København I: Sunshine and Cousins

Another early start to catch a plane into Europe, but this time from Gatwick airport, which is south of London and somewhat a tad more ‘interesting ‘ to get to with night time buses and the Gatwick Express.
It didn’t take long before I roused from a bit of a snooze to look out the window and see that we were flying over an extremely long bridge. This one linking the city of Nyborg to the island of Zealand. Zealand itself was a very flat and surprisingly brown island, which we flew over before banking back around to land on it at Copenhagen airport.
Once the usual mad dash by air travellers to get out of their seats and get their bags was over, I had a chuckle at how they all stood there awkwardly for several minutes until the doors finally opened and people could disembark. I’ve always had a laugh at this, especially when I get to stroll straight past them all while they wait for their baggage to make it to the carousel for collection. The bonus of travelling light with just my carry-on backpack.

So with a new stamp in the passport, it didn’t take long to make it to the train station below the airport and then spend the next 10minutes with another pair of Aussies trying to work out if the next train would get us to the central station in Copenhagen. We honestly couldn’t tell even though they all had København H mentioned. I thought there’s only one way to find out, so climbed aboard while they stayed on the platform. If I ended up somewhere else, I’m sure it wouldn’t take much to make my way back.

About 20 minutes later I was standing on the streets of Copenhagen in the sunshine with not a cloud in the sky - magic!!
First stop (after letting my cousin, Fraser, know I’d arrived by sms) was the tourist centre just across from the Tivoli Gardens. A quick bit of macramé (okay, ripping n tearing) and I had a pocket sized map for just what I needed, meaning that I could leave my rather large guidebook in my pack. Time to go for a wander through the Tivoli Gardens on my way to checking into my accommodation for the weekend.
Oops, they’re shut. Naturally, they open next weekend, so it was time to walk around them and take sneak peaks through the fencing as well as having the first of what were to be good reasons to come back again. This took me past the City Hall square and past the rather impressive City Hall (above left). It also gave me a good look at the bicycle lanes that help fill the roads (right).
There was only light traffic in the streets, with just as many cyclists filling the cycle lanes on each side of the roads. Just take a look at the pic here to get an idea of the size of the cycling lane (and before you say it, only two of those cars in the pic aren't parked). Brilliant stuff and something that countries like Australia and the United Kingdom should pay a good deal of attention to.
But I digress...

Having finally made my way to the wrong hostel (Danhostel City) and having to head back towards the correct one (Danhostel Downtown), I received an sms from Frase and worked out where to meet him and Klaer for lunch. I reached my accommodation to find that it was in a small square with a couple of cafes and pubs (see the pic at the bottom of this post), as well as a rather large bike rack through the middle of it.
Checked in and it was off to Amagertorv just off the main mall of Strøget to meet Fraser n Klaer. After greetings and enjoying being in the warm sunshine we headed to the post office. Atop the post office, is what turned out to be a great little restaurant with an excellent view across the city, and this is where we met Fraser's wife, Tine, and her mother, Jonna, both of whom are Danish.
Egged on by Fraser, we both had the Danish Herring for lunch, much to the warnings of both Tine and Jonna. It is one of the national dishes, and a little surprising that the two Danish members of our group were not keen on it. Part of travelling is experiencing other countries and their cultures, and it turned out to be rather tasty.

After a pleasant lunch, which included a game of I-Spy with Klaer, we headed off via Kongens Nytorv, past the Royal Theatre and towards Nyhavn. With the sun shining, the streets were packed with Danes as they all came out to enjoy the sunshine. The canal of Nyhavn which is lined with cafes and bars was packed as people were perched all along the canal edge with their food and drinks.
So, while Tine and Jonna headed off to do some more shopping for Tine, whose baggage had been taken by another passenger the day before, Fraser, Klaer and myself embarked on a tour of Copenhagen's canals. An open top barge made it even better in the sunshine and it took us for a good tour of Copenhagen and included many of the sights and notable places.
A certain 6 year old was a pleasant distraction as the tour went on. The further it went the more we ended up playing games instead of paying attention to the landmarks we passed or to the tour guide’s information. Don’t get me wrong here, the tour was excellent and took us past many landmarks, but I was here to see my cousins more than sightseeing, and we were having fun...
Back on dry land and while the game of tag continued, we made our way back to Jonna’s car just as Tine and Jonna got there. Back to Lyngby we went, which is where my cousins were staying (and Jonna lived), before heading to the home of Lars and Ida (Tine’s sister) for dinner. A very pleasant evening meeting some of my cousins-in-law.
When the evening drew to a close, it was back on the train to København H and what was (for the weekend) home. Despite having been up since 3.30am, I decided to drop into the small pub across from the hostel to give the local ales a try. Within a step of entering the pub I got a “Hi” from a nice woman, who I spent some time with while I recovered from the surprise of the cost of a single pint. 66DKr (Danish Kroner) which equated to about £8.50!! A few pints later and it was time to call it a night. I can definitely recommend all of the different local ales I tried.

Saturday began with a slight sleep-in, which can be translated as sleeping for a few hours in the early morning while the snorer of our room left for breakfast/shower/whatever. As such I missed the breakfast in the hostel’s cafe, however, the guy behind the bar did rustle up a couple of bread rolls, some meat slices and cheese from what was left. All this and a coffee set me back less than one of the pints from the previous nights! Only 60DKr - bargain!

So back out in the sunshine - did I mention that I was loving the Danish weather? - and onto the train to Lyngby, where I met Frase, Tine n Klaer for some morning reverse shopping as we returned some of Tine’s earlier purchases now that her bag was on its way back from Mallmö, Sweden. Oh, and a certain game of tag resumed from the day before... In one store, we discovered the pictured chocolate rabbit that you can see here next to Klaer. Only 795DKr, which is approximately £100!! We skipped this to purchase a few Danishes from the bakery section that were to go with lunch. We continued our way through the sunny streets of Lyngby with a final stop in Ben Geier, which is a chocolatier. No monster bunnies here, just top notch chocolate, and they’re fairly liberal with the samples - brilliant! Time to return to Jonna’s, so it was a walk through the burbs of Lyngby - see how they do their bike lanes here (below right).
Back at Jonna’s, and a brief tour of Klaer’s room, it was time for a good lunch and then time to sample the ‘proper’ Danishes. Quite simply, forget anything you’ve had in Melbourne, Sydney or even London for that matter as they just don’t make them like the Danes. Excellent they were!

Later in the afternoon, all five of us headed over to the home of Birgitte and Jesper (Tine’s brother). On the way, Jonna drove us along the east coastline and past what is a very plush area - very nice indeed.
Shortly after we arrived, Lars and Ida arrived followed by Eva (Tine’s other sister) and her husband Korb. All children in tow. It made for a pleasant afternoon and evening meeting all of my cousins-in-law, while the kids all did their thing in the yard. Korb invited me to join him for the Berlin marathon later in the year, which I’m considering depending on how soon my back is sorted. A good excuse to see Berlin and get to know a cousin a bit better (and here’s hoping I’ve spelt his name correctly!).
Again at night’s close it was back on the train to København H and a certain pub. On the drive to the train station, Klaer came out with what only little children can. She asked what was happening tomorrow, to which Fraser replied that they would be getting up, getting dressed and thengoing to the airport to fly to Spain. Her response was “Will we be cleaning our teeth first?” Classic. She was asleep by the time it came to goodbyes.
Train ride over, and back in the pub, I ended up chatting with a group of three Danish guys, who were quite entertaining, and later a couple from Spain. It’s amazing just how easily the Danish speak English. Their conversations are a mix of both Danish and English as they switch back and forth with an ease that I could probably only wish for.