Stormy in Køpenhavn

February 20, 2016

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To our pleasant surprise we awoke just before 5 AM – a much more convenient time to wake up than the previous few days. Heather cooked breakfast from what was left in the fridge (an onion omelette) and we sipped our tea as we enjoyed the view from the window.While yesterday was cloudy, it was at least relatively pleasant. This morning, dark storm clouds and heavy sleet dominated the overcast landscape. As we cleaned up around the flat, we waited for the stormy weather to subside. By 10:30 AM, the weather hadn’t let up, but we resolved to go to the local supermarket so we could cook for ourselves during our stay in Køpenhavn.When we opened the door to the outside, we were greeted with a cold gust of wind and icy rain to the face. Conveniently, the shop was only two blocks away, so we high-tailed it to Irma. Inside, we noticed how neat and clean everything was. Between the cleanliness of the aisles, the pristine packaging, and the quality selection of specialty foods, this supermarket looked like Trader Joes had a baby with Whole Foods. We browsed the aisles for some time, and settled on picking up ingredients for guacamole and cheesy mushroom pasta.📷Mayonaise for days After we dropped off the groceries at the flat (and climbed up and down the six flights of stairs again), we braved the stormy weather once more. This time, the wind had let up and the sleet was no longer being blown in our faces. We walked along Gothesgarde, glancing through the fence into the Botanisk Have and headed towards the center of town.Now we weren’t just aimlessly wandering – we were on a mission: I had somehow lost Heather’s American-to-European electrical outlet adapter and intended to buy a new one so we could charge our electronics. After furiously Googling the night before, I had found a forum post from 2009 that suggested a couple of department stores in Indre By (the shopping district). While it wasn’t much to go on, it was best we had.📷Tulips for sale 📷Rainy streets Arriving at Ilum along Købmagergade, we notice it looked like an ordinary department store with a striking resemblance to multi-story Nordstrom malls. That’s not terribly surprising since Nordstrom was founded in Seattle by an enterprising young Swedish lad, but I never really thought about it until now. On the third floor in the travel section, we located an appropriate travel charger and I breathed a sigh of relief. For a short while, I was worried that my poor electronics would go uncharged and unloved.Journeying on, we passed the Storkespringvandet (the Stork Fountain) and arrived at Christiansborg Slotsplad, the Christiansborg palace plaza. All around us were (presumably) important monuments, as evidenced by their distinctive rooftops and decorative spires. One of the more interesting monuments was the Børsen, the old stock exchange building. The base of its tall spire was composed of four dragons wrapping their tails together to form a point. Rather odd, but somewhat inspiring.📷Stork fountain 📷Christansborg Slat 📷Børsen dragon spire Just beyond the Børsen, we crossed the bridge to Christianhavn, the oldest part of Køpenhavn. We briefly meandered through the more industrial streets until we reached the waterfront. From this vantage point, we were able to look back at the Børsen and Christiansborg Slotsplad from across the water. Heather snapped a few shots while I created photosphere. When we turned to walk to what I thought was a crossing to Nyhavn, we realized that the bridge was not yet completed due to the two sides not lining up (they were off by 10 cm). So, we picked up and walked back over the bridge back towards Christansborg Slotsplad again.📷Copenhagen Canal 📷Golden spire As we strolled along the opposite side of the Køpenhavn Havn, we came upon a set of trampolines embedded in the sidewalk – an instant lawsuit in the US. We briefly indulged our inner child and joyfully jumped high into the air. We even have a gif to prove it: https://imgflip.com/gif/zmckgAfter we were finished jostling our breakfast, we continued along the Køpenhavn Havn until we reached the famed Nyhavn. At this point, we gave into being tourists and took several pictures of ourselves as well as the quaint surroundings. Even though it was overcast and gray, the vibrant restaurants and shops lining the sides of the canal stood out in contrast. We watched as a flat-shaped sightseeing boat passed under the bridges and returned to its port. While it would have been much more beautiful in the sunlight, we still enjoyed passing through Nyhavn.📷Flat canal boat 📷Nyhavn with Heather 📷Nyhavn without Heather Since we had been walking for almost two hours now, we decided to get some brunch. Earlier I had been Googling for which cheese to buy at the supermarket and the top search result was a recommendation for a vegetarian-friendly brunch spot very close to the flat. Motivated by hunger, we booked it back towards the flat, passing through the botanical gardens and witnessing the palace guards march in formation through the gates.📷Native American? 📷Palace guards When we arrived at Kalaset, the place was packed with very little seating available. Confusingly, the sign in the front said wait to be seated – place order at register, but when we got to the front of the line, the waitress asked which table she should send the food to. Since we had waited in line to order food, all of the remaining tables (and all but one barstool) had been taken by more savvy customers. Fortunately, after waiting a few minutes we were able to find a table that had recently freed up and redirected our order there.Heather ordered the Grøntervet (scrambled eggs and grilled vegetables) and I ordered the Mormor (eggs and bacon, sausage, parfait, bread and butter, and leafy greens). They were both very good, but the sausage (probably Kielbasa) was absolutely delicious.📷Food at Kalaset A quick two blocks and six flights of stairs later, we were back at the flat. We relaxed for a couple of hours watching the wind and the rain before our host was scheduled to arrive. When Elisabeth knocked on the door, she had carried a few bags of groceries up the stairs (no easy feat). Elisabeth was close to our age (31) and looked the part for most of the Danish folks we had already seen. She had blond hair, light eyes, and a wiry frame. Interestingly, she only had a couple of inches on Heather, but somehow seemed much taller.Earlier that day, Elisabeth had invited us to eat dinner with her and her friend and planned to cook veggie chile con carne. Since we weren’t sure whether this was a vegetarian chile con carne or just a chile con carne with vegetables, we had cooked some cheesy mushroom pasta and made fresh guacamole just in case. Luckily, it was vegetarian chile – which was very delicious.Even though we were both exhausted, the fun conversations we had with Elisabeth and her friend kept us up until 11:30 PM – the latest by far we had ever stayed up since we arrived. We considered ourselves adapted to Scandinavia time and savored our well-deserved sleep.Our walking route:📷According to the GPS, we went swimming in the canal