Copenhagen
November 27, 2024 in Denmark ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C
I arrived in Copenhagen, pleased that the airport is pretty much inside the city center. I was initially talking to Jacob whom I hosted before back when he was traveling in Japan months before but I found out he was living 3 hours away from Copenhagen over at Aarhus. Still, I decided to just text him that I was in the country without committing to anything but to my surprise he was actually in Copenhagen just for the week I was in and we were able to set up a meeting in two-days time.
I took the train to my apartment where my family was staying over at Nordhavn. Jake went down to bring me to their place and I was received with a warm welcome. I was surprised to see Vanessa riding a suitcase. Turns out that she injured herself playing badminton and quickly came up with the genius idea to use an AirWheel so she could still come to the Europe trip and not be a burden. My mom had whipped up an amazing carbonara and parmesan chicken which was an amazing dish, considering that I only ever had 3 pieces of bananas the whole day.
The place had a modern Nordic feel to it, minimalist and rustic, yet spacious and cozy. I liked it. I had a whole bedroom to myself which was a far cry from the dorms I was staying in over at Sweden. I had realized that I lost my pajamas somewhere in Sweden but luckily my mom had brought a pair for me as well as if she had already foreseen it.Read more
Copenhagen II
November 28, 2024 in Denmark ⋅ 🌬 6 °C
I was up pretty early and we had breakfast together, my uncle had also come along and he made everyone some boiled eggs. It was our first day out together as a family in Europe and it was a cold, cloudy, and windy day. I found it to be even colder than Abisko if that was even possible.
Our first stop of the day was Nyhavn. I found it quite similar to Amsterdam where it had rows of colorful houses by the canals yet the difference lies in the parked boats. Their vertical masts ran parallel to the buildings coated in muted colors and they gave off such a distinct impression, so different from Stockholm which was quite surprising considering their distance from each other. I thought Scandinavian countries would just look the same.
We went to check out the bayside to catch a glimpse of the Opera House on the other side, braving the cold winds. My uncle had already disappeared under the station to avoid the chill. We stopped by a cafe and had lunch in the form of sandwiches, not much leeway here it seems, as the food was pretty pricey. The weather got a bit calmer after lunch and we walked on over to Amalienborg Palace which gave me even more confirmation on just how different the architecture and design sense of the Danish were compared to the Swedes. It was quite flat, with a monotonous color palette in shades of grey and bronze. Not saying it's not good, on the contrary, they looked timeless and superb. There were Royal Guards marching around the main square and right across was the imposing Frederik's Church. We walked on over and took a peek inside where my mom prayed for a bit. From there, it seems like the family was done with their day and decided to go home. I had time for myself so I decided to try and hit some spots.
My first site was the famed Little Mermaid statue, going there took me through the Kastellet where I saw some gardens, churches, and swans. The statue itself was beautiful and attracted a good crowd. From there, I continued the long walk towards Rosenborg Castle. My first encounter with Danish castles. It was impressive with its copper-green roofed towers and red-brick facade.
I pushed on towards the Round Tower only to find that I actually couldn't take a good photo of it from the outside and I wasn't really interested in paying the entrance fee so I moved towards Christiansborg Palace. A much bigger castle in terms of area than Rosenborg but not as colorful with only shades of black and gray. From the distance, I could already see the famous spire of the Church of Our Savior and made my way there next. It was already closed for the day but it was alright. There was one final place that I was thinking of checking out and that was Freetown Christiana.
The place was a hit or miss and attracted all sorts of people. Known as the hippie town, I found it to be quite a different place compared to the rest of Copenhagen. A bit of squalor yet it was contrasted by a lot of colorful artwork around town. It seemed to be trying to rise above a certain paradigm though the scent and sight of people smoking cannabis made me wonder how well that's going. I particularly liked the Troll which was one of the sights worth seeing. "The World is in Our Hands" hanged a sign above it, above its head was the Om symbol. Fitting.
Tired for the day, I went back to our apartment where another fabulous dinner awaited.Read more
Dragor
November 29, 2024 in Denmark ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C
I was thankful that I wasn't the one doing all the navigating this time around. Jake had taken that role and I was perfectly fine riding the backseat and just following. We were going to go to Dragor today, a sleepy fishing village with picturesque yellow-coated houses. We first stopped by a mall where we ended looking for food but decided not to eat in the end. This little detour cost us as mom got dizzy while riding the elevator and it was decided that she should just stay here and rest with my uncle while the three of us, my dad and siblings, would go ahead.
We caught all the right buses at the nick of time and when we arrived at Dragor, it was an empty town. This was an absolute win for me as I was able to enjoy the intimate atmosphere and get lost in its winding alleys. My family had taken the main road and ended up in a restaurant at the pier side but I think they missed out on a lot since the charm lies in the off-the-beaten paths. After I was done, it seemed like they were too so we went back to catch a bus, then a train to the station where the mall was again to reunite with my mom and uncle. We went our separate ways again with my dad and sister eating at a buffet while I met up with my mom over at Burger King where I had a chicken burger. Meanwhile, Jake went off somewhere around the mall as well as my uncle. When we were all done, we went to check on my dad and as they were settling the bill, he realized that he didn't have his wallet on him. He started to get paranoid and we decided to go back to the apartment to check if he had left it there. Thankfully, it was but we had also used up a lot of time and we still even had Tivoli Gardens to visit while I also had dinner with Jacob planned the same night.
Still, the Tivoli Gardens were meant to be visited at night and I could see why. The full-on Christmas event happening around the entire area was something to behold. It felt like we had entered a Christmas movie where every corner of the street grew radiant with light and joy. Our family enjoyed taking a lot of photos together and we went around leisurely. First and foremost, it was a theme park so it had a lot of rides though our tickets didn't include them. We were perfectly satisfied going around the different zones. There was an oriental area with a giant pagoda, there were lit-up castles, and even a pirate ship by the lake. Once we made the whole trip around the park, they decided that it was time to go home and I also separated and met up with Jacob over at the entrance. Together, we walked around the Old Town, which had such a different vibe during the day, I almost didn't recognize it until we arrived at the Round Tower again. We caught up on things while looking for dinner but ended up settling for Danish kebab rather than pizza. Jacob swore it tasted different but it kinda tasted like any normal kebab to me. It was his treat though so I'm grateful for that.Read more
Lejre
November 30, 2024 in Denmark ⋅ ☀️ 5 °C
Today, we were going to one of the main highlights a lot of us were looking forward to: Vikings. Over at Lejre, they had the Land of Legends which housed the country's largest King's Hall, a replica of the gathering halls used in the old days. It was a bit of a journey and we had to stop by a 7/11 to eat lunch. Aye, our lunches haven't been really good but mom's cooking every dinner more than made up for it.
We passed through the souvenir shop where a bracelet caught my eye but I wasn't ready to buy it just yet. The entire area was huge but of course, the first sight we went to was the actual King's Hall. It was mighty impressive and very well-made. Mom, Jake, and I went around its perimeter before entering only to find the inside to look much more spacious than what the outside seemed to imply. It had all sorts of objects from dolls and swords, to a taxidermized boar right at the center. There were actors dressed the part and a pot-bellied man sporting a huge beard moved center stage to start telling stories of yore as one of the many shows scheduled around the land. After the King's Hall, my mom, sister and uncle wanted to rest while dad, Jake and I went up a hill to check out the stone circles. From there, our dad went back to them while Jake and I continued to the village. I roped him into exploring the whole park instead since he just wanted to see the pig farm and so off we went, through forests and bridges, finding bones of animals and old campsites. Some highlights included a bunch of sheep eating hay, the stone ship, and the village at the end with goats, geese, and the non-existent boars. This was all during sunset so golden hour was peaking and it made the whole hike around the countryside extremely pleasant. We regrouped with my family at one of the huts before going to the bus stop. On the way, I managed to snag myself a bracelet from before, this time around, it had a lot more memories tied to it.
Back on the train, Jake told me that I had time to explore Roskilde on my own and true enough, there was a cathedral here though I wasn't so sure if I wanted to yet. When the stop arrived and Jake reminded me that this was my chance, I ended up going for it. Walking around the town at dusk with the cold wind blowing actually felt good. Not a lot of people too. The cathedral was coated scarlet with its lighting and it gave off such a Hogwarts vibe. Unfortunately, it was already closed and I couldn't enter to see the royal tombs, plus there was a wedding on-going so with that out of the way, I went back to the station and found myself even arriving before my family back at our apartment since they went shopping first.Read more
Hillerod
December 1, 2024 in Denmark ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C
Our last day took us to Hillerod to see Frederiksborg Castle, the largest castle in Denmark and the most opulent one at that. I stored my bags in the lockers at the main station since this was my last day in Denmark. It was a long ride but we got there without any incidents. Surprisingly, the place was once again devoid of people despite it being a Sunday. I figured there would be crowds at the biggest castle but hey, I wasn't going to complain. True to its name, it was probably the most impressive castle I have ever seen so far in the country, nothing still tops Mont Saint Michel so far. There were a lot of statues adorning the courtyard and after much picture taking we finally went inside to shelter from the cold.
The interior functioned as a museum and each floor was furnished with not only new displays but also parts of the old castle that had been carefully preserved. It was my first time seeing ceilings that ornate with paintings and statues right on top. I enjoyed looking at the old paintings and several rooms were particularly interesting including the bedrooms and the humongous ballroom. The first time, I've ever been into one. I was still curious to see the royal gardens but my mother had enough exploring for the day. Dad and Jake decided to come with me and check it out since I wanted to see what the castle looked like from behind but unfortunately, it was covered with scaffoldings from construction and we couldn't appreciate the gardens from the lower angles. Still, we were satisfied and we went back to regroup, taking a bus to a nearby mall to find lunch. The selection wasn't that good though and we once again separated with my mom and uncle staying behind the mall while my siblings and father went back to the castle since there was an Asian restaurant nearby. We ordered some ramen and har gaw which was pretty okay all things considered. We once again regrouped and went back to Copenhagen station where I said goodbye to my family. We would see each other again very soon so it wasn't that bad. I got my bags and started to look for a way to the airport but was a bit floored as I couldn't find where the bus stop was and Google Maps wasn't helping. I tried asking for directions but people also didn't know. I decided to go for the Metro but I couldn't even tell which direction the correct line was, time was also running a bit thin. Suddenly, there was a random platform showing that there was a direct train going to the airport, despite not being on Google Maps! This was a life-saver and I took the opportunity and managed to arrive barely on time. I had to pass through a long security check and immigration line and when I got to the boarding gate, it was already time to board.
I watched IF for the flight towards Istanbul and then watched Napoleon on the next one. I caught another lucky break since I was able to snag a whole row of seats for myself for the duration of the whole flight back to Tokyo thanks to the tip of my row mate, the two of us were the only ones on the whole plane able to sleep horizontally which gave me an amazing feeling of being rested.Read more
