Baltic Blog - The Beginning

The trip from Sioux Falls to Copenhagen went off without a hitch.  How often can one say that about a plane trip with two connections? From personal experience, not very often.

The Radisson Blu Royal

Why go to Copenhagen? It from thence that the ship sails.  My traveling buddy, Craig, and I are off on a cruise. We’ll travel the Baltic Sea to Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Germany and return to Denmark. Aside from this port city and Stockholm we will cover new territory for me. I’ve been to Germany but not to the cities we will visit on this trip. Twelve days on the Baltic at the height of light, as it were. The summer solstice was a few days previous, but the sun will be up for many hours each day during our journey. 

Our room in the Radisson "Danish Modern"

Craig and I took another cruise to celebrate our big birthday (I’m two months older than he). There was a couple on the ship who wore nothing but T-shirts and warm-ups from the ship’s store. It turned out that they flew in to Rome the morning of the day the ship sailed. They arrived but their baggage did not and never did catch up with them. All they had was what they could buy in the ship’s store. Therefore, I’ve learned to arrive a day or two early, just in case. 

Craig was not as lucky. His connection was in Chicago and he landed just as a massive thunderstorm was to hit the city. All flights were stopped until the weather cleared so he was two hours late out of ORD which caused him to miss his connection in Munich so he was late arriving in Copenhagen. We had prearranged to meet at the airport but with a time limit so one of us would not be standing around for hours. Good thing!

Copenhagen Central Station

Tivoli

I arrived at our hotel. We were booked at the Radisson Blu Royal. I’ve wanted to stay in this hotel for years. It is an iconic structure designed by Arne Jacobsen, the one who, more or less, defined “Danish modern.” The rooms are decorated as he had specified with his iconic chairs, and his woodwork designs.

The hotel is only two blocks from the central train station. You may know that the inhabitants of Copenhagen are passionate about bicycles. Outside of the station there is a virtual sea of bikes. There are dedicated bike lanes on both sides of the city streets. There are traffic lights specifically for the bicycles There are bikes equipped with bins so that the rider can haul merchandise in fairly large quantities. There are bikes equipped so that two children can accompany a parent. The sidewalks in some places are nearly impassable because of all the bicycles parked on them.

Skylight in the Central Station

Copenhagen Lutheran Cathedral

The city is charming, in particular the “centrum” as the Europeans are fond of calling the city center. The Danes are an affable people and speak English with ease. I strolled around for a couple hours while waiting for Craig. 

Part of my peregrination took me to the Lutheran Cathedral. It is a neoclassical building. The aisles are lined with life-size statues of the twelve apostles, minus Judas plus Paul.  Above the high altar is an enormous statue of Christ by the famous Danish sculptor Thorvaldsen who also carved the apostles. The Christus is famous for it is often copied. There is a replica, as I recall above the altar at First Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls.

Following Craig's arrival and a bit of “catching up,” he joined me as I continued my walking. We stopped at a sidewalk restaurant for dinner. We turned in fairly early in the hopes that a good night’s sleep would cure any jet lag we suffered.

Thorvaldsen's Christ in the Cathedral

Following the overnight in Copenhagen, the internet connection becomes more than sketchy. When available the free wi-fi is usually very slow. The rest of this blog will be posted following the cruise as time allows.  I'm sorry it won't be current but rest assured it was written day by day as we journeyed.