Wonderful Copenhagen

I've been up since about 2:30 this morning, which is 8:30 Germany time. This is going to take some time to adjust.

Our Internet availability was hit or miss, especially once we got to Dusseldorf so updating the blog was impossible. Plus, we weren't in our room that much either. So I'll start the vacation slide show in a couple of parts, starting with Copenhagen, "wonderful Copenhagen," an epitat that comes from Hans Christian Anderson according to our colorful (literally, she was wearing a knee-length red coat, red gloves, and a white hat--Denmark colors) tour guide. She was a trip!

We got in to Copenhagen on Sunday afternoon after an uneventful flight. After settling into our room and cleaning up a bit, we hit the streets. Our hotel, a recommendation from the customer D was meeting with, was on a fairly quiet street of galleries and auction houses and just around the corner from the French, Swedish, and Swiss embassies. We actually weren't too far from Amalienborg Castle either we discovered the next day. Champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries were delivered to our room--a romantic touch that D thought of, but forgot about after finding out that #3 was on the way. Whoops! (I had a little bit of bubbly; I had too! And all the strawberries!)

That night we walked down to Nyhavn, the harbor street with restaurants and shops. It, along with much of the city, was decorated for "Jul" with greenery and lights. It looked just like the picture that's been my computer wallpaper for the past weeks. D soon bought a wool hat from a vendor there! Sexy! We walked along the Stogart which is the largest pedestrian shopping street anywhere (they say) and found an outdoor international food "festival". Tents were set up with breads, pastries, cheeses, and sausages to buy along with other foods being cooked right there. Being the cheapies that we are and after walking around smelling so many good things, we decided to make our dinner right there. We ate troflette (sp?) from a French vendor; it's sliced potatoes with creme fraiche, bacon, cheese, and onions (how could you go wrong?!) cooked on a giant skillet. Then we moved to the bratwurst grill from Holstein (biggest bratwurst I've ever had) and then for dessert tiny Dutch pancakes hot off the grill and doused in powered sugar. Before we left in search of coffee, we got these warm, sweet almonds in a paper bag to eat as we walked back to the hotel.

Monday morning we walked back to the city center, past Tivoli (weird--now we know why they come to Disney) and picked up a tour bus to take us around the city. If it had been warmer, maybe we would have walked it, but this was the way to see the most of the city when the temp is 9 C. But at least it was sunny, clear, and not windy. We saw the changing of the guard as Amalienborg Castle and saw the Queen's sister, Princess Benedict, knock on the door. (She's like 65 or so but R thought seeing a princess was cool). We did see the Little Mermaid at the harbor which is a bit of a joke because there is absolutely nothing else there but this statue in the water. They love their Hans Christian Anderson though. Saw more pretty buildings and got a bit of the local color and history of the town.

That night we met D's customer for dinner. He drove us around the city in his Maserati and we saw his fitness clubs and D talked business. Then he took us to dinner at the oldest, fanciest hotel in the city. I ate tornedo with grilled foie gras in a mushroom reduction and assorted onions. D had veal with artichoke puree and risotto with truffle sauce. I also managed to get down two bites of the pate on my starter plate. The chocolates afterward were heavenly!!

Wednesday morning it was rainy and windy. We were going to shop for our souvenirs for the kids but after dashing through the cold rain we hit the first gift shop we saw and just bought anything we thought they would like! Then it was lunch with the customer. D drank the tallest beer I've ever seen (he's not a big drinker but he did it!) and had to try Akavidit, a drink made from distilled potato and other grains and is 40% alcohol. D said it tasted like the medicine he had to take has a kid but without the grape or cherry flavor. Bit of a buzz too! Our lunch was a bit weird and very heavy but again, the petit fors and chocolates were fabulous. Then on to the airport and our flight to Dusseldorf!