This one will be long. As we spent 4 nights here.

Our Christmas morning started early with our breakfast buffet at the Gothia Towers followed by a trip via train from Gothenburg on Christmas morning.  The train had a delay at one stop so they ended our trip early to avoid making them late for the remainder of the day.  We were able to transfer trains in Malmo and ride into Copenhagen from there. 

Sunsets were around 4ish in Copenhagen.  And the sun was definitely up by 8am.  So we were able to experience a little longer in daylight.  Although this trip was fun traipsing around town with full energy at 5pm in the dark.  I’ve personally gotten to where by the time it is fully dark outside I’m tired. 

We had opted to try an air bnb for this trip as we would be there much longer.  It was set in a development in DR Byrn and approximately a 10 min walk with luggage to the home.  Due to Being Christmas Day upon arrival most grocery stores were closed.  We had decided it would be a low key day of relaxation and rest around the house after all the travel we had done.  Google maps was not accurate on what was open.  We did find a small open store though and did a mile walk to it and less back with groceries in tow.  Easy pasta with red sauce for dinner was actually welcomed.  We started the Poker competitions. 

Gift exchanges on Christmas night were ‘Actual Gifts’ and a Funny Tshirt.  we were all very thankful that there were open souvenir shops at the Gothenburg train station.  They had some great tshirts.

And there were few souvenir shops open on Christmas Eve in town. 

Some interesting notable things about our Air BnB.  We did have to figure out more modern kitchen and dishwashing equipment.  There was a very cool open ceiling atrium in the center of the house as a nice place to sit outside and maintain yard privacy.  However it was too cold to take advantage of.  

The owners of the house apparently live in this house regularly and must rent it out when they decide to travel.  The house was full of ‘their stuff’ and. You had to know what you could and couldn’t use.  they have kids so here were a lot of toys.  It felt almost a violation of their privacy to see all of the personal stuff that they use in the bedrooms that they shoved into their closets or makeup or bath supplies.  All food was stuffed into the freezer so there was plenty of space in the fridge.  2 convection ovens.  No microwave.  A stovetop and a nespresso.  The washer was smaller and it had an unstable connection to the drainage pipe.  So one of the many loads of laundry we did there was bouncing of the washer and it popped the tube off the pipe and water went everywhere.  And I mean everywhere.  We had to clean up with a broom, mop and many towels.  Actually the truth is the Johnsons got there an hour before us and they had to do most of the clean up.  Thankfully the owner gave me tips on what to do and it worked.  Apparently this has happened before.  It was a little frustrating that it happened but thankful there was an easy fix.  

Thursday morning was a hunt for a Thomas Dambo Troll that was close to our place.  The next day we found a 2nd troll in the Old colorful Christiahavn.  Sunday we went up to the harbor above Orientjak and found a 3rd Thomas Dambo Troll.  That was a fun chase through Denmark. Currently the trolls are in Asheville in the Arboretum as well.  Irony 

Our Friday plans included walking through the colorful Nyhavn and seeing the Wonderful Winterland Market in the square, eating at Nyhavn 17, and enjoying all the other things in the area.  We left after eating lunch for Tivoli and spent the rest of the evening there and enjoying all the Christmas lights, shops, and dinner at the Gasoline grill.  Upon returning we realized we needed breakfast food and a few other things.  However being Dec 26th, many stores had limited hours.  Ian and I ended up getting on a train to Sunby and finding a Lidl to get foods before it closed at 930.  We returned to the house around 930.  

The night was full of poker and gifts.  The gift night was a ‘Market Gift’. 

Saturday was our last day together.  We went back into Nyhavn and walked towards what seemed to be the Royal district and saw the changing of the guard at Amalienborg Palace and followed to see Fredrick Church.  Tim and Keira hit up Laungahurst for coffee and danishes while the rest of us continued down the road to Kastille Fort and walked some of this.  Lunch at Restaurant Vita where we finally tried Smorrebord (essentially and open faced sandwich of many options).  This was after Daniel purchased himself a true wool from New Zealand sweater from a small local store.  Followed by desserts down the street at Reinh van Hauen.  Yum.  

We returned to the square and split up to shop so that we could do what we needed to do efficiently and so that the Johnsons could get back sooner to start packing for their return home the next morning.  

Our crew of 4 went down by the canal and across the bridge to find the 2nd Troll, which turned out to be in Old Christiana.  This place is a small area that has separated themselves from the law.  It’s colorful and graffiti covered.  Kinda makes you smile a little because of how different it is.  They do their own thing and when you walk back out, you see a sign saying that ‘you are entering the EU’.  Green George troll was in the park in this area.  He had a colorful background.  We didn’t venture deep into the area, but it was neat to see.  Our final find was the Trampoline Heaven where an artist decided to create a fun area in the ground to jump on trampolines.  There were 4 in a row by the harbor with a soft stop under them to keep someone from breaking them by jumping too deep.  We played there for a few minutes, grabbed some souvenirs and headed back.

After we got home we discovered that the water draining tube had dismantled after our small washing machine was overloaded and danced around, so we had a watery mess to clean up.  However after that, dinner was determined to be Charcuterie.   This was leftovers from earlier in the week when we did Charcuterie on Christmas Day as a late lunch with the findings from Oslo and Sweden of cheese and sausage.  Gift night was City gift!  So we had our final git exchanges of the trip.  What a fun idea to just. Feel like you are always searching for something fun for someone to take home from each country.

The Johnsons were up and out very early Sunday morning to head for their flight.  No issues and smooth sailing into the airport and traveling to Dublin. 

As a family of 4, we got out of the house around 11am and headed to find a 3rd troll.  Kaptajn Nalle.  He was up by the harbor east of Osterbro.  We rode metro line M4 to the very end at Orientkaj, and while we could have waited on a bus, we decided to walk instead to the troll.  Down through the industrial parks on the road approximately  2.4km which took around 25 minutes 1 way.  We found him in a large field behind some buildings.  We had fun snapping photos of him pulling a tug boat.  After walking back and picking up coffee and hot chocolate at a local coffee spot, we hopped on the metro and headed a few stops to walk the entire Kastellet.  Daniel wanted photos of all of the cannons while we were there.  

After making most of the entire loop, we headed over to where the Little mermaid statue was.  As we were suggested, it was unremarkable.  It sits upon a few huge rocks a foot into the water (Ie not on land) and had a lot of tourists around it snapping photos.  

We left and walked all the way back to Nyhavn for Ice Skating.  We signed ourselves up for the 5pm slot and went and walked down the shopping district of Nyhavn.  This was neat and felt like a huge outdoor mall.  I believe there were more shops down these streets than I had seen in any other city in one place.  These were many types of stores, from souvenir to Mulberry or H&M.  We made it to the round tower, grabbed a hot dog and headed back for our skating session.  

Ice Skating!

Well, its been 20-30 years since Conrad or I had ice skated.  However we both laced up and got out there.  We had a 55 minute session which cost $12 per person including skates.  Definitely worth it.  We held on to the wooden fence and slowly worked on our bearings.  Conrad got around 1st. I started as he was finishing his 1st trip around and it was a slow start.  But I finally got the hang of it and didn’t have to have the fence beside the the entire time…lol.  Ian and Daniel, well, they were quite entertaining to watch.  I won the gold star.  I did not fall.  Everyone else did at least once.  

Dinner was at Mama Rosa’s… and eclectic restaurant with multiple options.  We shared meals and it actually tasted very good.  The boys got a pizza.  Conrad and I had a trio of pastas. 

Upon returning, we worked through the fridge and tried to finish up any final beverages and desserts or snacks that remained. Cleaning and packing all the while.

We were up and out by 6am for the airport. The metro to the airport was packed. We ventured to check my bag, wait on the terminal to be announced, had to switch terminals, and made all of our flights.

Back in Black Mountain… its much colder than it was in Scandinavia