The last day at a vacation destination: how do you spend it? The way we all travel these days -- quickly taking in ten places in five days, I mean "If It's Tuesday it Must be Belgium" seems positively sleepy-paced! -- the last day is not an issue. Every place has a measured number of hours and you take in all that's there and then you move on. Positively frenetic!
I've been slowing down in recent years. Three days minimum and really, a week is best. A week in the mountains. A week in Athens. A week in Copenhagen. So I have my last day, and that last day is today.
All along, we just wanted to live here for a while. That was surely the goal for the young family and I happily went along. We "saw the sights" during the boat ride and yes, we traveled for a museum yesterday, but that did not take us away from just criss crossing the town for a good walk or a good bakery or a few hours at Tivoli. And we continue in that vein today. No extraordinary goal. Just do with the kids what we would probably do if I were indeed that Copenhagen grandmother, with the young family popping in for the day.
I first go down to breakfast...
And then I walk over for our meetup to the old meatpacking district. Kodbyens, translating to "Meat Town." (Did you know that Copenhagen, now often regarded as the world capital of good design, used to be a gritty industrial town, grim and indifferent to its cultural heritage?) There are really two section to Kodbyens: Den Brune Kodby is the "Brown" district and it is the oldest, built in 1879. but then laws were passed addressing the health crisis and a cholera epidemic, and a new cattle market was built in 1901 -- the Oksenhallen. And in 1930, the White Section (Den hvide Kodby)was constructed. We ate here on Sunday, at the Warpigs brewpub. This section has been described as a "seminal work of functionalist architecture." Dig still deeper and you will learn that there is actually a third part to this district -- Den Goa Kodby, or the "Gray" district, built in 2009. This one is a mix: meatpacking, waiting for a tourist transformation, held up by the fact that there is an ammonia cooling plant here and you know how that's going to slow down any upgrades and reconfiguration!
I walk first through the old Brown District, which just ten minutes down from my hotel...
And I pause at the Oksenhallen, where in its heyday, 1600 cattle were "processed" in a day. A slaughterhouse, right at your front door! Today the hall is used for creative displays.
And now I am crossing over to the White District.
This is where the eateries and art stores and brewpubs have sprung up. In fact, just about a week ago, a new branch of Hart Bakery opened here and we choose it for our meetup spot this morning.
From here we walk to Tivoli. It's really a perfect day for it. Almost warm! Certainly the Danes think it's shortsleeved weather! 20C! (68F) With partly cloudy skies. (It's hard for me to imagine how that ride on top of the tower at Tivoli could be fun! Terrifying is a better description I think.)
(Here's the leaning tower of Juniper...)
Here, we split up for a while. I want to check out the souvenir shop. Not so much for myself, but I am keeping an eye out for the kids back home.
Well, okay, I guess I can spring for a magnet for myself -- this one!
(the flowers of Tivoli)
I catch up with the young family and we watch Primrose and her dad navigate the (not so) treacherous waters of the pond!
Primrose has been begging for cotton candy and on this last day here, she gets her wish.
It's funny to watch Juniper's hesitation. Everything about this food is novel, including the fact that when you put it in your mouth, it disappears. All of us take part in demonstrating that it's safe and fun to eat and finally she is convinced.
And this is where I leave them -- downing threads of pink sugar at Tivoli.
I decide it's worth the hike to go to the Torvehallerne a food market of some repute! Some sights along the way for the sight-hungry reader:
I dont know that I ever skip a market in a new city. It tells you so much about the habits and loves of locals. And this beautiful market is no different.
(red fruits season! my favorite...)
There are indoor stalls, there are outdoor stalls. They're all great.
(fish, lobsters, langoustines... not all are local, but all look fabulously fresh)
What I love so much about European markets and food halls is that they never a short on prepared foods. This is not something we do, even at our fabulous farmers market in Madison. You can't pick up delicious salads, paellas, roasted chickens (no French market is without them), or sea foods and open faced sandwiches -- all prepared for the evolving Danish palate.
(the famous Danish open faced sandwich beautifully presented)
I cannot resist. I buy a plate of "2 seafoods and 1 salad."
With a beer, enjoyed at a table to the side.
(market flowers: dont you think of these as being quintessentially Scandinavian?)
Somewhat fortified, I get ambitious. Perhaps I can visit the department store -- another source of information about local habits and aspirations. On the way, I pass the Round Tower. I've read about it and I understand it offers a good view of the city. Now, I am in no state to climb lots of steps right now. I have today long passed my therapeutic window. But I see that you walk round and round at an incline. No steps, until you're almost at the top! I can do this!
And I'm not sorry I pushed myself. I can rest my knee tomorrow. Even though I wasn't searching for "sights" it's always fun to spontaneously stop at something that strikes your fancy.
(one last look at those flaxen braids...)
I end the walk at the point where my trip here began, that evening when I arrived after all those hours on flights and at different airports. I walked this way for my first dinner in Denmark.
(Even though I am less than half an hour from my hotel, I take the bus home. I'm done with using my leg for now!)
In the evening, I set out toward the neighborhood of the young family. We meet up at Sanchez. This is a place they tried and loved before and they saved it for our last night in Copenhagen. Mexican food, but prepared in a way that you wont easily find back home. My daughter tells me it may well be her favorite eatery anywhere. Perhaps it's a thought that is born of a beautiful evening, but I don't think so.
Everything about the meal is exceptionally yummy and wonderful. And the kids love their tacos, and Juniper adores the cucumber lime drink, and Primrose is delighted with her churro dessert.
A fantastic evening!
I walk back to the hotel deeply satisfied and so very happy with my week with these guys in the city they have grown to love over the years!
One last godnat, with so much love...
