Besides going back and forth with the conference planners over schedule slots, DVD formats (digression: nothing irritates me more than going to a conference session in which someone is using media in the presentation and s/he chews up time trying to get whatever it is to play properly because s/he has failed to test it on site..."it works on my equipment!"...all the while everyone's fidgeting and doodling and then there isn't enough time for the presentations, etc. I always have plans A, B, and C in place and often bring my own equipment since quite often promised equipment fails to show up, and I always, always test everything out in the room and on the equipment that will be used, and I also rehearse pressing play or moving from laptop to DVD, etc...okay, you get the point, but it amazes me how few people actually take the time to test and practice) I'm spending some time reading a bit about Copenhagen and making various lists. Here are things I've marked as possibilities to do, see, eat, etc.--with much help from ST, of course. These are just possibilities--there are more but I've just got them marked in a Lonely Planet book I plan to take. I probably won't decide what to do until I get there and see what I feel like each day. I know some people like to plan out, Day 1, do this and that, lunch here, then this then that," but outside of anything that requires advance reservations I prefer just having a list from which to choose and seeing what I feel like doing when I wake up each day.
Boat trip to Ven
I love being out on the water, and this would be a nice length trip. Once there rent a bike and toodle around the island, stops at the Tycho Brahe museum and possibly (ahem) the whiskey distillery
Schedule
Dep. Havnegade no 39 09.15 AM
Arrival Bäckviken 10.45 AM
return--Departure Bäckviken 4.00 PM
Arrival Havnegade no 39 5.30 PM
Roundtrip same day DKK 180, 37.60 USD
Prebooking required, Spar Shipping ApS · Nyhavn 61 · 1051 København K · Tel. 33 33 93 55 · Fax 33 93 40 97 · E-mail sparshipping@sparshipping.dk
Museum of the Danish Resistance, Frihedmuseet
Churchillparken 1263 København K.
Phone: +45 - 3347 3921
Admission free, Tuesday-Sunday 10-17
Bodies exhibition
Hans Christian Andersen Palace by Tivoli
H.C.Andersens Boulevard 20
1787 København V
Tel.: +45 70 15 65 65
Sunday to Thursday from 10am to 19pm.
Friday to Saturday from 10am to 21pm
150 kr.
Helsingor for the castle Kronborg
How to get there: Take the coastal train from Copenhagen Central Station to Elsinore Station. From Elsinore Station you will see the Castle and the walking distance is about 15-20 minutes. Opening Hours May-September: 10.30-17, closed on Mondays. Ticket price varies according to what you want to see; all is around 85 DKK. Here is Soljet from ST describing the way: "The train-trip is wonderful. By the sea some of the time. This route is where the really rich live. You could get off in Humlebaek, and see our art-museum Lousiana."
and "When you go to the Castle Kronborg, remenber to take some time to visit the old city of Helsingor. It is lovely. Also the church. If you are up early, Helsingor can be done in the morning, and Louisiana in the afternoon. The museum has a nice café with a view over the sea."
Now see, this sounds like a perfect day.
Louisiana Museum (how can I NOT go when it has that name? even though it has nothing to do with my Louisiana)
Hours T-F 11-22; Sat-Sun 11-18; closed Monday
It looks like they have concerts in the sculpture garden--the schedule is vague but there was a mention of Ligeti--I would love to hear his music live. Gotta love the internet: I can access the museum cafe's menus on-line: "Lemon wholegrain roll with organic chicken salad, pepper bacon and onion marmelade" sounds pretty darn good.
OR I could do this: "If you go to Helsingor, you can also take the 25-minute-or-so ferry over to Helsingborg, Sweden."
Speaking of eating, Soljet has also given me several recommendations, as well as reassured me there will be markets open when we arrive. We're getting in Saturday after normal business hours, and I had read there were laws about not being open on Sunday (I guess we'll be in Protestant land?). Had a flashback to the time years ago I arrived in Vienna late on a Saturday and could find no coffee until Monday--no coffee in Vienna! I had been in Prague for 6 weeks or so--this was not that long after the Velvet Revolution, and the coffee houses were mostly closed and being rennovated--Havel gave a speech about it while we were there. I was so impressed by that--a head of state gives a special speech asking that coffeehouses re-open because the artists and intellectuals don't have anywhere to hang out. Anyway, despite Havel's speech and the cup or two of overpriced Seattle brew I found in a place that was just opening but had irregular hours, I had been surviving on something I found in a street market labeled "ersatz coffee" which was about as dreadful as it sounds--something like kvass but nastier. So all the way on the train to Vienna I was thinking, oooh, Viennese coffee houses, deep dark Vienna coffee, here I come.
But I digress. My fear in Copenhagen was we get in 5-6ish Saturday after traveling for something like 22 hours, and I will never make it without coffee. The apartment we are staying in has an espresso maker--at least there's one on the counter in the photos. I'm such a dope about this I plan to bring a baggie full of Italian espresso. So if that machine exists, I'll be okay. But then Soljet confirmed that there are some supermarkets allowed to be open later and on weekends.
I posted the map where we will stay on ST, so Soljet has even been giving me directions to stuff.
She says, "Fakta is open sunday and is low-price. There are 3 supermarkets on Norreport next to you. All open saturday. If you go to Fakta on saturday, you might take your lunch at my favourite pizzeria Fiorita in Nansensgade. . . . A very lovely street. You can sit outside in nice weather, they also serve a few other dishes but pizza, and you can have a cold bottle of white-wine, at the price of a grocer. It's actually not a restaurant, just a take-away."
And gotta love the internet part 2: the green arrow is our apartment; the letters are all Fakta stores.
More ST recs:
I recommend Oerstedsparken right next to the apartment, it has a very nice café with deckchairs. Also nice is Kongens Have (Royal Garden) with the little beautiful castle.
And on Bredgade we have a museum for Danish Desigh. They have a restaurant, where everything is served on danish porcelain.
my favourite pizzeria Fiorita in Nansensgade.
If you walk down Gothersgade, in direction away from Norreport, cross the bridge over the lakes, turn right immediately. That will take you to a great café with outdoor serving right by the waterfront. "The Front Page" is the name.
Another day have lunch in a church, Nicolai Church.
For a french pancake with fillings there is La Galette.
Cafe Telegrafen, Kobmagergade (one of the walking-streets) go through the telegraf-museum, take the elevator to the 5th floor.
If anyone should come here, and cannot walk further unless they have a burger, I would recommend Graabroedre Torv in city, right between 2 walking streets.
There is a funny little restaurant Sporvejen "The Tram" decorated inside just like one of our old trams that was taken out of service in 1971 and replaced with busses.
I also have recs for 2 desserts:
Ableskivers and "roedgroed med floede"
The Danish phrasebook arrived, along with a nice laminated map from Amazon. I'm sure I'll make an idiot of myself trying to pronounce things like roedgroed med floede, but I aim to try.
Less than a week to go!
I'm behind since I've been so engrossed in the renovation project, and frankly, it will be really good to escape that phase of Grey Gardens LA. The mess is harder to contain just now, since 2 doors that go to other room need to be torn out and walls framed where they were. Plastic sheets, here we come. I bargained with Gary and got him to delay the sheet-rocking until the day after I leave, so I will miss that dust fiesta. But I had to move all my clothes somewhere, and right now the only place that made sense was the dining room. It's pretty chaotic. As I type Gary and 2 helpers are jacking up a side of the house to replace a sill and some rotten floorboards.
But I need to get moving. Other than the baggie of espresso I haven't made a packing list, haven't called the bank, haven't confirmed reservations, etc. etc..... ack. Monday I'll do all of that. Today and tomorrow are about rewriting my paper.
