Today we each had one very specific objective, one of which (Susie's) required a rather early rise and a quick coffee before heading out. Susie had scheduled a Danish pastry class with Fred Terrible (a very cool name), a French-born pastry chef who has lived and worked in Denmark for many years.
The two of us took the metro line M3 to the Frederiksbergallé stop west of our apartment and I walked her to school from the metro.
After saying goodbye I walked on to the next M3 stop north and rode to my particular goal this morning: Assistens Cemetery. For the next two-and-a-half hours I strolled through the beautiful grounds, part of which have been repurposed as urban spaces with art installations. I was joined this gorgeous sunny day by mothers pushing strollers, runners, cyclists, and many others out for a walk or perhaps looking for a particular grave. There were also a number of folks just sitting on the grass taking in the sun.
"Megaron/A Field" 2004 by architectural firm SLA and sculptor Morten Straede
each of these trees have a small sign near its base possibly in memory of (and a name)
there was no signage on this piece
In addition to enjoying the day wandering the grounds I also photo-documented as many representational busts and portrait medallions as I could find (quite a few). Along the way I also located several very notable graves:
Søren Kierkegaard
Hans Christian Anderson
Niels Bohr
American jazz saxophonist Ben Webster
I thought it curiously coincidental that near our home in Grand Rapids is Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. At the main entrance to the park is a very large industrial looking red sculpture entitled "For Ben Webster" by Mark di Suvero:
About 11:30 I left the cemetery retracing my steps to the metro and since I had still had an hour before picking up Susie I headed for home. Once back at the apartment I worked on downloading photos before walking back to the metro to get the Tarte.
By the time I arrived at Fred's kitchen the group was just finishing up and boy was I in luck! After Susie and I returned to the apartment to drop off her box of pastries so much hard work could not pass unnoticed. And so I got right to the one with the almond filling and pastry cream.
After a Danish lunch the two of us were back on the metro again. This time we were going back north but to a slightly different side of the city. We got off near the Kastellet ("The Citadel"), an old five-star fort with two rings of moats still filled with water but all the walls are now green and perfect for strolling with trails meandering all over. In the interior there is still an active military installation although the wandering tourist is free to stroll through. . .
on our way into the Kastellet we passed the soldiers' memorial
one entrance to the Kastellet
inside the Kastellet
Exiting the Kastellet it was a very short walk down to the waterfront and the statue of the Little Mermaid. We both pondered long and hard as to why this particular statue and its attending story have become so fixed in the imagination of so many from all over the world. But since we couldn't answer the question we moved on. (If you feel the need to know more then by all means go here.)
Not far from the Little Mermaid we passed the statue to Princess Marie d'Orleans who was at least as fascinating as that little swimmer, with the added attraction of being a real person.
Around the corner from Marie is a statue commemorating King Frederik IX; he was born in 1899 and reigned from 1947-1972. On her ascension to the throne in 1972 his daughter Margrethe II was the first female monarch to rule Denmark since Margrethe I (1375-1412). She is still queen today.
Frederik IX is the only member of the royal family not buried inside the Roskilde Cathedral. I'll talk about that tomorrow after our visit to Roskilde.
Frederik in his admiral's uniform staring out to the water
a look back at the Kastellet
A few steps beyond the king's statue and we descended the stairs flanking the incredible Gefion Fountain. If you want to know about the fountain and the story on which it is based or if you just want to know how Sweden got a lake and Denmark more land go here.
1908 Gefion fountain
A few minutes past the fountain and a short walk along the edge of Churchill Park we arrived at the The Museum of Danish Resistance. This was certainly one of our more unique museum experiences. Entering at ground level you descend to the lower level and follow a circular path inside the building laid out chronologically. The exhibits are interactive, filled with genuine items such as clothes someone wore when shot, an individual's pistol, etc. With the free audio guide this is a truly immersive experience. Very sobering and well-worth the time.
Leaving the museum we continued our walk along the edge of the Kastellet back to our metro stop. It was a short few stops before we arrived at the central train station and across the street to Tivoli Gardens.
We entered the gardens from the train station side and entered a maze of buildings, rides, food venues and other things that weren't exactly clear to us. All-in-all a carnival-like atmosphere. In fact, there was little signage to assist the stranger find their way to any particular attraction.
one of the handful of rides
lazing in the sun
front yard of a wedding venue perhaps?
lots of blooming tulips
Georg Carstensen, the man responsible
one of the large music halls in the distance
a little lake to play on
one of several roller coasters
a maze of streets and architectural styles
After walking around maneuvering in and out of the crowds of kids having fun, we found a place to have a glass of wine and a late afternoon snack (tourist prices anyone?).
Is Tivoli worth the time (or money)? For us, no, not really. But for families with kids of all ages it's probably just the thing and if you're in to amusement parks, rides, and music hall shows, then this place is for you.
Since our apartment was only a few blocks away we walked home. I fixed a simple dinner of blanched broccoli and boiled tiny yellow potatoes with butter.
Tomorrow, our last day in Copenhagen its off to Roskilde west of the city to see the cathedral and the viking ship museum, all before our city pass runs out!
We were up at 0600 after a reasonably good night’s rest. Once showered and dressed (in that order) we packed up and went downstairs for breakfast. A little before 0800 we grabbed our bags, checked out and walked across the street to the train station.
We made our way inside and right away saw our Copenhagen train listed on the departure board: platform 11 places D-F. No sooner had we walked down to the platform than a train pulled in. Although it was a bit early we assumed this was our train. Mind you we had moved along the platform to a position where we could no longer see the platform departure board. When the doors opened we got on board but Susie discovered we were in fact on the train to Innsbruck (Austria) - probably best to get off this train.
It wasn’t long before our train arrived and we boarded, found our seats and settled in for the next five hours. It should be noted for you train buffs that from here on, for any remaining legs of our itinerary reservations were required on all train seats. Those had to be arranged for and acquired in paper form separate from our mobile tickets.
The additional cost for each reservation varied widely and it's unclear to me as to who makes the money off this arrangement. Then again, given how many passengers have been in both classes on the trains so far, having reservations isn't such a bad idea.
our train - not pretty but very comfortable and we had great window seats facing one another
masking for much of the trip duration
snack provided on the Danish portion of the trip - this was actually quite tasty
just love the name
While Denmark is pretty flat and the landscape rather bland compared to the dramatic Elbe river valley, still the vastness of the cloud-filled sky reminded us of the wide open sky in Michigan. A sunny day helped too, of course.
As if to make up for the flatness of the land our train then passed over the huge expanse of water known as the Storebaelt:
Note that we only went part of the way above ground. The vehicular traffic traveling on the bridge alongside the train tracks rose up and over a high suspension bridge (rather like the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan) while the train plunged underground into a very long tunnel.
Eventually we reemerged into daylight and continued our way at rather high speed into Copenhagen.
Copenhagen central station
Since we were running about a half hour late we texted our next host, Lars, of the delay. (The wifi on the train worked well this time.) He had given us directions to the apartment from the train station; it was an easy walk he said and so it was.
Upon leaving the station we found ourselves directly across from the world-famous Tivoli Gardens, a stop we hope to make before we leave for Stockholm on Wednesday.
right across from an entrance to Tivoli gardens
Anyway, after a walk of about 15-20 minutes we reached our home for the next four days. Our host Lars was sitting across the street waiting for us (he had given me his description before we left the train). After swapping hellos he gave us a quick rundown of the neighborhood, the nearest ATM and grocery store being our two primary concerns. (Oh, and regarding the ATM and cash he did note that Denmark is trying to move toward a cashless society so that was good news. Still we would take a few hundred kroner out nonetheless.)
The tour of the apartment over, he left us the keys and was off to check in another American couple who had reserved the apartment above us. Susie and I settled in and did some unpacking before going out in search of the ATM and grocery store. We found a bank ATM right around the corner and soon found the Netto grocery store just a block or so down our street.
That evening we strolled around our neighborhood in search of a place for supper and found a nice little Vietnamese place called Salon de Annam just a couple of blocks from home.
After dinner it was a short walk back to the apartment and to bed.
So, our Scandinavian adventure has begun!
Tomorrow we stretch our legs and see more of greater Copenhagen and who knows what else?
