We were up and out of the apartment by 8am on Wednesday, propelled by the bright blue sky and forecast of rain later in the day. We tried to find an espresso bar or coffee shop that was open, but all of those we passed by didn't open until 9 or 10, so we proceeded to our first desination for the day, Rosenborg Slot.

Rosenborg Slot (aka Rosenborg Castle) was originally a summer countryhouse as a project of Christian IV. The castle is surrounded by acres and acres of beautiful gardens, referrred to as the Kongens Have, where I soaked in the bright sunshine and took pictures:

Rosenborg Slot. 

Another view of Rosenborg Slot.

Next door to the Rosenborg Slot the Danish Royal Life Guards performed their drills:

Marching to the beat. The chain link fence got in the a bit, here.

Although we could have gone inside the castle and seen the crown jewels, neither one of us was interested in going inside - it seemed almost criminal on such a crisp and sunny day.

After stopping briefly for cappucinos at a tiny cafe, we headed for the Rundetaarn, or Round Tower, located just minutes from our apartment.

The Rundetaarn was also one of Christian IV's projects and is the oldest functioning observatory in Europe. You can climb up to a viewing platform on the top (and at only approx $12 USD for two people, a bargain here in pricey Denmark). The climb was very, very easy - due to the fact that instead of stairs, there's a spiral ramp that winds itself around the core of the tower - a stark contrast to the steep spirals and ladders we experienced on our climb of the Westerkerk in Amsterdam!

View from the top of the Rundetaarn.

After descending the Rundetaarn we stopped at a sausage stand for a Polser, a popular street food here in Denmark. Ours came wrapped in bacon, and I asked the sausage wagon lady to load mine up so I got some kind of spicy mustard, ketchup, two kinds of onions (raw and deep fried, mmm!), and sliced pickles. We inhaled them in short order and I could have easily eaten another one, but we pressed on to visit the local Netto supermarket to stock up on some needed groceries - including some delicious Havarti cheese and for me, some desperately needed fresh fruits and vegetables.

Since we had plans to visit Tivoli -perhaps Denmark's most popular attraction - later in the evening, we went back to the apartment and rested up for a few hours. With acres of ground to cover and the prospect of being surrounded by lots of small noisy children, we needed our strength!

Did I mention that our apartment's location was one of it's strong points? This was evident last night when we walked just a few short blocks and then all of a sudden I see Radhuspladsen and the lighted sign for Tivoli:
 


Yippee! My inner child was jumping for joy at the prospect of visiting this amusement park (even though I never like the rides) but my adult self was dreading the hordes of people, overpriced food, and high admission cost just to enter the park ($34 USD for two).

It turns out my fears were (mostly) unfounded. Tivoli is absolutely gorgeous and felt a lot more organic and beautiful than my distant memories of Disneyland and Great America. Although it was starting to get dark, I still managed to capture some photos of this beautiful park:

Outdoor concert.

After a couple of hours at Tivoli, we were quite hungry and so I dragged Michael to Wagamama, a pan-Asian noodle bar that I've mostly seen in and around London but had never got around to trying. We waited in line a long time, but were eventually seated and ordered Chicken Gyoza, Steak Yakisoba Noodles, and Chicken Chili Mein. Plus a bottle of water, Coke for Michael, and a small beer for me. Grand total for this tasty but not anywhere near mind-blowing meal? About $80 USD. Ouch.

We were in Wagamama for a good hour, and as we got up to leave we noticed lots of umbrellas and rain slickers pulled over people's heads. The threat of rain as predicted by AccuWeather had indeed materialized. Fortunately we came prepared with our collapsible umbrellas, and made the short walk home in relative comfort.

Thursday we plan to visit the hippie commune, Freetown Christiania. Should make for an interesting cultural experience!