To Copenhagen and Scandinavia

 7 May 2022.

We were up at 0600 after a reasonably good night’s rest. Once showered and dressed (in that order) we packed up and went downstairs for breakfast. A little before 0800 we grabbed our bags, checked out and walked across the street to the train station.

We made our way inside and right away saw our Copenhagen train listed on the departure board: platform 11 places D-F. No sooner had we walked down to the platform than a train pulled in. Although it was a bit early we assumed this was our train. Mind you we had moved along the platform to a position where we could no longer see the platform departure board. When the doors opened we got on board but Susie discovered we were in fact on the train to Innsbruck (Austria) - probably best to get off this train.

It wasn’t long before our train arrived and we boarded, found our seats and settled in for the next five hours. It should be noted for you train buffs that from here on, for any remaining legs of our itinerary reservations were required on all train seats. Those had to be arranged for and acquired in paper form separate from our mobile tickets. 

The additional cost for each reservation varied widely and it's unclear to me as to who makes the money off this arrangement. Then again, given how many passengers have been in both classes on the trains so far, having reservations isn't such a bad idea.

our train - not pretty but very comfortable and we had great window seats facing one another

masking for much of the trip duration

snack provided on the Danish portion of the trip - this was actually quite tasty

just love the name

While Denmark is pretty flat and the landscape rather bland compared to the dramatic Elbe river valley, still the vastness of the cloud-filled sky reminded us of the wide open sky in Michigan. A sunny day helped too, of course.

As if to make up for the flatness of the land our train then passed over the huge expanse of water known as the Storebaelt: 

Note that we only went part of the way above ground. The vehicular traffic traveling on the bridge alongside the train tracks rose up and over a high suspension bridge (rather like the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan) while the train plunged underground into a very long tunnel.

Eventually we reemerged into daylight and continued our way at rather high speed into Copenhagen. 

Copenhagen central station

Since we were running about a half hour late we texted our next host, Lars, of the delay. (The wifi on the train worked well this time.) He had given us directions to the apartment from the train station; it was an easy walk he said and so it was. 

Upon leaving the station we found ourselves directly across from the world-famous Tivoli Gardens, a stop we hope to make before we leave for Stockholm on Wednesday.

right across from an entrance to Tivoli gardens

Anyway, after a walk of about 15-20 minutes we reached our home for the next four days. Our host Lars was sitting across the street waiting for us (he had given me his description before we left the train). After swapping hellos he gave us a quick rundown of the neighborhood, the nearest ATM and grocery store being our two primary concerns. (Oh, and regarding the ATM and cash he did note that Denmark is trying to move toward a cashless society so that was good news. Still we would take a few hundred kroner out nonetheless.)

For more details on the apartment visit https://abnb.me/AM9Tg243dpb.

The tour of the apartment over, he left us the keys and was off to check in another American couple who had reserved the apartment above us. Susie and I settled in and did some unpacking before going out in search of the ATM and grocery store. We found a bank ATM right around the corner and soon found the Netto grocery store just a block or so down our street.

That evening we strolled around our neighborhood in search of a place for supper and found a nice little Vietnamese place called Salon de Annam just a couple of blocks from home.

After dinner it was a short walk back to the apartment and to bed.

So, our Scandinavian adventure has begun! 

Tomorrow we stretch our legs and see more of greater Copenhagen and who knows what else?