Duty Free Debauchery

I returned from a trip to Copenhagen with 7 of my classmates this morning. We left on Friday afternoon and it was a great time. There is a ferry that takes about 16 hours that runs between Oslo and Copenhagen. We rode on the "Pearl of Scandinavia".

In between those 2 locations is where lots of drinking, partying and consumption happens. The ship had a pretty large duty free shop, and with Scandinavia's extreme sales tax on sinful goods, people are thrilled at the opportunity for some tax free shopping. The store was filled with candy, alcohol, and tobacco, as well as shoes, clothes, perfume, makeup and jewelry. People were grabbing carts and going crazy. I wouldn't be suprised if some people get on the ferry for the very purpose of getting duty free goods. The cabins on the ship were tiny-at least the "economy class" cabins we stayed in. One of the girls bought some dramamine, which I refused to take since I've never had problems with motion sickness before. Everyone was fine at first. We went hot-tubbing, ate some junkfood from duty free and were enjoying ourselves. Well, once we left the fjord, the water of the sea got very choppy and many of us got very queasy (including me!) We had a few drinks and watched the people dancing in the bar, then staggered to the cabin and went to sleep. I saw a great example of "what not to wear" in the lounge. A man was wearing a ponytail secured with a pink scrunchie! GIRLS quit wearing those things in the late 90's. MEN should NEVER wear them! I secretly took this picture-it is cropped so it looks fuzzy.
The ship arrived in Copenhagen around 9:15 am and we walked to our hotel. We stayed at a Marriot, which was close to heaven after living where we live in Oslo. Carpeted floors! A bathtub! A sauna! Copenhagen is a city with many canals and the hotel was along a canal. We spent the rest of the day looking around at stores and walking around the city. We even ate at a pizza buffet! I was so happy to see a buffet! We also saw the statue of the "Little Mermaid" (not Ariel from the Disney movie-the one from the Hans Christian Anderson story it was based on). In the H.C. Anderson story, the mermaid ends up committing suicide at the end. This statue is really famous and I'm not sure why. There are always crowds of tourists around it taking pictures and some even walk out on the rocks and stand by it (It's a few feet out in the water).

On Sunday we visited some of the castles around Copenhagen. We bought tickets for one of those cheesy tourist bus services that have a narrator talking about the different attractions! The first place we went was Rosenburg Castle. It was built as a summer residence for the king beginning in 1606. The tour included 3 floors of the castle. There is also a cellar-type room that holds the royal family's jewels that was included in the tour. This castle is not frequently used by the royal family today. Denmark has femal succession, so currently it is ruled by Queen Margrethe. Her son is next in line to be King after her. He is married and has an infant son. The Crown Princess is Australian, and apparently lived in Texas when she was a very young child! Lucky lady-her dad was a Math professor and now she'll be a queen someday!

We also vistied Amelienborg palace, which is where the royal family lives (they have several other palaces as well, of course.)

One of my favorite places in Copenhagen was called Nyhavn. It includes a canal that is lined on either side by very old buildings. They are all brightly painted and colorful. Nyhavn is now a place where people go to have an expensive meal-there are many restaurants. In the past, it was considered a place where "questionable" people were. There were many tatoo parlors, brothels, and places like that! It is different now!

That evening, we visited Tivoli. Tivoli is an amusement park similar to 6 Flags or Valleyfair. It was extablished in 1841, and apparently it was Walt Disney's inspiration! I was excited to visit the park because I remembered reading about it in the book "Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry in elementary school. It was alot of fun. There were many modern rides, as well as really amazing landscaping and multitudes of options for food and drink. Different areas of the park had different themes. There was a Mexican area, a Chinese area, a middle-eastern area, and an old-west type of area. This wooden horse was really cool and old-looking.

The trip back on the ferry was not nearly as sickening. I gave in and took some dramamine before we got on. Also, the water wasn't as choppy. Me and my 3 roommates opened some wine before the ship even pulled away from Copenhagen and then decided to do each others make-up. Fortunately, I don't have any pictures of that! It was a fun weekend. I think I like Oslo a little better than Copenhagen! In Copenhagen, people are allowed to drink openly on the streets. It was not uncommon to see people drinking beer or wine on the street. Because of the acceptance of public drinking, the streets are very dirty and there is alot of litter. It might have been worse this weekend because it is the time of year when high school kids finish school and party alot. It was still a nice place though. And I was able to buy a bunch of chocolate and stock up on alcohol!