I just got back from 2 weeks in europe.. First stop was København (Copenhagen), Denmark second stop was Stockholm, Sweden. If I had to pick between the two of which I liked better, I would say Copenhagen. Why? Well you would have to go and see for your self. But some of the cool parts are that most of the people there rode bikes instead of driving cars. (Gas was over $8 USD a gallon). It was very interesting seeing all sorts of people riding bikes every where. Men in suits, women in dresses, little kids, etc… The shopping mall even had a parking garage just for bikes.
One interesting point, is that in Copenhagen the bicyclists have the right of way, then pedestrians and then finally cars. Don’t walk in the bike lane unless you want to get yelled at in Danish for being in the way of their bike.
I spent some time at night walking around the city looking at different things. One of the coolest things to do is walk through Strøget which is about 3 streets that make up over a mile of shopping stores. You can find nearly everything in the stores here.
One of the cool “tourist” things to do is take the DFDS canal tours. It is an hour long tour of Copenhagen and the waters around it. You learn a lot about the area during the tour… Some of the things I remember:
- Back years ago when the water became unsafe to drink, beer was brewed for the army men. They were allowed 10 liters a day for consumption
- Hans Christian Anderson was really big there. There is stuff all over with references to him and Den Lil Haurve (The Little Mermaid). Even the TV set in the hotel room had “Mermaid Technology”
One thing that took a little time to get used to was the differences between the US and Denmark for example:
- The toilets all had two flush settings. One was for a “half” flush and the other was a “full” flush. This was cool way to not waste water. There were also urinal’s that were waterless as well.
- It seems heated bathroom floors is a big thing over there. Took me by surprise when I walked in to the bathroom one morning and the ceramic tile was hot.
- Neither of the hotels I stayed in (Denmark and Sweden) had alarm clocks in the room. In Copenhagen, everything was controlled by the TV. You could set an alarm to turn it on and it would turn on and say “Goddag” (Danish for good morning) and then start beeping while displaying a huge clock. The beeping would get louder and louder till you pressed a button on the remote.
- Sense of security. Everyone trusted everyone there. People left their bikes parked where ever they wanted and no chains on them. People would leave their babies/dogs/cats in strollers outside of stores while they were shopping inside.
- The Danish seemed to be rather helpful and most of them spoke english better than some american’s I know.
- If you are flying to another Nordic country, you are only allowed to have one checked bag.. (that one cost me like $90 USD for an extra bag)
- Stuff is extremely expensive. While I was there it was about 1USD to 5 DKK. I ate at the Hard Rock Cafe one night and the meal I had there was about $54 USD. Whereas in the US it would have been about $19 or so at most.
I did get to see the changing of the guards on Sunday morning at the Royal Palace. That was pretty cool, but it took for ever. The changing of the guards at the Swedish Royal Palace was a little cooler as they had the Swedish Air Force Band play.
Which leads me to Sweden. I could probably compare it to a US city. There was not an abundance of bikes like in Copenhagen, there were more cars there. Sweden was also expensive with about 1USD being 7SKK. My dinner one night was about 300:- (:- is an abbr for SKK like $ is an abbr for USD). One of the coolest things I saw was the Vasa. It is a ship that was built in the 1600′s and on it’s maiden voyage it sunk after only 1600M. The Vasa Museum is a place you should really check out if you are ever there, and admission is only 80,00:- ($11). I could have spent hours in the museum looking at all the stuff that was there (it is a 7 or 8 floor museum).
Another place to see is the Old Town section on Gamla Stan. There is a section of the island that has stone roads with shops that line it with anything you can think of.. A couple of good restaurants are Glenfiddich (Västerlånggatan 68, Stockholm) (known for their single malt scotch, which btw cost over $25 for 4 cl). This was the first time I had Grilled Reindeer steak. It was served med rare, which is a little under cooked for my tastes, but if you put that aside it was good. The second restaurant Restaurang Michelangelo at Västerlånggatan 62 and had probably the best calazone I have had in a whle.
Well since I am still a little jet lagged from the 6 hour difference flying back, I think I am going to end this with:
Godnat. Ja skriv flere senere.
Travel
Travel
