Explorations and Limitations

Today was a little windy (is it just me, or do I bear an uncanny resemblance to Alan Rickman's Severus Snape here?)

 

and since there was also rain predicted, I abandoned my plan to rent a bicycle from my hotel and instead walked about 45 minutes to visit The Church of Our Savior, which is reported to have a great view from the tower.  I say 'reported' because when I actually go there, there was a sign saying the tower was closed due to weather.

and the pretty corner where I stood to take my photo of the church

 

After I recovered from that disappointment, I went into the church and found solace in its beauty

 

as well as with these cute kids who were clearly fascinated by a young man having an organ lesson

 

I then made my way back across the bridge, passing scenes like this

 

 

and then settled in at the National Museum for the next couple hours.  This building houses an amazing collection of artifacts from the various historical periods/ages dating back to the prehistoric period.  And it's all free (well, free for those of us who don't pay all the local taxes).

 

 

While the splendor of the later ages (such as the late medieval to Renaissance period, when things started getting much more ornate and fancy-pants) was beautiful and impressive, I found myself most fascinated by the number of skeletons the museum had and what they could deduce about the people they once were, some of them dating back thousands of years.  Because of the bogs a number of the remains were in, quite a few artifacts, including clothing and personal belongings--and in one instance hair--were preserved.  Seeing the skirt, shirt, and some of the blond hair of one of the skeletons that had been a teenage girl made me imagine for a moment what she would have looked like, what her daily life might have been, what kind of personality she might have had, etc.  Typically much of what we see in museums and castles and palaces paints a portrait of how the wealthy lived, and while that's interesting to me as well, I find myself longing for more stories and details about common people living every day lives.  Sadly, few of them possessed enough material items to last for museum displays or status to be written about in official records. 

 

After my brain reached its saturation point, I left the museum and trekked back across the city to Nyhavn for a second go at eating at the sandwich restaurant my tour guide had recommended.  Fortunately, I left earlier and got there more quickly today since I'd done it before, and the waiter from yesterday enthusiastically greeted me and seated me in a comfy corner seat.  Christian had recommended the sandwich with the Danish potatoes, fried onions, bacon, and a creamy cheese (with some kind of greens I couldn't identify), so that's what I got.  And was it ever delicious!

 



 



I think someone needs to start this open-faced sandwich thing over in the U.S.  The rule seems to be to take a thin slice of rye bread and then pile it with so many delicious things you can't see the bread at all.  A group of travelers from the United Kingdom (they were from England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland--all that was missing was someone from Wales) got seated next to me, and when I saw them eyeing my order, we struck up a conversation and I discovered that they were on their way back from a reunion in Sweden with a bunch of friends whom they had all gotten to know 25 years ago when they were all living in Athens.  I always love hearing stories of friendships that last so many years.  The woman seated directly next to me lives in Edinburgh and when she heard about my plans to visit, she assured me that I'll have a wonderful time, and that everyone in Scotland is "very friendly."  She said she and her husband were turning around and heading out to Portugal when she got back home, otherwise she'd be glad to have me get in touch.

Speaking of friendly people, I can't get over how nice everyone in Copenhagen is.  They literally go out of their way to help you.  Case in point: the ice-cream shop owner who walked out of his store (still wearing his apron) with me, hollering back to the waiting customers that he'd be back in a moment (or I assume so--it was in Danish), just to make sure I knew exactly where the bus stop was.

And yes, I took the bus back home, because until  I finally sat down to eat my lunch, I had either been walking or standing continuously from 10:00 in the morning until 2:30 in the afternoon, and I'm no spring chicken anymore.  Plus, I've been feeling the jet lag today. The bus ended up being a good choice also due to the fact that it started raining pretty hard about 30 seconds after I boarded it.  Combined with the wind, that would not have been much fun to walk in.

I am staying in the Vesterbro neighborhood, by the way, which used to be the porn district but has transformed in the last 15 years or so into the young families neighborhood (more info from my bike tour yesterday--was that just yesterday??).  A number of hotels and restaurants have also sprung up (including my own) and the area has gotten more gentrified overall, but you can still see some of the old neighborhood around.  I get to pass this "Erotic Lifestyle" shop on my way to my hotel (Andersen), and further along is a strip club.  Oddly enough, though, I feel very safe walking around here--probably because of all the young mothers pushing strollers and walking their toddlers down the street.