Backpacking through Europe in 1994
Day 42 • October 18, 1994
Copenhagen, Denmark
On this day 30 years ago, October 18, 1994, I discovered the beautiful and quaint city of Copenhagen with my friend and host, Camilla, who I had met in Australia five years earlier - but only for one weekend!
She showed me so many amazing things which you will see and read about, however, my favorite had to be seeing The Little Mermaid statue.
Standing on top of the Round Tower in Copenhagen.
The Little Mermaid statue.
My Photographs from today in Copenhagen Denmark
Day 42 / 10-18-94
Copenhagen, Denmark
What a fantastic day!
I arrived in Copenhagen at 9:00 AM where Camilla was waiting for me. I was quite nervous to meet her, because in addition to not knowing how much we both had changed in the last five years, we didn't even have a solid friendship - we only met for one weekend in Australia.
But my fears soon dissipated - she is just as beautiful and friendly as I remember her.
We took a bus back to her co-ed dormitory, where we ate a breakfast of “real” danishes and got reacquainted. About 1:00 we set out to see the city. I climbed the Round Tower {one of the many architectural projects of Christian IV of Denmark. Built as an astronomical observatory in the 17th-century, it is noted for its equestrian staircase, a 7.5-turn corridor, designed for horses and their royal riders, that leads to the observation platform at the top].
We walked along the Strøget, the longest pedestrian thoroughfare in the world. We ate pizza for lunch, walked along the Nyhaven, a fantastically picturesque canal, to the Amalienborg Palace (the Queen’s House), then over to see the statue of the Little Mermaid.
I am amazed how small some of the world's greatest attractions are: this, the Mannequin Piss statue in Brussels, the Mona Lisa, etc.
Then we walked up to the Kastelet, a 17th century fortress turned park where we ate these awesome chocolate covered marshmallow puffs. Then home.
After more talking and a tour of the dorm, we ate a communal dinner with the other people on this floor, which was quite good- not just the food, but meeting the other students.
Then it was off to the biggest theater in Scandinavia, where we watched the movie “Speed” with Camilla's boyfriend Thomas and his two friends Martin and Tor. The theater rocks! It is acoustically perfect, had an enormous screen, awesome seats, and even the floor was carpeted. Afterwards we went to a bar, and then home to bed.
Everything here is so, so, uh, nice. Everyone rides bikes so they have built bike paths as part of the streets, but everyone uses hand signals and the bikes have head and tail lights. The people don't jaywalk, and even the street lights are nice - they turn yellow before turning green as well as before turning red.
My ticket to the Round Tower in Copenhagen.