As we walked along the Kanal street, we found a square with a National theater on one side and a small fair of food stalls from different European countries. We found a Spanish stall with paella and different meats and the people actually seemed to be Spanish. The predominant item for sale in the market was cheese in different shapes, sizes, and smells from France, Italy, Holland, and other countries. We walked around the square a bit and sampled some of the foods. We weren't terribly hungry because we ate lunch at a Chinese take away where we saw a bunch of locals lined up. We figured the lack of tourists meant it was probably a good place to eat so we gave it a whirl. I think outside of China, there must be a generic formula for Chinese food that reads something like combine tasteless brown rice, fried nothingness, top it with a mysterious red sauce or overly salty soy sauce, put it in a box and serve. From the market, we headed up towards the Nyhavn Street that seem to be on every postcard you see from Copenhagen.
The area is famous for its 17th and 18th century brightly colored houses that line the street all the way to the harbor. It has a ton of old wooden ships(seem to be abandoned) that line the docks and apparently there are tons of places to entertain yourself there. We walked all the way down to the harbor but only found overpriced restaurants trying to lure us in with their food. Some of the people who dine here are so intent on sitting outside at these restaurants in the cold that they bring their own blankets or use ones supplied by the restaurant to keep warm. The inlet exists because an old king had prisoners build a canal to connect to the other canals in the city. The modern Danish government simply put a huge anchor at the end of the street to honor the people who serve in the Navy. So thoughtful. After exploring this area, we noticed that not so much time had passed and our desire to get to warm Spain and get rid of our luggage was making the day excruciatingly long.
After visiting the harbor, we wandered through some side streets and found ourself in the middle of a palace complex called Amalienborg Palace. It consists of four different palaces built in the 18th century to commemorate the rise of the royal family in Denmark. One of the main palaces is called Frederick VIII's Palace and it stands at the center of Frederiksstaden, the district of the city that surrounds the palaces. The statue at the center is of King Frederik V and was finished a few years after his death. This statue is the starting point for a march that ends in the changing of the guard around noon. From the palaces, we walked out to the harbor and walked along it in the rain. There's a good view of the Opera house and its terrible design and the bridge from Sweden to Denmark. The fountain is called the Gefion Fountain and features animals pulling the Norse goddess Gefjion. It currently serves as a wishing well and a nice place to see over into the star shaped island that was once used as a military base. We finished our walk at the Marble Church, another piece from the era of commemorating 300 years of Danish Royalty. The foundation stone was set on Halloween of 1749 and should make it eerie that the church plans were discarded and it wasn't completed on schedule. It later sat in ruins for 150 years until someone came along and finished it with limestone near the end of the 19th century. We were so tired and cold that we had a small nap sitting in the church. As busy as the day may sound, it was still only three in the afternoon at this point and the lengthy day trudged on. We passed some time in a coffee shop and finally decided to just head back to our hosts' apartment for dinner. We don't have any photos of where she took us later that evening.
There is a portion of Copenhagen known as Christiansand. It's a haven of modern day hippies and those who don't want any part of the EU system. The people there have taken over a part of the city that was once left for ruins and have made it their home. You are free to walk around and explore it but they don't like you taking pictures so we don't have any. The place is full of big buildings and the people seem to be trying a utopian society project. They don't work, don't pay taxes, but do reap some of the benefits of the Danish system. There are signs up saying you are now entering the EU or leaving the EU. They have waterfront property and tons of places to hang out. Our host told us the police don't come in here and the government tries to pretend that the place doesn't exist. You can buy and sell hash there even though its illegal in the rest of the country. They have their own rules and abide by them since the government stays out of the way. It seems kind of intimidating to be there but the people never bothered us nor gave any indication that they would. We went back to her place, had dinner, and tried to get some sleep before our much awaited return to Spain. We will put up some pictures soon of our new neighborhood and home.
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