John & Fayne in Northern Europe 2013

This four-week excursion to Northern Europe was designed as a figure-eight with Copenhagen at its center. The plan was to fly to and from Europe via Copenhagen, crossing back in the middle to join the 10-day Baltic cruise. Because of initial flight snafu, we passed through Denmark not thrice, but twice, a day before and after the cruise. It also meant we spent the first day there with Tom and Melinda Blum, and for the last day we coincided with the start our friends and neighbors Christine Samas and Doug Nunn's Baltic vacation. For blog purposes, I decided to meld the two visits, but first I will finish the report on the cruise.
Our last port of call was Kiel, after Berlin but before Copenhagen. There were two multi-hour bus excursions offered, one to Lubeck (the "Queen" on the Hanseatic league with a well-preserved medieval town center and claims to be the place marzipan was invented), the other to Hamburg (early Beatle history, historic port, etc.), Had we more energy after Berlin I might have been tempted, but instead elected for a quiet day, exploring Kiel on foot.
Kiel has its own claim to fame, in particular as the eastern end of the Kiel Canal. You will note from the map below, the canal cuts across the base of the Jutland Peninsula, eliminating 250 potentially dangerous seas

between the Baltic and the North Seas. It claims to the busiest artificial waterway in the world, used by over 45,000 ships each year. It also has had great strategic and military importance as the home of the German Baltic fleet. Before and during WWII, its shipyards were busy making submarines and other warships. Now it is hosts the World's Largest Sailing Event, the annual Kiel Regatta, as well as having been the sailing venue for the 1936 and 1972 Olympics.
The city was heavily damaged by the Allies during the war, but has nicely reconstituted itself. The 13th century St. Nicholas' Church is the oldest in town, and has an intriguing statue out front called Der Geistkämpfer (The Ghost Fighter). It was declared degenerate art and ordered removed by the Nazis in 1937. Fortunately it was kept in a safe place and installed in its current location in 1954.

Nikolaikirche, Kiel

1928 Der Geistkämpfer (The Ghost Fighter), by Ernst Barlach

Kaiser Wilhelm Monument, Kiel

A relaxing afternoon was spent strolling through the town window-shopping and appreciating the parks.

"Man Looking for Contact Lens" Perhaps?

Get aboard the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes Train!

There was time for another curry-wurst before getting back to the Eurodam for our last night on board. As we exited back into the Baltic Sea, we passed the Laboe Naval Memorial, a 72 meter (236 foot) tower started in 1927 and re-dedicated in 1954 to sailors of all nationalities who died in both World Wars. In front of it is the U-955, the last of the Type VII U-Boats, now a museum.

Laboe Naval Memorial with U-Boat in foreground- Courtesy of militaryphotos.net

So it was goodby to the Blums and to the cruise. We parted after our shipboard buffet breakfast as they went on to the airport to return to Mystic, CN. We took a shuttle into town that dropped us off at the Central Train Station, a few blocks from the budget CabInn City Hotel where we were to meet Christine and Doug.
Old Copenhagen is a city of distinctive ornate spires and towers.

Copenhagen Skyline- Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Copenhagen stock Exchange

Stock Exchange spire with 4 entwined Dragons

Vor Frelser Kirke

Like most other Baltic Capitals, Copenhagen is a maze of islets and waterways, with different districtss from different epochs. The first island settled was Slotshomen in the 12th century by Bishop Absalon.

Christianborg Slot

Today, Christianborg Slot (castle) is the seat of the Danish parliament, and the island is home to several museums such as the Theater Museum, the Royal Stables, and the Danish Jewish Museum in the former Royal Boat House. Opened in 2004, the museum honors the 400 years of Jewish history in Denmark, and especially the period during WW II when the Danes helped to shelter many Jews from the Holocaust. The interior space is in the shape of the Hebrew word "mitzvah", which can be translated as "a good deed". Later on, I walked by Copenhagen's oldest synagogue.

At the Jewish Museum

Synagogen (1833)

A brief digression about the CabInn City Hotel experience: It took me a while to get the meaning of the name, but here is the concept for this Danish hotel chain. People want affordable accommodations AND people like cruises. Why not a hotel with rooms that aspire to be cabins on a cruise ship? The rooms are very small and functional, but quite bare-bones (not like any cruise ship I would book). They are a relatively good value given how expensive Denmark is, clean, with good location, a friendly desk, TV and Internet, and reasonable breakfast. If you stay there, be aware a Single Standard room means one person, and a Double Standard Room means bunk beds. You will have to upgrade to the Commodore room to have twin beds on the floor.

Fayne, Me, Christine, & Doug in the Breakfast Room-CabInn City Hotel-July 11, 2013

We saw Doug and Christine as we were checking in, and the hotel graciously allowed us to occupy our room early the morning we arrived. Christine suggested a perfect schedule for the day: a visit to the National Museum first, then a canal sight-seeing cruise, and wrapping up with a visit to the World Famous Tivoli Gardens.We took in as much as we could handle for a few hours at the museum, including the special exhibit on The Vikings (or "Wikings", as it is pronounced here). Below is a sampling of the treasures we saw.

Hiddensee Treasure-Golden Viking necklace

The Jelling Stone (Replica)-A side

The Jelling Stone (Replica)-B side

Picture stone from Gotland, Sweden, 8th C.

Trundholm Chairiot of the Sun, c. 1400 BC

Viking Helmet and Axe

Bronze Lur Horns-c. 1200-700 BC

Rune Stone from Tirsted- 10th Century

The Gundestrup Cauldron- c. 150 BC

Replicas of Golden Horns of Gallehus- c. 400 AD

Inuit Thongs

Gown from Danish Eurovision 2013 winner Emmelie de Forests-"Only Teardrops"

After a brief bite at the museum cafe, we headed to the dock at Nyhavn, an area previously the seedy haunt of sailors filled with dives and brothels, but now a lively and popular chic hotspot full of cafes and clubs. The canal cruise offers a relaxing and efficient way to get an overview of the harbor sights, including much exciting modern architecture.

Copenhagen Opera House

Encore

Royal Danish Playhouse

Den Sorte Diamonte-Royal Danish Library (The Black Diamond)

Lighthouse Boat

Sand Castle competetion

Den lille havfrue- Don't be hatin' on her bro!!

Internationally renown, the most famous harbor sight of all is the statue The Little Mermaid. Commissioned by the founder of Carlsberg Brewery Carl Jacobsen, it is some distance from the center of town and only four feet tall. Fitting for a creature half human and half fish, her face is of ballerina Ellen Price, and as she would not pose nude, the body is from the sculptor's wife (Eline, Mrs. Edvard Erikson). You might assume that she is beloved by the Danes, but not all of them. She has been the object of protests from the beginning, feminist and otherwise, and has been decapitated twice, doused with paint, had an arm amputated, draped in a burqa, and been blasted off her base, but always repaired and re-instated. The original statue is said to be in an undisclosed location guarded by the sculptor's heirs (they hold a copyright until 2029). The only time she officially left her perch was to go to the Danish Pavilion for Expo 2010 in Shanghai. During that time, she was replaced by a video remote of her from China, and we were told many Danes preferred the video version.

After the canal tour, while the rest of my party went back to the CabInn to recharge, I elected to explore corners of the city I had not yet seen. The Town Hall and Square are worth a visit. A favorite tourist photo-op is to pose with a statue of Hans Christian Andersen. There are several about town, and I think he looks a little creepy and Willie Wonka-like.

Near that is a fountain with a dragon wrestling a bull. I'm not sure what inspired that.

Radhuspladsen- Dragespringvandet

The oldest buildings are in the Latin Quarter, home to the University of Copenhagen (est. 1479) and the Round Tower, built in 1642 as an observatory (Pioneering Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe studied at the university).

The Round Tower- Rundetårn

Rosenberg Slot and Kongens Have are the castle and gardens built by Christian IV in 1606-34 as a summer home in the country. Now it is in in the city center and the holds the crown jewels.

Rosenborg Slot

There are a lot of palaces in town, but since 1794 the monarchs (for the last 41years that would be Queen Margrethe II) have lived in Christian IX's Palace in Amalienborg in the Fredricksstaden District.

Marmokirken (Marble Church) in Frederiksstaden

Frederico Quinto Clementi Statue-Amalienborg

That evening, we headed to the Tivoli Gardens, the world's second oldest amusement park, and it was a major inspiration for Walt's Disneyland after he visited in 1950. It was especially sparkling at twilight. We relaxed over a Gypsy-themed dinner at one of the many restaurants, and spent our last hour ambling though the attractions and shops.

That's another statue of H. C. Andersen on the left with his back to us.

After one final night in our berth at the CabInn, this four week vacation that took us from Ireland to Norway and then cruising the Baltic was about to end. The most special part is that we shared it with close friends: Florry and the O'Connells, the Blums, then the Samas/Nunns.
We walked the short distance to the Central Train Station with Christine and Doug, and boarded the same train, but we got off at the airport and they continued on to Sweden.

Copenhagen Central Train Station

The SAS flight back to SFO was uneventful, but I felt it was a special message to me that for a snack they served reindeer salami in a wrap! Not meatballs, but it will do.

That's all the blogging for now. Thanks for tuning in.

PS- I did eschew the i farta chips.

Let's say you had a six-hour layover in San Antonio, TX. You had never been there before and thought you might never be there again. Would you dash off to see the Alamo or stay in the airport at the Cinnabon? I would definitely go to the Alamo. I am not particularly proud of this. It has led to some uncomfortable compulsive behavior, such as taking a late-night taxi from Minneapolis to Saint Paul so I could experience both of the Twin Cities. On the other hand, I know others (you know who you are SMWH) who despite living in San Antonio, never thought of going to the aforementioned Historic Landmark.
Berlin is generally not considered a seaport, yet it is on many a Baltic cruise itinerary. The actual port is at the former East German city of Warnemünde, which is 150 miles and a three-hour train ride away. The option is to get up early, spend six hours total in transit, and get back late in order to spend 5 1/2 hours in Berlin. My decision was never in doubt.

"We're # 1"- Tom and Melinda with our train chaperone Britta

We boarded the train a very short distance from the dock, and off we went. Britta is a German law student making a little money while studying for exams. She was efficient in her duties to distribute the snacks and give us a briefing on our options in Berlin. I think she was also in charge of getting us back on the return train. As we were given the instructions for where and when to reconoiter, she added somewhat harshly "You are all adults". I took that to mean if we didn't make it back it was our own damn fault and we would be left behind, an admonition my spouse has given me in Tierra Del Fuego and other ends of the earth.
After Britta pointed out (in the same paragraph) the parking lot where Hitler's bunker used to be and the hotel where Michael Jackson dangled his baby Blanket, we were dropped off at the downtown Hilton and challenged to make good use of our time before it expired. The Blums headed off to persue their heritage at the Jewish Museum and I went off to explore mine at the Pergamonmuseum.
Across the street from the Hilton is the German Cathedral, next to the concert hall and bookends with the French Cathedral, built for Heugenots fleeing France.

Deutscher Dom (German Catherdral)

Another pretty church is now dedicated to the Berlin National Gallery's collection of nineteenth-century German sculpture .

Friedrichswerder Church

Our goal was Museum Island, home to an impressive collection of Berlin's finest museums, as well as the Berlin Cathedral.

Berlin Cathredal

Altes Museum (Old Museum)

"Löwenkämpfer" ("Lion-fighter"), in front of the Altes Museum

The Pergamonmuseum is the grandest of all these museums. Its name comes from the ancient Greek city of Pergamon (now Bergama, Turkey), and particularly the massive altar and friezes "imported" in the 1880's to Berlin. The sculptures rival the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon, now in the British Museum.

These marvels alone are worth seeing, but that is not nearly all. The Market Gate of Miletus from 200 AD was reassembled here, including ancient "billboards" in Greek.

Ad for a hairdresser carved in the gate

What's that you say? What about the Ishtar Gate and the Processional Way of ancient Babylonia built for King Nebuchadnezar in the 6th century B.C. The original glazed bricks that covered cedar wood are displayed here in vibrant colors with sacred lions.

These were the most monumental items, but the building is full of Assyrian, Islamic, and other treasures.
We also had to drop by next door to the Nues Museum ("New Museum"), the current home of the famous bust of the Egyptian Queen Nerertiti from 1345 BC. I have wanted to see it since our trip to Egypt in 1995, and was not disappointed. Its legendary beauty is real. The bust is 19 inches high, weighs 44 lbs, and has a limestone core covered by painted and sculpted stucco layers. The face is perfectly symmetrical, and if you look closely you will see slight wrinkles on her neck and bags under her eyes. The features are so fine and look so modern, if at some point it was declared a fraud and not 3300 years old I would not be shocked.

Nefertiti bust- Image from markandrewholmes.com

Continuing our exploration of the city center, we had to see Berlin's most famous landmark, the Brandenburg Gate, modeled after the gate to the Acropolis in Athens.This former city gate was built in the late 1700's to represent peace and is topped by the Quadriga, a four-horse chariot.

We went there to meet Tom and Melinda at a nearby Information Center. We never found that, but did find our traveling companions resting near the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, commonly called the Holocaust Memorial. This was fitting, as their day had been significantly more down-beat after visits to the Jewish Museum and walking through a part of the indoor-outdoor exhibit where the SS and Gestapo headquarters used to be called the Topography of Terror. The memorial site is covered with 2,711 concrete slabs or "stelae", arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field. They are of different heights, so as you wander through, other people and objects go in and out of view creating a subtly disorienting and disquieting effect.

Time was getting short, so I took a power-walk by other thing I wanted to see like the backside of the Brandenburg Gate

and the nearby Reichstag, the current seat of the German parliament.

The plaza near the Gate and the Reichstag is called Platz der Republik, no-man's land during the wall years, but now a center of civic activity.

Pedicycle for hire where the riders contribute to the pedal-power

Speaking of the Wall, I never really grasped the devastation it created in Berlin. Imagine overnight a block-wide path is bull-dozed through the heart of your favorite major city with walls on both sides, armed guard towers, and mines in between.

Some of the area of the former boundary and part of the Topography of Terror

Nearly all of my explorations of Berlin's treasures were in the former East Berlin, and would have been very difficult from 1961-1989. The major link from West Berlin was through Checkpoint Charlie, now recreated as a tourist photo-op. You can even have your passport fake stamped for a small fee if you dare.