Copenhagen: 2 'greats fires' are better than 1

Well surprise, surprise, another early start, for another bumpy coach at another bus station. Somehow we were first on in the stampede, having been the only 2 to bother checking in first. There was me thinking the Germans were efficient.

After what was a much better ride than the previous debacle, we arrived in a scorching Copenhagen eager to explore. We stumbled into our tiny 4 bed dorm to be greeted by what was pretty much a shelf hooked on to the wall, with no safety barrier and a noticeable slant in it from all the porkers who have slept in it over the years. Charlotte called bottom bunk! As ever, our first port of call was to hunt down a supermarket. Having been to Norway before and knowing the reputation of Scandinavian countries for being ridiculously expensive, this wasn't really something we were looking forward to. we were pleasantly surprised, with the Pound being worth 10 Danish Krone, it was pretty simple to work out how much we were spending. we splashed out on some fresh chicken and cooked up a curry at our hostel. That evening, we strolled out around town to get our bearings and check out the picturesque and bustling Nyhavn. This restaurant lined canal is home to some of the oldest buildings in Copenhagen, with number 9 dating from 1681. To keep with tradition, an early night was on the cards.

Rudely awaken by our strange, departing roommates at 3:30, we managed to have a nice peaceful lie in. After a quick diversion to the tourist information centre to pick up the mandatory city map, we headed in the direction of the statue of the little mermaid. there were a few fountains and statues to see along the way, as well as the very impressive Amalienborg Palace, which is home to Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and the Crown Prince and his wife. We arrived just in time for the changing of the guard but with huge crowds we decided to move on. Eventually, we made it to the statue. Its impressive how such a small statue of a fictional character can be such a huge draw in a City with as much to offer as Copenhagen. We were greeted by more swathes of tourists eager to see what has become a symbol of the city. It is a nice statue but what is a disappointment is the industrial scenery behind it, which makes it quite difficult to obtain a good photo. By this time, we were hungry but with eating out a costly pastime we tried to hunt down our supermarket from the previous evening. Impossible!!! We went in circles for ages but just couldn't find it anywhere. Eventually, Charlotte plucked up the courage to ask a traffic warden where we could fine one, right on the main square of the city! We lunched on bread rolls, salami, a massive packet of crisps and a banana in the homeless ridden Town Hall Square. We then rolled back to the hostel to browse the map and decide on our next activity, it was definitely Beer time. We just had to decide where to have it, Nyhavn seemed like the logical place. At least until we sat down and saw the prices. It was still a lovely place to sit and enjoy a beer and watch the world go by, while it poured with rain. Clearly it's not just England that has indecisive weather! We managed to get some much needed fresh veg for dinner for the first time on our trip. After what was a very busy and filling day, our beds were calling.

As much as we like the big cities, we do enjoy getting out and seeing the quieter, more relaxing areas of the countries we visit. Today we headed to Roskilde, which was the ancient capital of Denmark during Viking times. It's huge twin spired Catherdral is where many of the ancient kings are buried. After a quick stroll through the town, we headed to Roskilde Fjord where the Viking Ship Museum is situated. they excavated 9 Viking ships in the area and rebuilt them in the very interesting and informative museum. Some had been built as far away as Dublin. Highlight of the day though was heading out on to the fjord in a Viking boat that had been built on site by hand. The first part we rowed, which was a nice experience, apart from the lady behind me who was absolutely useless and the Americans who took control. After a short while, we hauled up the sails and cruised back into port. while we really enjoyed this experience, we would have preferred rowing the entire way but some people just can't hack that! We lunched the same as the day before in the deserted shopping street of Roskilde, seeing as everything but the supermarkets were closed by 3pm we headed home.

Sunday so far has been our relaxing day, so we used this miserable day to our advantage by finishing off the Hamburg blog and Skyping our parents, which put a spring in our steps. We also sorted out some travel bits, like booking a flight from Perth to Adelaide, it seems so far off! Spanish Chicken for dinner followed by a late evening stroll down the canals, typical that we got caught in an unforecasted shower.

Our final day, we headed for the free walking tour, which is a great way to see a place when you are on such a tight budget as we are. Despite having been in Copenhagen for 4 days the tour took us to a couple of places that we hadn't yet stumbled across, such as Christiansborg Palace, which was the original home to the royal family but now houses the parliament and the Prime Ministers office. We stopped for a break at a cafe and plumped for a Hot Chocolate each as we'd got quite chilly on the tour. Best decision ever! The idea of sticking real chocolate on sticks and melting it in hot milk was genius, just delicious! As always, we were hungry and were struggling for ideas of what to scoff, so we googled 'Danish Food' and were given the answer of Smørrebrød, which is an open faced sandwich, with all sports balanced on top. We found a placed that specialised in them and ordered a one with Roast Beef, gherkins, onion and what seemed like piccalilli with giant bits of cauliflower in it (believe it or not mum, I ate all of it) and a Chicken Salad one with bacon, mayo and greenery. Mine was certainly a little experimental than Charlotte's but we both thoroughly enjoyed them. It was nice to finish off with something so traditional to Denmark (we'll just ignore the fact that we had beans on toast for dinner).

Probably our favourite place so far, so much to see and do in an easily accessible city.

Next up, we head further north, to Stockholm.

James and Charlotte