Sep 02, 2007 22:20
Had an absolutely lovely day in Copenhagen...
The main impression is of the grey sky, warm spotches of color from houses, and water, water everywhere.
It's a little Amsterdam, a little Rejkavik, and a little like the pictures I have seen of St. Petersburg. Basically, it seems I am suffering from an incurable need to compare every new place I have seen to everything else.
Being me, I took about million pictures, and will duly showcase them, but for quick now, the highlights included climbing an awesome round tower to the very top...with no steps, just a ramp. In addition to us and other touristy+looking people, the top of the tower was witness to a middle+aged balding gentleman in pants, jacket and...a pair of shiny, black, laquered fetish boots. For ladies. In huge heels and with lacy ties. My metaphorical hat is off to him for climbing all that way, especially since the only way I could even walk down from the tower was backwards, because I had heels on and the slant was much too big to be comfy. I am sure I looked like a total dork, holding Andrew by the hand and striding backwards, but since I don't know anyone in Copenhagen, I didn't care. Not that I would anyway, probably.
We also saw Royal Palaces (awesome), hippy+druggy commune of Christiania (last time I saw that many unkempt people and grafitti was on the trains running through Queens in the Dinkins years), crown jewels (SHINY) and best of all, a bunch of re+enactors of bomardment of Copenhagen by the British. It was a little surreal to see all the supposedly dastardly British' soldiers speaking in Danish. (not to mention taking photos and getting into cars).
We also went to the Tivoli amusement gardens, full of fakely+Chinese stuff and some not+fakely+hairrising rides. I got my money's worth out of them in adrenaline and screams, except that I admit being rained on while spinning high above the city, seated next to a tow+headed ten year old who tried to speak to you in Danish )at which you smile and nod and hope he didnät just tell you that there are boogers on your sweater) is certainly an experience I did not have before.
Anyhoo, we are back in Stockholm and will be here for a few days.
And this is from my Lovely Spouse....:
Addenda to dangermousie's account of the day:
1. Trousers on noted transvestite were either applied with spray paint or a primer coat of rubber cement
2. Actually, the tower had a ramp which ran only most of the way up--the rest were stairs. At the very top of the ramp, there was a very frustrated looking gentleman in a wheelchair, who kept running his chair again and again into the bottommost stair. A most lamentable sight.
3. Very surprisingly, there were no perceptable signs or smells of any illegal substances in said secessionist hippie commune. Not sure whether I was disappointed--or relieved not to have explaining to do to security personnel in the airport later.
4. Royal palace--well, the bigger one of the two we visited--very nice, save for one room with some odd tapestries. Also, they made you wear overshoe booties so as to not scuff the floor. Sort of like something out of an emergency room, without the facemask or the rest of the scrubs.
5. Dangermousie generally disappointed that all Danes dress the same way I do.
6. Danes share about 75% of the Icelandic passion for hot dogs, and there is also a fair amount of English everywhere which can't be explained solely by presence of tourists.
--Colonel K (dangermousie: Ok, this is a really random dangermouse reference. Heeeeeeee)
scandinavia,
travel