København II: The Lazy Explorer

If you haven’t read København I, then scroll down and have a read of that first, although it may not be essential reading before reading this post...

Sunday, and this time I made it to breakfast quite comfortably to take good advantage of what was on offer. Fully fuelled up for the day, it was time to check out and hit the streets of Copenhagen to explore and sightsee.

Just round the corner was Slotsholmen, a small section of Copenhagen that is surrounded by a moatlike canal, that we’d cruised along on Friday. This island houses the Danish parliament, the Royal Reception Chambers, the Royal Arsenal, the Royal Stable and Coach Museum, the Royal Library (known as the Black Diamond), as well as several museums. I had a good poke around here, and stumbled upon a group of photographers and news crews outside one of the buildings. It turned out they were waiting for the new incoming president to arrive. I waited too, but not long before deciding to continue on my way through this 'island'. It may sound strange, but for some reason I really didn’t feel like going inside any of the buildings themselves for a look. A go on the jousting trainer (right) at the Royal Arsenal might have been fun though.

After strolling through the gardens of the Jewish Museum, I headed up the road that divides the Royal Library, which is an enormous black monolith - hence its nickname. I went north up past Nyhavn to eventually find myself in Amaliehaven Gardens before I realised that I was across the road from the Royal Palace, or Amalienborg, if you will (see the pic at the top). This was no Princess Mary pilgrimage, even if the flag flying over the Palace of Christian IX meant that the Queen was in. Amalienborg itself is actually made up of four palaces at each corner of a large square. It is in this square that I had made it in time for the changing of the guard. A ceremony whereby the current sentries are replaced by new ones as a little party of guards marches a lap of the square with guards swapping along the way. Their path is marked out on the ground. Oh, and lookout should you stand in their way - as some of the many gathered tourists found out.

After this, I headed across the main square and towards Frederick’s Marble Church. I headed in for a look and true to my current lack of desire to look around in any building, I confirmed that it was indeed a church and then left. It was nice inside, but it was far more interesting on the outside.
Coming back to Bredgade I continued to travel north discovering a small laneway that honestly looked like I’d stepped back in time - if you exclude the couple of cars and the large dumpster bin...

Keeping on the move, it didn’t take long before I reached Churchill Parken and the Kastellet. Also here is the Museum of Danish Resistance [during WWII], which I’ll admit that I think would be quite interesting to see. However, I was enjoying being on the move, especially since it was only about two weeks ago that I could barely move...
Up onto the ramparts of the Kastellet I went. This is a fort, that is still used as an active army barracks, and surrounded by a five pointed earthen walled rampart. Not a bad view from up there really, and the windmill that sits upon the one point that has been filled in, is somewhat out of place.

Past the Kastellet, on the shore of the harbour sits Copenhagen’s best known little landmark, which is also one of the most uninteresting. This could be why the Little Mermaid is going to be moved soon - something that I did notice that our tour guide on Friday had told us as we cruised past her on the harbour.
So a quick chuckle at everyone lining up to stand next to the statue for pictures, and I was back on my way. This time, going through the Kastellet instead of back around atop the ramparts.

Heading northwest, I passed the Østerport train station, which is quite large and an interesting mix of old and new - oh, and it had thousands of bikes parked out in front of it as well as across the road. If it wasn’t for the pinched nerve in my back, I definitely would have hired a bike. I could have ‘borrowed’ one because there are almost no locks on any of them. I guess it works by the fact that you wouldn’t steal a bike because you’d be using your own...
Into Østre Anlæg I went, to stroll (okay, hobble) along the many paths through this large tree filled park with a lake running nearly the length of it. Upon reaching the other end, I discovered a very large modern building of glass and white concrete. This turned out to be the back of the Danish National Gallery, which as you can see here, has a completely different frontage.

From here it was a quick bit of road crossing to avoid getting run over by cyclists more than cars, and I was in the Kongens Have (King’s Gardens). These gardens are also the home to Rosenborg Slot (or castle) which you can see below doesn’t look a great deal like a either a medieval structure with battlements or a small house near Sydney's airport. I ventured through the meticulously looked after trees, hedges and paths to make my way to the entrance, however like the National Gallery, once there I really didn’t feel like going in.
While Antiques Roadshow may have had a detrimental effect on my desire to view galleries and museums, I was enjoying just strolling about Copenhagen and being outside in nice weather. A quick(ish) wander around the outside of the building and I was on my way via the Livgardens Kasenre, which is where the Royal Guards appear to be housed/trained. I say 'appear' because I don't really know, and am guessing due to the small gathering of them out front of the main building, while another group of men in army greens were running laps of the grassed area in front.

I could see the top of the Rundetårn (Round Tower) from here, so decided to make my way there through the side streets. The Round Tower is actually a conservatory and as such has an observation deck. I headed in and up with the full expectation of copping another climb of a spiral staircase. No spiral staircase this time (until the very top) but one long giant wooden ramp that wound its way up the inside of the building. Oh for a skateboard or some other such item to sit and slide back down!! The view itself was pretty good (below), although most of Copenhagen is rather level with only a few stand out structures. There were at least a couple of access points into the level of the adjoining church/mill that attaches to the Round Tower.

With the sun now back out properly, I continued on my way through the backstreets past the Ghost Church, which doesn't shimmer and appear like a regular ghost, but is a rather large gothic styled church. This brought me back onto Strøget, the main mall and thoroughfare of Copenhagen. All the main shops were open, plenty of people about, some skilled musical buskers and it was just really nice to mosey on down the mall in the sun taking it all in.

I cut through a rather impressive laneway that was like it's own little mall and looked a lot like it hadn't changed since the 1800's. It was about now that I discovered both the time and my hunger - mostly because this lane brought me out by the large building known as The Cathedral, and several cafés that lined the streets here. I had just entered the area known as the Latin Quarter.
Without realising it I ended up in one of the more well known places, Huset Med Det Grønne Træ, which despite its rather hokey appearance, turned out to be quite a good restaurant. I can highly recommend the apple tart, even if this came in a large cylindrical glass with no pastry base to it. Again, it was a chance to sample the local ales, all of which were coming up trumps. It does make you wonder why Carlsberg is such a bad beer - or maybe it's just the Danish version of Fosters.

I left as they closed up for the afternoon, to move along about a block to a rather odd little café to give the back and leg a rest, tuck into a coffee and my book. An odd little place that looked like the décor had been accrued over the last 40 years as absolutely nothing matched anywhere. The main counter was effectively covered in old record sleeves that included Michael Jackson, Edith Piaff, ABBA amongst them. A great atmosphere as well, but I did find it hard to do any reading.
It only took about 6 goes at reading the same page before I headed off to find more cafés and quirky little places. One of the more notable places was The Living Room, which was just that - nothing but couches and armchairs.
It didn't take long before I reached Nørre Volgade, a sizeable main road, and after crossing it I was in Ørsteds-parken. This was another large park with a lake running through the middle of it. It was a case of "when in Rome" as I found a clear spot on the grass to just chill out and make the most of the sunshine before returning to a grey clouded London.

A little later and after heading back through the Latin Quarter, past GT Torv Nytorv (or square), I crossed over Strøget again and found myself in the square in front of the City Hall. It was here on Tine's recommendation that I found several hotdog stands and proceeded to try one. Awfully tasty, and this led to a good excuse to head back up Strøget and down one of its side streets to a bar/café.
I settled in to a table outside the Grand Theater to enjoy the last of the rapidly disappearing sunshine, a beer and a chat with the two women on the next table. I'm guessing that whatever evening show or movie had just finished because we were suddenly inundated with people lighting up cigarettes and/or hopping onto the bikes the lined the middle and opposite side of the laneway. I still don’t think I saw anyone unlock a bike either.

Anyway, all things come to an end and it was eventually time to bid both the two women and Copenhagen farewell, and head back to the train station, the airport and then London. I may not have done Christiania, Tivoli or many other things, but there will be another time to visit them, and the upcoming summer should make it well worth the return.

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.

Body n Mind

Not a particularly interesting week and a bit...

The treatment for my back is somewhat familiar, yet quite different. The Network Spinal Analysis (NSA) practitioner if quite different in his application of the techniques, however, much of it is familiar - and strangely somewhat comforting. Both week's sessions have been followed by joining the SRI (Somato-Respritory Intergration) group that they do each week. This is a complementary technique to NSA, and it has been far more intense than what I experienced in Melbourne, where we only covered it in a small way. The first week of this allowed me to experience something I've never done before. The venue where this is done is shared with a flotation tank relaxation centre, and while chatting with the owner between the NSA and SRI, he asked if I'd like to give it a try. Who am I to say no...
The "tanks" turned out to be small rooms with about 15inches of water on their 'floor'. The water contains several kilograms of epsom salts to help with boyancy. The whole thing was rather interesting to say the least - no light, no sound, just you and your mind floating in the warm water. Extremely relaxing once you could shut your mind up, while getting used to the sensations of it all. I was told that it gets easier to quieten you mind each time you do it, and then it won't take long to benefit from the relaxation, which is supposed to be more effective than a deep tissue massage. I did sleep far better that night, which is also one of the other benefits of doing such a session.
Anyway, after two sessions of NSA and doing the SRI group, while we still can't release (crack) the jammed lower vertebrae that's pinching the nerve (yep, it's that tightly jammed!), I can now move far more freely and am able stand up straight and walk relatively normally.

This also means that getting out of the house for things other than going to and from work is now possible. Shar, Julianna and myself went down to the river last weekend to do The Boat Race - the Oxford v Cambridge rowing race. Twelve months ago, this was the fateful day that I was told that I "had served my purpose" by a certain someone who is still taking her useless time in repaying several hundred pounds. But she was the last thing I was thinking of this day as Shar, Julianna and myself had a top afternoon and evening before we ended up in The Dove. This is a small pub on the banks of the Thames that is in the Guinness Book of World Records as having the world's smallest front bar. The rest of the pub isn't exactly huge either, but it had a great cosy atmosphere with all sorts of people. This included someone who actually lived four doors down the road from where I lived in Melbourne - it's a small world...

Prior to doing the Boat Race, I'd spent the day poking around Camden Market, just enjoying the sights, sounds n smells as well as going through all the stalls and shops. The repair works after the major fire from last year are well underway and there was quite a bit of new stuff to see. A good day out to get out and enjoy just walking around again - the bikes are waiting for me to get back on them.

Monday night saw me with Belinda at the Royal Society of the Arts (RSA) to attend a free talk by Peter Singer on the Global Challenges and the Values We Live By, that was presented by the WWF (World Wildlife Fund). The RSA lecture theatre is quite impressive too. Peter, himself, is actually from Melbourne yet is a professor at Princeton University, and a world reknowned philosopher (apparantly the best in the world according to the head of the RSA who chaired the evening). Certainly an interesting night, and the Question Answer session was as well. I couldn't help myself when it came to buying a copy of his latest book and the chance to have Peter sign it.

One other piece of good fortune, if you can call it that, is thanks to the G20 protesters here in London. Today is the first of their two days of protests across the city, and as such our offices are closed. So I have today off, but will have to travel up to Haverhill (part way to Cambridge) to work in our office there for the day. I'll find out then if it's a nice change...

On another note, which involves the G20, or one member of it - Kevin Rudd, our "esteemed" Prime Minister, who is supposedly going to be discussing the financial "crisis" and the environment issues such as global warming, it's nice to see he has an idea of what he's doing with this gem: Mr Rudd is quoted as saying: "... popular cycling websites such as hillclimbr.com have alerted us to how much CO2 a road cyclist can produce. A good cyclist can produce upto 1500 litres of CO2 an hour. I think we all agree in this day and age this is not acceptable...." Mr Rudd continued..."We intend to impose a 20% CO2 tax on all new bike sales..."
And this guy will be involved in solutions for massive global issues?? Makes George W look somewhat intelligent...

Okay, so it's off the high horse and time to go pack for the weekend.

ADDENDUM:
Alright, so I couldn't resist, but to go and have a look at the protests considering that they've contributed to me having the day off today...
Quite a peaceful bunch in their tent- city with a drum circle at one end (see the video below), and plenty of other stuff going on. It probably worth noting that this wasn't the main event as that took place around 11am onwards (which you'll see on the news), and I got there at around 3.30pm, so this was the main groups that were staying overnight for tomorrows rallies. Most of this group just seemed to be here for a hippie street party and sleepover, which is pretty much what it seemed to be - the main difference being the cops at each end of Gracechurch street. It stretched for several blocks, and if I'm honest would have been a pretty cool party to have been a part of - much like the summer solstice at Stonehenge, but without all the drunken teenagers.
I still managed to learn something from one of the flyers that I was handed - yeah, I know... I did read them... Anyway, I didn't realise just how ludicrous the whole bio-fuel situation was (if the information in the flyer was correct). Scary stuff!
Still, it was an interesting walk in the sunshine, none-the-less...