Dogs in Copenhagen

Loads of people in this city have dogs, especially small or medium-sized ones since a lot of people here live in smaller apartments. One thing that I've noticed and am quite fond of is that dogs here are treated and behave in a totally different manner than dogs back home.

First of all, dogs are frequently off the leash in Copenhagen. I think that most dogs in America would run off to the nearest interesting smell or person, but all of the dogs I've seen here without a leash have followed closely beside their owners, and if they did happen to get distracted then it wasn't for long. The owners rarely stop to ensure that their dogs are following; they seem entirely confident that they are. I did see one woman with a puppy who seemed to be training it to walk without a leash. She kept looking back to be sure it wasn't getting distracted, and if it did she simply picked it up, carried it a couple of feet away, and then put it down and kept walking. She never got angry at the puppy for getting distracted, and it seemed to be working. For the most part, he toddled along behind her trying to keep up with her fast pace.

Owners will also leave their dogs outside the store unattended. Now, this crosses the Danish mentality for dogs with the Danish trust for others. I have seen people leave their babies unattended in their stroller while they pop into the store. Everyone just seems to know that the baby will be safe, that no one will do anything to it. I'm from small town Midwest where we leave our doors unlocked out of trust for others, but we don't trust others that much. Anyway, back to the dogs. Each and every dog that I I've seen outside of a store has been sitting outside patiently waiting for their owner to come back. They don't excitedly bide for the attention of other people or go looking for smells. I've even seen one waiting outside in the rain, and he seemed totally unbothered.

I've never seen a Dane go up and pet another person's dog, which is a common thing to see in the states. Because of this, I thought for a while that the Danes didn't like it when someone approached them and asked to pet their dog. However, I've learned recently that dog owners don't mind if you do because they take it as a compliment to their dog. There have been a couple of dogs that I found too irresistible not to go up and pet, and they each seemed very happy about the attention. Danish dogs just seem to have their excitement about other people more in check than American dogs do. Whereas an American dog may smell your feet or even try to get your attention when you pass it on the street, a Danish dog is very content with ignoring you. Perhaps this is because they receive less attention from strangers than dogs in America do. 

I've found the differences in the way dogs are managed to be incredibly interesting. At least in Indiana, there are usually strong leash laws and you will rarely, if ever, see a dog waiting alone outside the store. I think it can shed some light on the interesting differences in personality between a typical Dane and a typical American. Among the Danes, there seems to be this deep trust for both other people and their dogs.

The magic of Tivoli

Right in the middle of the city of Copenhagen is one of the world's oldest amusement parks, Tivoli Gardens. Built in 1843, Tivoli is a beautiful (albeit pricey) place that is full of magic and life.


Now, unfortunately, when I say pricey I do mean it. The entrance fee, which does not include rides, is about $16. You can buy a pass for all the rides, but since I only wanted to ride a couple of rides, I bought the individual ride tickets. Overall, I spent about another $16 to ride two rides. I also spent $30 on a pasta dinner there. Personally, however, it was completely worth it.





I should preface this by saying that I am a huge fan of Disney and am utterly enchanted by the magic of Disney World. Tivoli has the same magical feeling. In fact, Walt Disney himself visited Tivoli, and you can definitely see that it inspired him.













The first thing I saw upon walking in was this gorgeous stage. I later watched an adorable pantomime show here, and they do ballet at this stage as well.







I also watched a nice jazz band play at this stage on the right.








Of course the place had plenty of rides. In fact, I was surprised by how many there were. It was very densely packed, but I never felt crowded. The rides all had either very cute or very beautiful touches.

I thought this ride on the right was neat. The kids had to pull a rope to get their seat up the tower, and then it would bounce back down. It seemed to be on a hydraulics system because none of them appeared to struggle with it, and all the kids seemed to be having the time of their lives.






This is the first ride that I went on myself. It is simply called The Roller Coaster, and it's one of the oldest in the world, built in 1914. I's a pretty tame ride, although quite rocky, and each train has a person manning the brakes while sitting on the actual train!

I also rode The Flying Trunk, which is a cute little ride that takes you through the fairytales of H.C. Anderson, because you can't come to Denmark without a bit of H.C. Anderson.

A whale-shaped restaurant

The park has a number of cute details, like these.

Pirate-themed restaurant

Along with a number of gorgeous ones.

With over 40 restaurants, there are countless delicious food options to choose from. I enjoyed a very good Oreo shake.













There's also a strong Japanese influence, including a restaurant.























Also, they have very social geese! This guy came right up to me begging for food! In my book, anywhere that can make such a mean animal as a goose behave like this has a very special kind of magic to it.











The best part, however (and unfortunately the hardest to photograph) is the thousands of lights that begin to come on in the evening. The entire park is lit up with color and happiness. It's one of the most romantic sights that I've ever beheld.

Even if no other part of this incredible city drew me back, Tivoli would certainly bring me back to Copenhagen in the future.

Shakespeare's inspiration

This past weekend, I visited Kronborg Castle, which is the castle where Shakespeare's Hamlet takes place. In the play, the city is named Elsinore. The actual city is called Helsingør, which is pronounced nearly the same way. Shakespeare was just THAT creative.






The town of Helsingør is about a 45-minute train ride away from Copenhagen, and is an absolutely adorable little harbor town. They even have their own interpretation of the Little Mermaid statue. Except it's in blindingly shiny chrome. And it's a man. Oh, also, it's not a mermaid. But from a distance, it looks similar.

Helsingør town square

 









The castle is (of course) surrounded by a moat. Also, hobbit holes. It is surrounded by hobbit holes along the ocean. It doesn't get any better than that.

OK, they aren't actually hobbit holes. They just look super neat. I'm pretty sure they were used for military and defense.

The castle itself is stunning, very Renaissance. I can see why Shakespeare was inspired.

Right next to the entrance through the castle walls is a carved portrait of Shakespeare.

Inside the castle, can the see the king's and queen's chambers, which were separate despite their marriage being a happy one. It was a sign of class to be able to sleep separately because it meant you were rich enough to keep your room so warm that you did not need another's body hear.

The king also had a large collection of tapestries, including this large one on the left that stretched behind and over his seat at the table. It is full of symbolism showing how to be a good ruler and also had the coat of arms for Denmark. The king also included the coat of arms of Sweden as a way of proclaiming his rule over it (despite the fact that he did not, in fact, rule it).

I personally liked this one, rhinos are cute

Ogier the Dane

We also went down into the castmates, which are these catacomb-like tunnels and rooms that stretch 2-stories below the castle. They were dark, dank, and insanely cool. There was a statue of Ogier the Dane, a giant who is said to be sleeping below the castle until the need to defend it awakens him.

The castle also had an absolutely gorgeous church with an interesting little doorknob.

Overall, it was a fantastic way to spend the first half of my day, and it's a stop that I suggest to anyone swinging through Denmark, especially Shakespeare fans.

Quick bonus: The gift shop really loved puns, and I appreciated this one.

Flying solo in Amsterdam

This past weekend, I decided to go on a trip to Amsterdam totally alone, and it may have been the best decision of my life. I gained a whole new level of confidence and independence in just 3 days, plus I honed my travel skills.

My first big accomplishment was fitting everything for the weekend into one backpack. Normally, I am a heavy packer, so this was a big deal for me and it gave me mobility in the city. From now on, I will definitely do my best to travel light. You really don't need everything you think you need, and trying to drag a suitcase around is just far more work than it's ever worth.












When I got off the train to central Amsterdam from the airport, this piano was the first thing I saw. To me, this was a great introduction to a city.












I stayed in a nice little hostel called the White Tulip. It was clean and felt secure, and I would definitely suggest it to anyone looking for a place to stay in Amsterdam. However, I don't think I will ever get used to the lack of air conditioning in Europe. You know the feeling like getting broiled alive a couple hours after sunrise when you are camping in a tent? Yeah, my room felt like that. Albeit, it was a very warm, humid weekend, but inside was warmer than outside during midday!

I visited the Rijksmuseum, which is absolutely massive, and saw a lot of art. Despite devoting 3 hours to it, I probably only saw about half of the museum. A piece of advice to anyone who really likes museums: give yourself a LOT of time for this one but definitely make time to see this one.

Old opiate containers

Cannon

Tomb weeper statuettes

The next morning, I went to Rembrandt house, which was Rembrandt's home before going bankrupt. They reconstructed the interior based on the records of what was sold at auction from the house. It was a nice chance to see the way that not only Rembrandt lived, but also the people of his time. The inside of the house was gorgeous, and it was neat to see where he worked on his art and where he made his prints.

Rembrandt's kitchen

I also went to the Van Gogh museum, which is probably the best museum I have ever been to in my life. You definitely need to visit it, and you must get the audio guide along with it. It is a perfectly organized museum with a clear story to tell. You get to watch as Van Gogh's art and talent evolves over the short ten years that he was an artist. Unfortunately, photos aren't allowed. (Don't tell anyone, but I did manage to take a couple.)

Van Gogh's palette

 

That night I went to the Heineken experience. Instead of a brewery tour, it is a self-guided museum where you see the history of the company and get too see how the beer is made. Overall, it is incredibly corny, with lots of advertising thrown at you and  even a lovely video of the head of Heineken blatantly reading from cue cards about the values of the company. There were a couple of neat things, though, like getting to try wort, which is a sugary water and barley mixture that is made early on in the brewing process. They also teach you the technique to pouring the perfect beer from tap, which I pulled off on my first shot.

Fermentation tanks

Bottling machine

On my last day in Amsterdam, I went on a canal tour, and I am quite glad I did. It was only an hour long, but I got to see a lot of gorgeous buildings and learn some interesting facts.

Do you see that tiny, 2-story building by the front of the car? That is one of the slimmest buildings in Amsterdam. They used to tax people based on the width of their homes, which explains this beauty.











All-in-all, it was an amazing trip and Amsterdam is certainly a city I want to visit again someday.