A Week in Copenhagen!

Ok. Let's take this day by lazy day. I arrived in Copenhagen on Wednesday, December 29 and left on Tuesday, January 5.

Wednesday -- Arrived early afternoon. Went to the tourist information center across from the Hard Rock Cafe and close to the train station. I also bought $20 batteries. :P Copenhagen ended up being the most expensive city I've been to so far. I finally got to the hotel by taxi. And then I collapsed in my room. I was so tired!

The good: My room was awesome! It was basically a small studio with a little living area and kitchenette with sink, counter, mini-fridge, and microwave. It also came with dishes and cutlery. But by far the best feature was the flat screen TV I could swivel to face my bed. :) And it was definitely cosier when I found the thermostat.

Thursday -- Such a lazy day. I decided to take a day to rest, sleep in, and not worry about doing anything. It was amazing.

Friday -- I went out mid-morning on Friday in order to see the Little Mermaid statue, go to the National Museum, and check out trains at the station. I did a lot of walking. And between the Little Mermaid and the museum, I kind of stumbled upon the changing of the guard.

I found myself walking into a square surrounded by very nice buildings and people were starting to line up facing guards that looked like they were Buckingham Palace rejects (they fidgeted too much). I waited for about 20-25 minutes and sure enough! They had their little ceremony. It was pretty cool. It also gave me the chance to notice that all the little Danish women own huge fur coats.

The museum was pretty cool. They had some great exhibits about Danish history from the prehistoric to modern day. I really liked it. Alas, I was not feeling well (I think it was the transition from cold to warm while still wearing my coat, etc and not giving myself enough time to cool down after a long walk).

Saturday -- I went to see Rosenborg Slott, a castle in Copenhagen, and an art museum (the art museum, really -- Statens museum for Kunst) on Saturday. Unfortunately I did not get as early a start as I really should have and had to hurry to get to the castle before it closed. I did make it, though, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. They have both the castle and the treasury on display so it's a great attraction. They have all this old stuff in the castle that is amazing to see and not only super intricate valuables in the treasury (it's mind-blowing what some people can carve out of ivory) but also the crown jewels!

It's hard to say if I liked the castle or the art museum better. The museum had some great exhibits and I could have spent a lot longer than 3 hours in there. As it was, I saw exhibits on the Harlem Mannerists, "Nature Strikes Back," and Nicolai Abilaard. I was very excited to see not only those but the regular collection as well. They have all kinds awesome artists there, and I found it very interesting to see a lot of the periods I studied in Art History done by Danish artists I had never heard of. I think I could have spent days in there.

Sunday -- I am very glad I did a bit of research on Saturday morning because it meant I used Sunday to go to Helsingor and Hillerod rather than on Monday when the castles would have been closed. I went to Helsingor first to see Kronborg Slot, the castle that inspired Shakespeare's descriptions of Hamlet's castle. It was not as cool as Rosenborg Slot. Most of this was because it had been seized by the Swedes at one point and been sacked before falling into other uses. So they don't have a lot of the original fixtures and it seems pretty bare. The chapel, though, is beautiful.

I then took the wrong train to Hillerod and I still can't decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Good: I got to see a lot more of Denmark than I would have otherwise. Bad: It took an hour longer than I wanted it to so by the time I got to Hillerod, Frederiksborg Slot was closed. I looked around the town for a bit before heading back to Copenhagen.

Monday -- I did the last of my sightseeing on Monday. I went to the Round Tower, by the cathedral, down to Hard Rock, to the post office, and back to my hotel.

One thing I was struck by not only in Copenhagen but everywhere I've been is how well people speak English. I always feel so guilty for not knowing the native language, but everywhere on this trip everyone has been very helpful and better at speaking English than I would be at speaking their languages. Even when I try my best! :)

Tuesday -- On Tuesday I traveled from Copenhagen to Malmo. I also had the most disgusting McDonalds in the world. Seriously, this was so much worse than the gross McDonalds I've had before. >.<

And my room in Malmo is even better than the one in Copenhagen! Why? Because this one also has a stove and a mini-dishwasher. I will take pics before I leave. The elevator is pretty cool, too. No flatscreen, but I can already see the TV from my bed, so no need to swivel one around. :)

Tomorrow: Malmo, Sweden!