After a good sleep, we were up early and grabbed coffee with a croissant and a Danish (ahem) before it got busy at the on-board cafe. We watched from an open air deck as we neared the city, and could see the Oresund Bridge/Tunnel, a bunch of windmills, and steady aircraft coming and going.
We sailed into Copenhagen by 10am, and observed in awe from the top deck as the Captain literally backed the ferry into the dock through a fairly narrow opening. From there, disembarkation was fairly smooth, other than a bit of a wait for an elevator.
We had decided to walk the half hour or so from the pier to our hotel, no great distance to be sure, but now laden with all of our luggage in a very cobblestoned city unfriendly to rolling suitcases....it took us awhile. Luckily the weather was nice, sunny and a tad on the warm side.
Our meanderings included exploring the Kastellet fortress, still technically a military base - Frederik's Kirke, a Lutheran Cathedral - and the iconic Little Mermaid along the harbour wall. Jane even found some vegan ice cream she could have, while I enjoyed a Carlsberg in the street. Imagine.
We dropped our luggage at Hotel Bethel on Nyhavn - our room wasn't ready but they had a storage area - and ventured back out to wander the city unencumbered. We were very excited to have a hotel right on the trendy canal, in the heart of all the hubbub.
We crossed the canal at found a great lunch spot at one of the many tented patios (Nyhavn 37) that lined the north side. Jane went with the standard fish and chips, while I chose the lunch menu of three different Smorrebrod, along with some drinks to quench our thirsts after the long walk.
Checking in, we made the somewhat odd trek to our room - from reception, to an elevator, down a floor, through a courtyard, up a floor in a different (and funky) elevator....to Room 137. By now, we were also able to check in for tomorrow's flight, now that we had wifi again. The hotel also had a well stocked little cooler at reception with beer and other cold beverages.
Wandering the city again, we strolled up to Kongens Nytorv, scouted the Metro for tomorrow's getaway, and wandered the length of the Stroget pedestrian and shopping strip. On our way back, we grabbed a hot dog and sausage at a street vendor, and enjoyed some Nyhavn nightlife as the sun set on a truly memorable vacation.
After a final re-pack of the luggage and a re-distribution for weight purposes, we ventured back out to another patio on Nyhavn to split a burger and fries, listen to canal-side buskers, and have one last drink to soak in the atmosphere in this magical place.
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