Arhus and a little beach outing

After a late sleep-in (this would become the norm in Arhus, as it has through much of our summer), Cristina and I drove the girls to their music festival. This festival, on the outskirts of Arhus, is a smaller one, and relatively new. Mostly Danish bands that Sofia had never heard of. But she couldn't pass up the chance to camp at a music festival with a bunch of Danes (mostly young) and Ida. They would be camping for three nights.

Sofia filled the cooler with yogurt, bread, cheese, and all those cans of soup she bought in Blomberg.

My shoe, which has been separating for a week or so, finally got some assistance from trusty old duct tape. Not attractive, but effective. The other shoe is showing some signs, so I may soon have matching feet.

On the way back from the festival, Cristina and I stopped at the Bazaar West, a shopping area with a lot of middle eastern influence and cheap prices (for Denmark). I'm feeling like all our stuff will not fit in the five bags we brought from Florida, so I'd like to replace one of them with a larger bag or suitcase. But of course I want something cheap. We priced a super flimsy suitcase-shaped bag of thin vinyl (50 dkk, $9) which might do in a pinch. Cristina also found a tea warmer similar to Marion's, but it was not quite the color or price she wanted. Produce was reasonable here, and I meant to buy some tomatoes and avocados, but forgot.

The day's primary outing was taking a walk at a local beach. Jesper, Cristina, Alex, Bella, and I (and Nelson the dog) rode in Jesper's car.

The first half of the walk ended at a pier where swimmers were jumping into the water. We tried to get Nelson to jump off after the stick, but he wouldn't do it.

This sign at the pier said "fishing and diving from the jetty prohibited."

Alex found a freshly-dead starfish. We figured it was freshly dead because it didn't stink yet.

One last Beatles tour

We packed up and said goodbye to Viktoria. This is the living room put back in place after our invasion.

Another one of those cool lamps

We had three missions to accomplish today before we left Germany. Get to a DM (an inexpensive drug store for toiletries and cosmetics), do a self-guided tour of the Reeperbahn (where the Beatles played extensively in their early days), and use the last of our euros (since this was our last country who uses them).

Mission #1: We passed a mall that had a DM. We stopped, we shopped, we left.

Mission #2: Cristina's phone navigation got us to the Reeperbahn and we easily found a free parking spot. In case you don't know your hardcore Beatles history, the Reeperbahn was the Hamburg red light district. Yes, the Beatles cut their performing teeth in German bars and strip clubs in the early 60's. And parts of it still are a red light district today. But if you tour it during the day time, it's not quite as seedy and inappropriate for children.

The intersection of Reeperbahn and Grosse Freiheit has been renamed Beatles-Platz.

From Beatles-Platz, this is looking down Grosse Freiheit, perpendicular to Reeperbahn. Susi's Show Bar has IKEA colors!

Beatles-Platz has some Beatle-shaped artworks. I think the homeless guy sleeping just out of frame had hung his jacket on Paul's bass. Alex didn't understand why there were five figures, so we had to educate him that there were five Beatles when they played Hamburg: John, Paul, George, Pete, and Stu. Stu left the band for a career in art and Pete was replaced by Ringo.

Sofia broke a glass. At first I thought it was a beer bottle, but we now think it might have been a glass for coins for the homeless guy behind her. Oops. This was the first of three broken glasses this day.

During the day, you get to see such interesting things as beer trucks unloading. Because I'm a big Beatles geek, I knew of three clubs that the Beatles played at. They played at more than three, but the three I knew by name were Indra, Kaiserkeller, and the Star-Club.

The Indra has the distinction of being the first place the Beatles played in Hamburg. They played six hours a night, seven days a week, and were each paid £2.50 per day. They had pretty dismal accommodations. McCartney said, "We lived backstage in the Bambi Kino, next to the toilets, and you could always smell them. The room had been an old storeroom, and there were just concrete walls and nothing else. No heat, no wallpaper, not a lick of paint; and two sets of bunk beds, with not very much covers—Union Jack flags—we were frozen."

After the Beatles played the Indra for about two months, it was closed due to noise complaints. The owner of the Indra, Bruno Koschmider, also owned the Kaiserkeller. The Beatles switched to this bigger club and worked the same hours.

This was a copy of the contract for the Beatles to play the Kaiserkeller. Obviously it was partially burned in a fire at some point in the past fifty years. When the Beatles broke their contract to work at the Top Ten club for more money and a better sound system, Koschmider angrily had George deported for being underage (he was 17).

The Star-Club was a step up from the Indra and the Kaiserkeller. When it opened in 1962, the Beatles were the opening act. It sat 2000 people in cinema-style seating. Unfortunately, the club was destroyed by fire in 1987. This memorial marks the spot where the club used to be.

The last thing we wanted to do in the Reeperbahn area was find the "Lennon doorway." It's thus called because there was a picture taken of John Lennon leaning in a doorway during the Beatles' stay in Hamburg. He used the photo for the cover of a solo album in 1975. Here's the album cover:

And here's the same photo, not as cropped:

I had read that you could easily find this doorway. A quick look-up on my phone and I got directions to it. And here it is:

While we were taking pictures, a guy who lives in the building approached and asked in soft-spoken broken English, "Are you here for John?" We said yes. He showed us how we knew we were at the right place by pointing out the bullet holes from WWII that are still in the wall. If you look at the original photo of John Lennon, you can see those same holes.

He pointed out how to be mindful of the doorbells as you pose like Lennon. You can't fully lean against the side like Lennon did, or you'll ring someone's doorbell. And then he went inside. It was cool. He was very sweet. I can only imagine how often he encounters tourists like us.

This was my attempt at the Lennon pose with Alex being one of the passing people.

The alley that led to the Lennon doorway was plastered with many old posters

Bella wanted her picture taken with this famous drag queen.

In the car on the way to Denmark, Alex opened up a freebie Cristina had grabbed in the Hamburg mall. It turned out to be poster of an attractive model, with little trading card size images of models from around the world. We each picked out the ones we liked the most and he arranged them in the window. He would occasionally hold the poster up at cars we passed, and he got at least one thumbs up from a driver.

Alex's favorite is the one on the left. He said he was going to marry her one day. I liked the one on the right.

We got to Mette's for a late dinner. As we were getting settled, Alex felt an urge to organize the entertainment room he'd be sleeping in. He cleaned and organized the bar, and then got to work on the DVDs and video games. I guess it's his way of nesting. He is the most organized of my three kids.

Sofia slept upstairs in Ida's room. The rest of us slept here in the pool table room.

My mini-tour of Copenhagen and the drive back to Hamburg

I had a hard time falling asleep the night before. The couch was comfy, and I had my eye mask and ear plugs, so the fact that I left the windows open did not matter (otherwise the street lamp was very bright and the traffic was noisy). But I had gone to bed around 11 pm and I know I didn't fall asleep until after 2 am.

My alarm woke me up at 7. I got showered. Lindsay had toasted some rolls and made coffee, so I ate breakfast while Viggo finished his cereal.

This is the view of the courtyard from the bathroom. Or maybe the kitchen. I can't remember now.

Lindsay took Viggo to school (or daycare, or summer camp,...I can't remember exactly) around 8:15. I wasn't scheduled to pick up the car at the airport till noon. So I decided to walk around and see a bit of Copenhagen before taking the train back to the airport. Lindsay offered me a key so that I could leave my bag at their flat and then come back to get my bag when I was ready for the airport. Perfect!

It would have been a drag to take my bag all over Copenhagen. Get it? Did you see what I did there?

In consulting google maps, I noticed that Lindsay's flat was only 2 km from the little mermaid statue. That's the one thing I knew was a "thing to see" in Copenhagen. When I mentioned it to Lindsay, she sort of groaned and told me it was overrated. She said the parks and gardens were the prettiest things to see in Copenhagen. But I had walked through the botanical gardens the day before, so I thought I'd do the mermaid just to mark that one off my list.

On the way to the little mermaid, I photographed something you don't usually see in Denmark. A jaywalker! Now that I look closer at the photo, though, there is a break in the median where the girl is heading, so she's probably legit. Danes!

When I got to the little mermaid statue, the first thing I noticed was a big group of tourists. I think they were Italian. An old guy was climbing on to the rocks beside the statue and putting his arm around the mermaid for a picture. I was annoyed. My immediate thought was that he was ruining the photos for everyone else who was there to take a picture of the statue. It would be different if the statue was in the middle of a park, where standing beside it would be normal. But you have to climb over rocks in the water to get to her. I wished the statue had been placed a bit more out in the harbor. I always pictured her on a little island for some reason.

As Trine had warned, the statue was small, which for some might be underwhelming. She's about human-size.

I didn't even stop. The tourists were so unappealing that I walked by as if I was only there for a walk. A souvenir vendor was selling little mermaid trinkets, and I overheard a lady complaining that the things were too expensive. Yeah, welcome to Denmark, lady.

I walked to a park that had a toilet, then sat on a bench and enjoyed the cool shade. It was another hot day already. I took a park selfie. It was early (maybe 9 am) and other than the tourists at the mermaid, there were only a few joggers here and there.

I relocated to a spot in my park where I could see the mermaid mob in the distance. I decided to wait until the bus packed up and left, then I would go to the mermaid and have my private quiet time with her. The bus finally loaded up and rumbled away and I started walking. But before I got to her, another bus pulled up and a hundred Asian tourists poured out and mobbed the mermaid before I got there. I knew then that the idea of having private time was futile, so I took this selfie amidst all the Asians and bid the little mermaid adieu:

I apologize for the blur on the right side of the image. It turned out that the edge of my phone's screen protector was half covering the selfie camera. I corrected it later this night, but all the selfies up until then have the blur on the right. I don't use the selfie camera very often.

My little mermaid mission accomplished and stilla  few hours to kill, I hopped on a city bus and rode it into the middle fo the city. When it looked like I was in the town center with lots of big buildings and tourists, I got off and took a few pics:

I don't know what this building it, but it was big and impressive. Maybe a museum? Maybe town hall?

I likewise do not know what this building is. I don't do the tourist thing very well.

The same busline going the opposite direction pulled up, so I hopped on and rode back towards Lindsay's flat. As I walked, I passed by the United States embassy. Just like the embassy in Costa Rica, there was a line of people outside waiting to get in. I thought it would be fun to take a photo of the embassy. The best sign was behind the people in line, and I didn't want to photograph anyone in line, just out of respect. So I settled for the smaller sign that had the hours listed. As soon as I raised my phone, one of the guards told me "No pictures." I said, "Uh, okay" with a bit of confusion and tucked my camera back into my pocket and walked away. Is it wrong to feel a little indignant at being told by a guard with a Danish accent that I can't take a photo of my own embassy? Anyway, I knew it would be good fodder for my blog, even without the photo.

I walked back to the flat, got my bag, and dropped their keys in the mailbox. I dragged my bag to the Nørreport train station. My roll and coffee was long gone and I knew once I got on the train, my only food options would be airport or freeway exit. So I looked around for a bite. I had seen travel videos that recommended pølse as a Copenhagen street food. Pølse is basically a hot dog, though their's have a few variations. Since I hadn't yet actually gotten a true pølse in Copenhagen, I looked for a stand and soon found one. I had 30 dkk in coins, so I chose one that cost exactly 30. It looked like your basic hot dog, with ketchup and mustard. But then the Danish differences began. It had Danish remoulade, slices of pickle (as opposed to relish) and fried onions. I found an out-of-the-way nook to eat and I devoured it. It was messy and delicious. I could have definitely eaten another one. Or two. Maybe I was just really hungry, but at that moment, it tasted like the best thing I'd ever eaten.

I found the train and headed back to the airport. The train was super hot again. I wonder if the trains are also cold in the winter.

I got inside the airport at 11:30. Still had half an hour to kill. I was thirsty after my pølse, and still a little hungry, so I went to the 7-11 where we had picnicked back on June 25. Eager to recapture the bliss of my street pølse, I got a hot dog (this one was called a Fransk hot dog, not pølse) and a Coke. A Fransk hot dog is kind of silly. They take a french baguette, cut the end off, poke (or cut) a longways hole into the end of the baguette, squirt whatever condiments you want into the hole, and then stick the hot dog in and push it down. I didn't take a photo of mine, but here's one off google images:

The thing I didn't like was that the first bites are all meat, and the last bites are all bread. But I gotta hand it to 7-11, the bread was good. It tasted like a fresh French baguette, not a lame old hot dog bun. I might try making them at home.

There's a Coke marketing thing going on this summer where they have different names on the bottles. I don't know if they're doing this in the States too. I couldn't find a suitable name, and the cashier was waiting, so I grabbed this one:

It's a feminine Nordic name, pronounced Luna. But I thought it could be suitably reappropriated to describe my trip to Copenhagen.

At noon, I got the keys to our fifth and final car in Europe. Just like the first time we rented on June 18, Sixt told me they were giving me a free upgrade to a BMW. And it was a diesel, which made me happy.

Third trip across the $42 bridge. I really didn't want to take another photo, but we've joked that we're going to get our money's worth out of every crossing, so here we go.

I listened to the radio the whole journey back, which took about four hours. Got a few ideas for some slide show music (anyone heard of Peter Fox?).

I got a little lost in Hamburg because a road was closed off for construction, and all I had was a print out of google maps directions. So I had to use my phone, and the connection was slow, and there wasn't anywhere to pull over. So I'd stop at a red light, then madly try to figure out where I was on my phone before the light turned green. And many of the streets in Hamburg do not have clear signage. But I finally made it back to Martin's place.

We cooked dinner while the kids watched Johnny English (they're on a Rowan Atkinson kick) and then we walked to Lidl for some groceries and ice cream. On the way back we stopped at a park.

The photobomber in the back was a teenager hanging out with friends. He said, "Hambuuuuuurg!"

24 Hours in Copenhagen

Quick recap of why I'm going to Copenhagen by myself:

1. We're doing 8 weeks in Europe on a shoestring budget.
2. My MasterCard will cover car rental damage for rentals of 14 days or less. So I save on insurance, but have to limit the rentals to less than two weeks.
3. We needed our final car to be returned in Copenhagen the day we fly back to Florida.
4. It's much cheaper to return a car to the same place you rent it.
5. It was cheaper for me to fly to Copenhagen (by myself) and drive the car back to Hamburg then to rent a car in Hamburg and return it in Copenhagen. Much cheaper.

Quick recap of why I needed to spend a night in Copenhagen:

1. I booked a flight from Hamburg to Copenhagen on Easyjet for July 28.
2. I then realized that a 14-day car rental ending on August 12 needed to be picked up on July 29, not 28.
3. Easyjet is nonrefundable.
4. So I'm flying to Copenhagen on Monday, and I can't pick up the rental car till Tuesday.

I'd been trying to get a couchsurfing host for this one night in Copenhagen for months, to no avail. I refuse to overgeneralize and say that Copenhagen couchsurfers are not as welcoming as couchsurfers in other places. It just never worked out for the ones I requested. Luck of the draw.

Mette had offered to contact some of her Copenhagen contacts if push came to shove. So as the 28th neared, and I was debating whether to pay for a dumpy hostel or sleep in the airport, Mette came through. One of her Copenhagen colleagues, Lindsay, agreed to let me crash on their couch. Victory!

I left Martin's before the kids woke up. I had set my phone alarm for 7, but never heard it go off. I checked at 7:30, and jumped up and got in the shower.

 I didn't have time for breakfast at Martin's. I knew airport food in Germany would be cheaper than airport food in Denmark, so I splurged. I saved the chocolate croissant for later. This place was pretty reasonable. I think these three things cost about 4 euros.

No problems turning the Volvo in. I'll miss that car.

After my breakfast, I bought a few things to hold me until dinner so I wouldn't need to eat in the Copenhagen airport. A bag of almonds. A chocolate bar with hazelnuts.

The plane was delayed an hour. That would have been extra blogging time had the free wi-fi in Hamburg airport worked.

 I took this selfie to send to Bella, but I didn't mean for it to look so depressing. I was trying to be subtle so the people sitting beside me wouldn't wonder why this idiot grown man by the window was taking selfies.

The first thing I noticed when I stepped off the plane in Copenhagen (Easyjet deplanes on the tarmac) is how hot it was. I was immediately glad I hadn't brought my jacket.

The airport was packed. Took a while, but I found a seat and got out my laptop. I had a little bit of business to tend to before I did any blogging. Lindsay (she's from Louisiana) and her husband Sune (he's Danish) work till 4 and then pick up their kids from school. So they recommended I arrive at their place around 5ish. I got to CPH at 1:15, so I had a few hours to kill. First order of business: figure out where exactly Lindsay lives and what bus or train to take to get there.

For 80 DKK (about $14) I bought a 24-hour City Pass, which gives me unlimited rides on buses, trains, etc. Paid for it online, and they sent a text message, which you use as the bus ticket. Nice.

I wrote up a couple of days worth of blog posts before finding the metro.

It was super hot on the train. Like sweat dripping down your neck hot.

The first thing I saw when I got to my stop was a Netto. I wanted to get Lindsay's kids a treat, so I bought a couple of 3-packs of Kinder Surprise eggs. These are chocolate eggs which have a little toy inside. They're banned in the States because the toys are chocking hazards. Whatever. I know my kids love them, so I hoped they would too.

Next, I spotted a coffee shop called Cafe Au Lait. It looked cute. And they had a sign out front that advertised "to go" coffee for 12 DKK (2 bucks). For Denmark, that's pretty good. I had never seen coffee here for less than 25.

I ordered a large (the size of a normal household mug) and it was...25 kroner. Ha ha. I'm guessing the 12 kroner coffee was a small. Well played, Cafe Au Lait.

It was so freaking hot, that I wished I'd bought something cold instead. What was I thinking? A couple came in at one point and ordered a Coke (in a glass bottle). I considered getting one after my coffee, but I didn't.

The wi-fi was free and strong. Drank my coffee and got some good blogging done before time to head to Lindsay's. I sat at a table under a big vintage poster of Sophia Loren, rockin' the hairy pits like no other.

A quick check of Google maps showed that Lindsay's house was just a few blocks away. The shortest route was to walk through the University of Copenhagen botanical gardens. I had my rolling carry-on with me instead of a backpack. I could have rolled it through the gardens, but it was really noisy on the paved path. The gardens were so beautiful and so QUIET that I couldn't bring myself to disturb the many people who were lying on blankets or otherwise enjoying the day. So I carried it.

 Massive greenhouses

 Near Lindsay's house, I marveled at how big the bike lane was. Sune said during rush hour the bike lane is absolutely packed with bikes. Some bike lanes in the city are wider than the car lanes.

 Very close to their house, I stopped to take a picture of this. I thought my Sofie would appreciate it. I then got a text from Lindsay saying "Did you get lost in the gardens?" Turns out I was about 20 feet from her front door.

 Because of the heat, we had dinner in the courtyard behind their flat. Another family was eating at the second table.

Viggo and Sofia loved the Kinder eggs. They each opened (and ate) one egg. Viggo's had a little motorcycle. Sofia's had some sort of top launcher, but we couldn't really get it to work well.

Though Lindsay was born in Louisiana and lived there for 18 years, she speaks with a slight British accent. She went to UNC-Chapel Hill and then lived in England for her Master's. That's where she met Sune. They're a lovely family.

View of the lakes from their flat