What memorable experiences we have had with these two very dear friends who we only met in London in 2018. We have been back to London three times since then and we always spend time with them as Sigi is an accomplished chef and has fixed numerous delicious, memorable meals for us. They have also introduced us to many other friends at their dinner parties, some of whom have become friends in their own right. In addition to seeing them quite often in London, they have visited us in Seville, Madrid, New Orleans, Munich, and now Copenhagen. In addition to them visiting us we have met up with them in Munich before we lived there for Oberammergau, we went to the Isles of Scilly with them and earlier this year we met them in Cartagena Colombia for the day when they were on a cruise. We have also been with them on the 4th of July at least twice.
We were so happy to have our friends Sigi and Paul visit us in Copenhagen. Sigi is a flight attendant for BA and after serving on a flight from London to Sydney and then Singapore and back to London he waited at Heathrow Airport where Paul met him and they got on their flight to Copenhagen. He did get to sleep two hours on the plane but hit the ground in Copenhagen running to beat a prodigious jet lag.The building elevator buttons need to be pushed very hard to activate and they pushed it lightly so it did not respond and they thought it was out of order so they carried their bags up the 116 stairs to our apartment.Here they are out on our balcony as Jim gave them an orientation to the Copenhagen landmark buildings that can be seen from our apartment.After freshening up Sigi and Paul were ready to explore. Our First stop was to check out the famous Michelin Star Restaurant Noma which was featured in the TV series The Bear. It is a short walk from where we are living. You can see our apartment in this picture.This is the only sign for this three star Michelin restaurant by chef Rene Redzepi. The name is a symbolic abbreviation of two Danish words “nordisk” (Nordic) and “mad” (food). In 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2021it was ranked the Best Restaurant in the World by Restaurant magazine.This is the garden of Noma where a tasting menu without wine pairing is approximately 6,090 Danish Krone, roughly $870 USD. The meals can last 3-4 hours or longer. Wine pairing doubles the price.We then proceeded to walk through Freetown Christiania which we have explored previously. This is Jim’s favorite house there.Having strawberries with whipped cream and champagne in honor of Wimbledon.Paul working on our puzzle after Sigi went to bed.After having a good nights sleep and some morning exercises they were ready for Hart Bakery to sample the treats.Just stopping to look at Danish Ice Cream at a shop near us. We will be back for sure.We sent Sigi and Paul to climb The Church of Our Savior while we sat canal side and had Negroni’s and snacks.
This is a video of our canal side cafe with the rain coming down quite heavily.
All tour boats stopped during the initial torrential downpour but soon resumed as all passengers were outfitted with ponchos.The boys joined us after their stair-climb up the steeple.The rain slacked off enough to allow us to continue our tour heading for an organ concert at Trinity Church next to the Round Tower.We stopped by Fredericks German Church which opened its doors in 1759 with permission from Frederick V for the German people of Christianshavn. In 1901 it reopened as the Church of Denmark.
We walked in and caught this pianist practicing a piece.Rainy walk along the canal heading to cross the Circle Bridge.In spite of the rain we arrived on time for the organ concert at Trinity Church.This lady was the organist, regretfully we did not video the music. We had a traditional Middle Eastern meal with a modern twist at Neni Restaurant after the organ concert. It is located in the 25 Hours Hotel near the Round Tower and Trinity Church.This vibrant spot offers shared dishes inviting everyone to taste a bit of everything.Vending machine in the 25 Hours Hotel lobby located in a former porcelain factory and university which offers 243 unique rooms featuring two different styles and play on the theme of growing up, between passion and knowledge. Jim can’t resist taking photos of naked women.No visit to Copenhagen is complete without this iconic photo in Nyhavn.Another puzzle completed with the help of Paul.We climbed the 400 plus stairs to Copenhill Power Plant to check out the idyllic views over Oresund at an altitude of 85 meters.Looking out across to the Oresund bridge connecting Denmark and Sweden.This is one of the tallest buildings in Copenhagen and was located right behind our accommodations.Copenhill is actually a clean waste to energy plant which turns the city’s rubbish into heat and power providing it to tens of thousands of households.
But the most amazing thing about Copenkill (aka Amager Bakke) is that it is an artificial mountain and access to the top can be reached by stairs or a running/hiking trail or ski lift where you can ski down the 1,500 foot slope to the bottom. The slope is made of Neveplast, a synthetic turf that mimics the feel of snow. This allows for skiing even when there is no natural snow. There is also a restaurant and bar at the top.
Here is a video of a skier coming down.We rented an electric boat to explore the canals on our own.Initially Jim captained the boat and narrated but Paul also took a turn at the wheel to relieve him so that he could have snacks and drinks that Sandy packed for a boating picnic.
It was a sectacular day to be on the water.Beautiful Tall Ship moored in a canal near us. We learned later that it is a training ship for young people to learn how to sail.
Come along for a short ride on this video to see swans and bathing beauties soaking up the summer sun that they have in Copenhagen before the extremely cold winters where days are short with sunrise at 8am and sunset at 3:30pm. Not too different from Boston except in the summer you can expect 17-19 hours of daylight in Denmark. Circle Bridge which rotates towards us as it opens for tall ships passing through. It is also designed to resemble the masts of five ships.Our designated photographer taking a gin & tonic break.Remnants of our picnic lunch on the water.Remember that they carried their bags up on arrival as they thought the elevator was down? Well it WAS not working as they were leaving so they had to carry them down also. The elevator repairman is on the right.
Thank you to our dear friends Sigi and Paul for squeezing in a visit with us despite your busy lifestyle in England. We look forward to making more memories with you again hopefully sometime soon somewhere else in the world. We feel so blessed to have so many friends around the world that we may not see or communicate with often but when we do get together it is amazingly special like we never missed a beat no matter the days, months or years that have passed between us. Being in the medical field we know that life is short and can become even a heartbeat shorter with a bad health diagnosis. Therefore we know all too well how important it is to embrace our family and friends like every day may be our last.
Dear Jim and Sandy, we are honoured and flattered to be featured in your wonderful blog! It was a short but truly memorable visit to lovely Copenhagen . You are both an inspiration to us!
With love
Paul
PS that broken elevator was great for our step count!!
These are fabulous pictures and memories of our time together in Copenhagen and there aren’t that many people I’d get on another jet for, after coming off a Far East plane a few hours earlier, Sandy and Jim!
Where next . . . we can’t wait!
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