The first stop of the journey was the one my father was the
most envious of: Copenhagen, Denmark, the land of his ancestors. After some
travel headaches involving Joel’s missing bag (come on, Germany, you checked it
at the gate), we got on a train to
have dinner in Malmo, Sweden. (Think someone in NJ grabbing dinner in
Manhattan.) We met up with some friends, Em and Roj (who are documenting their
crazy months-long European adventure here)
and some of their Swedish friends, who helped us greatly in the translating of
our menu at the strangely-named Mrs. Brown. We ate charcuterie, ox, and I
officially decided I no longer hate mushrooms. Dessert was the most interesting
– it was like someone flash-froze apple puree and served it on a glob of
homemade whipped cream. Back to Denmark after dessert.
 |
| Yes, Steig Larssen fans, they DO have 7-Eleven everywhere in Scandinavia - this one was between tracks at the train station in Copenhagen. There were two more upstairs. The presence of Billy's Pan Pizzas was not confirmed, however. |
The next morning, celebration ensued when we found Joel’s
bag at the hostel desk. We ate a classic European breakfast (rolls with meat
and cheese, yogurt with muesli). After some planning, we met up with Emily and
Roger in the hostel lobby and set out. Our first stop: the National Museum of Denmark, where I would surely photograph some fabulous Viking artifacts for Dad.
I did, and in addition we found an impressive collection of Egyptian mummies,
Iron-Age artifacts and remains, runestones, and the skeleton of a large,
extinct cow-like creature whose likeness was painted in the caves at Lascaux.
 |
| A very small fraction of Viking hoard. A sign in this room said, "It does not look as if the Vikings tried to make contract with foreign peoples in peaceful ways." However, they did set up a vast network of towns in Northern Europe, so trade-off? |
 |
| Joel was not so sure about this dude. |
 |
| The National Museum thought visitors might recognize and appreciate Hercules relics more if they included a likeness of Disney's Hercules. I was slightly insulted but mainly amused. |
Early dinner was next. After wandering around the
mostly-empty squares of Copenhagen, our hungry stomachs decided on Bof & Ost, where we sat by an open
hearth and stuffed our faces with bread and butter, steak, Carpaccio, and
crispy guinea fowl: fuel for more wandering in the cold. (Did I mention it was
cold? No, I wasn’t surprised – it’s Scandinavia in early March – but they’d
just had a warm spell and the cold had come back just for us. How nice of it.)
Hot chocolate and coffee helped.
 |
| Yep, it was cold. I also got the sense that I was very small in Copenhagen, because all the buildings seemed enormous. |
The last stop was the strange area of Christiania, which
felt a bit dangerous at night (but most likely wasn’t dangerous at all).
Heeding warnings about not taking pictures of Pusher Street, where marijuana is
sold openly*, we strolled down the wide path of barrel fires and dealer’s
kiosks. We pulled the cameras back out for some shots of street art outside the
walls.
 |
| The outer walls of Christiania were covered in tags and street art. |
 |
| Shockingly, Bob Marley. Who would have guessed? |
The walk back to the hostel was frigidly windy, but some two-for-one beers at the hostel warmed us up (even if it was only Carlsburg, Copenhagen’s famous and sadly flavorless brew). After some planning, ticket-buying, and thawing out, we turned in early to catch at 7:40 train to Amsterdam the next morning.
Verdict: Should come back when it’s warmer and bring my
parents, especially on to northern Denmark to visit the Gammel
Estrup Castle and agricultural museum.
*Cannabis is illegal in Denmark, yet tolerated in
Christiania, though its sale is mostly controlled by pushers connected with
gangs. Another good reason not to take pictures.
.png)