Back in time: Our first days in Denmark

We haven’t been writing much since we arrived in Copenhagen because we’ve alternately been keeping so busy and then relaxing, but I have a little time right now so I’ll share some pictures from our first few days here.

We arrived on a Saturday night around 11pm. On Sunday, we gave ourselves a day to relax since we had been traveling so intensely in Iceland. It was great! Then Sunday night we ventured into the city on our bikes and saw a concert from the Copenhagen Jazz Festival (thanks Farah!):

The next morning, we discovered a wonderful bakery just up the street from our apartment. We have become regular customers there, and Caroline took some photos of the many different fun items that they have. Some are really cute and delicious:

We took a little snack and biked to sit out by the canal and read. It was a wonderful way to relax and enjoy being in Copenhagen:

From there we went to go see the Little Mermaid statue (den Lille Havfrue), which is quite the tourist attraction. We had to fight to get a good picture with her!

The next day our adventures took us to the “free state” of Christiania. In the ‘70s it was a run-down, unused area of land in Copenhagen, and some hippies started squatting there. It became a sort of haven for alternative politics and lifestyles, and now they’ve actually negotiated laws with the government that makes it almost like a reservation. It’s essentially a giant artists commune. They don’t like you taking lots of photos there, so we have just this one from the restaurant that Jayson recommended, which turned out to be an excellent vegetarian place (thanks Jayson!):

We also stopped at Nyhavn, which we’ve learned is pronounced like new-haaun. This is the picturesque port canal that seems to be the most famous view in Copenhagen. It’s easy to see why. If you are there with good weather, it is bustling with Danes and tourists alike, and the entire length of it is lined with restaurants with outdoor seating where you can enjoy a beer and watch the people go by. We discovered an ice cream shop that makes these amazing belgian waffles topped with soft serve. We’ve had 4 of them so far!