Copenhagen
Clifton, my mother and I went to Copenhagen for two nights last week and driving from the airport we were a little concerned about our choice in vacation spots. Never judge a city based on the airport location. The area was very modern and not pretty but as we got closer to the city center we realized why we chose Copenhagen. We were not prepared for how hot it was going to be and Clifton and I have not been in that kind of heat in quite a while. It was lovely though! Our first day in Copenhagen we walked down the popular shopping street Stroget and went into a few stores to try to buy some warm weather clothing. Clifton actually bought some Capri's for himself. I have to say I was super concerned about this fashion decision but he looked adorable in his little Capri's, and so European. We saw a lot of great squares where people congregate around fountains and hang out at cafes. Some of the cities in Europe are so relaxed and carefree and you feel it when you are surrounded by it. Copenhagen is definitely one of those cities. The first night of our vacation we decided to take a 30 minute train ride to Malmo, Sweden for dinner. Malmo was amazing. We ate at "The Steakhouse" and the food was to die for. We sat outside on the patio at the restaurant, in the middle of the square, and had a great start to our vacation. Our second day, we started it by going to Rosenborg Palace which was built by Christian IV between 1608 and 1634 as a summer palace and used by the Danish Royal Family from the middle of the 18th Century as a spring and autumn residence. It is a gorgeous palace with the most amazing gardens where the Copenhagen residents go for picnics, walks, bike rides etc... In the middle of the gardens they have a little cafe that serves Belgian waffles so we stopped by there and all three of us had a waffle, tea and coffee and enjoyed our surroundings. We then went to go see The Little Mermaid statue. The Little Mermaid symbolizes the fairy tale by Danish author and poet Hans Christian Andersen, the story of a young mermaid who fell in love with a prince who lived on land, and often came up to the edge of the water to look for her love. This is one of the most popular sites to see in Copenhagen but unfortunately it is in Shanghai on display in the Danish pavilion for the world fair so we could only see a live feed from the museum in the place where the statue is supposed to be. After The Little Mermaid we went to see the Amalienborg Palace which is the Royal residence during the winter. This Palace was an interesting palace to see because it is extremely modern. They were in the process of refurbishing the entire place. The floors and the fixtures were beautiful and not what you to expect to see in a 200 year old palace. The wall murals were hideous to say the least. They were modern and weird. These murals made these beautiful rooms odd and out of place. All three of us couldn't believe these murals. The young royal couple must be very modern and eccentric to want these in their royal palace. Right outside of the Amalienborg Palace we saw the changing of the guard which was a lot like the changing of the guard in London. After the Palace we went a little ways down to Christiania which is a Freetown of about 850 residents that have their own laws. We were told before getting off our hop on hop off bus that you are not allowed to take pictures so I wish I could show you what it was like inside the little commune. We were told on the bus that smoking marijuana is illegal in Copenhagen and if you are caught doing so you will face possible fines and jail time. We thought that was a little odd right as we are getting off the bus but then we walk into the opening to get into Christiania and the first person we see is smoking a joint. So I guess it is illegal in Copenhagen but not Christiania. It is an amazing little city in a city with some cool shopping. We only walked through it for about 25 minutes but it was so worth it to see it. When you walk in Christiania you feel like you just stepped into the 60's and 70's. With a day full of sightseeing we decided to go walk along the canals and have some ice cream. The canals were beautiful with these amazingly built boats. The ice cream was one of our favorite things in Copenhagen. They call them softies and it is the most creamy, amazing ice cream. My mother couldn't get enough, but who am I kidding, Clifton and I couldn't either. Lastly, we went to the Carlsberg brewery and we got my mother to try a beer even though she said she hates beer. Her face was priceless and Clifton got a picture of her bitter beer face and me laughing at her. Our trip to Copenhagen was so fun and we loved travelling with my mother. She is up for anything and willing to walk for miles just don't try to get her to go up hills because she doesn't enjoy that. We had a lovely time and would highly recommend Copenhagen as a place to visit.
Oslo
My mother's grandparents and my great grandparents are from Norway and this is the reason we chose Norway as our next vacation spot. The vacation started out great with my mom being upgraded to a suite at our hotel that is on the main street in Oslo's city center. The first day in Oslo we went to the Folk museum that has everyday objects, toys, clothing and furniture from Norway. Our favorite part of the museum was the part of the museum where they have a large open-air museum, with old wooden buildings, arranged according to the part of Norway from which they come. In this part of the museum they have a Stave Church. The Norwegian Stave Churches are some of the oldest wooden structures in the world. It is a beautiful sight to see and different from any church you have seen. After about three hours in the Folk museum we were museum'ed out and went to an outdoor bar across the street from our hotel to get ready for the finals of the World Cup. I couldn't wait for my mother to see the European craziness surrounding Football or Soccer. Needless to say it was packed at this bar and standing room only except for us who had gotten a table because we had arrived early. At half time we decided to finish watching the game in my mother's fancy suite that overlooks the street. With the windows open it felt like we were still at the bar because the streets were so loud and my mother was on the fourth floor. The next day of our vacation all three of us hadn't gotten a lot of sleep due to celebrations surrounding the World Cup but we got on the bus and headed towards the Vigeland park. The park covers 80 acres and features 212 bronze and granite sculptures created by Gustav Vigeland. The sculptures were incredible and made for a brilliant walk. After our stroll through the park we went to the Viking Ship museum. The Viking Ship Museum displays the large Viking ships Oseberg, Gokstad and Tune, as well as finds from the chief grave at Borre in the Vestfold district. The three ships are the best preserved Viking ships known, found in royal burial mounds in the Oslo fjord. These Viking ships are such an incredible sight to see and massive. The woodwork that the Norwegians were capable of at this time was beautiful and very advanced. The last day of our vacation we decided to take a relaxing boat cruise through the Oslo Fjord. Fjords are formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. There are a number of Fjords in Norway but the only one we had time to go to was the Oslo Fjord and it was well worth it. The two hours flew by because everything was so beautiful. The houses are so cute and have beautiful views to enjoy everyday. To finish our Norway vacation we went by the new Opera house that was built in 2007 for 750 million dollars. What an amazing architectural sight. The architect wanted it to look like a glacier. He definitely succeeded.
If you had to have me pick between Oslo and Copenhagen I would say Copenhagen but I loved getting to see Norway especially since my ancestors are from there. Both cities were incredible to see and we had so much fun. We look forward to our next trip in the first of August to Prague!
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