Day 3 - Copenhagen

Day 3
- Quotes of the day
- A dip in the harbor
- How much was that sandwich?
- How much was that small softie?
- Dinner on the deck, cheap!

O, that this too too solid flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew.

Now the fifth daughter on the twelfth night
Told the first father that things weren't right
My complexion she said is much too white

Rained last night, and hard enough early in the morning that we both got up and closed windows. We’ve been sleeping in different rooms because otherwise one of us (THB) would have to climb over the other (DB) when getting up for any reason. We thought about moving the mattress (tip from S&A), the other rooms upstairs are too small as well. So, had we been sleeping together, the one on the outside would also get to be the official night time window closer.

The weather today is not raining; it is intermittent sun and very clear, low humidity. Extremely nice, and good for touring.

We’ve learned to ask a few more questions of potential exchanges: do you have a phone (our exchangers here are mobile-only, no landline) and does the large bed fill the entire bedroom? At least it forced us (DB) to put Skype on the iphone, now we need to figure out if AT&T charges for those calls (does anyone know?).

Off to take a dip at the end of our little wharf. Bracing and not too-too cold, and salty. Water is very clear, and the little swim is very refreshing.

Breakfast pre-game: This milk steamer is awesome!! You get hot milk and foam in less than a minute. DB has treated THB: she has ordered one for E-ville and one for the beach from Sur Le Table (she wants to make sure she has seen the last of burnt pots). Note: later that day while shopping downtown, we see the Nespresso store and café, the makers of this handy device, the Aerocino. The price is the same as DB found on-line!

Soren Schultz, someone we met along with his son Simon on the Viet Nam trip (M&C: while on the boat in Ha Long bay and in Hoi-an during the rain delay), stops by to help us plan the rest of our stay, which is good because we’re spending an afternoon with him and the evening with his wife and Simon on the 21st and this will prevent overlaps.

Soren is planning to take us to Louisiana (with a major art museum) and Elsinore (supposedly Shakespeare never visited, that’s not keeping the town from making an affinity group with THB’s Quotes of the Day). Soren heads out to rest up, he’s a food broker in a small firm and with most of the staff on summer holiday he is working the 4:30am to 11:30am shift.

Stop at an ATM and take out $400. Unlike VN, instead of a stack of bills, we end up with three bills: one $200 and two $100s…guess they are used to going through them fast.

Lunch at a local café: chicken burger and home fries (exceptional) and vegetarian hummus sandwich (very good), two soft drinks, $50. Okay, now even we are thinking, how can we spend $50 on this same meal in the US or Germany. Decide it is near impossible, even $40 would be a stretch.

Ride bikes to edge of main shopping street, demount, and stroll through various stores. Stop for a soft ice cream, it is a bit more “whipped” and lighter than we get in US and a small cone is plenty (rich). Two for $9 (amazing). Pay with $100 bill and get two $40 bills and coins back. Two softies for $9 helps explain the $50 lunch, right?

End up at info center to make sure we have good driving map. Next door is a branch of Lagkagehuset, the best bakery in Copenhagen; show much restraint, just look over the breads and pastries for future reference.

While strolling around, DB spots a familiar sight: a Celebrity Cruise tour guide (holding up a paddle) and about 25 people in tow. And a spot we might have to try, the Berlin Cafe! See pics...

In an upscale design store we spot a couple of those do-it-yourself plastic plates the girls did over 20+ years ago while in pre-school, and we think the girls did at least as good a job (LB: you want to post a picture of your plate as an example?). The ones in the store are over $100, so if any of your kids still have theirs, they may be worth something now. Oh, you have to sell them in Denmark, and being here more than wipes out the profits of importing the plates…even at $100 a plate!

Stop to pick up dinner in Magasin, an upscale department store and food hall. Roti chicken, spinach tartlets, arugula, and some decaf coffee (much needed to relieve morning jitters), $25. Another stop at the best bakery in Copenhagen for bread and the last cookie left in the store, $8. Clearly eating at home is a major way to conserve kroner. Dinner on the deck, again!