Leftovers of the 2018 Tulip Tour

Travelling in Europe is quite different than travelling in Canada. For us a trip just to Vancouver can take 5 hours. In Europe, you can see five different countries in 5 hours.  We can attest to this as we traveled from Austria, through Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Germany and into France in one day. Okay, okay, Lichtenstein is really a country, check it out. So when planning a trip to Europe, you really cannot just visit one country. On this trip we added Denmark and a revisit to Sweden.

Leaving the barge our last morning  in Amsterdam, we needed a wasserette or laundromat in English. So with a little internet research, we were off to the Aquarette Self-Serve Laundry near the train station. Following the  instructions, we spent $5 euros more than we needed to because we (I) did not read them clearly or in one case assumed that the instructions were wrong and I knew better.  It is my opinion (Nonie's may differ) that the instructions were purposely nebulous so that you would make mistakes resulting in having to plug the machines with extra Euros.

With fresh clothes and some time on are hands, we headed back to the train station to store our luggage and grab a train to the little village of Muiderslot and a visit to their cute little two bedroom/den castle. Once again, we ended up paying $10 Euros more to store our bags because of more nebulous instructions designed to screw over unwary tourists. (My opinion, Nonie's may vary)

Muiden Castle is cute little place. It has been around since the 13th century and was used to enforce tolls on traders traveling up and down the rive Amstel.  It is only 32 x 35 metres with 1.5 metres thick walls and what every castle needs, a moat.

As time moved on, it became a summer house for the rich and famous then a prison before falling into neglect till the late 19th century when money was found to restore it.

As much as I love a good castle, it was time to head to the airport and a short 1.5 hour flight to Copenhagen.  Copenhagen can appear at first glance to be the little sister to Amsterdam.

It has canals filled with tourists, but just a few.

Windmills, but just a few.

And of course, tulips, but just few.

But, Copenhagen is not just the little sister to Amsterdam, It has its own character and quirky history.  One that we found interesting was the beautiful Church of St. Alban's.  Copenhagen was home to a sizable British community starting in the 16th Century. As the city grew in importance so did the British congregation. In 1864, the Prince of Wales, coughed up some bucks. Perhaps it was his Danish consort Princess Alexandra who convinced him with consecration of the church happening in 1882.  The church was inhabited by two lovely, little, old  English ladies who gladly took our money.

Another more famous attraction is Tivoli Gardens, the worlds first amusement park. It has operated since 1843 but is most famously known by North Americans as the template for Walt Disney's design of Disneyland. It has a snow capped mountain.

Amusement rides.

A pirate ship

And it is populated by cute little cartoon characters. 





Can you say Disneyland?

But the most iconic image of Copenhagen was born from a story penned by Hans Christian Andersen in 1836, turned into a statue in 1913, became a cartoon in 1989 and traveled to Shanghai in 2010. I am talking about the statue, the Little Mermaid, the most photographed image in all of Denmark.

Although, close up, it doesn't have quite the same impact. Perhaps it was the seagull poop.













Sadly only one full day in Copenhagen, but we packed in a lot and  were pleased I added it on to our trip. Nonie wishes to note that the she did not once smell cannabis during our time in Copenhagen so gives it here thumbs up as well. Off to Sweden next.