100 days

[turtlemichael]

BA816 from London to Copenhagen was late by about an hour in the end. We had J seats compliments of AA miles but I committed the cardinal FF sin of not getting seats assigned before the day. What was I thinking? Consequently we were separated and "sorry, nothing we can do". In any case I got the aisle seat and that at least had leg room. Much has been written about BA business class of international short haul and all I can say is if this is the future it is very sad.




Lunch was coronation chicken which was bland but tasted okay.

The seats in exit Row 9 economy had plenty of leg room. Wait, this is BA Business.

 

[turtlemichael]

We are staying at what is now The Clarion Copenhagen Airport. I've never stayed at an airport hotel for an extended stay before. The hotel itself is fine. It was the previous Hilton CPH and I got a very good AP rate of 1100 dkk per night. That is around AUD220. Subsequent to the booking (I am an early planner ) the hotel left the Hilton family and joined Nordic Choices Group. After a bit of back and forth the local management agreed to honor the original deal except we would not get HH points.

We are very happy with the hotel and our treatment. We got a room upgrade and lounge access. The lounge is very good with plenty of quality food and drink and the room is very comfortable. However, even though the hotel is only 15 minutes from the centre of town by metro it is a bit of a bore to have to go in to eat dinner etc. Lesson learned. I am very happy however with our treatment and the deal we got.

Lounges are not part of the Nordic Choices philosophy so the one here must have a limited future.








The Lounge.

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

TM, we stayed at this hotel when it was a Hilton.

 

[drron]

And enjoyed it.As our dinner bookings were mainly out of the CBD we would have had to travel anyway so not a problem.Was also convenient as we rented a car and drove to Sweden.
Shame about the change.

 

[turtlemichael]

Our first full day in Copenhagen was bright, sunny and warmish. It was probably the best we have had since leaving Australia 5 weeks ago. The day we walked around Buttermere was pretty good too. I have three pair of shorts in my suitcase and they have yet to see the light of day . It was tempting today but it was not quite warm enough for me. We spent the day wandering and it was very enjoyable.


Lutheran Church towers are everywhere.




Rather ghoulish underwater installation called Merman and his seven sons.




Artists' studios.

 

[turtlemichael]

Another little mermaid.


The impressive new library.




St Saviours unique curling tower.


Elephants supporting the organ at St. Saviours.

 

[turtlemichael]

Hardly anyone wearing hats - they are clearly not Australian


The very efficient metro from the airport to downtown.

The next morning - where has the sun gone? This is going to be an indoor day.


At the National Gallery - Queen Christiana enjoying a gasper.


An excellent gazpacho for lunch.

 

[bPeteb]

What a fab report Michael!

I have the same photo of Wordsworth's headstone taken back in 1979 as a just clicked over 16yo.

We're not church people so York for us was Viking history and the railway museum. I signed up for travellerspoint after the demise of Travelpod and built up the map for our recent trip to Brasil but ended up migrating to TravelArk 2.0. Similar mapping software.

Really looking forward to the rest of this amazing holiday.

 

[OZDUCK]

I am also enjoying this TR - some lovely photos.

Regarding the bit about hats and Australians - we were in Ulm, in southern Germany, and were on a guided walking tour of the old town. The guide stopped to explain some building. All the Australians, NZ'ers and Singaporeans on the tour studiously moved into the shade, while the Germans stayed in the sun. The guide laughed and said that she usually knew roughly where people were from by how they treated the sun.

 

[turtlemichael]

Anyone looking for a Copenhagen dining recommendation could try Christianshavns Faergecafe. It is a canal front restaurant with excellent and friendly service and a good menu mainly of seafood and meat dishes - more homely than haute cuisine. I had the Danish equivalent of the seafood platter and it was to die for. I also had an excellent wiener schnitzel. They also flavour their own schnapps and that can be a trap! They do add on a credit card surcharge which we have now struck in several places here.




Seafood heaven


The rain had cleared and it was a nice walk back to the metro station.

 

[turtlemichael]

Classic railway architecture inside Central Station Copenhagen.


Inside the Glyptoteket Museum, near the station. It was given, with its excellent contents, to the people of Denmark by Mr Carlsberg who made a few kroner from beer.


We had lunch in its cafe.


The view you get of Tivoli Gardens if you are not interested enough to pay the admission price to go in.

 

[turtlemichael]

So it's the last day in Copenhagen. Where is the time going on this trip? Weather was bright and sunny with occasional downpours but we managed to do some more exploring.


Tourist boats in profusion at Nyhavn.


The classic Copenhagen shot at Nyhavn.


The Danish equivalent of going to the beach to get some rays


Ah Weiwei's art installation of life jackets retrieved from Lesbos. Very impressive ( to me at least).


A wind farm off the coast for any greenies reading this.

We've had a nice time here. It is the second time. The last time was in 1988 and much has changed. It seems a relaxed, pleasant and interesting place. Pity about the weather. We head to Stockholm tomorrow.

 

[Pushka]

Nice report. It's sad how the list of 'going to' places gets ticked off so quickly. Enjoy Gamla Stan. Is this where your cruise departs from? Sail out is fabulous.

 

[turtlemichael]

Thanks Puska. Looks like we sail from Vartan.

 

[Pushka]

Thanks Puska. Looks like we sail from Vartan.

We passed that berth first on the way to Frihamnen. Quick taxi ride from central.

 

[Austman]

We passed that berth first on the way to Frihamnen. Quick taxi ride from central.

Or, do as the locals do (and me when I lived there about 100 times) and get the tunnelbana (metro) red line to Gärdet. Then follow the signs in the station to Värtahamnen. It's about a 10 minute walk.

It's a good option if the weather is nice and you don't have a lot of luggage. And perhaps you already have a valid transport card.

 

[Pushka]

Or, do as the locals do (and me when I lived there about 100 times) and get the tunnelbana (metro) red line to Gärdet. Then follow the signs in the station to Värtahamnen. It's about a 10 minute walk.

It's a good option if the weather is nice and you don't have a lot of luggage. And perhaps you already have a valid transport card.

Luggage is always the issue. Lugging just one case and carry on puts me off using local transport.

 

[turtlemichael]

Agree. Luggage will be the issue for us.

 

[Pushka]

The train in from the airport was very pleasant and efficient. The thing with luggage is the physical lifting up onto platforms etc, stairs esp with a crowd. We caught the train in Amsterdam and caught the lift up which was fine only to have a platform change five minutes before departure. The lifts were swamped so no lift so with a pack of people it was down the stairs then up the next one. Not pleasant at all and dangerous for older people. Can do without it on a holiday.

I think the taxi to the port was around $18 equiv.

 

[Austman]

Agree. Luggage will be the issue for us.

Not on local transport in Stockholm. It's really luggage friendly! Most Stockholmers don't even own cars. All metro stations, trains and even buses are easily accessible and have areas for prams, luggage etc. It's when you are out on the streets that it can be a problem, especially in bad weather. Taxis are not cheap in Stockholm, so be prepared - but if only there once - I suppose - who cares?