Every day I was in Britain I saw rain.....except the day I left. It was the first sunny day I had seen and I flew out to Copenhagen and snow! I went to Copenhagen because Jennifer, my youngest daughter went here for a 6 months exchange when she was 15. The city of Copenhagen was clean, with wide streets and tall stark buildings. Snow drizzled for the whole time I was here. Copenhagen began as a Viking fishing village in the 10th century. In the 15th century it became the capital of Denmark.
The first night Jennifer led a walk through the city to an area known as Christianshavn. This area was developed by Christian IV in the early 17th century. It was modelled on Amsterdam and includes canals which are usually lined with houseboats. The area was occupied by squatters in 1971 and it still keeps a measure of autonomy. Drugs are sold openly in "Pusher Street", as well as arts and crafts.
While here I also went to see the Little Mermaid, a statue inspired by the fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen; and the changing of the guard at the palace. This was an impressive sight as the replacement guards were led in by a military band and the whole procedure took place in the square in the centre of the palace. I think Mary and one of her daughters were watching through the palace windows. I gave Princess Isabella a wave and received a wave back.
I was really surprised at how extensive bicycles were used in the city. The city is well set up for their usage, many train carriages even having spaces for commuters' bicycles. Jennifer had told me about the widespread use of bikes but it was still a surprise because it was so well organised. Even in the snow there were bikes everywhere.
On another day I visited Greve, the town where Jennifer went to school. We walked through the school and were impressed by students working away unsupervised. That night we were able to catch up with Tobias and Simon, who were two school friends who had also come to visit her in Australia.
The next leg of the trip was a 21 hour bus ride to Paris. At first there were only a few people on the bus and it was easy to spread out and sleep. However the bus filled up as it travelled further south. The trip also involved a ferry crossing. At one border customs police boarded the bus and did a passport check, whether this was procedure or random I don't know, I wasn't even sure which border it was. However they did find a young man from Afghanistan who did not have a passport or identification and they took him into custody.
