An uneventful direct flight on Air Canada to Copenhagen (thank goodness!) and we checked into Wakeup Copenhagen This hotel. located behind Tivoli Gardens and within walking distance to the main train station is a stylish minimalist place. Our room on the 12th floor looked out on the river and the water buses and had a circular glass bathroom and just enough room for a bed, 2 chairs and a table. All mod cons though - hair dryer, TV on the wall. All no smoking. Only oddity - no phone in the room. Free computers in the lobby and wifi everywhere!

We had lunch at Bio Mio in the Vesterbro district (Kodbyen). I was too tired to eat, but I enjoyed elderflower cider and a sandwich. We also decided that the area looked promising for more meals with Chris and Anne.

After we met Richard’s brother and sister-in-law at the hotel, we set off on an exploratory walk in this lovely city bisected by canals and rivers. Some buildings are similar to Amsterdam’s with pulleys at the top window and there are many monumental old and new buildings as well.

We went back to the meat packing district (Vesterbro) for dinner.  Anne got a recommendation from a local - Pate Pate. Good food, sort-of Italian. We all had dessert and they were huge. Here’s a first  - I couldn't finish mine!

Day 2: Off to Roskilde to see the Viking ships

We took a short train ride from Copenhagen to see the Viking ship museum and the cathedral where the Danish royalty are buried. The designs of the tombs reflect styles across the centuries. I love the paintwork of intertwining leaves in one of the chapels and the trompe l'oeuil plasterwork in another. Very different from other cathedrals we have seen.

The driving rain did not deter us from walking to the harbourfront. We had lunch near the Viking Museum on the harborfront at Snekken cafe.  Richard and Chris had herring two ways, I had veal and sausage stew with barley risotto and Anne has mussels. Tasty!

The Viking Ship Museum has reconstructed ships and our tour guide was very informative. We were fascinated about the distance the ships would travel, especially the merchants who “portaged” their ships from one river to another in Germany.

Dinner in Copenhagen sitting outside at Riz Raz which has an all-you-can-eat buffet of Middle Eastern food. Good value - 99 kr per person for the tasty vegetarian meal. As we chatted over coffee, it started to rain heavily so we moved indoors and added another half litre of wine to our previous litre!  

Day 3: in Copenhagen

Busy day but I will give you only the impressions.

Morning at the Royal Palace and its ruins. Danish sandwiches for lunch - 3 huge ones - at the Cafe Norden overlooking Amagertorv, Storkespringvandet (Stork Fountain) and Højbroplads. Students everywhere - they had just passed (or written?) their secondary school exams and wore white caps with black shiny bills and coloured bands to indicate the exam or program. They rode in trucks, cheered, chanted, sang, whistled, hooted and jumped into the canal and just had a great time!  They seemed to gather by the stork fountain. And they seemed to be at it all weekend!

We took a canal and harbor boat tour, a relaxing way to see the lovely waterways, historic as well as beautiful new buildings (the opera house) and wonderful old neighborhoods down minor side canals. Very like Amsterdam. In fact one area was modeled on it (Nyhaven) and when the locals wouldn't move there, the king invited Dutch settlers with promises of no tax for awhile! 

Back to the old meat market area behind central train station for brick oven pizza at Mothers. Good!  Then to Tivoli Gardens, again on our 72 hour Copenhagen Card. It is magical at night. Needless to say, we didn’t go on the fairground rides but we enjoyed the coloured lights, fountains, and fantasy architecture. Tivoli was crowded with people of all ages (although since we arrived after 10:30 at night, not many young kids). A singer with the big band was channelling Tony Bennett and people were dancing. Anne and I enjoyed an amazing drum solo in Sing Sing Sing.

Day 4:  Palaces and Nyhavn

Today Richard and I went to another royal palace - Rosenborg and the royal treasury. While at the castle, I woke Mary up with a FaceTime call. Sorry, but it was great to see you and show you a bit of the castle grounds.  We also visited the botanical gardens - lunch in the gardens with Chris and Anne.

We toured the prehistory collection at the National Museum. Very interesting, and amusing too. There were extra notes on some objects with silly stories such as swords being invested by some young men who were castrated by swordfish. And about a mine owned by dwarves. Most stories had a silly sexual side!

Chris, Anne, Richard and I walked to Nyhavn, a picturesque area on a canal and to the port. En route, we saw the competing entries for a sandcastle competiton. Three Canadian entries but no American. We had a beer at the harbour by the new opera centre. Very blowy - so blowy that an empty glass blew off a table.  However we have been lucky and we had sun today.

Since many restaurants close Sunday evenings, we went back to Cafe Norden by the stork fountain. And would you believe it but another bus of celebrating graduates surrounded the fountain!  The locals all seemed very tolerant but we had been enjoying a peaceful conversation. They didn't stay long though.

Tomorrow we board our ship for the cruise and Chris and Anne fly home to Manchester. We figured we could fit 1 more museum into our 72 hour museum pass - a design museum that is actually open Mondays. Most museums in Copenhagen are closed Mondays.

Day 5: Last day in Copenhagen

We locked up our luggage in the basement of the hotel and headed off with Chris and Anne to the Danish Design Centre. As well as iconic Danish items from the 20th century, there was a fascinating display on new materials.

We left Chris and Anne there to head back to the hotel and to the ship, the Oceania Marina. We decided the best way to go was by water bus so we walked to the river and over to the bus stop near the Marriott hotel. We disembarked at the Nordre Toldbod near Langelinie Park / dock and walked to the ship past the Little Mermaid. Check in was easy and our stateroom was ready. We took a walk around to reacquaint ourselves with the ship (We sailed on it last winter with Helen.) and had a bite to eat.