This weekend was nothing short of gorgeous days of sun, sun and more sun with a slight cool breeze that made the weekend simply perfect! The air feels like fall though, but one of those beautiful warm, fall days. So we took advantage of the weekend and played tourists in our own home!
First thing we did was head to Copenhagen climb the "Rundetaarn" (Round Tower) for a view of Copenhagen. We figured, we've seen Oslo,Rome, Paris, Tokyo, Istanbul and even a couple small German villages from way up high on towers and mountain/hilltop, it was probably about time we saw Copenhagen as well. The entrance was pretty cheap (for Copenhagen standards) at 25DKK a person (about $4.50) so we thought, why not!
"Rundetaarn"
Apparently the tower part of the Trinitatis complex, and included an astronomical observatory, a student church and a university library. It was built between 1588-1648We saw the church and the library which were a decent size and quite nice. It is also the oldest observatory in Europe and is still used! At night in the winter (which is practically all day long haha) people can go up and use the telescope to see the sky.
Apparently the tower part of the Trinitatis complex, and included an astronomical observatory, a student church and a university library. It was built between 1588-1648We saw the church and the library which were a decent size and quite nice. It is also the oldest observatory in Europe and is still used! At night in the winter (which is practically all day long haha) people can go up and use the telescope to see the sky.
Climbing the tower was pretty simple. The entire climb looked like this until the very end where there were about 15 steps. Not too bad. Easiest tower climb we have ever done (worst one was in Freiburg Germany where we climbed just short of 1,000 stairs in the narrowest little stairwell, in a Cathedral to get to the top of a bell tower) I was actually a little surprised to see many people huffing and puffing on their way up.
Once at the top we had an amazing 360 degree view. Knowing so many of the buildings and streets made looking at wonderful Copenhagen that much better. We could see pretty far and could even see some really tall buildings in the distance which we immediately recognized as "Høj Gladsax" , which is basically where we lived last time we lived here.
After the tower we wondered around Copenhagen. Stopped at Nyhavn grabbed some soft ice, then hopped on a boat (one that is tied up and doesn't go anywhere) for a micro-brew style beer. The city was so very full of tourists, not many Americans though. Seemed like the streets were filled with Swedes and Brits. We both have an " Årskort" (year card) for Tivoli, so as long as we were in the city we hopped in there for another beer and sat right next to the little lake in there and had a really good time. After all this, we were starving so came home and ate and rested our feet. (We actually do tire ourselves out from walking, but no one has been brave enough to stick it out long enough to see that actually happen!)
Copenhagen Street
Tivoli
Tivoli
Sunday was just as lovely if not more so then Saturday. We hit the gym in the AM which was pretty much like an old abandon town. We were the only ones in there for about 45 minutes until 4 people came and hopped on treadmills. Then there were 6 of us. Danes love the sun, I'm sure they didn't want to waste any of the weather on being indoors. I can't blame them. We were doing abs and I told Michael that at that moment, I envied their freedom of not being so ridiculously dedicated. We got out of there as fast as we could and headed for a little walk. We stopped at a bakery on the way to grab some bread (and it was the first time Michael had ever witnessed me doing everything in Danish). We headed towards something called, "Lyngby Fort" I had seen it on a map and was just a little curious what it was, so we went. To be quite honest, I'm still not exactly sure what it is, but I know it was built in 1887 -1892. It was, "interesting" to say the least. Kinda hidden behind houses, and very overgrown with growth. We climbed up to the top and ate up there.
It once read, "LYNGBYFORTET" but now, there are letters missing
Along the side
Stairs to top
View From the Top
Top of the Fort
Walking back to our place we stumbled upon a hidden treasure. A "Møntvask"!!! It is a Laundromat!! For those of you who remember months and months ago I had to start doing our laundry by hand....again.... well. I am STILL doing it that way. Long story short...our landlord sucks and we do not want to spend the money to buy a washer that we can't take back with us because they are quite pricey. ANYWAYS, so we have searched every corner of Lyngby (or so we thought) looking for one and never could find one. On our way home, somehow we ended up on a hidden curve of a street, not too far from our place, and staring me in the face was the word, "Møntvask". I grabbed Michaels arm and pulled him across the street as he was laughing knowing my pleasure in seeing this word. I haven't minded doing our laundry by hand but the sheets and towels are quite the chore, because they are so big. I think that was the highlight of the day! Today, I'll be heading down there with towels and sheets to get those all washed and I am very excited about it, as I am sure my mom and a few of my close friends are very excited for me as well!! haha.
We got back to our place about 3:30 and spent the rest of the afternoon/evening on our balcony. Reading, drinking some wine, doing Danish homework, eating dinner....etc.
Today looks just as wonderful as the past couple days. Perhaps August will turn out to be ok after all. I'm not holding my breath just yet, but I'm closing my eyes and wishing really really hard that it keeps this nice.
