Denmark Day 3 and 4

A few observations about Denmark.

Denmark and Scandinavia in general is very expensive.  A simple sandwich will cost at least $15.  The high prices are in part due to the highest tax rate in the world  @25%.  Buying a car is even higher tax rate - closer to 50%.  Public transportation is really quite expensive as well.  We took the train 7 zones (probably 30 miles) and for the 4 of us the price was $86 one-way.  There is a 5-mile bridge connecting Denmark to Sweden however just to drive across one-way will cost about $40.  

Most people ride bikes.  I have never seen so many bikes on the road, parked in front of every shop, school, business, etc.  What a healthy lifestyle!     

Schools.  Children start primary school around 4 years old and stay with the same class through 10th grade (although it's not called 10th grade).  They do not have the same grading concept as in US, no grades are given really during these years.  Secondary schools and universities are mostly all government funded including a monthly allowance for living expenses.  More than 80% of the Danes take advantage of the secondary education opportunities.  Free college, what a great idea.

We spent Sunday browsing threw several historical sites in Copenhagen.  

These include:

Amalienborg Castle 

There are 4 separate residential areas.  The Queen lives in one and the Crown Prince lives in one.  Not sure about the other 2.

The changing of the guards happens at noon

Jason Stege, Christy (Stege's mom), Ella, Heidi and Jason G waiting for the guard changing

Shift change

Our cute little tour guide Elliot - he is such a great traveler and the girls have loved spending time with him.

Ella waiting for the change of the guards .. while practicing karate

The Little Mermaid statue which was dedicated to HC Anderson's famous story.

This statue has lost it's head 4 times, arms and been vandalized on numerous occasions.  It sits right next to the land but I read that they may move it further out to avoid future problems.

The Rosenborg Castle 

Built in the 1600s and houses some of the Danish Royal jewels among them the crown jewels

We also got a chance to eat some of the local food which includes Danish style sausage and open face sandwiches (yes mom ..plenty of pictures to come)

On Monday, we managed to sleep in a little, repack and do a little leisurely shopping (not much buying).  Jason took a trip to the local police station in hopes that we could retrieve Ella's Nintendo DSI which she left on the plane coming in.  Apparently, all lost and found items from the airlines are turned over to the local police.  Unfortunately it was not there (yet) but we're still hopeful that it will be shipped back to us in Austin.

Late afternoon we caught a one hour flight from Copenhagen to Berlin to begin the Germany tour.

Good bye Denmark!  I hope to see you again someday.

Denmark Day 2

On Saturday we were all awake by 6a.  The summer days are 17 hours and 30 minutes long with the sun dawning at 3:30 in the morning.   So it's a little tough to go to bed and sleep in.  We spent the morning checking out the shopping area (Stroget Street) and taking a Canal tour which was really a great way to see the city.  

Ella was enamored by the street performers

Stroget Street

Wonderful berries and grapes sold on the street .. the girls loved this

These boats are very long and narrow and fit underneath very short bridges

 The young guide on our boat gave the tour information in 3 languages: German, Danish and English.  It was fun just listening to her we were all very impressed.  I really wish that I knew more than just one language .. it really would have come in handy here.

Picture of The Amalienborg Palace from the water.   The Royal Danish family live here in the winter.

Ice cream is universally good!

The Stege's joined us on the site seeing after lunch

The Church of our Saviour - 400 steps to the top (we didn't count)

 Saturday night we traveled by train to Lillerod, a short ride outside of Copenhagen, to visit our friends Stig and Eva Hansen and family.  The Hansen's lived in Austin in 2001 (and 2002?) while Stig was on a temporary assignment for work.  At the time they lived next door to me, Mindy, Drew and Brodie.  Drew and their youngest daughter Alina are very close in age and spent many afternoons playing together.  We haven't seen them since 2003 so it was great to reconnect again now.

Eva organized a wonderful dinner and we enjoyed catching up with the entire family.

Hans and his girlfriend Marikka

Ella is still talking about how she loved Eva's meatballs!

Drew and Alina catching up

Elderberry flowers grow wild in Denmark and are used to make a wonderful juice that tastes great with strawberries.  These were found in the forest behind the Hansen house.

Ella found a new friend Fricka

 Stig, Eva, Morten (Lise's boyfriend), Alina (all grown up!), Drew, Ella, Lise, Jason, Anji, Marikka, and Hans

We really enjoyed listening to all of these young, ambitious students.  I know they were such a great influence on Drew and Ella.

We also watched home videos of Drew and Alina putting on a dance show and Brodie at his 8th birthday at the skating rink.  So funny!

Time to signoff, the sun is going down at 11p so I better try and get some sleep.

Denmark Day 1

We left Austin on Thursday and arrived in Copenhagen 18 hours later at 1p on Friday. We all managed to get a few hours of sleep on the plane.  We checked in at the Hotel Carlton Guldsmeden (which means Dragonfly) and quickly claimed our sleeping spots. (yea ..this didn't quite work out)

View from our hotel

 The temperature in Copenhagen is high 60s so we changed into warmer clothes and headed to the Tivoli Gardens about a 10 minute walk from our hotel.  Tivoli is an amusement park that is said to be the inspiration for Disneyworld.

Yes, I regretted this ride.

There is one of the oldest wooden roller coasters from 1914 called  Rutschabanen (translated to 'The Roller Coaster') which turned out to be our favorite ride.  One surprising thing Drew and I found interesting for an amusement park is that there were many girls and women dressed in high heels with jeans, skirts or whatever.  Not what you really expect to see getting on a roller coaster.  Oh well .. they looked good!


We have found the Danes to be very nice and welcoming.  Danish is spoken everywhere however they are taught English starting at a very young age and do not hesitate to switch dialects when needed. 

 

Let's Roll

Practicing for the long flight ahead. 9 hours to London Heathrow then another 2 to Copenhagen.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:W Airfield-Braniff Dr,Grapevine,United States

The Day Before

Hi, Anji here.  Never have written a blog before but I'll give this a try.  Tomorrow, our family is leaving for a 15-day trip to Europe.


Here's where we'll be heading:


6/24-6/27 Copenhagen, Denmark  - 3 nights
6/27-6/30 Berlin, Germany - 3 nights
6/30-7/2 Bamberg, Germany - 2 nights
7/2-7/3 Munich, Germany - 1 night
7/3-7/4 CPL Overnight Train to Rome, Italy
7/5-7/9 Rome, Italy -5 nights


This will definitely be an adventure!  I'll do my best to keep you posted.