Thursday, October 20, 2016 – Copenhagen, Denmark

Train rolls onto ferry; ferry crosses the Baltic; train rolls off the ferry. Yep, that’s right. Our trip from Lubeck, Germany, to Copenhagen, Denmark, was eventful and pleasant. We watched the fall colors in the trees roll by and saw the sea on all sides. Pretty cool.

Copenhagen, the capitol of Denmark, is a sophisticated city on the fun side. We have been impressed by the pleasant and friendly people we have met. Our hotel room, while quite well placed in the old town, may have the smallest room we have ever experienced. Mind you, everything is quite nice, but teeny tiny. In wonderful minimalistic Danish design, space-saving arrangement is evident. The waste baskets are on the wall–this is hard to describe–with plastic bins/bags attached to big clips that are attached to the wall. You push one end of the clip and the bag opens; you let loose and it closes. Funny thing is, when you use the toilette, you need to have the shower doors open–how do I say this delicately–I don’t think I can be delicate, so just use your imagination.

We enjoyed walking on this clear, sunny day. We saw the Holmen’s Church (Lutheran) dedicated to the Danish navy. The woodwork was splendid. Balconies, pews, altar and pulpit were hand-carved and crafted in intricate detail. A large wooden sailing ship model hung in the middle of the church over the baptismal font. This is probably the finest woodwork I have ever seen in a church.

Our lunch was an experience. Since our train arrived in early afternoon, we wanted a light lunch, and sandwiches sounded good. Our receptionist at the hotel recommended an authentic Danish place that “had a base of rye bread and a selection of Danish favorite toppings.” I heard sandwich shop. Wrong! We were seated in an elegant space with long wool chair covers, linen table cloths and lighted candles. The muted colors and modern lights said “posh.” The traditional Danish food is not cheap. Our waiter suggested a sample menu from a smorgasbord that included four different foods. So, we ate marinated herring (using nutmeg, I’m sure) with capers and organic cream. Next came the smoked salmon topped with an egg salad. Then came the beef slices with a roulade of who knows what and fried potato salad, and finally, chicken with root vegetables. The waiter suggested schnapps as the traditional drink, but we were not into that. Local brewed beer was great. The bill was astronomical. I am pretty sure we had been directed to one of the priciest joints around and we thought we were just getting a simple sandwich. By the way, each course did come with a thick rye bread. I must say, it was a great food experience. WEG