The Divas of Desire: Denmark

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Off topic: My Visit to #Copenhagen! #Denmark #Amalienborg #Rosenborg #travel

Hello, friends! Today I'm back to sharing about my trip to Europe last month. I've shared a bit about Iceland, and now I'd like to move on to Copenhagen!

Our hotel--a lovely place.

Our flight from Reykjavic took about three hours. Through the train from the airport left us only a short distance from our hotel, we got a bit lost and walked in circles for a while. That's what happens when you're in a city where you don't speak the language and Google maps is only confusing you. :-) (A hint for future travelers: everyone in Copenhagen seems to speak English and the names of streets are on the sides of buildings.) A kind taxi driver gave us directions and we finally found our destination: the Copenhagen Strand Hotel, only a few blocks from the scenic Nyhavn area. The entire area is lined with restaurants and bars and crowded with sightseers and tourists.

View of the canal and houses.

Seeing the canal and the colorful houses in the area, I couldn't help but be reminded of Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale The Steadfast Tin Soldier. Perhaps this canal was where the soldier had his grand adventure, sailing in his paper boat, encountering a water rat and finally ending up in the belly of a fish.

This anchor is a monument to the Danish sailors who died in World War II.

The monument's plaque, in Danish and English.

So many delicious things to eat and drink! We really enjoyed ourselves. Fish of course is a common dish, as well as pork. And let's talk dessert! Here are two important Danish words: is (pronounced like "ice" in English) and kugle (plural: kugler). How many scoops of ice cream would you like? Three kugler of is, please! We fell in love with Danish ice cream. There are all the familiar flavors you'd find in the states, plus more unusual ones, including (wait for it) licorice! Yes, if you love licorice, you'll love Denmark. Licorice in all its forms is very popular (including in chocolate bars--see the picture right). And don't forget the waffle cone! If you really want to gussy up your ice cream cone, you can add some jam and cream topping, and top it all off with a flødebolle (a big chocolate-covered marshmallow). Enjoy!

Okay, back to some of the sights. There are several palaces to visit within not-too-far walking distance (and of course we had to walk off some of those kugler, lol). We visited Amalienborg, which is the winter residence of the Royal Family of Denmark. It consists of four palaces in a square. We toured the museum in Christian VIII's palace and took pictures of the guards in their uniforms and tall bearskin caps.

Then we visited Rosenborg Castle, which was built back in the 1600s. The museum contained many artifacts as well as the Crown jewels. We also enjoyed the beautiful flowers in the Castle Garden, which is the oldest royal garden in Denmark.

Above is a picture of Rosenborg from the garden.

Above, a couple of crowns!

A lovely rose from the Rosenborg Castle Garden.

Next time: Adventures in laundry and more sights!

Have a wonderful week, all!

Nona Raines
Hot Contemporary Romance
Edgy ~ Emotional ~ Erotic
www.nonaraines.com

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Friday, August 28, 2015

Off Topic: Nona's Adventures in Iceland! @nonaraines #travel #Iceland

Hi friends! The blog has been a bit quiet the past few weeks. We Divas have all been busy, and one of the things that kept me busy was my first ever European vacation. I'm not the adventuresome type (I leave that for my heroines, lol) and tend to be a worry wart, so my anticipation was tempered by anxiety about "what might go wrong." But very little went wrong and my companions and I had a wonderful time.

The trip was to honor my mother, whose mother grew up in Denmark. On our way to that country, we had a three day stopover in Iceland. So forgive the off-topic post, but I'd like to spend the next few blogs sharing some photos and experiences with you.

We stayed in Reykjavik, the capital and largest city of Iceland. We stayed in a small hotel right near the Marina, so got a great view of the boats (or are they ships?)

One of the ships along the Marina.

This fellow took his role as sentry very seriously.

Statue of Leif Erickson

Our first full day in Reykjavic, my traveling buddy and I took a walking tour around the city. We booked through I Heart Reykjavic Tours and had a great time. Our tour group met at the statue of Leif Erickson in front of the famous Hallgrimskirkja, the largest church in Iceland. Our guide Audur (I can only spell an approximation of her name, because Icelandic has letters we don't have in English) was born and raised in the city and shared a lot of history and everyday life in Reykjavic. She was an awesome guide, and is also the owner and founder of I Heart Reykjavic. If you're planning on visiting, I highly recommend this tour.

The temperature was in the fifties, chilly and drizzly. Though I had a warm jacket, I wished I'd also had the foresight to pack a hat and gloves. Just a heads up to anyone planning to travel that way.

Hallsgrimskirkja

On our walk around the city, our guide pointed out some of the more colorful homes. They sure were bright and eye-catching. Because of the dearth of wood as building material, many homes are constructed of corrugated metal.

We also saw a number of paintings/murals on the outside walls of buildings, commissioned by the local government to encourage local artists and discourage random graffiti.

An example of the outdoor paintings around Reykjavic

After a wonderful morning, my buddy and I had lunch at a local restaurant (Snaps--one of the places Audur recommended). Very yummy! I had fish (ling, which I'd never had before) and afterwards we explored the city on our own.