Last Day In Denmark - Do We Have To Leave?

We had a spare day at the end of our trip to act as a cushion in case our return to Copenhagen was delayed. We did this so we would not miss our flight but it also gave us a day of leisure to wander around Copenhagen to places we had not yet been to or places we wanted to explore more in depth.

Click on any picture to see them full size - they are that much more impressive!  :)

One of those places was the National Museum Of Denmark located only a few blocks from our hotel. This was our first stop of the day and we spent a few hours wandering around the exhibits that started with the Dawn of Mankind as our distant relatives came to life (Home Erectus) and were replaced by the Neanderthals and they in turn replaced by Cro-Magnon people approx 35,000 years ago.

The Cro-Magnon people were able hunters and reindeer hunting (the skeleton above is of an old reindeer species) brought them to Denmark 35,000 years ago.

Also on the hunter's dinner plate were Aurochs that are now extinct;I was surprised to learn that the last Auroch died in Jaktorow Forest in Poland in 1637....I thought they would have become extinct thousands of years ago.These massive beasts were the ancestors of today's modern cattle.

We walked through the museum gaining in historical time as we did....Cro-Magnon people were replaced Viking raiders....then by sea going people and farmers...pretty civilized all in all...  :)

This is a great museum and the displays are well done and well organized as to step the visitor through the history of mankind as it relates to Denmark. I would go back here and spend more time if I could.

We next visited the Round Tower just a block off the Stroget and almost out of site from the main pedestrian thorough fare. I have to admit I've walked along the Stroget numerous times and not noticed the Tower.

The tower was built in the 17th century as an observatory and today still functions as same, making this the oldest functioning observatory in Europe.

A smooth ramp winds its way up and around the inside of the tower until you eventually reach what was the Library. It is said that Hans Christian Andersen often visited the library and found inspirations for his work here.

On last set of steps leads you up to the top floor of the observatory, that were the telescopes are housed under a wooden roof with shutter doors that open so you watch the heavens above.

Back down the short flight of stairs and outside on the observation deck you can get a 360 degree few of Copenhagen. The city's skyline is a mixed view; steeples from churches hundreds of years old mix in with modern buildings and industrial cranes that are adding steel and concrete together to make more modern buildings. One thing is for sure....a city never stops growing.

Back on the ground we explored small side streets that led off the Stroget; we had no place exactly where we wanted to go...we were just wandering around looking at the art work on the buildings and the numerous water fountains we came across.

Eventually Annette remembered that Christiansborg Slot, or Palace, was only three blocks away from were we happened to be. We have visited the Palace once before but just a quick walk around - this time we went in and took our time exploring the Palace.

 As usual with Palaces it was exquisite and wonderful and extravagant and all those other things that leave you in awe of the opulence of the ruling people.

I won't post a whole lot of palace pictures as I could fill a blog post alone on Christiansborg Slot.

After visiting the palace it was getting late in the day and Annette and I were ready for an early dinner before we headed back to our hotel. Ken and Linda still had a few more horse power in them and they left us to go off and explore the city a bit more before they headed back as well.

Annette and I found an upscale restaurant close to Tivoli Gardens and had a good but pricey meal as our last dinner in Denmark.

B

Back in our efficient little room at the Wakeup Copenhagen on Carsten Neibuhrs Gade we read for a while and enjoyed the city skyline from a high vantage point.

Before you could say "Vi ses næste gang" (see you next time) we were at the now familiar Københavns Lufthavn waiting for our flight to be called and wondering how three weeks had gone so fast.
We had mixed emotions getting on the plane...we love Copenhagen and had tremendous fun exploring Denmark by car and visiting new cities for the first time and exploring deeper into those cities we had been to before on our previous trip.

For me, most of all, I was thrilled to meet my "extended" family on Aero and was very touched by the warm welcome they extended to these unknown foreigners from across the ocean.

I found out later that we Canadians represented two brothers that the families back home had lost track of when the brothers left the Americas and headed to Canada to homestead.
Nice to know that we completed the circle for the families by having the descendants of those brothers return home.

I can't overstate how thankful we are to the families on Aero for allowing us into their homes and lives, if only for a few hours.....tak fra vores hjerter

The above pictures and many more from our last day in Copenhagen can be found here on my Flickr web site

Europe 2015 - Cruising into Alesund Norway

Alesund is on Norway's rugged west coast where the high peaks of the Sunnmore Alps drop suddenly in the steep fjords of the Norwegian Sea. This was to be our all "norwegian" portion of our European holiday; we were onboard the Norwegian Star operated by Norwegian Cruise Lines sailing the Norwegian Sea on the west coast of Norway...that's a lot of Norwegian !.....or should I say "det er mye av Norsk" !
(The Norwegians in the audience will appreciate that).  :)

As I stated before in previous posts, sometimes the damp Spring weather hangs around a little longer in Northern Europe. This is the view we had when we woke up and peeked out our port hole window to see what the city looked like. Oh well, grab the umbrellas and the overcoats, we'll need them for the day.

We, the visitors from British Columbia on the the west coast of Canada, were amazed at how similar the the topography and the colours of the area were to the rugged West Coast of BC. Looking at the above picture, I can tell you I've visited a dozen coast cities and villages in B.C. that look just like the shores of Alesund. This picture could have been taken on Vancouver Island or further north at Prince Rupert on the BC coast.

The difference being of course the architecture and the structure of the cities is different in the downtown area but not so dissimilar in the suburbs.

 
  Like all good tourists we know the best thing to do is grab the Hop On - Hop Off bus for a tour of the highlights of the city. So that's just what we did....

 
First stop was a viewpoint on Mt. Aksla, a small mountain peak within the city limits, from here you are provided a great view of the surrounding city. Alesund has approx 48,000 residents spread out over seven islands some of which are connected by undersea tunnels, one of which is close to two miles long

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The city clings to the edge of the mountains when land is sparse and takes full advantage of any flay land it can find. *** Click on the pictures to see them full size....the one above is absolutely gorgeous in full screen mode.  ***

One of the tourist areas we visited was the Sunnmore Museum just outside of town; here they have collected over 50 traditional buildings and arranged them in such a way so that a self-guided walking tour starts you with the oldest buildings, from 400 years ago, to the latest ones from 100 years ago that don't look so different than some of the ones we would see on our cruise of the fjords.

As Norway is a traditional sea going country it stands to reason that many of the early structures revolved around fishing. The building in the picture above is typical of a fisherman's house at the edge of the water. The inlet seen in the background is the location of the original settlement of Alesund where commercial trading vessels in the year 1,000 AD would come to port to trade with the residents of the area. Even before then, Viking ships plied these waters. Older than the Vikings are the remnants of buildings from the Medieval Age of the this thriving port city Archaeological excavations are happening on these ancient building sites and the public is welcome to come and visit the excavations as part of the museum's out reach to the city's residents.

Here is an adoring fact about building construction in the old days......houses were built on rock platforms and wooden stilts so that the large Norway rats could not get into the buildings.housing the food stores. Norway rats are large and cannot jump like other species, so the stairs leading up to the door always had a large gap between the top step and the door sill. The rock leg supports were topped with a large flat rock that the rats could not climb up and around to enter from the support legs.

After the tour we returned to the city and had time to walk around the harbour part of town. Most of the town was burnt to the ground in a 1904 - the town was rebuilt in the art noveau style of the time and remains as one of Scandinavia's most complete and harmonious towns.

Trolls are big in Norway, we never did get a clear answer on why that is, perhaps we will have to go back and find out.  :)  You see them in every city, they come in sizes small, large, extra small and extra large! They are also one of the main items on the shelf in the tourist shops.

Alesund is one of Norway's main cod fishing centres but when oil was discovered in the Norwegian Sea in the 1970s many enterprising fisherman changed their ships to be supply vessels for the lucrative oil business. Even though the city seems to be an outpost on the far shores of Norway, there is money here and you can see it in the buildings and the vehicles on the streets and the expensive pleasure craft in the harbour.

 The day went fast and soon it was time to walk back to our ship passing the Alesund Church on the way. This Medieval looking church was also destroyed in the 1904 fire and rebuilt to look like it belongs in the 11th century.

We sailed out of the inner harbour at dinner time, past new houses perched on rocky coves that brought images of a typical Cape Breton scene...except we were several thousand miles away to the east and a whole bunch of latitude degrees to the north. Other than that it was exactly the same !  LOL

 
One of the local fire boats came out to provide a nautical send off and wish a bon voyage. The water cannons performed a water ballet reminiscent of something right out of a Las Vegas hotel night time display. This small act of class was appreciated by the guests on board and even the crew appreciated the showing as it was an honour for a departing ship to receive this kind of send off. We played the decadent tourists and dined on shrimp, steak, and tasty side dishes as we watched the changing scenery float past the dining room windows.

After dinner we went back to the room to freshen up and found tonight's creation waiting for us on the bed......he was so cute! At least I know now where my sunglasses went.

Personally, I thought this one was a lot cuter!  Hope they are not talking about me behind my back....

Tomorrow is Geiranger, a small town at the head of the Geiranger Fjord. It's a spectacular sight, one which makes you appreciate the sheer size of nature and the smallness of yourself.

You may see all of the Alesund pictures here on my Flickr site... 
If you liked the story comment below, it's always neat to read the reviews.
 

Denmark 2015 - Last Day In Copenhagen And Then Set Sail For Norway

After leaving the Island of Aero and our new found cousins we had one day more to explore Copenhagen before our cruise left for the fjords of Norway.
This short chapter shows our last visit to a restaurant and pictures taken as we left Copenhagen harbour aboard our ship.

CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO SEE ALL THE PICTURES FULL SIZE

So, one of the first things we had to do was go to Cafe Norden so Ken could visit this iconic restaurant where one of his beloved characters in a novel eats whenever he visits Copenhagen.
We meandered around on the Stroget visiting corners of the neighbourhood we had not yet explored on previous visits until Ken's stomach told him it was time for lunch. OK, here we go folks, the highlight of Ken's day...off to Cafe Norden. In the picture above Ken is proudly holding up a beer with the Cafe Norden logo on the glass, and the Cafe Norden menu.....pretty sure he would have stolen the menu if he thought he could get away with it.

Ed settled for a Fanta Orange as his fave Pepsi is not always available in fine dining establishments.

 Yes, this was as filling as it looks....both Ken and I had these and it took all of our manly will power to finish the meal. The food was pretty good and we paid a pretty good price for the meal as well. For two burgers and a beer and a drink we paid $90.00. Double the price of back home in Canada for the same type of meal. No worries though, we were on holidays and money is there to spend to help you enjoy the trip.

A selfie for Linda and Ken....

A selfie for Ed and Annette, then off for a walkabout before we head back to the hotel for the night.

Here is our cabin on the Norwegian Star of Norwegian Cruise Lines; we always like to have an outside cabin so we can see the scenery as we cruise past and we love to wake up and open the curtains to see the new city we have just arrived at.

It's only May in Northern Europe and Winter won't quite go away to let the warm Spring arrive, so I don't think the water slides will see much action on this trip.

Inside we found the usual fanciness of a cruise ship atrium; due to the ports of call we would make, namely in tight fjords, the ship chosen for the trip was a smaller vessel which provided a certain amount of comfortableness with it's smaller size.

  

As we waited to depart numerous smaller cargo vessels came into dock reminding us that Copenhagen is a central hub for commerce.

Our destinations lay out to sea, past the wind turbines that are as common as diesel cars in Scandinavia.

First day at sea and we are already playing shuffle board....this could be a long trip folks.  :)

 After dinner we ambled down to the show theater to watch the entertainment for the night. They had a variety style of shows over the week....acrobats, tumblers, sing and dance shows by the talented NCL singers, and a couple of stand alone singers. 

And of course there is the requisite animal waiting on our beds courtesy of the turn down service.

One day at sea and then the first stop is on the horizon...Alesund Norway!