to Copenhagen

The trouble with pausing somewhere en route overnight is that you feel like you are traveling for a full three days. But in the end, I do not regret the Reykjavik stopover (we will return for a longer stay on our way back). Snowdrop loved her first walk through the town. It was a good beginning. Nonetheless, on this morning, we are destined to set the alarm early so that we can grab a quick breakfast at 7 and be in a cab by 7:30. Our flight to Copenhagen -- her second chosen city -- takes off at 10:30.

Of course, the confusion of night and day here is even greater for us because it is mid-June and we are so far north that it never does get dark at night. Sunset was at 11:58 p.m. and sunrise was at 2:59 a.m. and in between there was dusk or predawn or whatever you would call the uncommitted hours that are anything but dark. We loved it! Neither of us wanted to draw the curtains totally (Snowdrop pulls down a mask if she thinks it's too bright). And both of us slept like logs. We were that tired.

When I got up, just before 6, the sun was streaming on the bed. Iceland will have a uniquely sunny Friday. That is so rare here, that I expect everyone who is not at work or at school will be out and about for a total Vitamin D infusion! 

(view out our window)

 

 

We're in the breakfast room two minutes early. 

 

 

 

Snowdrop is in high spirits and she is hungry for their pancakes, salmon, and watermelon!

 

(Leaving the hotel)

 

 

And by 7:25 we are on our way, in the chariot of gold. (Why that label? Well, it costs that much to cab it to the airport. But we have little choice. There is no other rapid, early or convenient way to get there.) 

We take in the scenery: again the lupines, the waterfront, the mountains. 

 

 

 

The girl speculates if there is a place in the US that offers these views, this climate. I tell her maybe Minnesota? Maybe I should try Minnesota... She often falls in love with places we visit and speculates if maybe she could live there as an adult. (She did this even at the age of 4, in Belfast, trying to convince us that this was her choice place to move to after finishing school. Belfast!)

The check-in is smooth, the flight is on time. 

Three hours and two time zones later, we are in Denmark. 

We take a cab. It's one-fourth the price of the one in Reykjavik. Definitely a relief, especially since the hotel choice is a real splurge for me. We are at the Nimb, which has this very, very important virtue: it is positioned right inside the Tivoli Gardens. 

(the hotel's whimsical Moorish palace-esque facade, built more than 100 years ago, now decked with Scandinavian-esque interiors...)

Ever since she read about Tivoli (in another World War II book, this one set in Denmark), Snowdrop has been longing to see, to experience this very famous, very traditional amusement park. [Tivoli is the second oldest in the world theme park, opening its gates in mid 19th century. The world's oldest is also in Denmark; you'd need to add a few hundred years more to its age, but Tivoli is by far the more famous one. It inspired Disney when he traveled here in 1951. Now, it inspires Danes and visitors alike.] The Nimb hotel comes with free Gardens access and free passes for all the rides, which I suppose lessens the punch of the cost somewhat, but I am not a rides person, so it will be just her spinning and riding whatever is there.

The Nimb room is lovely.

And here's something that is unusual and so very welcome: the weather in Copenhagen for the four days we are here is exceptional: partly cloudy, mid to upper 60sF (18-20C). We may get a shower. I'll take a shower one afternoon over the more typical daily rain that comes and goes here without any announcement.

We have an hour before dinner. Would you like to take a first walk through the Gardens? -- I ask her. Oh yes, she would!

And her cup runneth over when I let her do one round on the merry-go-round. Definitely not the most exciting ride here, but she loves it!

 

 

 

 

 

(I, of course, like Tivoli because it is not just crazy asphalted commercialism. It has a gentler style. There are plenty of eateries, of the kind where you sit down and linger, and of course, there are flowers everywhere!)

 

 

We eat an early 6 p.m. dinner at the Nimb Brasserie. 

(she picks the fish and fries from the kid's menu, but we start off with appetizers (we are hungry!) and she opts for the mussels once again. She gets a pot-ful! 

 

 

For us this dinner is super early, because Copenhagen is two hours ahead of Reykjavik, but I wasn't sure if we would want to head out to eat far away after just arriving in the city. Too, we did not have a proper lunch. And yet another reason to be cautious about this evening and the next one as well:  there is this other element to staying at the Nimb that some may regard as a virtue, but I'm not so sure it is for us -- there are concerts and shows, both in the park and at the hotel on weekend nights. One starts when we are eating dinner. This particular vocalist appears to be immensely popular among young Danes, especially the young women. As Snowdrop and I stroll through the Gardens after dinner, I tell her that she will never again see so many shades of blonde in one place again.

 

 

 

 

 

She had said she'd forgo dinner dessert if she could just have an ice cream cone and cotton candy in the park tonight. Both?? -- I want to confirm what I'm hearing. 

Both. 

(I join in on the ice cream: they have black currant! what could be better during a Scandinavian summer?!)

And the music plays, and the sun is lower now -- it sets here two hours earlier than in Reykjavik, and as we return to the room, I'm wondering if we should stay up for the fireworks, or go to sleep early, or none of the above. I feel the need to not hand out too many yeses. And yet, why not? Why not just watch her joy and allow it to rub off a little?

We go inside. I want to unpack, we need to tidy things up in the room. The resident peacock wants to show off one last time for us and we are just fine with that!

with so much love...