Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen

"Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen . . . friendly old girl of a town . . . " is how the song goes. That's what the band was playing when we disembarked from our ship and, by golly, the song is still in my head as I remember.

First, of course, is The Little Mermaid, who is approximately human size. It was a long walk out to meet her.

We liked starting each city with a canal tour, and the tour in Copenhagen was very pleasant. The guide spoke [almost] perfect English, and once again we had some low bridges to pass under. At these times, people who had stood to take photographs would be urged to "Please take a sit." I thought this was charming. So we took a sit and saw some of these sights:

Three striking buildings caught our attention:

A theatre

The opera house

The library

Our hotel in Copenhagen was Hotel Alexandra, right on Hans Christian Anderson Boulevard, a couple of blocks from Tivoli and very close to a major shopping area.

When we checked into the hotel, once again the room was available well before three o'clock, and the television screen was on and said, "Welcome Joseph Stevens!" That was all we ever saw on any of the televisions; we never turned one on for programs.

One of the reasons we'd selected this particular hotel was for its reputation as having furniture by contemporary Danish designers. Each room had a few important pieces, and close to the elevator was a terrific poster showing dozens of Danish chairs with their designers listed. 

The first time that we ventured forth out of the hotel, we quickly found ourselves in the midst of the Danish equivalent of Times Square. It was so crowded and people were moving briskly. After the villages and "hamlets" we had experienced in the past week, we felt overwhelmed. Soon we found a less crowded street and felt more comfortable.

In each city, Joe had a list of things we were to see or experience, and we managed to do practically all of them. One rule we made was not to be so focused on the itinerary that we wouldn't make spontaneous changes. On our way to visit the Glyptotek in Copenhagen, I suddenly noticed across the street the Danish Design Center and suggested we find out what it was about.

We were so glad that we did! They were showing an outstanding exhibit on recycling and it made us feel like they are so far ahead of our country. Following are photos from the recycling exhibit (I wish they had had a book to purchase; it was that excellent). You can click on them to make them big enough to read. They include catalytic blue jeans, chairs made from recycled Coke bottles, and floor covering made from recycled running shoes.

In Copenhagen, it seems, there is something for everybody, whether it be a church that has been converted into an art gallery, an ornate church with an organist practicing, or a museum of erotica!

And we haven't got to Tivoli yet . . . .