In Search of the Danish Danish...

Day 2: In search of the Danish.

We took the train into Copenhagen followed by an automatic metro. Automatic as there was no driver so it was similar to the terminal transport systems found in many large US airports. For a driverless metro it appeared to have a pretty extensive track system. It must be run with the same iRobot engine used for the Roomba.

Once there, we crossed a large town square, Kongens Nytorv, where we saw the guards marching. At noon everyday there is a changing of the guards at the Queen and Prince's residence, Amaliehaven. We happened to catch the guards marching to their barracks as their shift had ended. We were quite lucky with timing throughout the day as we were often in the right place at the right time for sights that most tourists don't actually catch.

The architecture intermixed with the canals and boats was stunning. We enjoyed a walk along the canal as we waited for our turn on a boat tour of the area.

Astrid and Henrik were our guides once we hit the water. Our cruise took us by many important locations near the water including the Operaen, the little Mermaid statue (although our backside view didn't look like much), the Trekroner Søfort which guards the entrance to Copenhagen, and the cruise ship harbor. Along the way we happened to see a person bungee jump over the water. In addition, we saw the royal ship out in the harbor with the Prince on board. It is very unusual to catch that. We decided to disembark at Amaliehaven, (Amalie Garden) where there was a beautiful fountain. The sight line connecting the Operaen across the water, through the fountain, and leading to the center square of the Royal Residence, Amalienborg Palace was very purposefully articulated for its beauty.


We continued our journey walking towards the Royal Residence, Amalienborg Palace. We got the typical pictures of the guards at the doors but we also happened to catch a wedding procession on bike taxi.

Moving further down the street past the residence we headed towards a beautiful church and then back to the center of town. The mix of old architecture along with modernly furnished interiors is quite interesting to catch.

 

We continued on towards Christianshavns. Along the way Henrik pointed out the  Danish Parliament, also known as the Christiansborg Palace which is attached to his office building, the oldest office building in Europe still in use. The Danish Parliament building does have quite an interesting history.

After grabbing some lunch to picnic along the canal, we continued our walk through Christianshavn to Vor Frelsers Kirke known for its spiral staircase on the outside of the building. We arrived as they were closing but they let us in as long as we didn't take too much time. Maia, Henrik, Astrid and I decided to go to the top first and take other pictures on the way down. Morgan and Dean waited below. The first part of the journey was on the inside and my understanding is that there are some 400 stairs total to the top. As we approached the top, the climb continued on the outer staircase which eventually narrows down to nothing. Maia squeezed herself in at the very end of the staircase. The views of the city from there were outstanding.  Once we finished taking pictures we headed down. The old clock mechanism was in an enclosed room and is currently not working but they plan to restore it. I was lucky enough to be taking a picture through the glass on my way down (the others were ahead of me), when the man who takes care of things opened the door allowing me and a couple of others to take some inside shots. He also gave us a bit of history on the church.

Day two was coming to an end and still no danishes. The sites were beautiful but it was time to go in search specifically for those flaky pastries. On our walk to the metro that would take us back to Klampenborg, we discovered the Lagkagehuset, or layer cake house. The bakery was named after the looks of the outside of the building. We thought that sounded promising and sure enough, there they were. 

It was a really cool place as the windows opened up completely for an open air feel on the corner of the canal. We were able to see a floating bar/cafe across the water.

So, yes we can find danish in Denmark, but did they originate here? I decided it was time to consult wikipedia... Check out the history section on the Danish.

We finished off our day at Henrik's place for a very tasty grilled meal. We do miss grilled food.