We came for Susan’s reunion which included a busy/fun/interesting schedule, including:
A Trabi Safari tour of Berlin (trabi is colloquial for the cheap East German Trabant car (diff spelling), which has a 2 stroke engine so the tour has a special permit for them)
Berlin wall of course
Pergamom Museum with the Ishtar Gate of Babylon
And Potsdam Sans Souci palace
Just arrived after a 45min flight from CPH to TXL (and a 20 min cab ride)
Combo late lunch and early dinner on one of the squares along Europe’s first pedestrian street
DKK 200 ~ $35 nacho plate for two (with tzatziki and olives alongside the “salsa, guacamole,” jalapeños and sour cream on the side)
One burger would have been, wait for it, DKK160 ~ $28.
Even at these prices, you had to go inside to order and carry your drinks to the table.
We’ve had very nice weather, besides some rain yesterday: 24-25C/77F and not humid, lots of sunshine.
Today the sun is out again in Copenhagen for our sendoff to Berlin
View from our hotel room, with part of this year’s sandcastle competition in the foreground.
Fun little hour long boat cruise; here is the back of the Little Mermaid
Krongborg castle (think Shakespeare’s Hamlet) an hour north, overlooking the 2 mile wide straight (Sweden on the other side) that is the entrance to the Baltic Sea, from which Denmark made a fortune on ship duties for over 400 years, until an American boat refused in mid 19th century:
Grand ballroom, 72x12m:
Statue of Holger Danske in the casement (basement of sorts)
Side street in the cute town of Helsingør next to the castle (the long pedestrian streets we’re almost deserted after 6pm)
Susan found a huge cat to play with:
The one ride we took (DKK75 ~ $14pp, though an all day ride pass would be DKK 199 ~ $34) for a nice swing ride with view.
Just inside the main entrance: an amusement park with trees and lanterns.
Funky statue of a bull defeating a sea monster, in front of the grand city hall.
Insignia on the Round Tower.
Church spires peek up everywhere
It wasn’t the most tourist-friendly arrival in Denmark… then had a touristy lunch in this pretty harbour after checking in to our slightly underwhelming hotel.
Comfy lounge chairs with power, out of view
At 20:54, the sun is setting over the buildings.
The spire on the right is City Hall
And at 21:10…
Woke up early time catch the fast Ferry time Sandhamn (SEK 130 ~ US$20 pp each way), the island on the edge of the middle archipelago with a famous yacht club (after being one of 9 stops in a sailing race around the world).
The islands are similar to the Muskokas and San Juan Islands, ie granite rocks, pine trees. And lots of cottages, especially closer in to Stockholm.
The ferry was crowded and noisy (yatzy, in Swedish spelling, at our communal table, really?)
A quaint village with packed in little summer homes, mostly painted red with well kept gardens.
Enjoyed a waterside lunch, though the menu options were limited ( and $11 for a 40cL draft beer!?)
A 25 minute walk through the forest led to a nice pair of small beaches, though one was windy and the Baltic sea was cold). We relaxed before walking back to join the hoards boarding the ferry.
