist office in the morning to inquire. I told her about the fona experience and she told me that she thought that 199kr was a good price! They are out of their minds! So, having failed in my quest, I set out to the Ny Carlsberg Glyptothek, a museum that I had wanted to go to for many years. Even though I couldn't use my Getty badge to get in for free, I wasn't disappointed. I saw many old friends for the first time this day. The one thing I couldn't do was eat, since the cheapest thing on the menu was a focaccia chicken sandwich for $30. Even the little tortes were $6. I pushed through on gum. Unfortunately the light, if you can call it that, gave out around 4:15 and the museum was closing, so I knew I had to come back the next day in a 1 hour window before I had to dash to the airport.
Not wanting a third horrible meal, I headed towards the University where earlier I had spied a little restaurant, Det Lille Apotek. After getting purposefully lost to pass some time and wandering through the huge department store, Illum (still on my quest), I got to the restaurant. It is half below street level with old decor. Apparently it is the oldest restaurant in Copenhagen and was frequented by Hans Christian Andersen, etc. When I first arrived there were two big tables filled with men around one and women the other. Very old school and quite a find. I mowed a quasi veal culotte with roasted potatoes, sauerkraut and carrots and then ate an ice cream sundae. Fully satisfied, I got back to the hotel by 8pm. So endeth the third day.
Friday 2/6- After leaving my luggage at the hotel, I made my final trek in Copenhagen back to the Glyptothek to finish taking pictures. The woman remembered me and let me in for free. I then made one purchase at the bookstore, and made a beeline to the hotel, picked up my bag and went to the station to catch my train. On the way I pulled out my phone to snap a picture of the ubiquitous 7-Elevens which strangely dominate the convenience store market in Copenhagen. Who knew? I was almost looking forward to the flight, not having seen the sun or blue sky for three days. After the uneventful hop, I landed in Berlin Tegel, which I thought was the nicer airport but not so. After walking past the vacant passport control station (nice), I got my bags off the conveyor while still 50 feet from the plane! At least it was speedy... With no trains to the airport I managed to get on a Bus to Alexanderplatz in old East Berlin to get on the U-Bahn to my hostel.
The Meiniger Hostel is very modern and my room is actually quite decent with a huge handicapped bathroom. For some reason they gave the 31 year-old American, nearly a senior citizen in this place, the handicapped bathroom. In any case, there is an organic market around the corner and an Indian restaurant where I got take-out. All in all, with wi-fi, organic potato chips and my own bathroom with arm rails, this is the nicest hostel ever and apparently a good place to be laid up for a while. Oh, and I got an adaptor at the Copenhagen airport for the bargain price of 79kr or about $14. Mission accomplished. So endeth the fourth day.
