Florida Coalcracker Chronicles: We Spent Last Week in Copenhagen

Friday, July 06, 2018

We Spent Last Week in Copenhagen - Denmark

We lived along this canal

Copenhagen is ocean level - you can take a train to Sweden

Copenhagen - Denmark - is a blur. We were so busy eating - biking - walking on cobblestone streets - riding canal boats - playing with our grandson - and just enjoying this festive and unusual city. We spent the week in an Airbnb apartment. We flew from Germany to Copenhagen. Keith and family flew from Washington DC via London. Our grandson just turned 2 - so much of our time was playing and tending to him. Keith and Liz got to have some alone time in the city.

Our apartment was very nice - and in an excellent location. A foot and bike bridge across the canal got us right into the city. We had all the pleasures of a major city - but the quiet of an island. There are many more bikes than cars there. We rented bikes for a few days. It was easy riding in the city because bikes had more than just lanes - they had paths raised up about 4 inches. It kept cars out of your way.

Copenhagen is dissected by many ocean level canals. Since everything is level - it made for easy walking and biking. People would swim directly in the canal ocean water - even as big boats went by. I only saw our footbridge raised once to leave bigger boats through.

Denmark's government goes back before 1000 AD. There is evidence that people from here set foot on North America long before Christopher Columbus. They still have a strong connection to Greenland and Iceland. Greenland has 2 representatives in Parliament in Copenhagen.

The weather in summer is wonderful. They are at 56 degrees north latitude. That makes for very long sunny days - like from 4 AM to 10 PM. The air seems thinner - and even though the sun's rays are a lower angle - they can sunburn you easily. The opposite is true in winter - where the sunlight is only 6 hours a day. People still use their bikes then - but it just seems like it would be cold and miserable. We had some stiff breezes that made 73 seem cold at times in the shade.

People are much skinnier there. It must be their diet or their activities - maybe both. I felt like such a cow there. There are lots of pretty women there - biking to work and shop - with dresses on. It looked so civilized. They would go zooming by me.

Our apartment had a big enclosed courtyard where we played with our grandson. There were plenty of community toys - sand box - gravel - swings - grills - tables - you name it.

It is Day 45 on the road. We have had no rain yet. Mostly very sunny. We slept windows open all night. It never really got pitch black dark in Denmark - sun rays peaked over the edges of the globe.

Yesterday we went to the airport with the bags. KLM took a train over to Sweden. There is a bridge across the North Sea now to Malmo. They walked there - had lunch - then came back to the airport.

Our British Airways flight to London was packed. Lulu and I were in the last row. In London - FSU sent a limo for us. We were bushed.