Day 3 & 4- Nyhavn, Kastellat & Ice Bar

There were so many unexpected pleasures in both Copenhagen and Stockholm. At the top of my list were how compact and safe the city centers were, making them both extremely walkable. Part of this safety could be due to the lack of significant economic divide in Denmark (which is also true of muh of Scandinavia). Rather than the 'haves' and 'have nots,' most ' have enough.' Meaning that everyone is paid a living wage (minimum wage is about $17/hour) and has access to quality higher education and comprehensive healthcare. However, it's important to note that the countries are not socialist, as their citizens enjoy great economic freedom. 

On the flip side, Denmark has some of the highest rates of taxation in the world- 25% for most goods/services, and income taxes are even higher, coming in at closer to 40%. So although their citizens are afforded a very comfortable safety net (welfare system), there is a price to that. (And since you asked...I'm on board with the Nordic model of economic success. I would much rather live in a society where education and healthcare are not privileges of wealth, but are rights afforded to all. So once I nail down my fluency in Danish/Swedish and global warming has raised their temps up to a balmy, tropical 75 degrees, I will be immigrating. (So it's looking like 2199 is the year!)

Back to the trip.

We woke up around 4am due to the wonky time change and jetlag, and were up and out of our apartment fairly early the next day. It was rainy, gray and quite nippy with the windchill factor (perhaps 36-38), but we were reasonably prepared to handle the cold. 

Our first stop was walking along Nyhavn, the famed waterfront canal lined with historic buildings and ships. The beauty of traveling off season is that the streets were virtually empty, versus being packed shoulder to shoulder with cruise ship passengers in the warmer summer.

Our walking tour that day took us from Nyhavn up to Kastellat (less than a mile away), a star-shaped military base surrounded by a water/moats. It is considered to be one the world's best preserved historic military bases, as it was built in 1662 and is still an active base. However, our reason for going there was because it's one of the few destinations in Copenhagen with a wooden windmill.

Photo Credit of Katellat: http://greatruns.com/copenhagen-kastellet/

But no walk is easy without provisions...so we had to stop here first and load up. Although we all desperately craved fruit, grain and nuts...we forced ourselves to get sugar-highs in the name of history and culture.

I had totally forgotten how much Scandinavians love their sweets, so the minute we spied their familiar candy aisle (a frequent sight in Iceland), we excited loaded up...almost daily.

The walk to, and within Kastellet, was quite scenic.

The barracks

The windmill did NOT disappoint

Once we cruised Kastellat for a bit, we decided to forge on a bit further over to the Little Mermaid statue. Although I had been forewarned about the mediocrity and underwhelming statue (many Danes cringe when you mention it), because we were already so near, we figured why not? And yes...although it was far from impressive, it was also far from terrible.

Although every other statue in the city had graphic nudity, she did not. She was very modest and politely covered her hoo-ha so the American tourists don't complain (I still did on principle...because I'm an American, damnit. I have rights!)

Our walk back to town had us meandering over to the Modern Art Museum, which Joey enjoyed so much, that he bought a 23-lb. book from the museum to lug back home. I nearly did as well, but settled on a warm scone from the museum's cafe instead. As I gloated to Joey later- technically...with our purchases, we are both equally claim to be generous patrons of the arts! (Only I spent $4...and he spent $50.) Rookie mistake on his part.

And because the museum was near the Royal Palace, we manage to be walk by this procession when leaving... Much as I hate to point out rude behavior, not one of these stoic gents so much as tipped his hat to us, nor offered a single "Smorrebrodhyggefjordikeaslot" in greeting.

Our second full day in Copenhagen was spent walking around our apartment in search of a few more Ryan-friendly activities. The day prior, we had spied more than a few electric scooter rentals around town. This had Ryan frothing at the mouth to get on one, so we'd downloaded their apps the night before. Safety Patrol Officer Rich insisted that we find a near empty square before he would let Ryan zip around a bit.  It was roughly $8 for about 30 minutes of riding, which seemed fair given the amount of joy it gave Ryan each day. We ended up renting one for him nearly every day of the trip as a thank you for patiently traversing the city looking at historic buildings, museums and parks all day.

I'd read about an uber futuristic park in the city, Hauserplads...but it was eerily empty, not all that interesting or fun, and COLD...so it was a bit of a failed visit.

Shopping in Denmark...always a touch of OCD (which I love)- very organized with a simple aesthetic.

After an accidental 3-hour siesta in the midday, we set off in the later afternoon for Vor Frelsers Kirke, a historic church with a very high steeple with stairs winding around the outside of it (offering a very scenic view of the city).

We passed this restaurant on the way.

Our walk took us over a bridge into the government district...

The church itself couldn't have been more beautiful, and you could see the winding handrail atop the steeple. Unfortunately, it was closed that day due to the rain and high winds. :-( And because the handrail is described as being quite low (more like waist-high, it closes in anything other than still, dry conditions).

Because we weren't able to climb up the church that afternoon, we decided to tick something else off my bucket list instead- a visit to an Ice Bar! Although I was very happy we were able to go to one, and that it was so close to our apartment (a 15 min walk)- it wasn't super exciting. The bar was quite small, and the floors and ceiling were not made of ice, so it didn't look very igloo-like (I understand the difficult logistics that would prevent that). But also- it was cold! So once we tossed down our icy, overpriced beverages and perused the tiny area it was time to leave so you we could avoid hypothermia and frostbite. (Remember, Hawaiians get cold in the dairy section of your local grocer, so this is no joke.)

Sipping out of our ice glasses