4 July 2014 - First Full Day in Copenhagen

Managed to stay in bed and mostly asleep until 6:30, which is pretty good for a jetlag adjustment. Out at seven to try coffee shop/bakery highly recommended by hotel clerk, but it didn't open until 7:30 so we went to another a block further, which was open and supplied very tasty pastries and delicious capuccini.

Danish pastries—in Denmark!

Hit the hop-on-off bus at 9 and rode it halfway, getting off at Nyhavn, which is a narrow canal lined both sides with colorful houses, almost every one of which has a sidewalk café on its ground floor.

Nyhavn on a sunny morning.

Continued on the hip-hop bus to the Little Mermaid statue.

The Little Mermaid has been there 100 years, and in that time has been vandalized several times: decapitated, painted red, etc. She continues to modestly face her hordes of adoring fans.

Taken from the boat tour in the afternoon.

For lunch we bought strawberries and crackers and cheese at a grocery and ate them on a bench under trees outside our hotel. The strawberries were super-delicious, best we've ever tasted anywhere. Then had an afternoon siesta before forging out to do the Canal Boat Tour.

We got to the canal boat dock by riding the 11A bus, a little jitney thing that loops around the center of the city. While waiting to catch it we commented on the huge number and wide variety of bicyclists streaming past.

We've learned that over 200,000 commuters enter Copenhagen each work day, 36% on bikes. In the morning hours the main streets have a steady, heavy flow of bike commuters, many in their work clothes, only a few dressed in cycling gear. In part this is due to flat terrain, short distances, and many dedicated cycle lanes. In part it is due to a 180% import duty on automobiles!

The boat tour was very enjoyable. The guide was clever and funny while alternating fluent English, Danish, and Italian. The city seen from the water on this bright and sunny day was interesting and attractive. We admired several of the big new buildings:

The Opera House

The new State Library, called the Black Diamond for the color and the way it reflects the water below.

The best part of this ride was the Christianshavn Canal.

It is lined with houseboats and pleasure boats, with quite a few people enjoying their boats in the fine weather.

Finally rode the 11A the rest of its loop back to the hotel. Modest dinner at a nearby café.