Køpenhaven III: Danishes are delicious, better in the sunlight.

Lots of stuff today! Slept in till 8:30, which was nice. Did some internet and then left in search of weinerbrød, ie danishes, for breakfast ('cause clearly - about time!). Took me a while, but I found a place. Usually I don't like danishes, but it turns out I don't like American danishes. This one wasn't sticky, it was flakey and buttery and delicious. Like a creme filled version of those croissants I love from the farmer's market.

I caught the first canal tour boat at 10:15. It may be hokey, but it really is an excellent way to see the city. The weather today was finally sunny and gorgeous, so I'm sure that helped. It really was lovely out. I saw Nyhavn, the opera house, the sea barricade, the mermaid, Kastellet, Amalienborg, Christianshavn, the black diamond, Slotsholmen and H.C. Anderson's house. Not to mention there were pretty good views of some more distant places as well.

Then I waslked over to Amailenborg and the Marmokirken to redo my photos in the sun before lunch at Ida's. This place is apparently famous for having the best Smorebrød in all of Denmark. It was a bit fancy/pricey, but necessary. And delicious. I had boiled eggs with tomatoes and cucumber and hollandaisesque sauce. Danish food - definitely not good for you.

After lunch I walked through Kogens have to retake my photos of Rosenborg and then went to the State Art Museum. The museum was pretty amazing. Some of the paintings were absolutely breathtaking. It's too bad I couldn't stay longer.




I was supposed to meet Arden when she got out of class at 2:45 by the Rundetårn, so I figured I ought to climb it before she came so she wouldn't have to do too many things twice. The tower has a wide ramp all the way to the top, which is a bit odd, but much easier to climb than stairs. It was built as an observatory. The view from the top was fantastic! You could see all of Copenhagen and because it was so clear you could even see the bridge to Sweden! But, it was insanely windy. I'm pretty sure I was physically blown into the iron railing (thank God it was there).

Met up with Arden. We tried to go to the erotica museum, but it was closed indefinitely - sad times. Then we tried the Theater museum, but it closed as we walked up the steps - lingered too long chatting with the crepe stand guy. We went souvenier shopping instead and then sat in a tea house chatting for a few hours. From the tea house we were lucky enough to catch the saddest St. Pat's day parade I have ever seen. So somber!

Note: before I forget, I saw a Danish girl wearing grey tights with blue jean pockets sewn on the back! Best pants as tights attempt, ever.

As it was St. Pats, we went out with Arden's friends to the 3 obscenely crowded Irish pubs in town. It was funish, but mostly awkward, as everyone was in a couple, and while one extra friend that was brought along was a perfectly nice guy, I didn't appreciate the sneaky (unintentional?) setup (sorry Heinrich). Eh, weird.

Køpenhaven II: I wish I had a monarchy so I could dance along with the parade music

This morning I got up and walked to the Mermaid statue. I knew it would be anticlimactic, but it was even more so than expected. She wasn't even in the water really - I could have climbed on her - and she'd been grafittied. I couldn't find the sad, weird picassoey version. Glad I got to see her though - Thorbjørn says she's off to the Shanghai world expo soon.

Then I walked around Kastellet. It's a military barracks built within a star shaped moat. The blaustrade is a grassy hill. Absolutely adorable, and it had nice views of Christanhavn, the mermaid and the Marmokirken. Too bad it was cloudyish.


But, MORE amazing, was the changing of the guard. I can't believe they do this every day! I want a monarchy! Starting at probably 11:30, the guard starts marching from the barracks at Rosenborg arriving to start the ceremony at Amailenborg around noon. This march is really a parade. They're led by the military marching band, and the music is fantastic! Everyone following was a tourist, but it was so jovial (for lack of a better, less nerdy term). Wont lie, I made movies. At Amalienborg, there's a lot of ceremonial marching, a whole concert worth of songs, and a good ton of face to face staredowns. I particularly enjoyed one of the crowd control police who was really getting into it. He was dancing and singing along, glorious.

Then I went to go meet Arden at the Black Diamond. Along the way I was prostheletized by a Mormon missionary who prayed for my trip and my soul. The Black Diamond was crazy ridiculous looking, both outside and inside. But the real gem was the original library, which looked like a palace from the outside, and a gorgeous scene from an ivy league movie on the inside - mahogany desks and green lamps galore.

We got lunch at RizRaz, a vegetarian buffet, and then went own the Strøget and pointed out all the famous/important buildings. Clearly we went shopping in all the Danish versions of H&M. Then we walked up to see the King's Park and Rosenborg Palace. It was beautiful! It's just too bad it was so cold. Rosenborg is literally THE perfect place for a picnic. That's all I could think while we were wandering.

We walked around a bit more and Arden showed me her school, which is literally mere blocks from my hostel. Then I had her take me home so I could see her dorm. She lives pretty far out of downtown, about a 15 minute bus ride. It sounds short - but I can walk across the entire downtown/main part of Copenhagen in about 20 minutes. She and her roommate live on a floor of al American students from her program. She says there are 500 people in her program, which I found really surprising, since I've never known anyone else who studied in Denmark.