Kobnhavn & Goteborg

The train from Berlin to Copenhagen was really fast. We shot across to Hamburg and then the train split in two. One half moved on to Arhus and the other, the one I was on headed for the coast. We were heading for Puttgarden where a ferry was awaiting our arrival. Our train rolled on board and we were ordered off due to safety regulations. I was foolish and left my camera behind on the train so there are no pictures of the actual crossing, but I will describe it to you. Gray is the word; dark gray water, light gray sky and only a misty green gray for the land as we left Germany and arrived in Denmark. I could only barely make out the offshore windmill farms that Denmark is famous for.

Copenhagen is a fun city. First thing you have to get used to though is all the bicycles and the separate lanes they have for them…

Then it is just a matter of taking a stroll, getting lost and enjoying what you find…

One place you have to see and stroll up and down is Nyhavn. It is what you should think of when you think of Copenhagen…

You can also see the Marble Church. Built in 1740, it has the largest dome in Scandinavia…

There is a park around the old citadel, the Kastellet. It was built under Christian IV and his son Frederick III. It was used in the defense of the city from a preemptive British attack in 1807. Britain was worried that Napoleon would force Denmark to close the Baltic to British ships and they aimed to prevent that by destroying the Danish fleet. They succeeded, but they drove the Danes, who had been neutral, right into Napoleon’s arms as his ally. Ironically, the only Anglican church in Denmark now sits right across from Kastellet with a bronze bust of Winston Churchill right alongside…

Churchill is there because the Resistance Museum is only a few yards off…

That is actually the history I saw the most. Denmark is exceptionally proud of the men and women who resisted German occupation, either symbolically, with words, or with arms and sabotage. For example, Christian X was famous for continuing his daily horseback rides through Copenhagen in his Danish military uniform…

They knew they wouldn’t be able to stand toe to toe with Germany, but the Danes did what they could to make things difficult for their occupiers. The Resistance Museum made it very clear that they are very grateful for the help they received from the allies during the occupation.

I am including Goteborg in this post because I actually didn’t see much of it. It was 40 degrees Fahrenheit, pouring rain, and the wind made it seem to be coming at me sideways. So I barely went outside and I was not taking my camera out in that. Really unfortunate because one of my favorite historical figures founded Goteborg: King Gustavus Adolphus. He came to the aid of the Protestants during the Thirty Years Wars and inflicted a number of defeats on the Catholic forces. He was a fascinating man, which is why I liked studying him. He was killed in battle, one of the last monarchs to suffer that fate. Well, since I didn’t see much of Sweden this time, it just means I will have to come back again.