Orthner Outtakes: Copenhagen Day Five

You know how I mentioned that Copenhagen goes to sleep at 6 EVERYDAY, well I didn't mention that they don't wake up until 10. So today Karl and I were out the door ready to explore before Copenhagen was ready for us. So we hit up some of the outdoor hot spots. These first few pictures are just random sights. Again, I think the picture does the talking.

Marie is Reese's middle name, so we thought she would love seeing this.

Look at this lovely sight in Denmark! Spectacular, huh?

How do you mow a really steep hill? You tie an average mower to a pulley system and lower up and down over and over. Clever, huh?

One of the most well know things in Copenhagen is 'The Little Mermaid' statue. She was placed here 101 years ago. The statue was a gift to the city from Carl Jacobsen. He is known for his brewery, Carlsberg.

Oh, I hear the church bells ringing ten times, maybe something will be open. The Marble Church adjacent to the Amalienborg Palace was calling our name. It is the green dome between all the palace buildings.

Now, let me tell you a little story with a roller coaster of emotions. We scheduled this European vacation in alignment with Karl's work trip to Sweden. European vacation. Much happiness. I looked at the dates, it coordinated with my nephew's first birthday. Much sadness. But the timing also lined up with Brady's spring break. Happy. Wait, it also falls on the girls best buddy's birthday. Sad. When reading about Copenhagen and what to do there, I came across Amalienborg Palace. The Queen uses it as her winter palace and main office. I also read that every year on her birthday, she comes out on the balcony and waves to the locals (and tourists) as they sing her happy birthday after the changing on the guard. Her birthday just happens to be April 16. Happy. If I can't celebrate birthdays with my favorite little guys, why not celebrate with the Queen. A couple days ago, while in Denmark, I googled the tradition of the Queen's birthday to see the schedule of events to make sure our plan was in place. The Queen has already retreated to her summer castle and will not be sung to in Copenhagen, but it Aarhus instead this year. WHAT?!?! SADNESS! No time for sadness in Copenhagen though, carry on.

Well, we had this day planned for months to visit the Queen's active palace, so we just stuck with our plan. Let's just say we were among many disappointed locals and tourists who did not do their google 'research.' This is her palace.

The building she lives in is private but we got to tour one of the other buildings on the grounds. Look how fancy!

We stuck around for the changing of the guards at noon. Again, this event doesn't normally draw such a crowd...there just happened to be lots of people with miniature Danish flags in hand, about to be disappointed.

Remember this view from our hotel window? Notice that spire in the distance off to the right?

Yeah, this one. No it isn't leaning, I just don't have the energy to photoshop right now.

Well, this is what it looks like if you climb 300 steps inside the bell tower and then an additional 100 steps on the outside of the spire! So this is what our hotel looks like from the top of Our Savior's Church. The hotel is the brick building that is just right of center.

Whoa, don't look down. Let's leave that to the camera.

Speaking of spires. That is one notable thing about Copenhagen, it's skyline is defined by spires not skyscrapers. There is only one skyscraper in the city and they decided they didn't care for buildings overshadowing the spires. In this picture alone there is 5 very unique spires.