Tourism Highlights

Greg and Charlene Weiss, great world travelers and friends now for 18 years, made a stop in Nivå to cap off their European Great Battles Tour. They spent the previous 2 weeks with other friends on a guided tour of some of the great battlefields of WW1 and WW2 in Northern France and Belgium. Wisely, the Danes conceded defeat to the invading Nazi's but kept a healthy resistance and smuggling operation during the war. We were going to have to dig a few layers deeper into the sedimentary layers to find the Viking age if we were going to discuss battles and wars. But that's not what this visit was about.

Our location north of Copenhagen allows us to zip into the big city easily or squeeze that big Peugeot down the winding country roads stirring up chickens and kids as we roar through the villages. We spent lots of time in Copenhagen, in Hillerød at their castle, in Roskilde at the Viking Museum and a bit of local stuff here.

Highlights of the tour (besides just spending time with old friends):

Renting bikes in Copenhagen to join the masses on the fantastic bike paths in the city. The bike rentals are part of the CPH share program where you register your ID and credit card and then take a bike and leave it at another location. The new share bikes (CPH is on their second or third version of the bike share program) are heavy electric units with touch screens for GPS and registering. They are almost too heavy to pedal without the electric motor assist, but a lazyman's freewheeling delight when powered.

Copenhagen share bikes. Riders are enjoying the pissoir (guess what that is)

We found a cool Diner in a part of town that is revitalizing from being a hooker and lowlife street that serves a great "working man's supper" that would be categorized as comfort food: very tasty and packed with calories. The tables are close and your fellow diners don't hesitate in leaning over with a recommendation while you read the menu.  I had 'biksemad' which is a hash of leftover potatoes, diced beef roast, and onions topped with a fried egg and a side of pickled beets. Since the locals are puffing on cigarettes while they eat, I can't tell if it tasted good or not - it was a bit like eating in the Commercial Bar during the blues jams back in the 80's; it's all about the atmosphere!

Chicky Grill Bar - picture it packed with some extra chairs between tables. No photo on night of mention because all you could see was cig smoke.

Perhaps one part of the tour which has changed from really cool and interesting in 1995 to a bit too sketchy in 2014 is the Christiania area. It was an early 70's hippy occupation of an abandoned military base right across the harbor from downtown in what is now a very desirable location. It was founded on commune principles, especially freedom, but that has morphed into a "Freetown" of drug dealers. The main road is called "Pusher Street" and there are probably a dozen street stands where you can buy hashish and weed. Even though tourists are kinda welcome, you get the feeling of glares as you walk by in a place where you are obviously not a customer or a local. Greg and I twisted our ball caps into 'lock' position and tried talking like Eminem but that just got them angry.

Pusher Street in Christiania - this photo is from the internet. There are about 5000 "No Photos" signs posted throughout the area.

Maja and Tom's birthday ended up windy and rainy so we had a birthday lunch at a restaurant in Hillerød by the castle. Here's a tip for all you world travelers: when a Danish waiter asks "would you like something to drink?", the answer is "yes, I will have a beer". I made the mistake of requesting a soda water and ended up paying 45 kroner or $9. If you put free water into a 2 cent plastic bottle, the 'value' increases to pusher street criminal kroners. My EPCOR friends would be living in estates and driving in blacked-out limo's if they lived in this country! 

After spending the equivalent of a temporary foreign worker's monthly wage on lunch (thanks to G&Ch), we headed back to our place. We played backgammon, quizzed the kids on geography and math questions, and then Greg showed the kids some card tricks. All three consider those 2 or 3 hours to be their highlight of the G&Ch visit. Like I said earlier, it's all about being with friends!