Copenhagen

Copenhagen

I loved Copenhagen!!  It is such a charming city.  I took canal tour to start my day. Copenhagen is very much a sea fairing folk.  Similar to Oslo, along the river, the city is beginning to take on a more modern look I.e. The opera house, theatre, and library.  But, once you get into the city, there is a charm of old.  Sail boats line the  canal.  The house are all connected and painted in prime colors.  They are very narrow b/c they are taxed on the width of the home, not the height.  Even today, 50% of their earnings go to taxes and upkeep of the Royal Palaces.  They are 3 palaces in the city and the one that the Royal family lives in is 4 identical, adjacent buildings.  One is a Royal museum of the family history, one is for visiting politicians, one for the queen and the other for her son and his family.  the Royal family is allowed to marry commoners so the Queen's son will be king, not her husband.  Back to the canal tour...Hans Christian Anderson was from Copenhagen and we went by his former home.  Hans wrote many children's fairytales including "The Little Mermaid".  Normally there is a statue of the Little Mermaid that sits in the canal but it is on loan to Shanghai for the World Showcase and will be back in December.  

Following the canal tour, we began our walking tour of the city.  Metta was our Danish guide and was wonderful.  She had bright red hair.  Copenhagen is expanding their subway system so they was a lot of construction in the city.  Metta took us inside a Lutheran Church and said that 80% of the Danes are Lutheran or Protestant and that they mainly attend church on major holidays, as is the custom.  Metta took us for a coffee and danish break at the "Fellows Palace" for a few minutes and then we continued on our tour.  Many of the houses have inner courtyards and we were able to trespass to take a peak in one.  Back in the day this is where the occupant would have kept their horse.  there was a jazz festival going on in the city so their was a great atmosphere as we walked.  Metta's tour ended at the Royal Palace and once again we had the option to stay in the city or head back to the ship.  I stayed and ended up hanging out with a family from Michigan for the day and we explored together.  We walked ALL OVER Copenhagen!!!!!  We went to Tivoli Gardens where Walt Disney got many of his ideas for the Magic Kingdom.  We did not have time to go in so we walked along the pedestrian street which is the major shopping district in the city.  By the time we made it back to the ship, we were exhausted!  But it was a great day.  If I had Hans's gift of storytelling I would spin a tale about it!!

Stay Tuned for Berlin!!!    
   


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