I don't even know where to begin describing this fantastic, walking-intensive three day adventure, but I do know that you should all go here, here, and here to look at the well over 600 photos I took of this extraordinary maritime city. I'll try to keep this entry from wandering all over the place by describing only a few things, and letting the photographs do the rest of the talking for me since I've labeled the majority of them fairly specifically.
Day One
We traveled to Copenhagen by bus as opposed to the ferry in order to cut costs, and that was definitely one of the more unpleasant commutes I've ever experienced seeing as the stranger I sat beside decided I was the perfect size to be used as his personal arm rest while he putzed around on his computer. But once we got to the city, I quickly forgot the awful commute because there's just something about the energy of trains rumbling into central stations the world over that fills me with anticipation. I feel it when I'm here in Oslo S. looking at all the clusters of people with their luggage ready to go on their respective adventures, however small, and in a place like Copenhagen that feeling is a certainty.
We checked our luggage at the station and spent the morning and afternoon (from about 6am 'til 2pm or so) just exploring the city in as much detail as we could; we hit up the National Museum, Rosenborg Castle and gardens, Ny Havn and the canals (pictured left), and even Christiania before Day One was even over. Not that the day ended with sight-seeing, of course. Our hostel (Danhostel Copenhagen City Downtown, for the curious) also contains a very cozy South African pub with some very comfy chairs and sofas that felt fantastic after a very, very, very long day on our feet. We drank a few rounds of beer, watched football (European, of course) on the television, and played several rounds of Presidents and Assholes, the only card game I can play at all successfully.
Day Two
Day Two started with this outstanding meal for breakfast at a cafe in Ny Havn: flavorful fried eggs, crisp bacon, juicy sausage, the best strawberry I've eaten all year, smoked salmon, and a few very thin slices of ham--and, of course, a delicious cup of tea. (I took an artsier shot of breakfast here.) The weather that morning was unbelievably fine, and the first time this year that I've felt I was truly experiencing spring; having breakfast outside with the sun on my face and the sound of seagulls in my ears put me in the best mood imaginable--but the weather on Wednesday was very erratic, and during the course of the day we soldiered on through rain showers, rumbles of thunder, and even a rather unexpected hailstorm while crossing a bridge over one of the canals. All the same, Day Two proved to be as successful as Day One, if not moreso since we now had a decent night's rest as opposed to a night spent tossing and turning on a cramped bus.
After brunch, our first stop was Frederiks Kirke, and while I got some beautiful photos of the outside, I'm very glad I decided to record video footage of the interior, since that does it much better justice than anything my poor camera can manage:
The outside, featuring the stunning copper dome and gilding work on the marble.
A detailed shot of some artwork inside the church.
The video footage, featuring a few cameos of my travel companions.
The next stop on the journey was the Museum of the Danish Resistance, a subject known to be near and dear to my heart, and I wasn't disappointed by the contents of the relatively humble-looking building. The exhibits were laid out chronologically from the start of the occupation through to its conclusion, and on display were various artifacts and documents from each year, including personal belongings of both Danish and German soldiers, letters written from frightened relatives to their imprisoned loved ones in concentration camps, and, of course, a massive collection of information and artifacts from the activities of the resistance participants themselves. I was most impressed by the collection of homemade weapons used within the city of Copenhagen itself; resistance activity didn't receive much outside support from Allied Europe during the war, so resistance members had to do a lot of improvisation--which included smuggling these peculiar weapons to each other in crates of Carlsberg beer. I wasn't a bit fan of Carlsberg beer before, but I'll certainly drink it with fondness now. :D (Pictured to the left, by the way, are the identity papers of Werner Best, a particularly vile character responsible for issuing the order to deport Denmark's Jews.)
To prevent this entry from getting any longer, I'll hold off on describing the rest of Day Two and Day Three until later. Hopefully this will keep you entertained for now!
No comments:
Post a Comment