I think there's only so far we can drive ourselves before cracking, and I think we nearly found the limit today. We got a bit spoiled with the Stockholm weekend breakfast ending at 1100, so we effectively slept through ours today, but that's why we brought Clif bars! We had a fairly good sense of what we wanted to accomplish, so we set out with purpose.
Leaving the room around 10am, we headed for the tourist office to get our city cards. Stopped at an Apotek along the way and found EVERYTHING behind the counter (so that’s what over-the-counter means) and a take-a-number system like the DMV, not to mention a big crowd, so we decided we didn’t need Sudafed that much! Got to the Tourist Info Office and met with another DMV-style scenario, waiting at least 15 minutes to be called.
As I had mentioned, I'd been apprehensive about Copenhagen and the local signage didn't give me much comfort. Inside the tourist information office, where we bought our CPH Cards, there were signs everywhere warning of pick-pockets. My pockets are fine, I'm happy to report, aside from the constant plundering of a strong DKK. We got our cards without incident and headed to Rådhusplasen to start down the highly-recommended Strøget (Stroy-yet: the shopping strand).
Strøget, it seems, is Danish for shopping – stores all along the streets which were swimming with people, far too many of them Americans. A few of the stores had tourist stuff, and some were unfamiliar, but the majority of them were disappointingly familiar: Athlete’s Foot (Chuck Taylors for 499 DKK), H&M, Body Shop. The crowds and commercialism reminded me a lot of NYC, which many people love but I kinda hate.
Having said all of that, there was still plenty to like here. We found a toy store that had a larger-than-life-sized Woody from Toy Story built of LEGO, which stands to reason since Denmark is the birthplace of LEGO. We got many pictures, some touristy-type souvenirs, and continued down Strøget.
Strøget dumps out at Kongens Nytorv, which is a beautiful enormous “square” (it’s really a circle). We sat for a while on a bench watching the mob go by, and noticed that the hordes of people in Danish football paraphernalia, most with Tuborg or Carlsberg in hand, all seemed to be heading to a common destination. National pride was in full bloom today as the Danes were playing their first World Cup qualifying match vs. the Dutch. As we moved to Nyhavn, a charming little harbor in the center of town, we realized that THIS was where most of the football hooligans had been heading, because the crowds were astonishing. We found a quiet spot at an Italian restaurant, had beer and pizza, and basked in the sun; we should both come back with decent tans. Suck on THAT, Caribbean!
Nyhavn was very cute, full of cafés and sliced down the center by a wide canal full of sailboats. It would have been positively charming, if not for the swarm of people, as the horde indeed seemed to be heading somewhere. We figured they must have been showing the match broadcast from South Africa on a large screen somewhere. We settled in at a pizza place as the match started and watched the herd thin out as people either got where they were going or headed back, presumably because it was full. Once the bulk of the crowd had past, Nyhavn became a lot more pleasant, and our lunch was great!
After lunch, we had ice cream at the open end of Nyhavn canal, then walked some side streets toward Christiansborg palace. We got there just in time to see the ruins of the old castle (from 1170 or thereabouts) and the current royal reception rooms. The palace was, thankfully, quite empty, so we had things pretty much to ourselves. The Great Hall, full of modern tapestries, was worth the price of admission and the blue plastic booties they made us wear over our shoes.
On the surface, Christiansborg seemed eerily similar to Sweden's Royal Palace, but there was something unique about it, which we'd find later. First thing, we visited the ruins under the castle. Apparently, this is something like the sixth or seventh different castle built on this spot! The original Havn was built here in the late 1100s, and these were the ruins discovered when the current castle was being built. We went back above ground and were the last two people to tour the castle for the day; it was like the palace was ours for a half-hour. Here, we had one of the most romantic moments of the trip thus far: in the Alexander Room, used for small state functions even to this day, Liz and I shared a waltz as if there had been a lovely gala for just us. Only for THIS woman would I do such a thing!
By this time, our dogs were seriously barking, so we made straight back toward the hotel, but managed to pass Tivoli Gardens in the process. Had we had more time and energy, we might have gone in, but since we had to take several rest breaks along the way, there was no chance. Liz almost cracked (actually, I broke down and cried at one point while sitting on a bench), but we managed to keep ourselves together and reach the hotel for a well-needed respite. Liz napped and I washed socks. Romance? We've got it, baby!
Meals have been somewhat of a struggle for us on this trip, not because we're picky, but because we've often had too many options. After our refreshing break in the room, we turned the other direction down Vesterbrogade and found an Indian-Pakistani restaurant, called Koh-I-Noor, that looked promising. I had mattar paneer (curried peas w/cheese) that was possibly the best I've ever had, garlic naan, and spicy mango pickle. My lips were buzzing and I had happy curry face. Considering Liz's conservative estimate of about 5-6 km walking today, possibly the best feature of this restaurant, however, was that it was about 30 steps from our hotel.
We’re both painfully exhausted, a bit underwhelmed with København it seems, and ready to stop pushing ourselves so hard at sightseeing that we forget to enjoy our honeymoon! The hope is that Oslo will renew our excitement and that we're not suffering European burnout with a full week yet to go.
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