Quote of the Day: "It's a Shopping Mall with an Airport Attached" —- Michael on Amsterdam's Schipol airport


We were up and running at 6:30 on Tuesday, as we had a taxi coming for us at 7:30 to take us to the airport. We got there with plenty of time to kill, which wasn't such a bad thing as Schipol is by far the nicest airport either one of us has ever been to — bright, modern, and chock full of great shops and eateries. At 10:00, we boarded our SAS flight to Copenhagen with seats in the very last row ... good thing the flight was only about an hour long.

Once we landed in Copenhagen, it took us awhile to find an ATM and hop on the train, but once we sat down it was just 15 minutes to Norreport station followed by a few blocks walk to our flat where we met our greeter, Kirsten.

I'm not sure who or what I was expecting, but Kirsten was certainly a surprise. Lanky and tall, with yellow teeth and shoulder length grey-and-white hair, she wore a marijuana leaf necklace and some kind of Jamaican looking knit cap. She looked as if she had time-travelled from a 1960's hippie commune. She didn't speak the best English (which seemed odd for a Dane) but we communicated well enough and after showing us around the apartment, we exchanged money, keys, and our good-byes.

And what an interesting flat it is. It definitely has its plusses and minuses, which is a bit of a letdown since our Amsterdam apartment was so fantastic. The floorboards are incredibly creaky. The bedroom is a closet with a bed stuffed in it. But probably the biggest minus here is the "shower", which feels standing under a garden hose! And, the sink (which is tiny) is in the same enclosure as the shower so in order to wash your hands you actually need to step into the shower. I've seen some strange bathroom situations in my travels, but this one takes the cake.

On the positive side, there is great light in this space and the windows in the back of the apartment open up on to a beautiful community garden. The front windows overlook our street, which makes for some great people-watching. More positives include some great contemporary art on the walls (I will try to remember to post pictures) and of course the central location.

We didn't do much Tuesday except walk down the Stroget - a series of streets which form the largest pedestrianized zone in all of Europe. We weren't impressed - it was just another version of the Kalvarstraat or Las Ramblas or any other number of heavily commercialized, tourist-choked nightmares present throughout Europe. We definitely won't be going back there, unless one of us is on a mission for something specific.

Did I mention that Copenhagen is outrageously expensive? So far, we have spent:

-$20 USD for two Quarter Pounder meals at McDonald's. (Don't laugh, we hadn't eaten lunch and it was the most convenient thing available at the time.)
-$10 USD for two absolutely horrible, thin cups of coffee on the Stroget. (Folgers tastes better)
-$6 USD for a latte that tasted like it had no espresso in it.

I am hoping that as we move away from the tourist zones such as Stroget, we will find some better and cheaper eating options. It does appear though, that even a simple Falafel sandwich here will set you back $10, something which you can get for $4-$5 back in Portland.

We returned from our stroll down Stroget around 6pm and promptly fell asleep - obviously we're not as over the jet lag as we throught we were. I also had a horrible stomachache for awhile and feared food poisoning or something, but it eventually subsided. At 9:30 we both woke up briefly and I had a couple slices of baguette with "smor" (butter) and went back to bed. Michael stayed up for awhile catching up on political news (thankfully the Internet connection is fast here) and finally went to bed a couple of hours later, I think.

Wednesday the weather is supposed to be sunny and mild, so we have plans to climb the Round Tower (great views of the city) and visit Rosenborg Castle and the nearby botanical gardens. Photos to come!