Tilbage i Danmark and Sverige
Denmark has long been regarded as one of the world’s most attractive nations, for citizens and tourists alike. -Elliott Abrams
England, Scotland, Ireland had but whetted my appetite to spend more time in Europe. My next stop on my European summer adventure was Scandanavia. I had visited Copenhagen and Stockholm before, but one can’t embark on a Scandanavian adventure without incorporating those two cities. Never fear, I found stuff to revisit and new stuff to explore in both the cities as you’ll all shortly discover.
Despite the Little Mermaid being the biggest attraction in Copenhagen, the Gefion Fountain here is a great Danish folk tale and worth a second visit. According to legend, the Swedish king Gylfe offered the goddess Gefion as much as land as she could plough in one day and one night. So, she got to work, transformed her four sons into oxen and ploughed the island of Zealand out of Sweden.
Since I had visited Copenhagen previously, I was pretty lazy about exploring Copenhagen this time around and skipped a few places that the group visited, electing to stay in the hotel. As compensation I had the most fantastic view of the city from my hotel window. The church on the right with the spirals is an old wooden church that I was fascinated with the last time I was here. I have a whole host of pictures from different angles from that visit. Imagine my pleasure to see it right outside my window and be able to see it every time I entered and left my room.
The English Church in the Churchill Parken and the view of the area around it taken from the Gefion fountain. It’s such a tranquil spot to visit. There wasn’t enough time to go inside the church, but I truly enjoyed wandering outside and people watching.
The Little Mermaid from Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale is a must visit when you are in Copenhagen. I remember the first time I visited my friend, and I were looking for something a bit more substantial and were surprised at how tiny it really is. Also given the position of the sun at our visit we never got good pictures.
It’s still not substantial but I was able to get a better picture this time around, plus it was cleaned up when it was returned after being loaned out.
Inside the church of our lady the main cathedral in the center of Copenhagen. This church is located at the original site first established in the 12th centuries but since then has been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times. The most current version is a neo classic style with Baroque and Gothic elements from earlier versions incorporated into the interior.
The interior is impressive with and yet soothing.
The Round Tower (Rundetaarn) is the first observatory established in Copenhagen by King Christian the IV in 1642 and is the oldest functioning observatory in Europe today.
It has a 210-meter-long spiral ramp that goes to the top. Peter the Great of Russia rode his horse up to the top with his wife Catherine the Great following in a carriage. Others have ridden a car to the top and it is still accessible to the public with fantastic views from the top both of the city and the night skies.
The main shopping square in Copenhagen. We wandered past bakeries full of enticing cakes and pastries in their window and all manner of shops. I always get a kick out of this square because I am a Steve Berry fan, and his character Cotton Malone owns an antique book shop around here. I have been here twice and both times I have looked for an antique bookstore here, but I have to conclude that the bookstore must indeed be fiction.
Reffen the largest international street food venue or as the Americans would say it food court in the Nordics. On my first visit to Copenhagen, we saw it from the hop on hop off cruise but did not get a chance to visit so I determined to make a visit happen this time around.
We arrived on an evening that had been threatening rain which fortunately held off. After wandering through the venue and exploring all manner of cuisines available I settle on some exotic African cuisine. I know! I know! but I felt like I would get a lot of Scandinavian food elsewhere during our trip.
Bikes abound in this city and have the right of way. I remember the first time I was here I almost got mown down by bikes because I had inadvertently wandered into the bike path.
It’s mindboggling to see the sheer number of bikes with baby carries and in general rushing along during rush hour and it’s all brought home to you when you see this host of bikes parked outside the metro station.
Beer anyone? What a colorful contrast to the Irish, Scottish and English pubs that I had recently visited.
After a wonderful two-day sojourn in Copenhagen, we set off crossing the Oresund bridge that is half above water and half below the water towards Sweden. We bypassed Malmo which I had visited on my last visit and headed straight for Gothenburg. We got in too early to check in so deposited our luggage and headed off to find some lunch and get started on seeing the city.
Towards the left of our hotel was the cultural hub of the city; Gotaplatsen with its so very impressive statue of Poseidon in front of the Gothenburg Museum of art. The Concert Hall, the city theater and the City Library are all located right here.
Gustav Adolf Square with the statue of the golden king Gustavus II who led Sweden to victory in the thirty years war. Apparently, the finger pointing downwards is an indication of his decree that the city was to be built here. This is one of the main squares in the city, across from the canal with government buildings lining the square.
This was our starting point of a walking tour that would give us a wonderful flavor of the town.
Skansen Kronan, a former fortress which is now a popular conference and wedding venue.
Haga, the oldest and most charming neighborhood in the city of Gothenburg, is home to cafes, shops and pedestrian only cobbled streets. Today instead of the usual midmorning tea break we were changing things up and doing an afternoon tea to sample the local specialty opera cake accompanied by hot coffee.
After one night in Gothenburg, we were on our way to Stockholm with the sun still painting the sky and fluffy clouds in shades of pink.
We drove along lakes and spotted ruins of along the side of the road.
Today there were no convenient cities for us to explore and wander as we took a break on the long drive. Instead, we stopped at a rest area where we got to enjoy something hot with traditional fika. Fika was to become my new mid-morning thing replacing the scones that I had enjoyed in the United Kingdom.