Today = perfect.
Perfect weather, so unbelievably perfect that if I could bottle it in a tiny, frosted, gold-corked decanter that I could then hang around my neck on a thin golden chain so that it nestled just so, and open the bottle whenever I was feeling a bit down to uncork some of the blueblueBLUE sky, sunshine, and sparkle, and take a BIG sniff, I would be perfectly happy forever and ever.
Nicolai Tower
Founded by Bishop Absalon, archbishop of Roskilde (and Lund!) in the 12th century, Copenhagen is a fascinating, beautiful, lively city. King Christian IV, the great builder and prominent architect, added many remarkable buildings and constructions during the early 1600s, including the canals of Copenhagen, the Old Stock Exchange, and the Round Tower. The Round Tower was built with a 210-meter long spiral ramp leading all the way to the top, it’s said because Christian was too fat to walk up stairs. In 1716, the royal Empress Katharina drove up to the top of the Tower in a horse carriage, with her husband Peter the Great in front, on horseback, to enjoy the beautiful view over the city. One of the famous dogs in Hans Christian Andersen’s tale The Tinderbox had eyes “as big as the Round Tower.”
The Round Tower: Rundetårn
We followed in the footsteps of H.C. Andersen around the beautiful city in the sunshine, ate strawberries, sat by the side of the canal, marveled over an underwater sculpture, boggled at the dragon tower, rejoiced to see the new trees in Kongens Nytorv,* shopped the street antique markets. I bought a beautiful Pilgrim necklace, after dithering for over half an hour because they were ALL so beautiful and I wanted one of each, and scoring an extra bonus for the day in the form of Reese’s Fast Break bars at the Americana store! SCORE! I’m tired and slightly-rosy-sunburned and I’m going to sleep like a log tonight. 🙂
I could not stop pointing the camera UP, taking photos of towers and spires and gables and roofs, the slightest excuse to shoot the sky.
(More Photos from a Perfect Day in Copenhagen: Page 1 Page 2)
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*The huge, towering ring of elms that circled the square were chopped down several years ago because of Dutch Elm Disease. The square was transformed into a huge, agoraphobically barren traffic circle. Lime trees were planted 2 years ago, and while they have a long way to go to reach the leafy majesty of the elms they make a HUGE difference. 🙂