Crown jewels, a famous mermaid and an amusement park!

Monday, May 16, 2011

This morning we got up early and packed our bags up and checked out of the hostel at 9:30. We then walked to the train station to stow our bags in a locker, mail some postcards and grab yogurt and a banana from the handy 7-11, oh, and I had to have my cocan-cola light!

We left the station and headed to Rosenborg Castle which was built by Christian the IV. In the basement of the castle is the treasury where they display all of the gifts given to the king.  They also keep the crown jewels here. The crown worn by Christian the IV is stunning as is the 100+ karat amethyst! I was basically drooling over the beauty of them. The way they have the cases lit up they truly sparkle and I was mesmerized.

In the main part of the castle it is preserved in a way that illustrates a few of the time periods when the royals lived here. It was really well done and very beautiful. I was surprised by how small the castle is but it makes sense in a cold climate to have small rooms, less to heat!

After touring the castle we ate cheese and bread outside in the garden before continuing our tour to see the Little Mermaid statue. On our way up there we walked through a lovely park that is surrounded by a star shaped moat/canal. We got a little turned around in the park but it was lovely and gave us a great view of the Episcopal church, St. Albans, which was really quaint!

After leaving St. Albans we finally found the little Mermaid sitting in the harbor. We got some great pics, there really isn't anything else to do there, and then headed down to the Stroget, a famous street for shopping. The Stroget was beautiful down by the harbor where there is a canal and boats docked and colorful row houses and outdoor cafes with blankets on the seats. As you walk inland the street becomes sort of a cobblestone mall with highend stores, not nearly as cool.

We continued our walk to a coffee shop by Tivoli and the train station. We saw a danish in the display case and decided to try it as we were in Denmark! It was the best danish I've ever had!

After our snack we went across the street to Tivoli which is an amusement park. Unfortunately it was raining and very expensive so we didn't go on any rides, we walked around and watched the kids and strolled through the shops and finally grabbed some dinner before going back to the train station.

We took a train to Malmo, Sweden and then a sleeper train down to Germany. At first I was confused as to why we went to Sweden first and if you look at a map you'll see why that's confusing. However they drove the train onto a ferry boat to get us across! We looked out the window and saw cars parked next to us, pretty darn cool!



Suzie :-)

Take the midnight train going anywhere

Saturday to Sunday, May 14-15, 2011

Well, not exactly anywhere, ideally this midnight train gets us from Amsterdam to Copenhagen. We left the central train station in Amsterdam on an overnight train at 7:01 pm. We had made a reservation for a four person couchette when we first arrived in Amsterdam. Our "room" was already arranged into bunks so we got into our upper bunk and settled in. We were on the top bunk while another couple was on the bottom bunk. The main problem was that we couldn't sit up straight so it was easier just to lay down. Apparently I was really tired because I fell asleep right away at abou 8 pm and woke up only once to use the restroom before 8 am. The rocking of the train really lulled me to sleep. We were also fortunate that our car was really nice and quiet.

When I finally woke up this morning I ate my bread and cheese and fruit that we bought yesterday afternoon. Dutch Gouda is an awesome mild cheese, I seriously could have eaten the entire kg round that we bought.

We should be arriving in Copenhagen soon and we'll hit the ground running with a few museums and sights.

Suzie :-)