Guess what – its raining!

Waking up to rain has been a daily occurance on this holiday, and Copenhagen was no different. After the lovely evening yesterday, the rain has come tumbling down this morning. The only difference between rain here and in the UK is that the rain here is more constant (didn’t stop at all) but not as heavy.

Robert took us in to the centre of Copenhagen, showing us the public transport system. Robert and Ela have provided bikes for us to peddle our way around Copenhagen, but the rain makes the bus a much more attractive offer! After visiting Roberts office (very nice, in the middle of the city, great views, great space!), we wandered down Stroget, the main shopping street. We were amazed that the shops were selling the same sorts of summer clothes as in Australia – it is so cold here! Quite a few people were wearing gumboots, although they are much more stylish than we had seen in Australia, and by the end of the day, Alison was wanting a pair herself…

Half way down Stroget, we saw the Royal Copenhagen shop, which also has a museum. The store is beautifully presented, and items in the museum were very ornate. They have a couple of people there actually working on pieces. Everything is hand painted, and very expensive. But with customers like Elton John, Imelda Marcos, and the Danish Royal Family, I guess don’t have to cater for everyone!

We continued our way down the end of the street, before returning to Roberts office, so he could show us the only thing he missed about Copenhagen when he was in Australia – Shawarma. A Shawarma is much like a souvlaki, but served in a small pita bread, rather than wrapped. The flavour is also different, with the lamb itself having more flavour. It was delicious.

After lunch, we wound our way through the streets and down to the Royal Library. On the way we saw Christiansborg Palace Church which is used by the Royal Danish Music Conservatory, and for burials in the Royal family. It was a beautiful building, much less ostentatious than the English cathedrals.

The Library is great (particularly with it being so wet), they have built quite a modern building, but incorporated the old library in a tasteful way. There are great facilities – lots of computers, plenty of space in the reading rooms etc, and architecturally, it is really interesting. We spent a bit of time wandering around, and enjoyed sitting at the café to have a hot drink before braving the rain again.

We headed back to Roberts office, and were dripping wet by the time we got there. We had enough time to dry out a little before Ela picked us all up for a quiet evening at home.

(Alison)