I Can See for Miles and Miles and Miles

June 28, 2012

We took no small delight in the fact that after breakfast we could retreat to our rooms and leisurely get ready for the day while the others attended the lecture mentioned in yesterday's entry. We walked to a beautiful botanical garden and Rosenborg Castle, the home of the crown jewels although not the royal family. It was built by Christian IV as a summer home but none of the monarchs wanted to live there. It is small, as castles go, with dark rooms, for the most part. More appealing were the Royal Crowns (not worn by the moderns) and the Queen's jewelry.

Since the walk took about 45 minutes, we did not linger long at the castle because we were due at lunch with the group. All of us were free to spend the afternoon as we wished.

The four of us walked to another part of the town near the water to the Church of Our Savior - Vor Frelser's Kirke. Our plan was to climb the 400 steps to the top of the copper-covered spiral tower which enabled a wonderful view of the city. We navigated the may steep steps on the inside of the tower without much trouble until we were suddenly propelled into the open air with a lattice grill on one side of the metal steps (gulp) and the tower on the other. Caroline got outside first and said, "Mom, you're going to lose your s*!#." Once outside, I damn near did. (I mention here that she and I are not friends of high places.) I did manage to get outside - somewhat frozen and clutching the building side of the walkway while Caroline took temporary shelter back inside the spire. You will be proud to know that we both eventually and cautiously made our way to the top. Well, except for the last several steps because there was a logjam of people there taking photos. After some pictures of our own, Caroline made haste to the bottom but I took my time, remembering that it was easier to back down steep steps like you do when descending a ladder. That I did, not caring how long it took while John and Ron hung out atop without a care in the world.

Our next destination was pretty crazy. A block from the church stands the "Alternative City" of Christiania - prime real estate on the waterfront housing a collection of ramshackle buildings and hippies too numerous to count. The community started in the early 1970's commune which left Danish law at the entrance. Although there have been rocky times, it thrives today and welcomes visitors as long as these rules are followed: no cameras, no running, and it is illegal to sell hash. Then you enter the green zone where you see booth after booth of merchants selling hash, marijuana and all the paraphernalia your heart, if so inclined, could desire. Reportedly, there are good restaurants and produce that looked fresh and appealing and we did enjoy the various booths with clothing and jewelry. We made a few purchases and left happy with no help from any of the products from the green zone, thank you. Not surprising, we met no others from our group during our visit here.

Back home and footsore, we rested and then walked to dinner al fresco. Good food, not particularly fancy and with only soda and bottled water. The bill? About $100. Food and everything else is very heavily taxed here.

Tomorrow we pack up early and leave the hotel after breakfast, luggage in hand. We will spend the day in Denmark and then off to the boat for our passage to Oslo.

Posted with Blogsy