Adopted in 1219, the flag of Denmark is the oldest state flag in the world still in use by an independent nation. Denmark is also the proud home of Lego, the ostomy bag, Han C. Andersen, Carlsberg, loudspeakers, and much more. Our time was spent in Copenhagen, the capital, which is situated on two islands. It is home to Tivoli Gardens, the second-oldest amusement park (1843) in the world, and the 104 year old The Little Mermaid bronze statue.

Our tour included a wonderful boat ride that took us under lots of low bridges, down narrow and not so narrow waterways, and gave us a bird’s eye view of lots of interesting modern and traditional architecture as well as beautiful old buildings. One interesting old church steeple was made of intertwined dragon tails, chubby at the bottom and going up to a sharp point. Another cool steeple had exterior stairs and a gold handrail. The opera house was spectacular! It’s long flat roof hangs over the water’s edge and is used for competitive platform diving. All I could think about was how cold the water would be on the best of days. We passed a floating blue college dorm that seems to be a successful experiment in solving the on-campus housing shortage. Loads of houseboats and floating restaurants lined the water’s edge. We went through a funky area that seems to be a haven for creative, free thinkers who have expanded their living space to look more like small islands made up of tied together floating objects. Colorful art with a graffiti flair was on all sides of the floating elements that make up these islands.

Once off the boat we had a great time seeing the city from a bus as well as on foot. A treat was arriving at Amalienborg Palace, home to the royal family, moments before an elaborate changing of the guard ceremony that included a marching band as well as soldiers with bear fur hats and swards. No sooner was it over than a vehicle with members of the royal family drove right by.

Our last stop was at The Little Mermaid. Little is the operative word. At 4′ 1″ she is not nearly as diminutive as Iron Boy, but still. She is situated on a large rock a few feet in the water, actually, and looks very serine. She drew the biggest crowds of any stop on our tour and must have been exhausted posing for all those selfies. Speaking of mermaids, the 15 foot granite one that greeted us at the pier when we docked is called Big Mermaid. She has all the perky attributes of a fully developed adult female, if you catch my drift, and caught our eye right away.

By 2025 Copenhagen plans to be the world’s first carbon-neutral capital. Bicycles must be a large part of that plan because they were always in sight and easily outnumbered the cars. Lots of commuters own two, one to get them to the train, and one waiting for them in the city. We especially loved the ones that were designed with big sturdy boxes in the front to carry children as well as purchases. Some of the boxes were fitted with a tie down cover as well as a small bench with seat belts.

In celebration of a wonderful day in a beautiful city we shopped at the concessions on the pier before boarding.

Bragging rights go to Dan who met the queen and was in the palace
back in his Army days. Enough already.

After a delicious dinner we were entertained by Claire Maidin, a classically trained English vocalist and pianist who performed in a sparkly catsuit and wowed us with her range and versatility.