Our Trip to Copenhagen

This past weekend, to conclude our visa application saga, SAAB sent our family to Denmark.  It turns out that Denmark isn’t only home to Hamlet and Legos. Copenhagen can also claim the closest Swedish Embassy branch outside of Sweden. If there’s anything better than being able to take a weekend trip in Europe, it’s being able to take a weekend trip on the company dime and not having to use any vacation time! Technically a business trip for Matthew, we made our appointment with the Embassy, booked a hotel, and fueled up the car. After our obligatory hour at the Embassy where we presented our passports to prove to the Swedish Migration Services office that we had indeed left the country, the weekend was ours!

We arrived in Denmark via the impressive Øresund Bridge, the longest road and rail bridge in Europe which connects Copenhagen and Malmö.

Like good tourists we walked through the city, cameras in hand snapping pictures of every gargoyle and oxidized copper roof or statue we saw. Like Floridians, we pulled our coats closer and scarves tighter to brace against the blustery winds brutally cold from the inner harbor. Like shell-shocked Jönköping -ians, we ogled the size of the city, much larger than we’ve grown accustomed to over the past three months.

Stumbled upon Occupy Copenhagen

We saw the famous street in Legos and as the real deal.

Found a Lego that looks like me!  What are the odds?

We had a full agenda, starting with a boat tour of the canals and history of the city.

The Little Mermaid

Our tour boat went through lots of low bridges

We toured Copenhagen’s National Museum, Denmark's largest museum of Archaeology and cultural (both Danish and foreign) history. Sadly, we barely made a dent in the free attraction’s vast collection, but I was equally impressed with the curator’s imaginative displays of history and the interactive children’s museum. 

Taking her friends around the museum

Look! An elk!

1.8 kg of solid gold. I'd wear that.

Children's Museum!

In the ship's cabin

She actually wanted to take a nap in the ship's bunk!

Mummies!

Matthew managed to squeeze in not one, but two, trips to the Carlsberg brewery where he observed the largest collection of bottled beer and brought home a couple of souvenirs for himself.

Copenhagen has the two oldest amusement parks in the world. Our hotel was literally across the street from the world-famous Tivoli Gardens.  Tivoli Gardens opened in August of 1843 and claims the oldest operating roller coaster and the oldest Ferris wheel in the world. In addition to the carnival style food and thrilling rides, we also enjoyed the fabulous display of Christmas lights in the park, decorated in the theme of a Russian Christmas.

Matt wanted to ride the really scary swings!

On our way back to Sweden, we indulged my literary curiosity and stopped in Helsingør, more popularly known as Elsinore, the setting of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Helsingør, as it currently stands, was founded in the 1420s by the Danish king Eric of Pomerania. He built the castle 'Krogen', which was expanded in the 1580s, renamed Kronborg and is now the main tourist attraction.

I don’t want to disagree with Marcellus, but as far as I could tell there is nothing rotten in the state of Denmark. We really had a wonderful time! Now back in Sweden, today marks our 90^th day in the European Union. Our visas were approved just in time to avoid deportation; we’re now halfway through our stay and preparing to introduce the Thanksgiving Holiday to SAAB.