Friday, September 22-25 Denmark

 Friday, September 22

 Beth joins the group this morning for a  quick flight to Copenhagen.   Greg will get a taxi early tomorrow morning for a KLM flight that stops in Amsterdam.

Greg still doesn't feel great, but since the group has checked out, he can do whatever he wants.  He ventures out in the rain, walking to some areas of town that we haven't been to.  Dinner does not arrive in his room, so he goes out again for fish 'n' chips. He notes that as in Sweden, credit cards are used for everything, whether it is a candy bar, a taxi ride or dinner.

Beth lands in Copenhagen and we head to The Island Hotel, with free time till dinner.  (There were actually a few folks swimming in the pool area in front of the orange barrel.)

I'm not feeling very social, so just explore the area around the hotel.  We are on a large canal and take either a train or ferry into center city.  The rain has stopped but it is very overcast.  

This is the view from my hotel window - a huge IKEA store.

I run into Ken and Kara, the couple from Minnesota, and we walk to a nearby Mall to find dinner - a mediterranean pita type sandwich shop.

Saturday, September 23

We have a bus tour of the city this morning.  Rain threatens but holds off most of the day.  We visit the royal Rosenborg  palace  where guards patrol nearby.

We stop by the harbor to see The Little Mermaid statue, which is a bit underwhelming.  Out guide shares that it is often vandalized and has been replaced several times. 

  There are many canals throughout the city, reminding me of Amsterdam.

We see the Opera House, several scenic squares, and drive by the Waste Management building which has a climbing wall built into one side and a ski slope built on another side.  The Danish work hard at becoming 0 emission and are actively discouraging vehicle usage.  As part of that, vehicles are very expensive and heavily taxed, as is gas and parking. We see many, many bicycles and electric scooters...

Maersk, a worldwide container shipping and logistics company,  is one of the largest companies in the city, also responsible for a great deal of philanthropy.

Some people stay in the city for the rest of the day, but I'm starting to feel a bit tired.  I go buy some cough drops and lay low.  Tonight is the group farewell dinner, which I go to with smile pasted in place.  No use in reporting covid now as everyone will be gone early tomorrow, but that is what I'm pretty sure I've got.  Dinner is pleasant as I sit with DeeDee, a guide friend of hers and one of the nurses from North Carolina - (we are nicely spaced, thank you).    A shrimp dinner and lovely lemon chiffon dessert.  DeeDee gives a nice speech and sings a song for us - beautiful voice!

Sunday, September 24

I have a whole extra day and feel badly that I don't want to do anything.  I decide to at least go downtown and look around, but can't figure out how to work the ticket machine at the train platform. 

It didn't take much to convince me to go back and crawl under the covers!   Missed all the lovely museums and things that we'd planned.

Not really very hungry but at dinner time I go to the Mall again and try McDonalds.  Yes, I know, but I didn't want to spend a lot of things I might not eat.   My taste and smell are about gone.  A couple of young boys help me with the automated machine, as I didn't know the Danish word for "Please wait" that flashed. They wanted to know what flavors of Sports Drinks we had in Texas.

Back to bed after arranging a taxi to the airport early tomorrow (5:15).  I heard some noise last night and looked out my window to see some beautiful fireworks.  I tried to ask the taxi driver what was being celebrated, but he had no idea what I was saying.

Back to Charles DeGaulle Airport where I had a two hour layover, then the long stretch to Texas.  After the time change, arrived in Houston around 1:30 where Greg picked me up.  We both slept well this night!

So, not one of our greatest trips overall.  Better luck next time!!