Baltic Adventure - Day 1

Copenhagen, Denmark

Tuesday, June 22, 2004: Copenhagen, Denmark

Our Baltic Adventure finally began after months of planning and frantic last minute packing. Debra and I departed from our home in Santa Clarita, California, headed for Los Angeles International Airport at the wee hours of the morning of June 21st.

In Oregon, my parents, Delmer & Frankie, were doing the same. Some 24+ hours later -- after plane changes in Chicago, a nearly missed connection for my parents in Washington, D.C., more plane changes in Dusseldorf, Germany, for me and Deb -- we would all meet up together in the lobby of our hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark. The trip had only just begun, but we were already exhausted. So we were happy to check into our rooms at First Hotel Vesterbro.

It was only mid-day on Tuesday -- Day 1 of our Baltic Adventure -- and I have always liked to hit the ground running in order to beat the jetlag. So while Mom stayed behind at the hotel to grab a nap, Deb & Dad and I headed into town on foot. It was only a few blocks to Stroeget (or Strøget), a pedestrian-only area through the heart of Copenhagen.

As we approached the town square near the Rathaus (City Hall), the dark clouds which had blown in since our arrival looked ominous. Across the street was Philips tower with the gold statues of two girls -- one on a bicycle and one with an umbrella. If the girl on the bike is showing, it means the weather will be nice. If the girl with the umbrella is showing, it means it will rain. Apparently the two girls have been stuck in the same spot for years, both of them half in and half out. Which means there is a 50/50 chance of rain most of the time. Suddenly the clouds let loose and it poured down rain! We took cover under a store awning and waited out the weather. After a few minutes, the storm blew through and it was sunny and clear again.

We took a stroll down Strøget and stopped for a drink at a local Pub. Then we headed back to the hotel to gather up Mom and look for some dinner.

We decided to head over to Tivoli Gardens with its 37 restaurants and 25 exciting attractions, where many things are inspired by the fairy tales of hometown icon Hans Christian Andersen. Tivoli has been a favorite meeting place for Copenhageners ever since it opened in 1843. Today, the Gardens are like an oasis in the middle of Copenhagen. The hallmark of several Tivoli buildings is the light pavilion-like style, which was also the dominant Tivoli style when the Gardens opened 161 years ago. This place was the original Disneyland before there was a Disneyland! We had a simple meal in one of the food courts and then decided to stroll around. At the center of the park was a huge square and stage where hundreds of people had started to gather to watch a sporting event on a giant screen. We realized we were witnessing the finals of the Euro 2004 Soccer Championship. And on this very evening, Denmark was playing Sweden. Soon it seemed as if the whole country had come to Tivoli Gardens to watch the game!

We left Tivoli briefly to walk over to Slotsholmen to see Christianborg Palace, and to walk along the canals near Nyhaven. Being so far north, it stayed light outside until very late in the evening, so we decided to cut through Tivoli Gardens again on our way back to our hotel. We had a lovely stroll through the park and stopped to shop for souvenirs and postcards before we got swept up in the throngs of soccer fans who flooded into the streets after the game ended. There were also Swedish soccer fans mingled in with the Danish fans, and everybody seemed oddly happy. We learned later that the two teams had "tied" -- advancing both teams into the finals.

Little did we realize, this was good news for everybody! The next day we were supposed to meet up with my old high school buddy, Johan, from Sweden -- and he warned me he wouldn't be allowed into Copenhagen if Denmark lost the game to Sweden! He'd be taking his life into his hands driving around in Denmark with Swedish license plates! (Southern Sweden was once a province of Denmark, so ancient rivalries die hard!)