Copenhagen Part 1

One of the most memorable things for me during our time here in Europe has been to visit Denmark and try to locate some of my ancestors. To be specific, I wanted to locate the birthplace of the original Christian L. Hansen who was born in “Tisvilde”, Frederiksborg, Denmark. So taking a 7:30 flight leaving Stansted to Copenhagen the day after my birthday (for which we had Mexican food near Covent Garden and spent time with Elizabeth and Brian Shelley) we arrived to the airport in C-hagen to meet the puzzled customs officials who looked in consternation at Mikaela’s passport. “What is Harare?” One asked. Classic.

We took the train from the ultra modern airport into central Copenhagen where we left the old brick train station, walked along the sides of Tivoli Gardens, and located our Bed and Breakfast on Studiestrasse near the heart of the city. We were actually a hundred yards from the Church of Our Lady where Thorvaldsen’s Christus is housed. The house we stayed at was several hundred years old, and had exposed old wooden beams in the ceiling seemingly to justify the semi crooked doorways and the eclectic art choices of the lady who rented the place out. Frida I think was her name.

We spent the day wandering Copenhagen’s streets and getting a feel for the place. First impressions? Online forums told us to watchout for drug dealers and hookers at every corner, but to be honest, I never felt unsafe once. Add the fact that EVERYONE speaks English fluently, and we felt right at home. Walking the lined streets we ate candied almonds bought from men with giant woks on the side of the street, and ate several polsa- or Danish stye hot dogs: solid rolls gouged out in the center, where the sauces are poured in, and the hotdog inserted with the end sticking out a few inches.

It soon became clear that what Denmark lacks in good weather, the Danes make up in paint. The sky was dank and grey with ominous clouds turning dark early in the afternoon, and yet the buildings were all painted bright reds, greens, yellows which, with their dark blue/black framed windows crisscrossing along their faces, added some warming charm to the cold air.

We visited Nyhavn Market- an old sea port with some hoky Christmas stalls lining the docks, strolled the ritzy Stroyet- which had the newest European fashion exposing itself to us as we walked by, and we even stepped into the Royal Copenhagen- a near religious institution for dinnerware divas and cutlery connoisseurs. At Royal Copenhagen, the official purveyors of dishes to the Royal Danish Family, they had their Christmas dinner sets on display- and we were not disappointed. Ornate, classy, stylish, with the Danish hint of sleek modernity mixed in, it was pretty neat to see the craftsmanship.

By the end of all the walking, and considering that we had been up since about 3 am in London, we took a break at the house, and went out again to Tivoli Gardens. Call me elitist, snobby, or whatever you want, but I wasn’t that impressed or significantly moved by what Danes consider one of THE attractions in Copenhagen. Tivoli Gardens is just that- a series of Gardens which decided to pretend to be an amusement park/christmas festival. The result? A couple of acres of ticketed carnival rides (AND you pay a separate admission just to get in), video arcade games, kitschy shops, and over priced restaurants. Not to mention the Elves. In the States when you think of Christmas, what images come to mind? The nativity, pictures of, oh gosh, I don’t know. . . Jesus? Angels, reindeer... add in a few Dickensian relics of England and voila, your house is decorated. In Denmark, Christmas is commandeered... no, infested ..with elves- or Nisser- which are half Santa’s little helpers, and half sinister gnomes which live in your hay-loft (with an active religious following in Denmark, mind you). EVERYWHERE you go, Nisser of every race, religion, creed, physical condition and political persuasion stare at you beneath oversized red hats with buggy little eyes... waiting, just waiting for you to blink.

So what if I compare all things to Disneyland? At least Disneyland characters don’t give me nightmares.

Anymore.

(Editors note: Mikaela does not approve the previous endorsement of Tivoli Gardens. She loves it there.)

After traipsing through Tivoli, we thought it would be fun to see Harry Potter 7 at a theatre and ran to get some quick dinner beforehand. McDonald’s was across the street- easy choice right? 2 regular hamburgers, fries, and 2 small cokes later we made it in the theatre to our pre-designated, assigned seats. But wait- that massive amount of food cost us what translates to US $26. AND- they made you pay for Ketchup packets. Tåber (idiots). After watching Harry get k.... oh wait- some of you haven’t read it yet... nevermind... we called it a night.