Family Visit

Bobby and I have finally had summer visitors in Copenhagen! Last week, Aunt Carolyn, Uncle Ben, Dad, and Gloria arrived in Copenhagen after a 10 day Scandinavian cruise. Behind the five of us is their giant boat. We checked them into the Granny's House B&B, the only hotel in our area. The B&B sits atop one of the best bakeries in all of Denmark. Every morning my family members would wake up to the smells of fresh baking. Lucky them!



I acted as tour guide for the family. We saw all the major attractions of Copenhagen over the course of 3 days. Bobby and I have not done some of the touristy things since moving because we wanted to save them for when we had guests. One of those things was taking a canal cruise. Pictured here is Dad, Gloria, and I, ready to take the canal cruise.






Departing from Nyhavn, the one hour ride took us by many beautiful places. The weather was perfect... a little bit cool but no rain.











One of the bridges we went under was a really close fit.

















Another touristy place Bobby and I have been waiting to see is Tivoli Gardens. Opened in 1843, Tivoli is the second oldest amusement park in the world. There are a few roller coasters and many carnival games. Dad and Bobby played one game where you throw balls at plates. You don't win any prizes... you simply gain the satisfaction of breaking plates without getting yelled at by your mother or wife.





After walking around the entire park and smashing plates, we built up our appetites and ate at one of the many restaurants in the Gardens. This restaurant sits over the Tivoli Lake. Sadly, the view did not make up for the over-priced and bad food. But Bobby and I still put on a happy face.







After three days, Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Ben departed for the States. Dad and Gloria stayed on for a few more days, so we took a day trip to Helsingør, home of Kronborg Castle. This beautiful castle was made famous by Shakespeare's Hamlet, which is set in the castle (Shakespeare anglicized the name of the town to Elsinore). Built in 1420s, Kronborg Castle looks over the Baltic Sea. Any ship wishing to pass had to pay a due to Denmark, which made Denmark very rich.



We explored many areas of the castle, which is still in great shape. The military continued using the castle until the 1990s. In WWII, the Germans occupied it.










There is a church inside the castle. Every pew had a unique carving above it. Many of there were amusing, like this one.











Can you spot Dad and Bobby in the chandelier's orb?












The inside of the castle had many large rooms. Because of the many battles with Sweden, much of the original artwork has been stolen or destroyed. A few original pieces remain in the Grand Hall, which was huge!









What trip to Scandinavia would be complete without a trip to Ikea? We took Dad to the local Ikea, where he kindly bought us a dining room table (we had yet to find one on the street). We enjoyed a last lunch on the new table. Thank you, Dad!