Day 19: Copenhagen

As our last day in Copenhagen, we had a lot that we wanted to accomplish. We started off with our now regular morning run along the canal. We have been sticking around the 5km distance, but our times keep getting better and better. The day started strong with us clocking in a personal best (we would prefer to not cite the time here, as our personal best is laughable compared to more trained athletes). We plan to work our way up to 8km in the coming couple of weeks and then begin a formal half-marathon (21.1km) plan, which will run for 9 weeks. That should take us right up to the race in Dubai.

After cleaning up, we headed into the city to grab coffee at our favourite little café, called the Coffee Collective. Daryl has fallen in love with their Guatemalan roast. Some very delicious sandwiches accompanied the coffee, as it was already lunchtime.

We then headed to Christiana, a free city next to (or within) Copenhagen. It was claimed by some squatters in the 70’s and now has formal governance over itself. The city is predominantly occupied by hippies and lowlife types (at least that is what we saw), but it does have some interesting character and charm. Unfortunately, picture-taking opportunities were limited due to the selling and consuming of some illegal substances. The following are a couple of pictures that we were able to capture.

*Captured for Flynn

*Random tea set floating in the canal

Next, we headed back into the EU with plans to enjoy a stop at a local pastry shop. (ASIDE: Pastry shops in Denmark are easily identifiable thanks to the golden pretzel sign that hangs over the door. Danish pastries are called wienerbrod, or Vienna Bread, in reference to the Viennese bakers who brought pastry making to Denmark. However, the Danes claim that they perfected the art). On our way, we saw Our Savior’s Church, which is a spiral-spired church near Christiana that allows guests to climb its tower for great views. Of course, we took the opportunity for a photo-op. It was extremely windy in Copenhagen, and the wind was amplified when up on the spire.

*Our Savior’s Church, from the ground

*People who have viewed a lot of Daryl pictures will not be surprised by the superimposed feel of this picture.

Once down from the tower, we made our way over to the pastry shop (see picture) to enjoy a cinnamon bun.

We had been planning to go into Tivoli Gardens, one of the world’s oldest amusement parks, but it was damn cold and windy. So, we decided to catch another movie and call it an early night. Before the movie, we grabbed a quick bite at one of the city’s many polsevogne (sausage wagons). Unbeknownst to us, there are many a way to enjoy a sausage (basically a hotdog). Daryl ordered first, and got a sausage with pickles, mustard, and many other fine toppings. I wanted to get one of the longer sausages that I saw many people enjoying during our stay in the city (basically a footlong sausage on a 6-inch bun). But, what I got was very different, indeed (see picture). Apparently in Denmark, one can order a sausage with bun and fixings packaged individually. The proper eating procedure, as mimed to me by the polse-lady, was to dip the sausage in the fixings and take a bite, and quickly follow this up by dipping the bun in the fixings and taking a bite. Who knew?

We then grabbed a coffee and beer in the Theatre café to bide our time until the film (see picture). We watched the film Drive, starring Ryan Gosling, and it was very good (the soundtrack was awesome). I think we are going to see a lot of movies during this trip. It is a great way to hang out with locals, stay in from the cold, and have a fairly cheap and entertaining night out.

On the way home, we grabbed a quick photo of Tivoli Gardens (from outside the gate) and walked through an outdoor dance party (playing awesome late 90’s hip hop). All in all, it was a great ending to a wonderful stay in Copenhagen. Farvel great city, until we meet again.