June 10 (Sunday)

My weekend in Copenhagen was a bit of both hits and misses. I did a lot of walking all over the old part of the city (buildings dating back to the 1700's and earlier), plus a boat tour through the canals that have been built around the city and harbor, which was quite good.

One of the main attractions in Copenhagen is the Tivoli Gardens. Just like in my other visits to Copenhagen, I walked by Tivoli several times and never had a desire to go in. I think if I had been with a large group of friends, Tivoli would be a lot of fun, but the thought of going to an amusement park when you're by yourself is just depressing to me. So instead I wandered in to Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, a museum with a collection of antiquities, a rather impressive collection of Rodin sculptures, and lots of Danish artwork. I enjoyed the Rodin sculptures, and then stopped to listen to a small chamber orchestra practicing for a concert the next day in one of the larger halls.

I was really excited to see that there was a swimming pool close to a subway stop that was open today (Sunday), according to the tourist pamphlet - but of course once I got out there, I discovered that they had recently changed hours and the pool was closed on Sundays.

Instead I wound up going to a local church service - Denmark is very similar to Sweden and other Scandinavian countries, in that most of the people are born into the Lutheran Church, but they never attend as adults. So I was in this huge beautiful church with only about 25 other people. But the organ music and choir were quite good, so even though I only understood about 1/10th of the Danish, it was still a good experience.

Two things which really struck me about Copenhagen were the large number of people who smoke and the casual drinking of beer at all times and in all locations. It was not that people were drinking to get drunk; rather, it appeared that it was the norm to have a beer at lunch or while waiting for the bus or going about one's errands. I assume that beer must be rather cheap in Denmark, but since I don't drink beer I didn't investigate to see if it is.

This was my third time to Denmark, and each time I've only stayed in the capital. If I come back again I'd like to see more of the country besides Copenhagen.

Now I'm on my way to Stockholm, a city I love. I haven't been to Stockholm since 1988, so I'm definitely looking forward to it!