Arrival in Copenhagen

We settled in comfortably into our little pods on the plane. The privacy and ability to lie down was terrific, but we still didn’t get more than a few hours sleep. The plane left at 6:00 PM, so you’re not really ready for bed for a while.

We arrived in Copenhagen more than a little tired. Luckily the airport is lovely, and we navigated to the Metro easily. Five stops and we were blocks from our hotel. our room wasn’t ready (at 8:00 in the morning) so we caffeinated up and hit the road. We are staying in the absolutely picture perfect area called Christianhaven (pronounced Kristinaben) right on a lovely canal.

So what does my dear husband propose as our first order of sleep deprived business? Climbing to the top of the Church of our Savior — all 440 tiny, 17th century wooden steps! Okay, he’s the octogenarian…. Up we went, past carillons, bells, clockworks, under massive wooden beams, stepping aside on these teensy winding steps as others came down. Just before the last straight up ladder stairs, I said “Uncle”. No one needs to kill themselves on the first morning. It was a valiant effort.

We headed (stumbled really) across town and over one of the many bridges to the Parliment House or Christianborg Palace. We were both tired and thirsty and a tad cranky, but we carried on. First we explored the ruins under the palace dating back to 1100.

Then we went into the current palace, which is used for Royal events.

We really should have curled up on a park bench at this point, but we headed over to the Royal Museum of Denmark for a bit of history and context. We also had a bottle of water each, which somewhat revived us.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped for lunch at a spot my sister, LaLa, told me about, The 1733. We sat in the sun, Brad had his first Danish beer, I ate my first white asparagus of the trip and we watched the Danes on their lunch hour stroll by.

Kanalheust, our hotel, is a funky establishment that my friend, Wendy, told me about. It is a converted 1735 navy barracks that has apartments and knitting hours, and early morning singing and swimming in the canal. They serve communal dinners and have a young hip staff of mostly women. It’s fabulous!

The apartment is large and full of windows and Miele appliances and a washer dryer. The bed is lovely and shower is powerful. We both tumbled into bed and slept for a few hours.

We had dinner in the communal dining room and met 4 Danes, 2 bicyclers from Portland Oregon, a German and a Brit who now lives here. The dinner is served family style and the point is to get to know other people. We had a great group. Dinner was monkfish in a Moroccan sauce. Polenta with pickled fennel, grilled zucchini, green salad and homemade rustic bread with a broad bean dip. Excellent and inexpensive!

We talked about our lives, about politics, about culture and about what a fabulous place this restaurant is. The hotel and restaurant are owned by a wealthy Danish family that is promoting people getting to know one another. They make the meals inexpensive to get the locals and tourist to both come and mingle. It was charming, informative and delicious. We will be eating more meals here!

Energized by our nap and the pithy conversation, we took a sunset stroll after dinner. The city has canals everywhere and they are full of boats. Brad was in heaven. I’ll leave you with some lovely pictures as I trot off to bed. 15,000 steps and 350 stairs, not a bad day.