Mom and John are leaving in the morning. I feel like the last few days have been exactly like one of the roller coaster rides at Tivoli, which is where we were yesterday. I love Copenhagen in the spring! We headed over early on the train and got into Denmark about 10:30 a.m. The sun was shining in a blue, blue sky, but it was pretty chilly regardless. Anders and Martin had a Scout activity to attend so they met up with us later. Karin, Mom, John and I strolled out of the train station, crossed the street and went around the corner to the Bo Bendixen store, where Karin chose a shirt with a seal on it and a cap with a hedgehog. Mom got a Copenhagen shirt. We picked out a giraffe shirt for Martin. Then we went down the Strøget, headed for the Bof & Ost where Mom and I had eaten before. John wasn’t hungry so he continued all the way to the end of the shopping district, bypassed Nyhavn, watched the changing of the guards at Amalienborg castle and hiked all the way out to the Little Mermaid. We had an excellent lunch and then walked around some more, spending money in Ilium, one of the lovely big department stores, before heading back up to meet the boys at Tivoli.
Copenhagen is covered with things to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday. His famous paper cutout figures are everywhere, and white painted footprints walk around the city pointing the way to important places in his life. He was responsible for so many of the great fairytales…The princess and the pea, the little mermaid, the ugly duckling, the tinderbox soldier with the dogs with the eyes as big as saucers, the steadfast tin soldier, the nightingale, the emperor and his new clothes, and so many, many more.
Tivoli in the spring is so nice. All the trees have popped open into green, and there were hyacinth everywhere, leaving the whole place smelling gorgeous. The cherry trees around the lake are in full bloom, lacy pink clouds above the water. The marching band came past just as we entered, livening our steps. While the boys had hamburgers, we snacked on ice cream and almond cakes and then set off into the park. The first attraction we came to was a huge wooden structure called Valhalla, and after realizing it was some sort of ride, we bought a string of purple ride tickets and got in line, carefully coaching Karin to say she was six if anyone asked. The young blond man at the entrance was holding a severed and bloody arm. He bent down to Karin and asked her how old she was. “Six,” she said confidently, shooting me a look. The young man straightened up and told us, “The ride is at your own risk…it’s a scary one.” Um. “How scary?” I asked. “Well, there are actors in there who are purposely trying to scare the hell out of everyone throughout the whole thing, jumping out at you and all, and at the end they strap you down in a room that whirls around.” I did an about-face, “Okaaay, I think we’ll take a pass!” and marched out of line with Mom and everyone else laughing their heads off behind. Just as well, the kids would have been scared witless. Yeah, that’s it.
The kids and Anders and John rode the log ride, the roller coasters, the pirate ships, the old-fashioned cars. By then we were all freezing, so we went on the Hans Christian Andersen version of the It’s a Small World ride just to have a chance to warm up. We ate cotton candy, which is a requirement at any good amusement park. Then we found an inside playplace filled with chutes and ladders and let the kids in. Half an hour later, when they still hadn’t come out the exit, we were forced to send Anders in after them. “If you don’t see me in another 30 minutes, send John in,” he smirked as he disappeared. 🙂
After a nice dinner in Grøften, one of Denmark’s oldest restaurants, we headed home on the train, tired, chilled and happy. It really needs to be a shorter time in between to the next time we get over to Copenhagen.
Today we got things done, and there was much laundry and packing. We had dinner with Anders’ parents and a nice walk around Oxie feeding the ducks, taking pictures and stopping by the playground.
Tomorrow after I drop them off it’s back to work and real life. Bummer.