6.21.08 (Saturday) Copenhagen

Saturday, June 21^st

Forecast: 65F with afternoon showers

Danish Krona – approximately 4.80DKK to $1

This morning we had to get up and pack the last few things we needed to so that we could go to the train station to catch a 6:20am train from Uppsala to Stockholm Central Station. Once we got to Stockholm we needed to change trains for a long-distance one that would take us towards Copenhagen, Denmark. Our train left at 8:20am heading south of Stockholm towards Malmo, Sweden. This train was much nicer than the train we took north to the Ice Hotel in March.

When we were in Malmo, there was about 10-12 minutes before our next train would depart for Copenhagen. The train ride gave us ample time to decide what we wanted to do and experience during our time in Copenhagen. Since my parents had just flown into Europe only a couple days earlier they were not as adjusted to drastic time change as we are, they slept for most of the ride. Jon and I enjoyed teasing them by taking pictures of them sleeping! : )

Around 1:30 in the afternoon we arrived into Kobenhavn (Copenhagen) Central Station. We thought we might like to do a hop on/off tour bus first thing since we would only have two days in Copenhagen. However, a block from the central station we saw the starting point of the bus and quickly realized that very few people were taking the bus around. We decided maybe we should walk around to get a feel of the city a bit before we invested money in the tour.

Our next stop was to our hotel, CabInn Scandinavian. From the central station it took us about 20 minutes to walk there. In an effort to try to reduce expenses, we booked a four person suite. We were all quite surprised when we walked in and saw 3 single bed bunks with another single bed pull out from under the bottom bunk. We decided that Jon and I would pull a mattress down to the ground and sleep on that.

Once we were situated in our room, we walked to the nearest S-Tog. In our travel books they mentioned that we could travel on the S-Tog for free with a Eurail pass. My parent purchased a Eurail pass for the three of us to use during our week plus travels. They also bought Jon a pass that he could use to get to Copenhagen from Sweden (a 3 day youth Eurail pass). I guess it did not even matter if we had a ticket or not, because there were no security check-points or places to validate tickets at.

We took the S-Tog north 2 stops to Osterport Station. Once we exited the station, we caught a glimpse of Gustafs Church. We then walked into the star shaped 17^th century fortress island of Kastellet. In 1626 construction was started by King Christian IV of Denmark. The building of an entrenchment in the northern part of the defense wall of Copenhagen was the first phase of work that started. The king wanted to have a castle situated on the site that would serve as a haven if needed. However, due to economic constraints, the castle was not built. When we walked along the island, we noticed a lot of army/military barracks.

Next, we walked a bit to the Little Mermaid (Lille Havfrue). The statue was commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen, founder of Carlsberg beer, after he became fascinated by a ballet about the tale. In August 1913 the statue was unveiled. The figurine was based off of the sculptor, Edward Eriksen’s wife. The Little Mermaid statue honors Han Christian Anderson’s beloved tale.

After posing with the Little Mermaid, we made our way south passing the Skt. Alban Church (Angelican). We also passed a hotdog stand where we all decided we should sample a red hot dog and a brat. Both were delicious and served with fried/dried onions.

Amalienborg Plads was just south of the church and took just a short amount of time to walk there. This square is the royal heart of Copenhagen. The Danish family spends most of the fall and winter in the palaces here. About a block to two blocks west of the Amalienborg Plads we saw the outside of the Marmorkiken, or Marble Church. This church was constructed from 1749 to 1894 and is modeled on St. Peter’s in Rome. Its dome measures 100 ft in diameter which makes it Europe’s third largest dome.

After pulling my dad away from the church before he took 50 pictures just of the outside. We then went across the street into King’s Court. King’s Court is a beautiful park in the city that has a statue of Hans Christian Anderson in the center. We relaxed in the shade for a bit before heading south more towards the Rudetarn, or Round Tower.

The Rudetarn (Round Tower) is a cobbled ramp that winds up 685ft and through 7.5 turns to the top of the 115ft landmark. Peter the Great of Russia is said to have ridden his horse up the ramp while czarina followed in horse drawn carriage. The tower dates from 1642 and was built by Christian IV as an observatory. It was quite a walk up to the top and we quickly realized that walking toward the outside, though it took longer was much easier to walk than the steep inner edge of the path. While we were climbing up the tower, we passed an African art exhibit, a beautiful church, and a view into the ‘attic’. From the top we had a marvelous view of the city and the red tiled roofs.

For dinner we ate at the Greek restaurant, Samo. We chose this place because they offered a buffet complete with all Greek foods. We knew we would all be able to find something we would like here. The buffet had potatoes, a Greek salad, beef, chicken, rice, and vegetables. Completely full, we took a leisurely stroll back to the hotel, where no one had difficulties falling asleep!