Friday, August 29, 2008

Scandinavia Trip - Part 5 (Denmark/London)

Our plan to spend a couple of days in Amsterdam after Copenhagen fell through due to a complete lack of accommodation and a distinct lack of funds in our joint holiday account. So we decided to spend longer in Copenhagen; what a fantastic decision that was!!

Copenhagen is officially my favourite city.

It could be described as a much larger version of Amsterdam, but it has an entirely different atmosphere. The city seemed to revolve around making the most of the summer sun. Outdoor cafes, countless thousands of semi-clad cyclists and squares full of people just hanging-out. We hired bikes in order to see more of the city and make the most of the well appointed cycle lanes. I was immediately made aware of the feminine appearance of the step-through bikes we had hired when no more that a hundred metres from the station I was ridiculed by a local yelling, ‘Keep your legs together!!!!’




Our hotel was around ten kilometres from the city and we decided to join the peak hour cyclists on their way out of town in the evening. We picked up the etiquette relatively easily. It’s not too hard to figure out your doing something wrong when a beautiful girl in a short skirt and high heels urgently rings her bell from behind you before sporadically over taking you and speeding off shaking her head.




Keep to the right (the slow lane) or ride really fast, conduct hook-turns when turning left, use your bell generously to let people know you are there and don’t worry about cars, they are more scared of you than you of them. What kind of weird utopia was I in?











Situated in Helsingor (a busy little town populated by Swedish tourists making the most of the cheap alcohol, pushing around trolleys crammed with cartons of the stuff) Kronborg Slot it is the actual castle that William Shakespeare based Hamlet on and was a short train ride from Copenhagen. As we approached the castle the moat and draw bridge immediately made us feel like we were on a film set.






We lunched at a two hundred year old restaurant before we headed further a field to Hillerod to visit Frederiksborg Slot, another castle, this one spread over five small islands. The shear size was one thing, but the detail in the decoration blew us away. That was before we saw the immaculately manicured gardens!!!







We were impressed by the number of people socialising on the Thursday night in Copenhagen and decided that we make the most of the party atmosphere on what was then a Friday night. We had dinner and decided to buy some beer at the seven eleven, as it was quite accepted to drink in public, and it was ridiculously cheap (about $12 for 2 litres of Carlsburg)!!!


We started hitting the pubs until we found one that was serving super cheap mojitos. The bar girl took a liking to us Aussies and would constantly watch our every movement, having our drinks ready before we had even reached the bar and ignoring all other patrons. I whole heartedly blame her for our drunkard state as we left the pub.


We eventually arrived at a night club that seemed to be over populated with above average (that’s super super hot Australian standard) looking ladies. We enquired as to how much the cover charge was. The six foot tall, blonde and muscle bound bouncer replied in a strong accent, asking, “Gentlemen, do you understand the concept of this club?” We took a step back as numerous possibilities ran through our minds. Unfortunately none of our dreams would come to fruition as all he meant was that the cover charge was quite steep, but drinks were free once you entered. It also seemed that all the good looking young women were present as they didn’t have to pay a cover charge!!! Unfair? Possibly. Good idea? Yes.

The rest of the night was understandably a blur. We somehow entered another night club of a similar ‘concept’ but I can’t remember the journey. This one was five floors high and each floor was different, from dodgy mirror bound dance floors to secluded lounge bars.

According to the photographic evidence on our cameras we left as the sun was getting brighter in the morning. And I devoured a kebab on the ground in the town square.

We slept for less than half an hour before I had to force Tim out of bed to catch a train and then a plane to London.


London

Visiting London is always the same; a blur of subway trains, busy and mostly disgruntled looking locals, expensive clothes and average weather. We visited the sights, even though we’d seen most of them before, went clothes shopping and began to wind down after a month of planes trains and automobiles.















On our last night we enjoyed a last supper with some of Tim’s friends at the Long Acre pub. I explored on my own for the night and the next morning we were on a Qantas flight back to Oz through Singapore.

Statistics:
Countries - 8
Nights - 28
Planes - 9
Trains/trams/subway – 36
Taxis – 8
Buses – 19
Ferries – 6
Bikes – 4
Hostels/hotels – 16
Photographs – approx. 2500 each
Dollars – 7000 (each)
Visible G-strings under summer dresses - Countless
Hotdogs for Ty – Too many to count.

Notable quotes:
"LOOK AT ALL THOSE PLANE MARKS!"
"GAPPAGE"
"HELSINKI'S LAW"
"KUNSK"
"I,M GREATEST GIFT, GOOD LIFE"
"IF SHE ROCKS UP IN AN 'ACDC' TEE, I'M WALKING!"
"HAVE YOU EVER BEEN WHACKED IN THE HEAD BY A DECENT SIZED TIT?"
"GENTLEMAN - DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF THIS CLUB?"
"IT'S A WHOLE NATION OF 'MUFFINTOPS' "
"THE PEPPERSACK AND BIERHUS ARE THE GREATEST PLACES ON EARTH!"
"OOOOH IT REALLY HURTS, THIS IS TORTURE"
"HAS TO BE SOME 'G' ACTION"
"INSANO"
"YOU'RE A GAY HOMOSEXUAL"
"SPACIAL AWARENESS - ZERO"
"THE PINK CREDIT CARDS ARE JUST SO WE DON'T LOSE THEM"
"YOU ARE A SECRETIONLESS FREAK"
"STAY AWAY FROM THE CRACK WHORES"
"THEY HAVE BOGANS OVER HERE TOO"
"FEEL LIKE A HOT DOG?"