OUR TRAVEL MAP (you can hover, zoom, click on dots, etc)
written by ed; photos by jayne
The last time I posted, we were about to start our Halls of Fame tour beginning with the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, a quaint town in upstate NY, about an hour and a half drive from our landing spot of Albany, NY. After our scenic drive to Cooperstown, we spent several hours touring the Hall, which did not disappoint with all of its artifacts and memorabilia. As a huge Dodger fan from childhood, the museum brought back many fond memories of my boyhood. One not-so-happy memory though was when my mom threw out my baseball card collection down the incinerator blaming me for misbehaving. Family lore is that it was the fault of my sisters (they insist it wasn’t), but in subsequent years I discovered I was not alone in experiencing this trauma. In fact, there’s a plaque in the HOF that addresses this childhood trauma, but I digress. Bottom line, we both enjoyed the Hall even if it
seemed in need of some updating.
Next stop was Springfield, MA, home of the Basketball HOF. The Hall was more modern and interactive and less stodgy and staid, and although basketball doesn’t have the history of baseball, it was still an enjoyable few hours. We left Springfield and made our way east, arriving in North Kingstown, RI (a half-hour drive to Newport), the home of our niece and nephew whose son was to be married a few days later.
We had a fabulous time in the days leading up to the wedding as we saw family we hadn’t seen in years all in good health and ready to enjoy our few days together. There was a cocktail party at the International Tennis HOF on the Friday evening, followed by a fantastic, celebratory wedding on Goat Island in Newport on Saturday and a Sunday brunch. The joy of the wedding was with us as we prepared for our journey overseas.
The day before our flight, we had lunch with one of my Bronx homies and his wife in Newport, and the next day we spent some time with our friend in Boston where we went for a walk around Walden Pond. Yes, we squeezed in as much as we could in those last few days in the States.
So, off we went to Copenhagen (CPH) via Lisbon. When we arrived in Lisbon, we went through security and customs, connected with our flight, landed in CPH expecting to go through customs. Instead, there were a handful of young women with pamphlets about Covid asking us if were vaccinated. We told them we were and that was it! No customs, no nothing. We collected our baggage, departed out of the “Nothing to Declare” exit, and were greeted by our friend and tour guide-to-be, Peter.
I had met Peter 25 years ago at Melbourne Park in Australia playing tennis and we’ve stayed in touch over the years, including seeing one another in Melbourne during some visits we had made. Peter is Danish and had moved back to Denmark a few years ago. When I had mentioned to him about our plans to visit CPH, where he lives, he said he would show us around. Well, we could not have asked for better company than he and his faithful Australian kelpie, Bowie. Peter has been an incredibly gracious and generous host over the past 12 days, spending parts of, or entire days with us, exploring the city and its environs. 
As we read about the Covid state of affairs in the US and elsewhere, we feel quite fortunate to be experiencing life without limitations. When we first arrived in CPH, we had to show our vaccination certificate when eating inside a restaurant or visiting a museum. Just a few days later, that mandate was rescinded, and it’s been rare that we’ve worn a mask. I would say that over 95% of people are not wearing masks anywhere. It’s hard to know exactly what percentage of the population is fully vaccinated, as it appears over 90% of adults 50-90 are fully vaccinated and a lower percentage among those below 50. What we do know though is that the vaccination rollout is not fraught with politics as it is elsewhere. From what we are told, people very freely might say to someone who’s not vaccinated to get vaccinated, without fear of any backlash. Now, enough of that, onto our visit here!
Our accommodations here have been a “cozy” (small) Airbnb apartment in the Latin Quarter of CPH. Like other major cities, CPH has many different neighborhoods, each with its own uniqueness. There’s a bohemian neighborhood, one that might be described as hipster and then there’s Freetown Christiania, a social experiment begun about 50 years ago with about 1,00 residents. What is commonplace no matter the neighborhood, are bike lanes and pedestrian walkways adjacent to car lanes. CPH is VERY flat so bikes are ubiquitous and are accorded safety status just behind pedestrians. It’s rare you will hear a car honk its horn and so there’s this sense that everyone knows and understands how to move through the city. Cargo bikes are commonplace, with packages, children, dogs, or whatever, occupying the cargo space. There are bikes and cars that you can rent by the hour or day. Given the cost of cars and gas, more and more people are using the share option which is also more environmentally friendly as the cars are electric.
Jayne and I rented bikes and rode with Peter (Bowie was in cargo area) through the city to play padel, the fastest growing sport in Europe. It’s similar to tennis, but with glass and fenced borders around the court. It was fun but would take some time to get the hang of it.
Peter drove us out of the city a few times to visit the home of Karen Blixen ( Isak Dinesen), the author of many books including Out of Africa, Babette’s Feast. It inspired us to watch Out of Africa again, which takes place in Kenya, one of our next stops. Of course, Hans Christian Andersen’s influence is prominent as one of the biggest tourist attractions is a bronze sculpture of The Little Mermaid.
We also went to a great museum of modern art, the Louisiana Museum. Traveling out of the city, we visited the castle that inspired Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Another day we went troll hunting, looking for the recycle art activist, Thomas Dambo’s creations in and around CPH. Yesterday we went to the National Museum, which had a great exhibition of the Viking expeditions and their culture.
Although I was familiar with the social democracy of Denmark (free schooling and healthcare, among other things we could learn from), I was not aware of Denmark’s citizenry in helping evacuate most of its Jewish population and ultimately saving 99% of its Jews from being killed. Today, after an attack on the main synagogue in 2015 where a security guard was killed by a terrorist, there stand two armed guards ready to fire should any disturbance occur. The Israeli Embassy is guarded similarly.
We’ve experienced some Danish cuisine, including Danish pastries, hot dogs (Jayne had a vegetarian one), herring in mustard sauce, smorrebrod (open-faced sandwiches),
licorice, and other delicacies. The outdoor dining scene is vibrant and given that it’s summer with it staying light until 9 or so, we’ve enjoyed dining al fresco several times.
As you can see, we squeezed in quite a bit, but without Peter and Bowie chaperoning us throughout, our time in CPH would have been far less enjoyable. Thank you so much, Peter and Bowie!
There is SO much more I could write about, but fear that I may be getting too long-winded, so for future posts, please let me know if you want more or less detail. You can either email me at etrost@gmail.com or WhatsApp me!
We leave for Sweden tomorrow morning, taking a train underwater from CPH to Malmo, then renting a car and touring for a few weeks before finishing up in Stockholm.
