Nov 4, 2017 - Danish Hygge

The Danish are known for being “hygge” – though the world has a hard time trying to understand exactly what it means. In essence, hygge means creating a warm atmosphere and enjoying the good things in life with good people. As my daughter, Jennifer, lived in Denmark for many years, we used the term a great deal to describe cozy, or creating an atmosphere using candles, music, etc. However, we have just had the privilege, and I mean privilege, to attend a special Danish birthday party and through that learned the true meaning of hygge. It...

Aug 20, 2017 - The First Leg

It's so funny how this all began. My lil buddy (he's more like a lil brother that I never had)told me about a month ago now via text message out of the blue one night, "Hey man, I leave next Tuesday." To which I replied quizzically, "Where ya going?" "Copenhagen," He said... I replied, "Well shit! I want to go!" So that was all about a month ago now, but we're just talking about Copenhagen right now. I purchased my one way ticket on July 16th after thinking long and hard about it and sleeping on it. Yet still my brain was trying to talk me...

Aug 8, 2017 - Camping trip to Denmark

Wow, Denmark. What a little jewel in Northern Europe! Besides having one of the best standards of living in the world, and having three extra letters in their alphabet (å, æ and ø) it is filled with castles, thatched roof half timbered cottages (to the extent I , stopped taking photos of them!), fjords, islands, yellow and terracotta houses, roses and hollyhocks growing out of the pavement; but we realized after years of travel all over the world, what makes the memories are the people. You can look in any travellogue or guide book and see...

Jul 22, 2017 - Copenhagen, Denmark

This morning I'm taking the Flixbus from Hamburg to Copenhagen. It occurred to me after I got on the bus for a long ride maybe I should have worn my compression socks. But I've never worn them for anything other than long plane rides. Next long ride I will wear them. If you have ever had a problem with your feet swelling during long rides or sitting situations, compression socks are a miracle. Try them on your next long flight. So I need to fill you in on the public restroom situation. If you've traveled overseas you know that free public...

Jul 18, 2017 - Frederiksberg Palace

Frederiksberg Palace is about 30 minutes from Copenhagen once again it was built by Christian the 4th it burnt down in the 1800,s and Carlsberg donated money to restore the castle the highlights of the tour for me were the church where the coronations take place and the knights hall. The stained class windows were also impressive in the knights hall there are the coats of arms of all the people who have received the order of the elephant Denmark’s highest award. On the way back the bus drove though suburbs were the wealthy live including...

Jul 18, 2017 - Tivoli gardens Royal Palace

The city tour included the royal palace and Tivoli gardens it is an amusement park in the center of the city like lunar park in Sydney it has a tapestry that was commissioned by queen marget that shows the history of Denmark over the 20th century the palace itself is similar in design to palaces in France.i thought overall the bike tour was better than the bus tour the local guide was however very informative and had entertain stories about local history that you would not get going round on your own or from the lonely planet. Tivolli...

Jul 14, 2017 - Craft brewery Copenhagen

The local beer carlsberg and tuborg are both owned by the same brewery they have a number of craft brew pubs Mikkelles and warpigs i also found a bar 5 minutes walk from the hotel i was staying that had heaps of beers on tap and in bottles it was great full of locals they didn,t sell any food just beer and alcohol if you wanted food there was a pizza place next door you order it the guys bring down your table the beer in Scandinavia is a lot stronger than i am used to %7. Warpigs was recommended by the Jacob the bike tour guide it was...

Jul 14, 2017 - Canal tour copenhagen

You get a different perspective of Copenhagen from the water I went on a kayak tour with kayak republic they also run what they call canal boats that operate like the hop on hop off buses in other European cities. Now the best thing about Kayak Republic is they have there own bar once you finish your 3 hour tour it is nice to have a relaxing ale in pleasant surroundings. The danes are very environment friendly they have built a power station that burns house hold waste to run the generator not only that the building has a second function...

Jul 12, 2017 - Bike Tour Copenhagen

The bike tour around Copenhagen started in Vesterbro it used to like a real dive it is now considered quite upmarket The tour guide was an expat American was a chef now runs a bike tour company. Most of the buildings in Copenhagen were constructed by Christian the 4th they carry his logo which is a 4 inside a capital C the city is mostly flat and easy to get around the public transport system is excellent. The tour took in all the major sites the round tower a few churches the little mermaid The Palace where the royal family lives. The...

Jul 11, 2017 - Copenhagen

Copenhagen, the city of bikes and they are everywhere. The city has purpose built bike lanes they even have there own traffic lights the drivers all give way to the bikes public transport is set up to take your bike. the reason for the cycles is the %180 sales tax and % 25 VAT on cars in Denmark. The city also has a number of canals that you can do sight seeing tours or kayak i used a company called Kayak republic $300Dk for 3 hours works out about $60 Aust. it is a good way to see the city gives a different perspective from the water....

May 25, 2017 - No journal for this trip

Robin and I are home now. No, you have not missed any posts. I apologize for that but I didn’t actually write any. Robin promised me that he would not nag me about keeping the posts up to date. Looks like i will have to ask him to start nagging on subsequent trips! We had a great time. The cruise was great, the people we were with made it even more so. There was simply NO TIME - what with visits to 8 countries, lectures by historians, photographers and a musicologist, the ballet, several concerts plus all the meals, cocktail hours and...

May 24, 2017 - Denmark

Denmark We left Hamburg bright and early for the cruise through the Kiel Canal. We were then delayed about 5 hours going through due to maintenance on one of the locks. It was a nice scenic 8 or so hours which gave us time to celebrate Viv’s birthday in the Canaletto an Italian restaurant on board. Then overnight through to the Baltic Sea and on to Fredericia, Denmark. Fredericia is a very old town founded in 1650. It is a funny combination of small village and fortress with streets running on a perpendicular grid encircled by one of the...