COPENHAGEN – ONE DAY.

 

Monday 19^th July 2010

It was a very familiar city to walk around. I think I had spent about five days here just three years ago and it all came back to me from the moment I started walking along the station platform on Sunday.

I went down for breakfast in the hotel. I was surprised to see how large the dinning room was and also by the number of people having breakfast there. There was a wide age range including families with small children and backpackers. It was hard to find a table. In fact when I left my empty cereal bowl and a partly drunk cup of coffee, I returned with the next course to find a family sitting there. They had put my coffee to one side and the bowl must have been removed by staff. I felt generous and said that I would find somewhere else to shift to, which I did with a little trouble. I did feel that they were pushing things a bit though.

The selection of food was probably the best I have had so far on the tour. There was more cheese, more meats, more cereal and fruit, more bread plus there were Danish pastries, which seemed quite appropriate considering that this was Denmark. And they were light and flaky, but they did have lines of sweet pink icing over them, which I am not a fan of. I think it makes them too sweet and is not needed.

Straight after breakfast I went for a short walk along the street in the direction away from the railway station. I discovered that although there were lots of tourists and commuters walking around and several respectable looking hotels, the area on the whole would be classed as 'seedy' . There were several sex shops with window displays but containing nothing which would really create objections for most people. There was a live sex show 24 hours a day advertised in a fairly run down building. Mixed in with this were cafes and convenience stores. One corner building had boarded up windows and looked a bit like a doss house judging from the characters who were emerging. In the middle of all of this was a Lutheran Church. The busy city traffic moved along the streets.

By the time I got back to the hotel, a small group of women had begun to hang out on the opposite corner. I had my own opinion of who, or what, they were.

So I got my camera and headed off to the station. I had a quick wander around and got the feel for leaving tomorrow. Then on and out the other side and I was facing the Tivoli Gardens. A queue had formed outside the gates waiting for opening time at 11 am.

However, I carried on and headed for the square in front of the city hall. There were some street works in progress and this did spoil the appearance of the place. It was a bit early for a sausage or hot dog from the couple carts there and I thought that I would come back later. In fact I never did and I never did have a hot dog that day in Denmark. But it had been one of the ideas I had based on memories of the previous visit.

Although it was only mid morning the tourist numbers were building up as I walked along the pedestrian mall leading off from the square. The shops did not seem any different to my last visit and they were very much tourist oriented. Further along and the type changed to more label stores and 'name' brands. These were larger and window displays were more shopping mall style – large glass panes with arty displays.

Here and there were small squares of triangles where streets intersected and extra space was created. Usually even the smallest extra street space and a cafe would have spread tables and chairs over it. In one 'square' although it was perhaps more round than square, the fountain steps were still attracting young people to sit together on them. Perhaps not as many as last time but it may have been different times of the day.

I went off on a side streets to visit the wonderful photographic shop that so impressed me and which I had checked out last evening. Now it was open and I went in to look around the stock. I had been especially interested in the Rollei 3000F, a very sophisticated single lens 35 mm camera. It looked like a small Hasselblad. It was heavier than I had expected but had wonderful sharp viewfinder. Unfortunately it was just the camera, but as it worked on batteries it needed a charger. The shop did not have the needed Rollei Quick Charger. Consequently there was not much use in taking the camera as you could not actually work it without charged batteries. A pity as it was a nice camera and very unique. I thought that the chances of actually being able to locate a charger on its own would be very unlikely.

Next I went in to the Lutheran Church which is attached to the Round Tower (Runde tarn). Last time in Copenhagen we heard some lovely organ playing in here but this time it was just the whispered voices of tourists. I had expected it to be cool as well but not so – it was warmer in the church than outside. This was one of those churches where pew row has a gate on the end. I don't know why this existed but I have seen the same set up in some other old churches.

I headed off along the branch shopping street towards the botanical gardens. I wanted to visit the Danish Film Institute which was across the road from the gardens. Actually I found it was opposite the adjoining park rather than the botanical gardens. I was hot and sweaty when if got to the building and was looking forward to a cool drink or coffee in the cafe there. BUT! There was a notice on the door stating that the cinema, cafe and book shop were all closed for the month of July.

Isn't amazing that a whole organisation would close down for that long. There must be tourists like me who want to call in and purchase books or DVD etc. Even watch a movie. In the end I bought some DVD from a retail store but I realise now that I already have one title and perhaps a second as well. I was deceived by them having different covers to the USA editions I have. But it was just on closing time when I bought the DVDs and I had to decide quickly. The one I know I have got is 'After the Wedding' but in Danish the title looks quite different. It was Anders in Stockholm who told me the translation into English and that was when I knew I had a second copy. Someone is going to get a free copy – perhaps a birthday present? Ha ha ha.

I carried on from the Film Institute and found a pleasant deli were I had a refreshing cool beverage at an outside table. This gave me time to look at the buildings across the road. They were several stories high and were in a sort of Middle Ages style. I spent a bit of time trying to work out if they were genuinely that old or just reconstructions of the style. I thought in the end, that they must gave been more recent. However they did look the part.

I followed the road along because this would take me to Nyhavn, which is were so many photos of Copenhagen are take. A row of traditional coloured multi story buildings, standing along a quay side. Various old boats are tied up along the quay and a continuous row of cafe and bar seating runs along in front of the buildings.

This is where many of the canal tours start. The have very low, but wide, electric powered craft each of which could seat about 100 tourists. There were several boarding ramps and from the numbers standing in line at each, I decided that the tour would be shorter than the wait. The lines didn't reduce by much. If anything they got longer as more tour buses brought fresh customers. It was interesting to have returned here and see how little had changed over the three or four years since I last visited the city.

Then I wandered back down the other side and crossed the park in the centre of a traffic round about. I was heading to Magasin, which is a large up market department store. Robyn and I had had coffee here last visit and I wanted to have a drink and a simple item of food. As I turned out, I tried a local cinnamon bun which was quite nice.

Looking around the shop, I wandered into the wine department to do my find and congratulate on having NZ wine exercise. Well right on the last shelf I found some NZ whites. Several Sarisen and some one other I forget. I spoke to the counter staff who knew all about Sarisen being one of the countries top film makers. I was impressed. I was not impressed by the fact that the ajoining grocery department had run out of sparkling mineral water though.

From here I walked slowly along towards the railway station. I did look into some of the shop windows but found it more interesting to watch the passers by. There were several buskers plying their trade. One was a magician who had a really practiced routine. He said that he travelled the world doing his street show. There was a large crowd around him watching. While I watched he was doing mainly card tricks and disappearing balls routines.

At one stage the crowd had to make room for the tourist street train to pass along. Most of the cities I have visited on this tour have one of these tourist 'attractions' operating. I know I would find it embarrassing to be driven around the streets behind a false stream engine. But it obviously suits some people as they always seem to have customers.

Along the road and another busking group was getting ready. They had a chalked out space to work in although I never actually saw their performance. What I did see was a black man who would pick a passer by and a walk beside or behind them imitating their walk or arm positions. He was pretty good at it and often the passer by did not realise that they were being copied – but the watching crowd did. He only worked within the chalked out square area. I think that he just building up the audience for the show to follow.

Scattered along the street were various musicians.

I was interested to be given a leaflet offering 50% discounts on meals on Mondays before 8 pm. It was not what I had been planning but I decided to take up the offer. It was a Texas type place and I had the pork spare ribs. I got a plate set down in front of me with a large strip of pork ribs and a little salad. Not a lot of meat but that is how spare ribs seem to be. I do recall having a spare ribs meal in Colorado where each rib was separate and placed into a pile on the plate. So I was a little surprised to find a different style and one were I had the job of separating the individual ribs. However, it was a filling meal and a reasonable price with the 50% discount. The restaurant was busy as lots of folk came in to take up the offer.

Then it was just a walk back to the hotel. It was still light and the streets were still crowded with mostly tourists I deduced.

On this visit I did not see so many cyclists with children in trailers behind them or in front. I did see some bikes going along with adults squeezed in the carrier space.

Back at the hotel it was time to do computer work to catch up on the blog and to talk to Robyn on Skype.