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The Little Mermaid sculpture, from the story
by Hans Christian Andersen |
Four countries in four days. Whew! A whirlwind… and a new record
for me. Friday: Spain to Geneva. Saturday: Switzerland. Sunday: Geneva to
Brussels. Monday: Brussels to Copenhagen. It wasn’t actually intentional but when the car rental plan fell through, it
just worked out that way. It’s remarkable, really, to be in a place where
traveling from country to country is equivalent to traveling between states in
the US.
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| Rosenborg Palace |
Remarkable, but tiring. It actually wouldn’t have been a big
deal (the flights were all between just 1-2 hours) except that the flights
Sunday and Monday were both obscenely early and resulted in me getting only 3
hours of sleep each night. Which adds up, as it turns out. By the time I reached
Copenhagen Monday morning, I was so tired I could barely see straight. When I
arrived at my hotel and was told I couldn’t check in for another 2 hours, I
could have cried.
By the time I did make it to my room (the clerk kindly got
me in after only 1 hour) I had two choices: suck it up, rally and force myself
out and about for the day... or crash. Had it been sunny and beautiful, I could
have rallied. I really could have. But it was co-o-old and gre-e-ey and ra-a-ainy so I went with
Option B and crashed. Hardcore. There’s a certain guilt that comes for me when
I’m in a cool, new place and feel like I’m wasting my precious little time there but I was at a
point where it wouldn’t have been even remotely enjoyable to drag my exhausted butt
out of the hotel into the cold and wind and rain, especially when a really nice,
comfy hotel room with cushy blankets and pillows had my name on it. So I stayed back and recharged and
refreshed and it was ni-i-ice. My first (and only) crash day of the trip!
Today it didn’t actually rain much but it was still grey and
cold. Not very inspiring when it came to getting out and about but I managed to
make it happen. Because it was so exceedingly unpleasant most of the day, I
decided it would be a great “indoor” day, so after getting the lay of the land,
I made my first stop Rosenborg Castle followed by a very brief foray into the
art museum across the street (I usually avoid such things while traveling with all my might so that should tell you just how miserable the weather was!).
Denmark’s royal family is Europe’s oldest monarchy and
Copenhagen is dotted with various palaces and castles seemingly everywhere
throughout the city. Rosenborg was built as a summer home for the Danish
royal family, although I have to admit I don’t quite get why there is a summer home
within a half mile of their regular palace. Not much of a getaway, right? Hmm, perhaps I missed
something. Either way, I got to see how they lived as well as the crown jewels,
with the added bonus of getting to escape the crappy weather outside. But then,
miracle of miracles, when I came out there was sun, real sun!
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| Bjorg's Kafe, mmm |
Unfortunately, as much as it pains me to admit it, I am
largely ruled by the weather (yes, I am becoming my mother). When it was cold and grey this morning and I was
out, all I really wanted to do was go back to my cushy hotel room and curl up
under the covers. But the moment I walked out of the castle and saw that it was
sunny, I was immediately reinvigorated and energized to keep exploring the
city. As simple as that.
And then the sun disappeared. And I got lost. And realized I
hadn’t eaten lunch and was starving. And I started to get grumpy again. But
then I saw a super charming and very typical Danish café and it called my name.
Some hot soup, a yummy sandwich and a couple of beers later and all was well
in Copenhagen. As simple as that.
By the time I did make it to my room (the clerk kindly got
me in after only 1 hour) I had two choices: suck it up, rally and force myself
out and about for the day... or crash. Had it been sunny and beautiful, I could
have rallied. I really could have. But it was co-o-old and gre-e-ey and ra-a-ainy so I went with
Option B and crashed. Hardcore. There’s a certain guilt that comes for me when
I’m in a cool, new place and feel like I’m wasting my precious little time there but I was at a
point where it wouldn’t have been even remotely enjoyable to drag my exhausted butt
out of the hotel into the cold and wind and rain, especially when a really nice,
comfy hotel room with cushy blankets and pillows had my name on it. So I stayed back and recharged and
refreshed and it was ni-i-ice. My first (and only) crash day of the trip!
Today it didn’t actually rain much but it was still grey and
cold. Not very inspiring when it came to getting out and about but I managed to
make it happen. Because it was so exceedingly unpleasant most of the day, I
decided it would be a great “indoor” day, so after getting the lay of the land,
I made my first stop Rosenborg Castle followed by a very brief foray into the
art museum across the street (I usually avoid such things while traveling with all my might so that should tell you just how miserable the weather was!).
Denmark’s royal family is Europe’s oldest monarchy and
Copenhagen is dotted with various palaces and castles seemingly everywhere
throughout the city. Rosenborg was built as a summer home for the Danish
royal family, although I have to admit I don’t quite get why there is a summer home
within a half mile of their regular palace. Not much of a getaway, right? Hmm, perhaps I missed
something. Either way, I got to see how they lived as well as the crown jewels,
with the added bonus of getting to escape the crappy weather outside. But then,
miracle of miracles, when I came out there was sun, real sun!
And then the sun disappeared. And I got lost. And realized I
hadn’t eaten lunch and was starving. And I started to get grumpy again. But
then I saw a super charming and very typical Danish café and it called my name.
Some hot soup, a yummy sandwich and a couple of beers later and all was well
in Copenhagen. As simple as that.
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