Copenhagen

The Copenhagen airport is welcoming and busy. We were delighted to finally arrive - but our hearts were soon stricken by the sight of that empty luggage carousel, endlessly circling, WITHOUT Ds faithful bag. Without the bag!?! Round and round. It did not appear. D's bag was gone.



We despaired, waited in lines, filed the claim and with heavy hearts, started off for the train station. D wins massive kudos here, for not losing hope and for carrying on, heroically, despite no clean clothes, no comfy shoes and no toothbrush. What can we do? Maybe it can make it to the hotel before we sail in three days? [More on this adventure later...]So - onwards to the Absalon Hotel.

The train from the airport to the Central station was quick and painless. Blues skies welcomed us to downtown Copenhagen (11am local time) and we walked the two blocks to our hotel, gazing at the neighborhood, admiring the fine old buildings in every side.




The Absalon at  Helgolandsgade 15 · DK-1653 København is a 65 room hotel in theVesterbro neighborhood, which was previously the meat-packing district but has been modernized into boutique hotels, sex shops, small bars and odd little businesses.


Room 61 is a cozy little space, with enormous windows, hardwood floors, deep comfortable bedding and an expansive white tiled bathroom

"Located just behind Tivoli Gardens, the once seedy Vesterbro area, famous for its red light district, is now the coolest part of Copenhagen. In the streets radiating down from Copenhagen’s central railway station, you’ll find new bars and restaurants, independent hotels, organic food shops and vintage outlets. 

The area has become a creative hotspot, inspired by the likes of New York’s famous Meat Packing District, as artists, designers, photographers and filmmakers move in. It’s always fascinating to visit a neighbourhood in transition – think Brooklyn or Berlin’s Kreuzberg 10 years ago – before the tourists arrive en masse. And true to Vesterbro’s diversity and independent spirit, there are many different ways to explore."  from https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/vesterbro-copenhagen-what-to-do-denmark-meatpacking-district-istedgate-fotografisk-center-a7764861.html 



We settled in and found the hotel to be quiet and welcoming. The best part of being able to walk to the central train station was the ability to find cold local beer within a few minutes walk:


This Carlsberg 1883 was a limited batch, which D found at the train station for around $1: icy, sweet and dark, it was some of the finest beer we had on the voyage - anywhere!

The hotel had a nice breakfast buffet: fresh yogurt, fruit, tea and pastries. We loaded up every morning:





We also found a very good Turkish doner shop on our block, along with a great little made-by-the-slice pizza joint, so we had late night snacks right on our doorstep for the week:

Image result for turkish doner in copenhagen

Now, D still has no clean clothes, no socks, no coat, no hat. And it is October in Denmark, which is no laughing matter at night. We discover the Fotex Department store, a few blocks away, and he at least gets a few pairs of socks, a Tshirt or two and some Danish underwear - which is NOT the same as Texas underwear...But, anyway...Fotex has a beautiful bakery, which we took full advantage of...




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So - we are now about ready for exploring around the city. And we went everywhere: the Little Mermaid, Nyhaven, the Strøget, the RundetÃ¥rn (Round Tower), Rosenborg Castle, the water taxi to the Opera House, the Black Diamond (Public Library) and, of course - TIVOLI!!























































Tivoli Gardens : "Georg Carstensen was inspired by the parks and the gardens, he had visited abroad when he was first granted permission by the King to open Tivoli Gardens. On August 15, 1843 the garden gates were opened for the first time and the guests were awestruck by the elegant and exotic gardens. Among them was the one and only Hans Christian Andersen, who was inspired to write the fairy tale the Nightingale."  https://www.tivoligardens.com/en/om/tivolis+historie