Europe, 22-23 May 2012 - At Sea & Copenhagen

On the way to Copenhagen was a sea day. This one turned out a little more exciting than usual. We attended a talk by the marketing head of Fabergé and Karen won the drawing for a small Fabergé ornament. She can no longer say she never won anything. This is the Russian decorative egg company, whose eggs, jewelry, and watches are very expensive.

Since we will be in Copenhagen for a few days after the cruise visiting Ron & Vonnie, we decided to simply walk around town and see the obvious sights along the way. To begin, we took the shuttle bus from the ship to Tivoli Gardens. This large amusement park and entertainment center was not open when we arrived, and we thought we could always come back later if we want to. So we simply wandered around central Copenhagen.

in castle courtyard

Our first stop was at Christiansborg Castle, the government center. It has a large open courtyard in the center. A horse cart with two horses was circling the area, with no apparent goal except going around in circles. Perhaps this was a comment on government operations?

 From there we walked to Christianshavn, an interesting neighborhood of the city. We came first to Christianskirken, one of several medieval churches in the city. Interestingly, there is an open crypt under the church which is the church's cemetery, filled with above ground burials, often filled with a family.

Top of Spiral Steps
of church tower

Our Saviour's Church Tower

The next church in the area we visited was Our Savior's Church. It was another chance for Dick to climb a church tower, again with wonderful views of the area.

A unique area of the neighborhood is Christiania, what we would term a hippie neighborhood. It was obviously an alternative life style area, with many signs painted on the buildings prohibiting photography. There were also the unmistakeable signs of marijuana use.

From the Church Tower

Back across the bridge we visited two more churches, Holmenskirke and Nikolaj. Nikolaj is no longer used as a church, but has various art exhibits and concerts.

Our next stop was a shopping area, Hojbrs Plads. There we had lunch at a sidewalk table at a department store restaurant, Holm's Bager. We followed Stroget, a shopping street through the main shopping area, the usual European pedestrian street. Near the end of the street was the Round Tower at the Copenhagen Cathedral. Dick did not climb this one, but we did go into the church.

Our last stop in the city was at a bar/coffee shop which had free wifi. So Dick had a local beer and we caught up on email and other things again. From there we walked back to Tivoli Garden, after nearly getting lost, but asking directions from a young woman who didn't seem to be sure of how to tell us to go. But we got there fairly directly.  Back on the shuttle we headed for the ship.

Leaving Copenhagen we passed the bridge to Sweden we would cross over later with Ron & Vonnie.