A 5:05 sunrise awakened us to this convivial, captivating, and easy-going city. Our first view looking out into the harbor was of the lovely harbor master's building and windmills. Denmark is the world's largest producer of Sieman's wind blades and turbines.
Denmark has been ranked the world's happiest country(ranked by the United Nation's World Happiness Report- U.S. was 13th). It's easy to see why everyone in Denmark is so happy and why the country today is so different from when Hamlet (Shakespeare's play took place in Denmark) was in deep despair. Why is Denmark so happy? According to the report- annual wages are high (including a high minimum wage), taxes are high but Danes get a lot from their taxes, especially education and health care and all workers must get a minimum of 6 weeks off per year, there is a high social network of support within families and friends and social life is very important to Danes, life expectancy is high and Danes are physically fit and very active, paid maternity leave is one of the highest in the world with up to 32 weeks for mothers and 2 weeks for fathers, Danes are very charitable and feel a strong compulsion to help others, Danes are proud of their political system and government, and it's such a gorgeous country to live in!
Strolling through Denmark, one can see how Denmark's famed children's author, Hans Christian Andersen, got his inspiration from the brightly colored houses and ships in the harbor, one of Europe's prettiest harbor districts. From our berth, Langelinie (The Little Mermaid Statue), commemorating one of Andersen's beloved stories, is a short walk away.
We also saw a large bronze sculpture of a polar bear with cubs on a piece of ice. Put there in 1937 it symbolizes Greenland, Denmark's most northern territory. If you look closely at the bear's head you will see a bullet hole put there by a Nazi soldier during Denmark's occupation.
The harbor was bustling with people from all over the world, walking, biking, or just enjoying a gorgeous summer day from the vantage point of the many lovely waterside restaurants.
Like Amsterdam, Copenhagen is a city of bikes. Many people bike to work or use their bikes for their every day activities. One must use extreme caution when crossing the streets- it's not the cars that can knock you down, it's the bicyclists whizzing by in their bike lanes. Many bikes had cute wicker baskets on the front and some were designed with wooden boxes in the front to transport their children and dogs. We saw all kinds of bike contraptions, including this ultra modern one for transporting your wife and baby! All throughout areas of the city we would see parking areas for bicycles.
We strolled down Copenhagen's major pedestrian street, the Stroget, filled with throngs of people and every type of restaurant and shop imaginable from high end to low (including the ubiquitous McDonald's). The Legos store was there (Legos come from Denmark). The Keeley family could not resist going into the Royal Copenhagen store since the family china they grew up with was Royal Copenhagen. They even found the pattern (or one quite similar) of their family china!
The street performers in the town square were quite entertaining!
Even the manhole covers on the streets were quite pretty!
David and Gary enjoyed the butter laden Kringle pastry! It's not just a treat in Denmark, it's a tradition.
There were several beautiful fountains scattered throughout Copenhagen.
Denmark has been ranked the world's happiest country(ranked by the United Nation's World Happiness Report- U.S. was 13th). It's easy to see why everyone in Denmark is so happy and why the country today is so different from when Hamlet (Shakespeare's play took place in Denmark) was in deep despair. Why is Denmark so happy? According to the report- annual wages are high (including a high minimum wage), taxes are high but Danes get a lot from their taxes, especially education and health care and all workers must get a minimum of 6 weeks off per year, there is a high social network of support within families and friends and social life is very important to Danes, life expectancy is high and Danes are physically fit and very active, paid maternity leave is one of the highest in the world with up to 32 weeks for mothers and 2 weeks for fathers, Danes are very charitable and feel a strong compulsion to help others, Danes are proud of their political system and government, and it's such a gorgeous country to live in!
Strolling through Denmark, one can see how Denmark's famed children's author, Hans Christian Andersen, got his inspiration from the brightly colored houses and ships in the harbor, one of Europe's prettiest harbor districts. From our berth, Langelinie (The Little Mermaid Statue), commemorating one of Andersen's beloved stories, is a short walk away.
We also saw a large bronze sculpture of a polar bear with cubs on a piece of ice. Put there in 1937 it symbolizes Greenland, Denmark's most northern territory. If you look closely at the bear's head you will see a bullet hole put there by a Nazi soldier during Denmark's occupation.
The harbor was bustling with people from all over the world, walking, biking, or just enjoying a gorgeous summer day from the vantage point of the many lovely waterside restaurants.
Like Amsterdam, Copenhagen is a city of bikes. Many people bike to work or use their bikes for their every day activities. One must use extreme caution when crossing the streets- it's not the cars that can knock you down, it's the bicyclists whizzing by in their bike lanes. Many bikes had cute wicker baskets on the front and some were designed with wooden boxes in the front to transport their children and dogs. We saw all kinds of bike contraptions, including this ultra modern one for transporting your wife and baby! All throughout areas of the city we would see parking areas for bicycles.
We strolled down Copenhagen's major pedestrian street, the Stroget, filled with throngs of people and every type of restaurant and shop imaginable from high end to low (including the ubiquitous McDonald's). The Legos store was there (Legos come from Denmark). The Keeley family could not resist going into the Royal Copenhagen store since the family china they grew up with was Royal Copenhagen. They even found the pattern (or one quite similar) of their family china!
The street performers in the town square were quite entertaining!
Even the manhole covers on the streets were quite pretty!
David and Gary enjoyed the butter laden Kringle pastry! It's not just a treat in Denmark, it's a tradition.
There were several beautiful fountains scattered throughout Copenhagen.
After a day seeing the sites of Copenhagen, including Tivoli Gardens, Amalienborg Palace and other royal residences, and old churches, we returned to the ship. David, Gary, and Meg went on the evening Jazz Cruise.
A motor launch pulled up along side the ship and they were
greeted by four musicians playing jazz on board. Those of us who did not go could hear the music from our verandas and could spot our passengers as they boarded the boat or arrived back from their trip. The one hour cruise around
Copenhagen was truly magical! The musicians were quite good. As the boat motored by,
people were lining the canals in the late afternoon enjoying the end of the day
(most were in their 30's!). Being
right at water level makes the Copenhagen evening quite intimate with a setting
sun. This hour was definitely a nice way to cap off our visit to Copenhagen. Sunset at 9:26 PM.
