Like the rest of the countries we’ve visited in Europe, Denmark has treated us very well. Despite the cold weather on the first day and a half, it’s been nothing but pure Scandanavian sunshine for us in the past five days. From the airport we took the train to our friend Kate’s apartment. We know Kate through ultimate when she lived in Arizona, but three years ago she married Jonas, a Dane, and now lives in Copenhagen. A key had been left for us at the florist down the street, so we picked it up and let ourselves into their apartment. A couple hours later, Kate came home from work. We sat around visiting for a bit and then went to meet one of her friends for a beer downtown. Later on, Jonas met up with us as well and eventually we came home for a late dinner. Kate convinced Whit to try sil (herring), a very traditional food here, which is raw fish that comes in a jar. There are lots of different flavors, all depending on what it’s marinating in. As for the taste test, it definitely passed.

On Friday Whit and I took the train to Jonas’ work in Fredericksburg - which is actually a small city within Copenhagen. They have their own laws, taxes, etc. Jonas walked with us to a Mac store so Whit could get a new part, and then we walked on to the Town Hall area to have coffee. It was a pretty substantial walk - most of the way we were on a very wide, busy street, lined with huge brick and stone buildings. Most of the buildings here are like that, each with some small detail that makes them quintessentially Danish. After coffee we headed past Tivoli Gardens to the DGI-byen, where indoor ultimate was being held that night. Whit and I had never played indoor ultimate before, but we were up for trying and definitely up for the exercise.

Before we arrived in Copenhagen, Kate asked me if I wanted to go to a weekend-long training session. She is playing with the Danish Women’s National Team that is currently being put together. Details on that are in the Ultimate Section.

While Kate and I were at ultimate over the weekend, Whit and Jonas kept pretty busy. Saturday was Jonas’ father’s 61st birthday, so Whit went with Jonas to the birthday party. There was a lot of food, drinks, and of course the Wii. Whit had a great time getting to know Jonas’ family, but the highlight for him was playing tennis against the birthday man. After the party, Whit and Jonas went to Jonas’ sister’s house and played more video games with Rune, the sister’s boyfriend. The next day they were wiped out from the party, but went to play badminton in the late afternoon. Badminton is one of the most popular sports in Denmark, a court space had to be reserved before they played, and they only had it for an hour. That night we were all really tired, and relaxed at their apartment before bed. However, we did manage to muster up the energy to make plum cobbler - its funny how your appetite can make you do things…

Monday was our first day of sight-seeing around Copenhagen. After lunch we caught the train to Nyhavn (which I think translates to New Harbor). The metro lets you out at Kongens Nytorv, a big square with big old buildings all around, including both the New and Old Royal Danish Theatre buildings. A short walk got us to Nyhavn, a pedestrian street lined with cafes, overlooking a canal leading out to the harbor. There were a number of old, large sailing ships in the canal, making the whole scene really pleasant. Unfortunately, the cafes were very pricey, so we didn’t stop there to sit and enjoy the sunshine. Instead, we found a Thai food place for lunch! Yummy! Mmm…Pad Thai…

A walk along the harbor gave us a great view of the Copenhagen Opera House, which is a great modern building. Its directly across the harbor from the Amelienborg - the Queen’s Palace. The Amelienborg consists of maybe four buildings forming a circle with a large square and statue in the center. There were guards on duty, keeping watch over the palace. Directly across the opposite side of the Amelienborg is Frederiks Kirke (Church). We went in and checked it out -there were no crowds at all  and the church was completely silent. Its not very big, but is probably one of the most beautiful churches we’ve seen in that it was very bright on the inside, and the design of it really uses all the natural light streaming in.
After the church we moved on to the Kings Gardens and Rosenborg Castle. The Gardens are lovely, and there were tons of people out enjoying the sunny day. In the center is Rosenborg Castle, which was built in the 1600s. We rested in the park for a while, watching people, birds, dogs, and the busy scene in the park.

Since we were both still feeling tired from the weekend, we decided to catch the train back to Kate and Jonas’ place. There, we read, emailed, and cleaned up our stuff before our hosts came home. We made lasagna for dinner, which turned out wonderfully.

Today is our last day in Copenhagen, which has come up much too quickly. Its been a ball to hang out with Kate and Jonas and fortunately we get to see Kate again in Italy over Easter. She is playing on our team at Paganello - the huge beach tournament that Whit and I always talk about. Our flight tomorrow takes us to Zurich, where we’ll be meeting up with Drew and hanging out for about a week before catching the train to Bologna. Exciting!

Love to all -

clairenwhit

PS:: Both the “Clips” and the “Videos” tabs have been updated with the footage we have so far. So, if you want to revisit any old videos or want to catch up - go there.