MJ and I continued our intermittent world tour, heading to our 6th country in the span of a calendar year over the Labor Day weekend....Denmark. Nothing truly remarkable about Denmark, but we noticed a recurring flavor in the food that I couldn't quite place...some sort of herb, spice, or other that was tinted in a lot of the dishes in Denmark's food. It wasn't terribly tasting, but it didn't enhance the food neither, and I'll forever have that taste impression of Denmark, and have the lasting impression that I wouldn't be able to last eating just Danish food.
It's amazing how quickly the world has gone back to Covid, actually; getting on Copenhagen's public transportation you'd think that the pandemic never happened, with everyone carrying on without masks everywhere in crowded spaces breathing right on top of each other. Amazing to me that after what seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime crisis in March 2020 that would be with us in our lifetimes forever, 2 years later it seems just an afterthought and most people have moved on to the next daily stressors, like the war in Russia, China possibly invading Taiwan, the monkeypox, etc. The world goes on, and the news cycle must go on; the show must go on!
Denmark, as expected, was very friendly for bikers, with bike lanes everywhere, but plenty of foot traffic and ways to get around didnt leave us feeling the need to rent bicycles or anything. The shame for the city is that there's no distinctive landmark in the city sky line, nothing iconic to get visitors to hang their hat on as THE place to go......the closest for us was the Round Tower, a tower in the middle of the city that offered views all around, and going up wasn't a hassle (unlike some towers where you have to climb stairs and be out of breath, the Round Tower built spiral ramps all the way up to the top to facilitate the climb: other tower builders, take note. Tivoli Gardens turned out to be the biggest disappointment, as what I thought was comparable to Disneyland and Epcot Center as a massive cultural center turned out to be a small walled-off enclosure of a few roller coaster rides, carnival alleys, and a pond with gardens growing around. Not exactly one of the 7 wonders of the modern world; I walked around for half an hour and already had enough. No wonder Rick Steves's book on Denmark is paper thin, more of a pamphlet than a book: either a.) he hadn't been paid by the attractions in the city and/or b.) he just didn't see much to write home about.
The best spots were when we left the city center and took a train up the coast of the North Sea to the historical Kronberg Castle where the Shakespeare play Hamlet was based off of, then found the neat art museum in a secluded area confusingly called the Louisiana Museum.......definitely not a swamp, this was one of the most popular tourist spots and worth the trip from the U.S. to get the sea views, the beautifuly designed gardens, the well thought out exhibit.... it was like the Getty Center of Denmark, except instead of having been there 20+ times in my life this was my first exposure to it.......and that's the whole point of vacation, is to see stuff for the first time. I loved it.
Often on vacations like the one we just took, things get to be a blur and there's so many new sensations and stimulations that it becomes mental overload and takes a while even after coming home to sort out; but I'll always be excited about arriving at a new place, feeling like there are so many possibilities to explore and see for the first time, and just feel free to expand and move about knowing that for now I have time, money, and not that many responsibilities (yet). As MJ says, I really do live a NICE LIFE.
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