To Copenhagen

I left Hartford (BDL) at a little after 12:00 p.m., felw to Detroit, waited there a few hours, then flew to Amsterdam, arriving at 7:15 a.m. I had a few hours to wait there as wellso I walked around, drnak coffee and juice, went to the bathroom to change my shirt, socks (which I threw away), and my shoes. Then I waited some more.

To the left, you can see me at Schiphol airport looking perhaps a bit tired. In this picture, I have yet to go freshen up.

I look a bit tired not only because I spent nearly all night rhe day before packing and putting my finishing touches on things at home, but because, perhaps a bit stupidly, I overpacked and overprepared, ending up with the following monstrosity as a travelling buddy (yes, this is my luggage, below):

When I finally got to Copenhagen, I was thrilled to be there. I made a dash for the trains as I meant to get to downtown Copenhagen as fast as possible. The plan was to spend the next three hours walking around the city, having lunch, before boarding the train for Aarhus.

So I left my bags at the train station which was, fortunately, a few blocks from the main city center, the Radhuspladsen, my main destination.

As I left the train station, I found myself on the Reventslowgade, a busy side street lined with biycles (which I regret not taking a picture of). I had been reading alot about "bike-friendly" Denmark. It seemed like the perfect place for me.

There were some pretty buildings along the Reventslowgade. I don't really know what they were but I took a shot of the corner of one of them simply to be able to share with you what I was seeing as I walked for the first time in my life along the streets of Copenhagen.

At the end of the Reventslowagde, running perpendicular to it, was the Vesterbrogade, a wider, busier street that i I took a right on, would lead me straight into the Radhuspladsen.

As I walked along the Vesterbrogade, I took visual note of everything. For example, many young women seemed to be wearing black tights on their legs -- under skirts and dresses. I alos tried to notice how people behaved, how they talked, how they looked at each other. It is these traits and habits that I would eventually have to imitate, I told myself, if I wanted to fit in to any reasonable degree.

Along the way, I went into the centrally-located Tourist Information Center. I went in quickly so as not to waste too much time and grabbed a handful of brochures and pamphlets that I will probably barely look at (but it is good to be prepared). I also took advantage of an Internet cafe -- Boomtown -- not only because I am addicted to my emails, but because I simply had to send a message to my lovely wife, Marynela, back in Vermont. None of this experience is as good as it would be if she were here.

Along the way, I ran into a largish group of schoolchildren. They were lovely and cute and I snapped a shot of a few of them (to the left). They laughed, giggled, pointed, or were simply quiet. I guess I had scared them. Their teacher later gave me what I thought to be a dirty look.

I kept walking and in another block or so, reached the Radhuspladsen. I stood by a lamp-post for a while while I simply looked at it and took int the sensation. It is a large open space flanked by several beautiful buildings. There was a lovely feeling here and I took it in, along with some warm sunlight which just happened to come out at the moment I reached the central square. This was a beautiful spot.

It was beautiful and lovely -- and then these clouds came along with some rain making everyone run for cover. It was still quite beautiful.

But just before it began raining (in truth, it was a massive downpour and people scurried everywhere for cover), I was able to sit down at an outdoor cafe -- simply caled the Restaurant Copenhagen Corner -- which had a very simpl and very overpriced menu (of course). I ordered the simplest and most inexpensive item on their menu which turned out to be absolutely fantastic: Terrin af saltet laks og kulmule med se samvinaigrette (that is, terrine of salted salmon and hke with sesame vinaigrette -- easy, you see?). It was truly fantastic. Here is what it looked like before I sank my teeth into it: