Copenhagen, Denmark - Day 5

What an absolutely wonderful Danish day. The morning started out as it's usual gloom and overcast sky and then by about noon the clouds parted and we had incredible sunshine and since it snowed the temperatures was around 30 degrees so really nice for walking which I did a lot of today or at least more than the last few days.


I went to the Church of the Holy Spirit around noon for their music and prayer session which takes place for about 20 minutes every day Monday - Friday. It was very peaceful and the church is large with bright light streaming through a multitude of clear glass windows and the simple but impressive organ was played masterfully while a cantor sang out in Danish. A pastor also said prayers in between the songs. I of course didn't understand anything but it was peaceful and a great place to reflect and pray in a busy city. "

Helligåndskirken - The Church of the Holy Ghost is one of the oldest churches in Copenhagen - and situated on the pedestrian street “Strøget” - close to Amagertorv. Some of the church buildings are more than 500 years old - and once the church served as a monastery with its own hospital. Church in Renaissance and Baroque Style. The earlier Gothic church was built in the 13th century - and the last church was built 1878-81 - on the old foundations in Renaissance style - replacing the Baroque church that was built after the destructing fires of Copenhagen in 1728. The impressive portal in genuine Renaissance style is the oldest part of the present church - and was a gift from King Christian IV (1577-1648 - ruled Denmark and Norway 1588-1648) in 1630. The church tower is a reconstruction from 1582 - and completed around 1880.  The monastery was built in the late 15th century beside the church with a Gothic wing - and known as “Helligåndshuset” (House of Holy Sprit) - which makes it the most large medieval building in Copenhagen - and the only building around the church complex that survived the great fires of the city in 1728. For several years the monastery functioned as a hospital after the Protestant Reformation in Denmark 1536 - until a new hospital was taken into function at Vartorv in 1607 - when the great plague razed Copenhagen with many casualties. The buildings were then used as a city prison and reformatory - after these dreadful events. The church is constructed as a three-aisled basilica under a single roof. The pulpit is from 1879 - and the Baroque altar piece with the painting of the Ascension is from 1727. The marble font was made in 1827 by famous great Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844). Bertel Thorvaldsen"

From there I got some lunch, pizza and had a strange orange soda type drink made by the Carlsberg Beer company which is of course a Danish company founded centuries ago.

I walked to Nyhavn, the marina with the colorful 17th Century buildings and picked up the hop-on-hop-off boat at 2pm there. They were so nice to let me use my 24 hour pass on a second day and I took the full tour around again and then got off at Nyhavn and walked from there about 15 minutes over a large bridge to an Island where the Christianshavn neighborhood is. It's a picturesque area that resembles Amsterdam with its canals and architecture. There are lovely house boats and with the snow it was all so beautiful and the buildings there are also brightly painted. “Christianshavn is an artificial island neighbourhood. It was founded in the early 17th century by Christian IV as part of his extension of the fortifications of Copenhagen. Originally, it was laid out as an independent privileged merchant's town with inspiration from Dutch cities but it was soon incorporated into Copenhagen proper. Dominated by canals, it is the part of Copenhagen with the most nautical atmosphere. For much of the 20th century a working-class neighbourhood, Christianshavn developed a bohemian reputation in the 1970s and it is now a fashionable, diverse and lively part of the city with its own distinctive personality, with residents tending to see themselves first as Christianshavners and then as Copenhageners. Businessmen, students, artists, hippies and traditional families with children live side-by-side. Christianshavn is a lively, primarily residential area. It is quartered by the Christianshavn Canal, running north-south along its length, and Torvegade, the main thoroughfare of Christianshavn, running east-west, connecting Amager Side Copenhagen to the city centre across Knippelsbro. Where the canal and the street intersects, at the geographical centre of Christianshavn, lies the square Christianshavns Torv. Along the eastern shoreline of the island runs Christianshavns Vold which now serves as the principal greenspace of the neighbourhood. The Lower City Side of Christianshavn, also known as Christiansbro, is the most affluent part of the neighbourhood, with several modern residential developments built on the grounds of the former B&W Shipyard. Several headquarters are also found in the area, including most notably the Danish headquarters of Nordea along its entire harbourfront, while its most important historic building is Christian's Church. On the other—Rampar Sidet—side of the canal, the area is dominated by historic residential buildings and institutions.”

There is also the famous Church of Our Saviour, a baroque church which is most famous for its corkscrew spire with an external winding staircase that can be climbed to the top, offering extensive views over central Copenhagen. It is also noted for its carillon (see note below for what a carillion is, I had no idea) which is the largest in northern Europe and plays melodies every hour from 8 am to midnight.

Note: "Carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in the bell tower (belfry) of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord. A carillon is played by striking a keyboard - the keys of which are sometimes called batons - with the fists, and by pressing the keys of a pedal keyboard with the feet. The keys mechanically activate levers and wires that connect to metal clappers that strike the inside of the bells, allowing the performer on the bells, or carillonneur, to vary the intensity of the note according to the force applied to the key. The carillon is the heaviest of all extant musical instruments; the total weight of bells alone can be 100 tons in the largest instruments. The greatest concentration of carillons is still found in the Low Countries in Europe: the Netherlands, Belgium, and Northern France, where they were symbols of civic pride and status. In German, a carillon is also called a Glockenspiel; while in French, the true glockenspiel (a percussion instrument consisting of a set of tuned metal bars) is often called a carillon."

Also as a side note the Danish, at least from what I heard on the tour, are very proud of all their "firsts" or "largest" classifications like the first Navy, the first flag, the 3rd largest dome, the  5th or so largest country in miles/kilometers. Yes, I know you're thinking how is that possible well Denmark also comprises Greenland and the Faroe Islands and with Greenland which is 2,166,086 km² (836,330 mi²) it brings Denmark on the list of top 10 largest countries. Greenland by itself would rank 12th.  I learned so much on this visit. And the Faroe Islands is a group or islands, archipelago under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark, situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Norway and Iceland. The total area is approximately 1,400 km² (540 sq mi) with a 2010 population of almost 50,000 people.

Just around the corner from there is Christiana, one of Denmark's biggest tourist attractions. A "hippie' village in the city-loved by many and hated by some. "Christiania, also known as Freetown Christiania (Danish: Fristaden Christiania) is a self-proclaimed autonomous neighborhood of about 850 residents, covering 34 hectares (84 acres) in the borough of Christianshavn in the Danish capital Copenhagen. Civic authorities in Copenhagen regard Christiania as a large commune, but the area has a unique status in that it is regulated by a special law, the Christiania Law of 1989 which transfers parts of the supervision of the area from the municipality of Copenhagen to the state. It was closed by residents in April 2011, whilst discussions continued with the Danish government as to its future, but is now open again.Christiania has been a source of controversy since its creation in a squatted military area in 1971. Its cannabis trade was tolerated by authorities until 2004. Since then, measures for normalising the legal status of the community have led to conflicts, and negotiations are ongoing.  Among many Christiania residents, the community is known as staden ('the town'), short for fristaden ('the freetown').  The area of Christiania consists of the former military barracks of Bådsmandsstræde and parts of the city ramparts. The ramparts and the borough of Christianshavn (then a separate city) were established in 1617 by King Christian IV by reclaiming the low beaches and islets between Copenhagen and Amager. After the siege of Copenhagen during the harsh wars with Sweden, the ramparts were reinforced during 1682 to 1692 under Christian V to form a complete defence ring. The western ramparts of Copenhagen were demolished during the 19th century, but those of Christianshavn were allowed to remain. They are today considered among the finest surviving 17th century defense works in the world."

The Christiana area was packed with people, mostly college students who go to university around the corner. They must have all finished at the same time, there were hoards of them.  The entrance to the village is very noticeable because of all the artistic graffiti as well as the beautifully vibrant mural on the right wall and once inside you'll find several postings for people selling their arts newspaper but unfortunately it was only in Danish so I didn't get one but it would have been interesting to read. It's amazing they've been able to hold on to this piece of land for over 40 years but according to the tour guide there is a lot of controversy about the land and, as you can imagine, so many developers want to have that land for new real estate projects.  The villagers have gotten much more capitalistic even if they won't admit it but there are now restaurants, cafe's, galleries, etc. and when I took a picture of the Christiana poster you see here a very nice women who clearly lived there walked by and said with a simile, it would be better if you bought one. Well I don't need a poster but clearly they encourage people to spend money there. I see no problem with marketing their wares but it's not exactly a "free-living" then.

I didn't stay long because I wanted to get back to where the tour boat stops because the last boat of the day was pretty soon and although I could walk back the same way I had walked over but it was a little chilly and I was getting tired. While I waited for the boat I watched all the families coming and going out of grocery stores, bakeries and cafes, there are so many people with children here and I love that a lot of parents still embrace the bicycle lifestyle and just add a cart in front for the kids to sit in and of course it's also useful for pets and any purchases one makes.

There was still a nice layer of snow all about and on one of the metal boat posts near the tour boat steps the snow was totally undisturbed so I made a smiley face in honor of the Danes being the happiest people on earth.

The rest of the boat ride was relaxing and warm and within 15 minutes we were at the final stop which is also the first stop in the morning and only about 5 minutes walk to Elke's apartment. I did however take a long walk around the area which is packed with attractions including a beautiful palace, a museum dedicated to the works of  Bertel Thorvaldsen. It is Denmark’s first museum building and you can experience the world famous, Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen’s (1770-1844) lifework of sculptures in plaster and marble. He apparently also worked extensively in Italy and is revered in Rome for his works. I don't think I'd ever heard of him before but I don't actually know many Danish artists, even now.

I met her back at the apartment around 5:30pm and she made a wonderfully yummy cabbage with grains salad and warm spinach focaccia bread, just the perfect meal before we headed to her gym for water yoga. I was so excited to get in the pool, I hadn't been in one since October when mom took me on my birthday cruise. The gym is about 10 or 15 minute walk past the town hall and Tivoli Gardens and is a massive public pool. The DGI-Byen gym complex has, according to their web site,

"...a large super-elliptical shaped pool, challenge yourself in a climbing and diving pool and relax in the hot tub. Or what about trying other kinds of water sports such as aquabiking, water aerobics or evening swimming?"

 

We got there about 20 minutes early and changed in to bathing suits and locked everything in the large, safe lockers provided and headed to the pool area which is massive and was pretty full. The kids were still in their water class in the warm pool area so we waited and sat next to the massage jets to relax tired back muscles and at about 8:10pm, just five minutes before class was to begin we went over to the thermal pool where the water must be around 92 degrees and waited for the teacher who unfortunately never came. The staff couldn't tell us why but we made the best of it and I relaxed and stretched in the thermal pool and Elk went off to do laps in the colder circular pool. On Tuesday and Thursday nights the gym has quiet time after I guess 8:15pm where they turn down all the lights in all the pool areas and light candles and people and just enjoy the quiet and still do their normal exercise routines. It was very peaceful and I was chatting with a Spanish man who moved to Denmark 6 years ago from Barcelona and he comes for several of the classes after his work at a hospital kitchen. He's apparently getting his degree in social work as well. So after another 45 minutes or so we headed to the locker room for shower and sauna and then headed back home. It was so great to have been able to swim and to be in such warm water was an incredible luxury.

 

So all-in-all a very nice Copenhagen day and so glad I got to visit this incredible city for 5 days and so wonderful to get to see a good friend as well. And Elke is currently trying to plan a spa trip to Karlovy Vary while I'm there so I may see her in a few weeks anyway. She's very good with details as I'm sure most German's are from what I'm told and what I've seen so she's doing lots of research and finding a great deal at a resort in the tiny Czech town so I'm sure whatever she finds will be great.

 

 

Copenhagen, Denmak - Cute Bunny Photos

Here are a few more of Lemmy and Amy, the sweetest little bunnies even if they won't let me pick them up. Bunnies are not always cuddly but they're so cute I just want to squeeze them which is probably why they won't let me, they no better.

Copenhagen, Denmark - Day 4

Elke had to work so I had a day to explore the city by hop-on-hop-off bus which also came with a hop-on-hop-off canal boat ride. I walked along the Tivoli gardens perimeter and looked in through the fence to see all the now sleeping amusements and workers out doing repairs while the park is closed. It's amazing that it's right in the middle of this bustling city and although it's not huge it does take up what I would estimate as 4 or 5 large NYC blocks and has a roller-coaster, ferris-wheel and lots of small children's rides.

I picked up the tour bus across the street from the garden's entrance and the driver, Carlos, was so sweet and her said even though they don't have a two day pass (I'm here tomorrow as well) that I could just use the pass I bought today and the other drivers shouldn't say anything I guess because it's off season and really for the first 20 minutes of the ride it was just me on the whole bus. Carols is from Cadiz, Spain and having just been to Cadiz with mom in October I was shocked that he would choose to live in Denmark where today it was just above freezing and had moments of minor snowfall. He laughed and agreed that Cadiz is beautiful and warm but he moved to Denmark 10 years ago with his then Danish girlfriend and after they broke up a few years later he had already fallen in love with the Danish people and the calm Danish way of life. He also said it's incredibly safe here and he could get drunk and be falling over in the middle of any street here and no one would ever touch or bother him. I off course had to ask why one would want to be so drunk at four in the morning but he just shrugged his shoulders and said "it happens." Anyway, just a very nice man and he even brought me over after the first full-run of the tour to a competitors bus because they were leaving a half hour earlier than his bus for the next round and I really wanted to get back to the Royal Palace to see the changing of the guards ceremony and Carlos' bus wouldn't have gotten me there in time. Needless to say the bus driver of the red bus was happy to let me on and it was interesting because their commentary for the same route I had just taken was a little different.

So here is just random bits of information from the tour pretty much in order of what I saw. We first passed on the bus the only remaining part of the ancient wall that used to surround and protect the city. It's just a small circular brink ruin on a tiny green park island in the center of a busy intersection. Many of Copenhagen's main attractions and buildings now sit on areas where the wall once stood like the Tivoli Gardens.

We came to one of the marinas a little ways outside the city center area where the Little Mermaid statue is perched on a mound of rocks very close to the shore. From the pictures I've seen of her I always thought she was in the center of the city and out in the middle of the water. You can actually walk right up to her and many tourists were today as they posed for pictures. She is a symbol of Copenhagen and is inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's story "The Little Mermaid." He is a Danish writer as you have probably guessed and one of their most famous having written everything from poems to plays to his most famous works, over a 160 fairy tales, called eventyrs, or "fantastic tales" in Danish and express universal themes that transcend age and nationality. His "Little Mermaid," unlike the Disney version we all know, does not end happily and she does not find the love she sought and this we were told on the bus tour is much like H.C. Andersen's (that's how you see his name all over Denmark) life. He apparently was a lover and had many girlfriends but none of them accepted his many proposals so he died unmarried.

The little mermaid statue has been the focus of many mischievous deeds and was be headed twice (the second time they never recovered her head so the current head is a duplicate,) had her arm cut off once and most recently on September 11, 2003 she was pushed off her perch into the water. When I asked the driver why someone would do that especially on that day he didn't know and they never caught the person but when I was on the red bus the commentary explained later in the tour that in 2003 Denmark joined the allied forces for American and Britain in the war and so I'm going to conclude that someone was trying to make a point about the war but you would think they would at least have been honest enough to say they did it and why so that their peace message would have been heard. To me it seems pretty cowardice and futile to have pushed the statue in the sea and run away. Well in reaction to that last attack on her person she was filled with cement and once again installed on her rocky perch.

"The statue was commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen, son of the founder of Carlsberg, who had been fascinated by a ballet about the fairytale in Copenhagen's Royal Theatre and asked the prima ballerina, Ellen Price, to model for the statue. The sculptor Edvard Eriksen created the bronze statue, which was unveiled on 23 August 1913. The statue's head was modelled after Price, but as the ballerina did not agree to model in the nude, the sculptor's wife, Eline Eriksen, was used for the body."

So we then go past the Amalienborg Palace where the royals live when they are in town.

“Amalienborg (Danish pronunciation: [aˈmæːˀljənbɒːˀ]) is the winter home of the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. It consists of four identical classicizing palace façades with rococo interiors around an octagonal courtyard (Danish: Amalienborg Slotsplads); in the centre of the square is a monumental equestrian statue of Amalienborg's founder, King Frederick V.”

 

The Royals of Denmark “Margrethe II (Danish pronunciation: [mɑˈɡ̊ʁæːˀd̥ə]), sometimes anglicised as Margaret II (full name: Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid; born 16 April 1940) is the Queen regnant of Denmark. As the eldest child of King Frederick IX and Ingrid of Sweden, she succeeded her father upon his death on 14 January 1972. On her accession, she became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margaret I, ruler of the Scandinavian countries in 1375–1412 during the Kalmar Union. Magrethe was born in 1940, but did not become heiress presumptive until 1953, when a constitutional amendment allowed women to inherit the throne (after it became clear that King Frederick was unlikely to have any male issue). In 1967, she married Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, with whom she has two sons: Crown Prince Frederik (born 1968) and Prince Joachim (born 1969).”

 

The Royals where not home yesterday as there were no flags flying which is the indication for all visitors that someone is in house. I understand each royal has their own flag so you can tell exactly who is there. And if Queen Margrethe is in residence the changing of the guard ceremony is much grander and has a marching band and lots of music. Today I enjoyed the ceremony, although it was incredibly cold in that open plaza area between all the Palace buildings but it did move along nicely and many tourists, not as many as at Buckingham Palace when I saw their ceremony a few months ago of course, but still a fare amount. The guards are dressed in fancy uniforms with large furry hats like in England and these hats according to the tour commentary are fur bearskin caps and weigh 4 kg which is over 8 pounds, wow, that’s heavy. They also cost about $8,900 dollars or 50,000 Danish Kroner. “The blue uniform is from 1848 and the guard is from the Royal Danish Life Guards” The ceremony commences at 11:30am from the Rosenborg Castle further up in the city and the guards march from there to Amalienborg Palace where the changeover begins. You can see some of the activities from the pictures I took and unlike the guards at Buckingham Palace these were smiling and even laughing at times so not as serious around here where there isn’t much of a treat of violence, thank goodness. It was also said on the tour that the design for the guards uniforms comes from H.C. Andersen's "The Steadfast Solider."

 

Also in the complex of buildings is included The Marble Church (which interestingly is not made from marble but is called thus because it was initially suppose to be,) completed and inaugurated in 1894 - and financed by industrialist Carl Frederik Tietgen. The Church has the largest dome in north Europe with a span of 31m. The dome rests on 12 columns and the inspiration of the church design was probably the Pantheon in Rome. We learned on the tour that the dome which is the 3rd largest in the world after St. Peter's in Rome and St. Paul's in London was completed only with the assistance of the local Denmark people. Apparently the church which took 140 years to complete was low on funds to continue the construction so they asked all the residents of Denmark to bring their unused, or items they could live without, that were made of copper to the church and all that was brought was melted down to make the dome. So you might say the dome was funded by all the citizens of Denmark.

 

An interesting note on Queen Margrethe, who, like many of her Danes, smokes but because she is a law abiding citizen she follows the EU law of no smoking in public areas and is a good role model for her people who seem to like her very much. It was also said that Danes are the unhealthiest of the Scandinavian countries because they drink too, too much and smoke and eat poorly. The Danes response to this is simple. They are considered the happiest country on earth because they "live until they die" and that's that!

We stopped at the marine yard where the royals ships come in when they are visiting and is also home to the Museum of Danish Resistance 1940-1945 which commemorates the Danes ambitious and honorable fight to fend of the Germans during World War II. They did not succeed and Denmark was occupied but they put up a valiant fight and all the efforts are remembered here. We were also told that a building right near the Tivoli Gardens was the headquarters for the Gestapo in 1945 and the Gestapo to prevent the Danes or the Allies to bomb the building kidnapped hundreds of Danish police and military and kept them prisoner on the top floors of the buildings. But this didn't entirely work as the Danes figured out a way to bomb just the bottom floors and freed many of the captured men and outside the building during these bomb attacks the local Danes would stand nearby with regular clothes and shoes and handed them to the freed prisoners as they ran out of the building so that they could quickly change into civilian clothes and disappear into the crowds unnoticed by the Gestapo on patrol.

 

Denmark is, despite the tragic past of wars and violence is a city of incredible arts and they have some beautiful old theatre buildings as well as some very contemporary ones including a large theater on the river that is very environmentally conscious using extra heat from other parts of the city and a cooling system that is done by the cold water of the river. The new opera house which you can see in one of my pictures with the light stone and large overhanging canopy

 

“The Copenhagen Opera House (in Danish usually called Operaen) is the national opera house of Denmark, and among the most modern opera houses in the world. It is also one of the most expensive opera houses ever built with construction costs well over 500 million U.S. dollars. It is located on the island of Holmen in central Copenhagen. The Opera House was donated to the Danish state by the A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation in August 2000 (A.P. Møller was a co-founder of the company now known as Mærsk). Some politicians were offended by the private donation, in part because the full cost of the project would be tax deductible, thus virtually forcing the government to buy the building; but it was accepted by the Folketing and the government in the autumn of 2000. It was designed by the architect Henning Larsen and engineers Ramboll and Buro Happold and Theatre Consultant Theatreplan. The acoustics were designed by Arup Acoustics and architectural lighting design by Speirs and Major Associates. A.P. Møller had the final say in the design of the building, however, adding steel to the glass front, among other things. Construction began in June 2001 and was completed on October 1, 2004. It was opened on January 15, 2005 in the presence of Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, and Queen Margrethe II. The tenor Plácido Domingo made a gala guest appearance as Sigmund in Wagner's Die Walküre on April 7, 2006 (production by Kasper Bech Holten). The performance was attended by Queen Margrethe II. The Opera is located in Copenhagen just opposite the main castle Amalienborg at the shore of the harbour. The opera house is built in alignment with Amalienborg and The Marble Church, so that if one stands in the main entrance of the Opera, one can see the Marble Church over the water along the road through Amalienborg. The specific part of the island where the Opera was built is named Dokøen, which means the Dock Island. Just a few meters west of the opera, one can still see an old dock and a pumping station.”

The opera house can hold over 1,500 people and has 14 floors (5 of which are below ground.) It’s an interesting structure where the front part that looks out over to the place and Marble Church is supposed to resemble a harp. And as a side note the Island of Dokøen which is well worth a visit from it’s wonderful architecture (old Navy barracks refurbished into homes, art, dance, theatre schools and other wonderfully artistic venues.) Also we were told that Denmark was the first country to have a Navy in the world and also the first country to have a national flag which folk lore says came falling from the sky during a battle. The flag, read and white, has a prominent place near the Dokøen Island and flown high near the waters edge and each morning and each night at sunset the flag is honored by a cannon blast.

 

Near the Museum of Danish Resistance stands the beautiful St. Albn's church which is small but sits happily near the water and is "locally often referred to simply as the English Church, is an Anglican church in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built from 1885 to 1887 for the growing English congregation in the city." Now oddly next to the church stands the Gefion Fountain which you can see in my picture here but without water of course since it's winter. The myth about Gefion goes "

he powerful goddess Gefion - who according to the story originated from Norse mythology, was offered as much land in Sweden as she was able to plough during one day and one night by the Swedish King Gylfe. To fulfil this task she turned her four sons into strong oxen’s. Gefion and the oxen’s did their job so well that they were able to create Zealand the Island where Copenhagen is situated. This great work left a huge hole in Sweden - where Lake Vänern is placed. On a map you will notice that the outline of Zealand matches the outline of Lake Vänern." The fountain "..is a large fountain on the harbour front in Copenhagen, Denmark. It features a large-scale group of animal figures being driven by the legendary Norse goddess, Gefjun. It is located in Nordre Toldbod area next to Kastellet and immediately south of Langelinie. It is the largest monument in Copenhagen and used as a wishing well.  The fountain was donated to the city of Copenhagen by the Carlsberg Foundation on the occasion of the brewery’s 50-year anniversary. It was originally supposed to be located in the main town square outside city hall, but it was decided instead to build it near the Øresund in its current location near Kastellet ("The Citadel").  It was designed by Danish artist Anders Bundgaard, who sculpted the naturalistic figures 1897-99. The basins and decorations were completed in 1908. The fountain was first activated on July 14, 1908."

 

Now from there I'll mention the yellow-orangeish buildings that are located in an area near the Palace and where the little mermaid is and this complex of two floor buildings that looks like fancy army barracks were built by King Christian IV.  Who incidentally I could go on for paragraphs about but won't because of space and time but he contributed so much to the architectural wealth and artistry that is Copenhagen and is mentioned everywhere you go on the tour. He also is known for having been born the richest king in Denmark but dying as the poorest and also for having father at least 23 children 11 known to have been with one of his mistresses. But back to the buildings which he originally constructed to house and keep safe his navy men and they have private gardens behind them and are still to this day only for people working in the armed forces or public area. What I found most interesting was what the tour said about looking for porcelain dogs in the windows of the homes which centuries ago where placed there  by the women of the house to signify (if placed in one direction) that their husbands were home but, if placed in another direction, that they were welcoming to other men as the husband was away.

 

My last little bit of interesting information comes from contemporary times and the creation of Bluetooth technology which most people know is a way of transferring data over short distances like from your phone to your wireless headset in the car so you can drive hands free. Well Bluetooth is from Ericsson, a large Swedish company who based the name of the device or system on the tenth-century King Harald Bluetooth of Denmark and parts of Norway (the anglicised version of his Danish name Blåtand/Blåtann). King Harald I of united dissonant Danish tribes into a single kingdom. The idea of this name was proposed by Jim Kardach who developed a system that would allow mobile phones to communicate with computers (at the time he was reading Frans Gunnar Bengtsson's historical novel The Long Ships about Vikings and king Harald Bluetooth). The implication is that Bluetooth does the same with communications protocols, uniting them into one universal standard. The Bluetooth logo is a bind rune merging the Younger Futhark runes Runic letter ior.svg (Hagall) (ᚼ) and Runic letter berkanan.svg (Bjarkan) (ᛒ), Harald's initials.

 

So basically that was my wonderful day of touring Copenhagen in the cold. And I had lunch in the Nyhaven area, a colorful 17th century waterfront, canal and popular entertainment district where I was going to pick up the tour boat at 2:00pm. I had the traditional herring buffet which is quintessentially Danish and features over 20 herring dishes both hot and cold, brown, nutty bread and butter and potatoes. It was delicious as I enjoy fish and the apple herring and broiled herring were my favorites but most of them were pretty delicious.  And the Faergkro restaurant was so charming with warm colored walls and a roaring fireplace right near where I was sitting and enjoyed just relaxing in the warmth of it all. I then had a half hour before the tour boat came so I stopped in at the Café Kunst (Art Café) and enjoyed a traditional Danish cake with a dollop of sour cream (a suggestion of the manager who said it's very traditional as well.) All I can say is yum, yum and worth a try if you ever want to add something other than ice cream or whipped cream to your dessert plate.

 

The city is fabulous, I can see why even someone who comes from the gorgeous and warm city of Cadiz, Spain would want to live here but although I'm thrilled I've gotten to visit and enjoy the sites it's really not somewhere I'd love to live just because of the weather.

And speaking of weather, in the picture to the left you can see a brown building with the word "Thai" at the top and that was once the weather building and below the "Thai" sign you see two gold statues they are of two women, one with an umbrella and one happily without and years ago people would look up to them to find out if it was going to be a good weather day (that's when the happy women was out or a bad day and that's when the umbrella women would be out. They don't use it any more but the large thermometer, which you can see below the statues along the edge of the front of the building is still accurate and used. The two statues were said to have been "the only women you could count on in the city."

But really a great place to visit if you're in this part of the world and the people are just so nice and friendly and most everyone speaks English.

 

I met Elke back at the apartment and we then met her boss, Hedwig who I was introduced to at the theater the other night and we went to dinner at a nice restaurant about a 15 minute walk away. Good salad and one of the best burgers I've ever had.