Sep 15, 2019 - Smells like fish to me

Back in Denmark after a thankfully smooth return crossing from Norway we make our way to Denmark’s most northerly point, Skagen. This is the home of the Skagen watch, it has hosted 43 cruise boats so far this year, and there is a strong fishy smell in the air. We fancied the fish buffet but at DK 500 per head ( over AU$ 100) we retreated to the fish shop where DK180 bought us enough salmon, plaice and Norwegian crayfish for nearly two meals so the fish buffet was at our place. All we had to do was cook it. Our place is a cute little attic...

Sep 4, 2019 - Captivating Copenhagen

And now we are three. Our friend Sandra has now joined us for the remainder of the trip. Cope Hagen, what a beautiful city, and the Danes, so welcoming and helpful! Copenhagen has an amazing number of epic buildings. There’s the central station where we arrive, “our” Mary’s home, Amalienborg Castle, the National Museum, the seat of Danish parliament Christiansborg Palace and on it goes. So many massive buildings at every turn from Denmark’s time as the dominant country in Europe. The city has kept a low profile, with colourful rendered...

Aug 28, 2019 - Last day in Europe

Wednesday 28th August Today is our last day in Europe. We don’t have a room at the guest house tonight, so we have booked at Copenhagen Backpackers, next to the railway station, so we don’t have far to go to get transport to the airport. We check out around midday and walk to the backpackers, it is not hard to find, but we have to jump through some hoops. Here we have to ring a doorbell at the street to be let into a courtyard mostly used to park bikes, then find the door to the hostel itself. We ring the bell and someone pops out from a...

Aug 26, 2019 - Copenhagen

Monday 26th August We had a smooth sailing all the way down to Copenhagen, and the engine noise didn’t bother us too much. We arrive in Copenhagen around 9.30am, and we are surprised how quickly they want us off. Basically given about 20 minutes to disembark. When you have hundreds of people all wanting off at the one exit, and there are only two lifts, there is a hell of a bottle neck. Tony was up top as we came into berth (he missed the entrance to the harbour, as he was in the shower). It was difficult to get from the 9th deck to the 2nd...

Aug 21, 2019 - Copenhagen

Wednesday 21st August We take the train to Copenhagen, €134.00 ($238), leaving at a reasonable hour of 10.50am. We have breakfast and pack a lunch for the trip. It is going to be “fun” working out what cash we need, as we have two nights in Denmark, then travel through Sweden to Norway, for two nights there, and back to Copenhagen for three nights before flying out. We are planning a day trip in Sweden as well. Despite being in the EU they all have their own currencies, and cash is preferred. Euros can be used, but not widely accepted, and...

Jun 24, 2019 - Copenhagen, Denmark to Oslo, Norway

Monday - Weather is beautiful again. Apparently this is very unusual but we are loving it! Since we're not leaving for Norway until later this afternoon, we took a local bus out to a fishing village on the coast. It is always fun to watch the countryside change from busy city to suburbs to country-side to coast. We walked around the picturesque village taking pictures and enjoying the peace and quiet. We're having a big dinner tonight so we wanted to eat a light lunch. We found the perfect place - the local ice cream parlor. Our Swedish...

Jun 23, 2019 - Copenhagen, Denmark Day 3

Another beautiful day!!! We walked to an area of Copenhagen called Christiania. I am going to copy a description of this area from a description by Steve Ricks in his tour guide book of Copenhagen. It is very difficult to describe, but I may have some comments at the end: In 1971, the original 700 Chritianians established squatters' rights in an abandoned military barracks just a 10-minute walk from the Danish Parliament building. Two generations later, this "free city" still stands--an ultra-human mishmash of idealists, hippies, potheads,...

Jun 21, 2019 - Copenhagen, Denmark

Ah, our second day. The weather is beautiful again, in the 60's and the sun is shining. We start our day at the breakfast buffet provided by the Phoenix Hotel. Oh I forgot to tell you, we left Phoenix and arrived in Phoenix! Eggs, bacon, sausages, potatoes, cereals, fruit, yogurt, wonderful looking homemade breads, croissants, pastries!!! We meet in the lobby at 8:30 am. We introduced ourselves to all of our new travelling companions; 15 total. Looks like it will be a good group. We get on a bus and take a tour of the city. The photos will...

Jun 20, 2019 - Phoenix to London to Copenhagen

Doug and Beverly are off on another adventure in Western Europe. When we traveled the countries around the Baltic Sea a few years ago, we felt rushed as we saw 7 countries in 14 days. What a rookie mistake! So we are back to do it right. Just 4 countries in 24 days. So we arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark on Thursday June 20, 2019 at about 4:30 pm. We got a brief orientation of old city Copenhagen by our trip leader Mona. The weather is great, in the 60's; and there are lots of blondes (except for the immigrants of course). Ah, good to be back...

Jun 16, 2019 - Jelling and Roskilde

We left Norway via the Color Line ferry from Larvik to Hirtshals, Denmark. Our 3 1/2 hour sailing was smooth under sunny skies. At breakfast we talked with a psychiatrist and his retired wife. They were going to a summer house on the Limfjord which now cuts Jutland off from the rest of Denmark. A few years ago high waves from the west made Limfjord a sound. We took E39 south to E45 through flat fields of grain seeing the occasional stall selling strawberries on the edge of large strawberry fields. As we neared Vejle we turned west towards...

May 2, 2019 - Another busy sight seeing day

VERY Cold, VERY windy - seems like freezing., but opportunity to bring out our woollies. Off to Roskilde - 30 mins fast train to south/west of Copenhagen.  Delightful town - 1st to info centre - to get warm, then browsed a book shop - to get warm, then Roskilde Cathedral built in 1170. Magnificent UNESCO World Heritage site - 39 Danish Kings and Queens buried in the Chapels here.  Strolled through forest - delightful, then to coffee shop - to get warm. Eco friendly, including jam tin light covers, hessian bag cushions. Had blueberry and...

May 1, 2019 - Big day of Sight seeing

So confident today, we felt like a local. Headed straight to Central Train Station for trip to Helsingør, Nord Sealand, about 40 minutes north of Copenhagen. A very quaint village by the sea - the closet point to Sweden - 4 kms across the passage.  Train driver delayed the train for passenger who asked him to wait while he ran back several carriages for his bag he’d left on train.  Beautiful scenery through forest, and many chestnut trees in flower.  *Walked to Kronborg Castle, high on the coast edge, with a large moat around it, dating...