Koor-ben-haun

Sort of how it sounds when the locals pronounce København. Known to us as Copenhagen.

Luckily almost everyone in Copenhagen speaks English, because all of our combined understanding of Spanish, French and Italian helped us not a whit in Scandinavia. People spoke Swedish or Danish around us, and we couldn’t snatch out even a word here or there. And somehow, Danish seemed even trickier to interpret than Swedish. Chris joked that it seems to work sort of like this: whenever there is a letter l followed by a vowel in a word, you just throw in the syllable “huven”. There seem to be lots of extra syllables going on in those words.

But the kids figured out the word for hot dog pretty fast. Pølse. There are carts everywhere, and the quality (so this veggie-head hears) is much better than your typical American dog. They stuff them into a bun with a hole down the middle.

can't get enough hot dogs

hot dog stands are everywhere

We stayed in a very cool apartment. Renting apartments is generally much cheaper than staying in hotels when traveling, and the internet makes them easy to find. Works out great with kids, because you get a kitchen–and sometimes even a tiny washing machine.

cool copenhagen apartment

We watched the crown princess of Sweden marry her beloved on television. It was fun to think that just days before we’d walked very near to where they were. My favorite part: when they answered the do you take this man/woman question with ja! Somehow that cracked Lulu and me up.

watching the royal wedding in copenhagen

I took a photo of my new Swedish clogs in the reflection of our Danish refrigerator.

my swedish clogs...

We saw all the classic Copenhagen sites. The harbor.

nyhavn

The statue of Hans Christian Andersen. (The ever-popular-with-tourists Little Mermaid statue has swum off to China for the summer.)

hanging out with hansHippie-haven Christiania. Reminded us an awful lot of Telegraph Avenue, back in Berkeley.

christiania

Tivoli gardens. Rides to make teenagers happy, and gardens to please a mama. Beautiful.

entrance to tivoli

We walked and walked. Saw interesting public art.

interesting public artAnd more captivating gardens.

royal gardens

And pretty jars in a coffee shop. It took fifteen minutes to get our lattes. And they cost six or seven bucks, when converted to dollars! But at least the shelves were stunning while we waited.

slow coffee

The National Museum of Denmark was wonderful. It had one of the most amazing children’s areas I’ve ever seen in a museum, with big plastic medieval meats and viking costumes.

young vikings

We also enjoyed the English language tour at the Museum of Danish Resistance, which tells the story of Denmark during World War II. Fascinating stuff–now we need to go home and watch Flame and Citron, a Danish film about two actual resistance fighters, which came out a few years back.

at the danish resistance museum

Since I didn’t eat pølse, I dug into sandwiches. I love all the dark, hearty, seedy bread in northern Europe! Accompanied by a beer, of course.

love that dark, seedy bread

Chris and I walked over to the harbor to watch the Danes play Cameroon in the World Cup on a giant screen. Man, those Danes are a patriotic folk. There were red and white flags everywhere.

watching the world cup with the danes

We were lucky enough to experience what happens when the Danes score a goal. Out comes their inner viking!

goal!

It was fun to be there with them. Danny Kaye had it right.

11 comments… add one
  • Kristin Jun 29, 2010 @ 8:58

    I didn’t know you could take such a big bite Tricia–your sandwich looks scrumptious. T’s face has changed! He looks older because his jaw is more defined, like his Dad’s. Keep on exploring.

    • patricia Jun 29, 2010 @ 9:53

      Yep, that was one good sandwich. I can still taste it. I don’t know if T’s face has changed; I think maybe he was just making a goofy hot dog expression. He still has a bit of baby fat, which you can almost see in the apartment photo (in which he’s wearing his skivvies. He’d kill me if he followed my blog…)

  • Just Peaches Jun 30, 2010 @ 4:54

    What a great opportunity to try out that new camera. Sounds like (looks like) you’re having a terrific time!

    • patricia Jul 2, 2010 @ 7:57

      Well, we’re back now, and it was a terrific time. And I lugged that camera everywhere, along with our 18-200 lens which is ridiculously heavy. But it was worth it for the photos.

      Yesterday I went to the grocery store to stock up the fridge, and I couldn’t believe how light my (camera-less) purse was!

  • Barrie Jun 30, 2010 @ 22:32

    Awesome! I’ve never been to Denmark or Sweden, but Norway was beautiful and many of the scenery looks similar. What a wonderful time you guys look like you’re having! Can’t wait for the next photos.

    • Barrie Jun 30, 2010 @ 22:33

      I don’t know if I’m imagining it, but I thought your blog software used to have an “edit” option. Now I’m stuck looking at my “many of the scenery” gaffe for all time. I always seem to notice those right after I hit “submit”!

      • patricia Jul 2, 2010 @ 8:01

        You’re right about the edit option–I have a “plug-in” loaded that lets people come back and edit their comments, but somehow it got switched off without me realizing it. Thanks for letting me know about that!

        I loved Scandinavia. I’d love to see Norway someday too. I feel a real draw to go back…

  • Tara Reese Jul 1, 2010 @ 21:40

    did you get yourself some hasbeens? oh they’re cute!
    i love Denmark. someday, i shall return. i remember all of the beautiful women sunbathing topless on their lunch breaks, and i sort of remember my time in Christiania, but not really well 🙂 i was there as a roadie for KISS, after all. next time, i’ll be much more mature, and wait 15 minutes for a latte.
    i love that you have a new camera for this trip!

    • patricia Jul 2, 2010 @ 8:16

      No, they’re not hasbeens. I bought them at Kerstin Adolphson, and they only cost the equivalent of fifty American bucks. Deal!

      It was mostly overcast when we were in Copenhagen, so we didn’t see any topless sunbathers. And our time in Christiania was limited to drinking a beer. Traveling with kids is a tad different than touring with Kiss, I’d imagine. Although rock stars probably aren’t much different from children…

      We’re home now, so I have to catch up on the blog. I had so much fun lugging my new camera on this trip. And I’ve loved following the photos of you and your new east coast tribe!

  • Susan Paulkonis Jul 4, 2010 @ 20:09

    CUTE shoes! And everything else! So much fun to read your updates.

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