Week One

DAY ONE

Got on the metro to pick up my mom from the airport and made a huge mistake.  I have a punch card that I use when I travel on public transportation and apparently I did not punch enough times for my trip to the airport. When a metro employee entered the train to check tickets, he was ready to fine me 500 DKK ($100 USD).  Luckily the girl sitting next to me had punched her card an extra time so she told the employee that the extra punch was for me.  So thankful for her because I would not have been too happy with a fine!  Finally arrived at the airport and was surprised how quickly my mom was able to get through the airport and pick up her baggage.  It was so exciting to see her walking towards me and she looked great after about 20 hours of traveling!  We took the train back to my house, dropped off her luggage and immediately went downstairs to hop on our bikes.  Bodil, my Danish mom, had gratefully given my mom a bike to use while in Copenhagen.  We rode through the cute little town of Hellerup, making a quick stop for Danish pastries at Lagerhuset, the most popular (and most expensive) bakery in town.  Our ride continued along the sea to Klamepnborg to show her my favorite beach, forest & amusement park.  Instead of riding back home, we took our bikes on the train back to my house and got ready for bed.  After missing a night’s sleep on the flight, my mom was exhausted!

DAY TWO

I was upset that my mom and I slept in so late Wednesday morning.  The sun was shining and I couldn’t believe we had wasted precious hours of sunshine!  We took our bikes into the city center to explore.  I tried to explain a few things about biking in Copenhagen before we got on one of the busiest roads in the city but my mom assured me that she knew how to ride a bike and didn’t need any advice.  After a few minutes on Fredriksbrogade, I think my mom was a bit overwhelmed.  She said there was way too much bike traffic and she didn’t understand the rules of the road!  Good thing her first ride into town wasn’t during rush hour!  In the city center we visited the Rosenborg castle & gardens, the Round Tower (church, art exhibit, great view of the city), my two classrooms, my favorite restaurant (Paleo), a beautiful park and the City Hall.  While in town, I pointed out that the American flag is the most popular accessory in Copenhagen and so we took countless pictures of people with American flag scarves and shirts!  We did some grocery shopping on our way home and I loved showing her how an entire store was crammed into two aisles, with ketchup next to cookies next to shampoo….everything is all just thrown up on the shelves in no logical order.          

DAY THREE

On Thursday we went back into the city center on our bikes.  Our first stop was at Nyhavn, the canal district, which is the most beautiful area of Copenhagen!  Nyhavn is filled with vibrant colored buildings, open air cafés and countless sailboats.  From Nyhavn, we made the trek to the Little Mermaid statute.  Hans Christian Andersen is a Danish author, famous for writing the Little Mermaid.  The city created a statute of the mermaid to honor HC Andersen and it has now turned into a popular City landmark.  I wasn’t completely sure how to get there but knew that you can just follow the never ending tour busses to the area!  After riding a fairly good distance, we finally arrived at the tiny little mermaid statute at the edge of the water.  I think after hearing so much about HC Andersen and the mermaid, you expect it to be some extravagant design, so it is a bit of a disappointment when you finally see what the mermaid is all about!  My mom couldn’t stop laughing and was wondering why I made her ride so far to see it!  We then walked down Stroget, the longest pedestrian street in the world, to do some shopping.  My mom and I bought 4 pairs of shoes and I can't wait to see how everything is going to fit into our suitcases for the trip home!  My favorite part of the day was dinner because my mom got to meet my Danish family.  We rode our bikes to Bodil & Hans house for a great home cooked meal, went for a walk around the neighborhood and ended the evening with tea and cake.  Glad my mom was able to see who I have been spending time with while here in Denmark!

DAY FOUR

Friday was the first rainy day my mom experienced.  I had bought us tickets to go into Malmo, Sweden for the day and we were going rain or shine.  We walked for hours through Malmo, visiting the church, Lilla Torg, Turning Torso, an old windmill, the flower garden and the Castle.  We also did a lot of shopping, although we only came home with a small Swedish souvenir tea spoon!     

DAY FIVE

We woke up to the sound of an announcement being made on the train stations loudspeaker.  I looked outside and noticed a man sleeping on the train tracks which meant that the train line by my house had to be shut down.  I was a little nervous since we had train tickets to Northern Denmark, but it ended up working out.  We took two trains up to Helsingor to visit the Kronborg Castle.  The castle offers free tours of the grounds so we took a guided tour of the Royal Apartments as well as the soldiers’ chambers in the basement.  Helsingor is a typical Danish coastal town so it was fun walking through the streets on our way back to the station….I loved the brightly colored buildings, little boutiques and cute cafés!

Now off to Spain for a few days…