We said goodbye to the "motherland" from Kalmar, and took the four hour drive from Kalmar to Copenhagen. This is the largest city in Scandinavia - 1.8 million people. It's a very approachable city, and most of the inhabitants ride bicycles in the city. We found this to be true in all of Denmark. The country is so flat, and the cites and towns in Denmark cater to bicycles, that it makes sense to use it for transportation. Denmark is a country of 3 islands and one peninsula linked to Germany on the mainland. It is surrounded by the Baltic Sea. There are beautiful expansive bridges that link all of the islands together. We approached Denmark from the Southeast of Sweden in Malmo over the beautiful Calatrava bridge.
Cultural observations in Scandinavia. We have noticed how incredibly clean and neat both Sweden and Denmark are. There is very little grafitti, no trash on the sidewalks or streets, we haven't seen any homeless people, and everyone is neatly dressed. We have driven extensively in Scandinavia, and have stayed in the two biggest cites - Copenhagen and Stockholm; and some of the smallest towns. We have taken trains, buses, subways and ferries. All modes of transportation are clean, orderly, and run on schedule. The people seem genuinely happy and friendly. Every restaurant, public transportation, public/private facility has provisions for children. Even on the ferry, there is an area set aside with childrens' toys, and activities. There is a great deal of family time together. Parents bring their children to all meals, and the restaurants and hotels oblige them. The inclusion of children in the mix is very orderly, and not disruptive. There are a lot of outdoor activities. As I mentioned, everyone owns a bicycle. There are many green areas with wonderful walking paths, biking trails, and hiking areas. The only negative is that in the two cruise ship destinations - Copenhagen and Stockholm the cruise ship passengers overwhelm the cities. (there are 320 cruise ships in the port of Copenhagen in June,July and August). The tourists don't provide any economic value to the cities. They eat and drink on the ship, and of course they don't inhabit the hotels. The few souvenirs they buy, don't contribute to the local economy. Unfortunately these destinations have attracted unsavory pickpockets from the Eastern part of Europe - the "gypsies". We have met a lot of locals in this part of the world. I continue to be "shocked" when I ask about tax rates. In Denmark the range is 30% - 65%. The lowest rate begins at $10,000, and the top rate starts at $200,000 (family). These taxes include payment to your local church, education paid and a stipend for your children, it includes full tuition and expenses paid if your child gets accepted to a US university then the government pays for your child to go to Yale, plus an allowance. All medical (which includes prescription drugs ), Dr visits, specialists and any hospital stay with surgery is also included. When you retire, at 65 you are entitled to a full pension with a cost of living adjustment. Child care, long maternity,paternity leave,and an allowance for children is standard. Everyone accepts these high rates, and they still feel that their medical is "free". I know that Americans want all of these benefits, however do we want to pay for it? In a life time if we paid more taxes, and didn't have to pay for educatiion, child care and medical, would we be ahead? Interesting thoughts.....
COPENHAGEN June 19 - 21
There is talk of a renaissance in Copenhagen. As much of the city with its copper-domed landmarks is cutting edge. Seedy old buildings are being restored - many turned into boutique hotels, and at trendy restaurants, young Danes are reinventing the cuisine of their ancestors. Even the queen is appearing on the streets in scarlet red (She is married to a French Count, though). The culture and charm of old Copenhagen is still here, but in a word the city has become "cool". The sun didn't set until 11:00PM, it was a very welcoming city.
We hired a private guide In Copenhagen. She was from the US. After college graduation she backpacked through Europe, ran out of money in Copenhagen, and stayed for 25 years!!
We visited the town hall, Amalienborg Palace , and had a Danish hot dog (see Katherine's blog - texangirleatingdrinkingeurope) in the lively square. Amallenborg Palace has been the home of the Danish royal family since 1794 when Christianborg burned. We were able to see the changing of the guard. Not to be discriminatory, but each of the guard units wear different colored belts that reflect how tall they are.We saw the white belt guards, which was the short unit. They are only 5 feet, 6 inches, the blue belts, and the red belts graduate in height. Margrethe II is the current queen. She is the granddaughter of Christian X 1870 - 1947. She has two sons and a daughter. One of the sons has a second wife, and children by the first wife as well - very progressive - he is in line for the throne!!
We took an open top boat ride around the canals and in to the Baltic. We passed Christiana, a district that is known for its "free love and drug commune". It is truly a step back to the 60's.
One of the smaller islands in Copenhagen has a sand castle contest - they all look great.
The Copenhagen Opera House is on the island of Holman in the center of Copenhagen. It is the most expensive opera house in the world. Opened in 2005,the opera house was paid for by A P Moller one of the co-founders of Maersk. He then gave it to the city, and did not even name it after himself - how un-American!!
Mic Jagger's yacht was in the harbor again - do you think he is following us?
TIVOLI GARDENS was one of my favorite attractions in Copenhagen. Created in 1843, it is an 20 acre garden that is the virtual symbol of Denmark. (Imagine a 20 acre amusement park, with fabulous gardens, entertainment stages, and a Michelin star restaurant in the center of NYC !) We loved it. Katherine rode the roller coaster, I took photos, and then we ate at Nimb - which looked like a fairy princess palace. We saw a pantomime at the oldest building at Tivoli, the Chinese-Style Pantomime Theatre with its peacock curtain.
We only had time for two museums. Katherine chose the DAVIDS SAMLING. The museum houses the Nordic world's greatest collection of art from the World of Islam, dating from the 7th - 19th century. Christian Ludvig David, a lawyer in the Danish High Court with wide - ranging tastes, died in 1960, and left his carefully chose treasures to the city. Islam art is interesting with respect to the Koran that for many centuries was interpreted to not allow art that represented the human form in any respect. So therefore, ancient Islam art is represented by beautiful tapestries , weaving, calligraphy, and gold and silver carvings. It is truly exquisite
I chose THORVALDSENS MUSEUM. This is the oldest art gallery in Denmark (1848). Greatest collection of works of Betel Thorvaldsen (1770 - 1844), the biggest name in neoclassical sculpture. He is famous for the most typical, classical restrained works taken from mythology - Cupid, Adonis, Jason, Mercury , and Ganymede. After many years of self-imposed exile in Italy (40 years),he returned in triumph to Copenhagen where he died a national figure and was buried here in the courtyard of his own personal museum. Thorvaldsen is the only non Catholic to have his sculpture in the Vatican museum.
ROSENBORG SLOT (Rosenborg Castle) This palace is the greatest and purest Renaissance structure in Denmark, since its facade hasn't changed since 1633. It has survived fires and wars and I am so happy that it did. Christain IV conceived of the palace in 1606. The king liked the place so much he built a summer pavilion here, which eventually lead to the present castle as it is today. It is Dutch Renaissance style, and is one of the most beautiful castles in Denmark. It houses everything from narwhal-tusked and ivory coronation chairs to , a silver coronation chair, guarded by silver lions. There is a gold and ebony secretary, and a clock that has been working for 300 years. The treasury houses the crown jewels and regalia, and a coronation saddle that is so heavy with gold, I don't know how the horse could stand up with the saddle on and a mount on top.
Children in Copenhagen
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