Words to describe Denmark: geometric, bicycles, thatched
roofs, beautiful!
S and I had a nice flight from Oslo to Copenhagen
sitting next to a very sweet gentleman who reminded me of T's Dad. :) He
was a geologist, and seemed almost apologetic that he made a ton of money in
his field (we didn't ask, he just kind of kept telling us everything about
it). He said, "It's not like I'm a
doctor, or even doing anything all that important." However as he explained it, his work was
connected to the oil industry so that's probably reason enough for his high
wages.
When we arrived, we took a taxi to our hotel ($20+ for a
5 minute ride), and crashed into bed. The next day we checked out the local
shopping mall. As we were walking around, we noticed a word plastered on a few
store windows that stopped us in our tracks: "Slutspurt!" Um... what?? Once we got to the Starbucks and
tapped into the free wi-fi, we found out that it means "Final Sale"
or "End of Sale" or something like that. Not the best choice of
words, methinks.
We walked from our original hotel to our new hotel,
called the Bella Sky Comwell, which was about 2 blocks away. This is where our
tour would begin from! And ohboy, is this hotel really quite nice. Verrrry
fancy compared to the budget places we'd been staying at so far. Yay! We
enjoyed the best meal we had had so far on the trip, but not without me almost
starting a fire in the restaurant. Dumb candles (can't take me anywhere)!
After meeting with our Tour Director (who would be
running our lives for the next 16 days), we went for a walk, checked out the
local golf course, and the rooftop sky bar. We even briefly considered going to
the spa, but the cost was unsurprisingly prohibitive. The next day would be a
full one, with a city tour, a North Zealand Riviera and castle tour
(Fredensborg Palace and the Frederiksborg Castle), a visit to Dragor village
with local dinner, and the famous Tivoli Gardens.
Tivoli Gardens was amazing. It felt like a cross between Playland, a
Circus, Butchart Gardens, and a world Expo.
It wasn't that huge, of course, but it was colourful and noisy, amazing,
stimulating and wondrous. I think I just walked around in shock the whole time
I was there.
Copenhagen is a gorgeous city, and Denmark is a lovely
country. The people are taxed very significantly, but there is a very high
standard of living. Medical and dental is free, and education is free up to and
including the completion of university. Wages are high, and there is little or
no poverty. In the summer at least, the weather is fabulous. Not sure about the winter, but I could
certainly live here for half the year. ;)
Some other interesting things we learned: in Copenhagen,
at least, heating for homes is not done through a furnace in your house, but
through a district heating system. Also, they are very forward-thinking with
their use of solar energy and wind-powered turbines (which you see all over the
place). Thatched roofs everywhere (and
there's an 8-year apprenticeship to become a thatcher). All beaches and forests are open to the
public (none are private, even on the Royal lands).
Most Danes are apparently not very religious. They are
said to attend church only for baptisms, weddings and funerals. More specifically, to be "hatched,
matched, and dispatched." :D
Bicycles abound! There are wide bike paths between the
road and the sidewalk. We were warned and people subsequently narrowly avoided
being schmucked by a cyclist as we were exiting the tour bus. We saw hundreds,
maybe thousands, of bikes locked up around central station. Many people ride from home to the station,
lock up their bike, take the train, and there is another bike waiting on the
other side that they ride to work. And
in such a way, they don't need a car. Apparently cars, tobacco and alcohol are
subject to high taxes.
We have been travelling quite comfortably on a Coach bus
with A/C. There are 46 of us, coming
from Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the
Philippines. Everyone seems quite nice
(they always do at first, ha ha!). S and I are among the youngest people on board; I'd say there are about 10 people
our age or younger. Despite that, we've been socializing quite well with
everyone.
As well as the many activities included with our tour,
there are a lot of optional activities to consider as well. For example, once
we get to St. Petersburg, we can decide if we want to go to the ballet and see
Swan Lake, or go to a Russian folk show, or neither. They all cost money, but
they all look so fantastic I have a feeling that I'll be coming home quite a
bit poorer than when I left.
Now we are in Sweden. Stay tuned for the next instalment!
Xo
Elaan
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