Notes From The Travel Journal--Copenhagen Part One

While my younger brother currently lives in Copenhagen with his wife, they're contemplating a move to the states. It seemed silly to let them leave without visiting! So on December 30, we met up with my mom at Logan, enjoyed some wine, then boarded an overnight plane to Denmark. Let the adventures begin!

We arrived on the last day of the year, dazed and confused from our sleepless night and early morning stopover in Reykjavik. But they gathered us up and off we went to their neighborhood, Fredericksburg (you'll have to excuse any spelling errors). We dropped our bags at Glenn's Airbnb then made the short walk to their apartment for some DANISH OPEN FACED SANDWICHES, a demand Simon had declared prior to our arrival. A Danish tradition of dark rye bread and toppings such as frikedeller (meatballs) with pickled onions and remoulade. Smorrebrod carries with it strict traditions around recipes and consumption, so be careful if the Queen is about. 

Fireworks galore for New Years Eve. This cant be overstated. Fireworks for HOURS. Literally everyone sets them off from the stoops of their city apartments, street corners, and parks from sunset (3:30ish) until around 2am. It was quite a show. We toasted 2016 with some champagne by the lakes then gave into jet lag as the bursts diminished.

We celebrated New Years with a canal tour on a boat designed to easily glide under the low-slung stone canal bridges. I always think seeing a new city from the water is a good way to get the lay of the land. Plus it was the balmiest day there; we sat on the outside portion of the boat for most of the tour. Traditional Danish "polsers" (hot dogs) followed before we roamed back to our home away from home for surprisingly excellent pizzas (that I BIKED to pick up...for the record, one can forget how to ride a bike) and game after game of Pete's new favorite, Qwixx.

We quickly fell in love with Copenhagen. It feels quaint even though it isn't small. I loved the cobblestone and brick streets and the classic European squares that for some reason, American cities lack. More to come as we pile into the "Ka" for adventures outside our new favorite city!