Chapter 1 - Days 1/2: Settling in to Copenhagen

June 9

So our next adventure begins--shorter than the last one but still new lands and new sites.  This trip should be very different--more like Amsterdam.  We have an apartment and our itinerary is more relaxed--wandering the city and exploring shops and neighborhoods. But, no wineries to visit :)

A late morning flight from RDU took us to Newark for lunch and a 4 hour layover before hopping our SAS flight to Copenhagen - that wound up being 2 hours late - ugh! SAS business class was pretty disappointing. The "lie flat" beds didn't really go flat and the food and service were just ok; made us miss Quantas bigtime.

 
The only saving grace was an incredible sunset around us...

June 10

Getting in two hours late put us right in the middle of rush hour traffic, complicated by street closings for the building of a new subway line. It took us nearly an hour to get in from the airport.

What a lovely apartment! A couple of shots...the dining room. The owner collects art from all over the world. More later....

We spent the day settling in--going to the supermarkets, walking around the neighborhood, getting our "Copenhagen Card" for the bus train and museums - a very super deal.  The apartment is in a lovely area near a large garden and filled with charming buildings, interesting stores , and good restaurants.  

Lunch was beautiful at a wonderful French Bistro a block from the apartment.

 We had spring pea soup, a crab salad and a great Sancerre. It was truly picture perfect. 

The afternoon was slower as we tried to recharge our batteries. We went to a nearby park along the waterfront which had a lovely church and magnificent. fountain.

And a somewhat famous statue...

Before dinner, we went to the David Collection. This was a surprising private museum filled with incredible Islamic art.  Built in an old house. it rambles over 4 floors. There was much to see in a wide variety of styles and materials. A few of many pics from here:

We ran out of time, but planned to return to see the textiles.

Dinner was at a wonderful neighborhood Italian restaurant we were served by the owner who was from Italy.  Notice the old espresso machine--an original from Italy.  It made a wonderful after dinner treat.

He told us charming stories and selected a wonderful Pinot Grigio and Sangiovese for us to drink. We started with a saffron risotto followed by a lamb stew and a quiche and had a small strawberry semifreddo for dessert.  It tasted like a wonderful home cooked meal.  Just what we needed after a very l-o-n-g body time day(s).