On our very last day in Copenhagen we had two humble goals. To walk by the Lego store, and to see the Little Mermaid.
Legos were invented in a small town about three hours away by train from Copenhagen in 1943. Since then about a hundred lego pieces have been built for every man, woman and child alive today. Billund is also the site of the original Legoland. The city has it's own airport (originally built by Lego, though sadly not from Lego) and is the most visited attraction in Denmark. I had told the kids we would go there. But then we found out that it wasn't exactly in Copenhagen and instead they agreed to be taken to the main Lego retail store in Copenhagen instead.
Vivian and Evan had fun. But it was about as large and exciting as a medium sized shoe store. The Lego people seriously need to hire someone with a bit more imagination.
Then we walked around Churchill Parken, across the moat and into the Kastallet fortress where there was a board that read "Rule and Regulations" in Danish and English. Vivian was carrying a little stick which she used like a school teacher to point to various icons and explain them to us and any one else watching.
"Put your trash in trashcans"
"Dogs must be on a leash"
"No fishing"
And then she got to the last one which was a capital "P" with a red line across it and announced
"And no peeing".
She's a Hyderabadi. "Yahaan peshab karna mana hai".
We walked up a path to the top of the grassy glacis and the kids ran around while Jo and I rested at a bench. Here is a sequence of them pretending to load and fire a cannon.
Legos were invented in a small town about three hours away by train from Copenhagen in 1943. Since then about a hundred lego pieces have been built for every man, woman and child alive today. Billund is also the site of the original Legoland. The city has it's own airport (originally built by Lego, though sadly not from Lego) and is the most visited attraction in Denmark. I had told the kids we would go there. But then we found out that it wasn't exactly in Copenhagen and instead they agreed to be taken to the main Lego retail store in Copenhagen instead.
Vivian and Evan had fun. But it was about as large and exciting as a medium sized shoe store. The Lego people seriously need to hire someone with a bit more imagination.
After the Lego store we walked past the Danish royal palace - with it's royal guard in poofy bearskin hats and all who marched up and down the sidewalks in front of the palace. They seemed, both in demeanor and gait to be less militaristic. More relaxed. Then we got to the harbor and Jo found us a way to get past the throngs of Chinese tourists up to the statue of the Little Mermaid. Evan found himself a rock and solemnly posed as the Little Mermaid himself.
Then we walked around Churchill Parken, across the moat and into the Kastallet fortress where there was a board that read "Rule and Regulations" in Danish and English. Vivian was carrying a little stick which she used like a school teacher to point to various icons and explain them to us and any one else watching.
"Put your trash in trashcans"
"Dogs must be on a leash"
"No fishing"
And then she got to the last one which was a capital "P" with a red line across it and announced
"And no peeing".
She's a Hyderabadi. "Yahaan peshab karna mana hai".
We walked up a path to the top of the grassy glacis and the kids ran around while Jo and I rested at a bench. Here is a sequence of them pretending to load and fire a cannon.
Both the Lego store and the Little Mermaid were underwhelming but we expected that. Still, a nice and relaxing last day. Tomorrow we catch an early morning flight to Reykjavik and then to Boston. We'll be back in the US of A by noon.
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