Maybe the Danes are just water proof...

We spent the day cris-crossing Copenhagen by taxi, boat, bus and on foot today, and going through just about every season...  cold drizzle ( it goes without saying), but also some nice sunshine, some pouring rain, wind and everything in between.
Copenhagen is a city not just surrounded by water, but also composed of many islands, and dissected by canals and man man lakes.  It makes it very pretty, and nice to walk around:
 Karolina lives very near the chestnut trees lined "lakes"  (man made rectangular water bodies near the center of the city), so the morning started with a stroll around them.  The chestnut trees are no longer in bloom, but it is still a lovely walk.  Note the patches of blue in the sky, which gave us the mistaken idea that we were done with the rain.    Going on a walk around rush hour can be life threatening - not because of the cars but because of the throngs of bicyclists:  they do have bike lanes and follow the rules - but the rules are not obvious to visitors....  pity those who mistakenly walk on the bike path...  Better be ready to have Danish expletives hurled at you until you jump out of the way - because it is clear that the cyclist will NOT STOP!  (at least I assume these are expletive, it sure did not sound like terms of endearments....).

I think the bikes that have little children in the front are cute - although I do worry about using children as a front bumper.....  but they are very common here....

 So we headed for the famous and colorful Nyhawn (New Heaven), and boarded one of the flat tour boats.  They have to be very flat, because they go under a series of VERY low bridges and one more than one occasion, we had to duck in order to go through:





This is the head of the captain, as we are about to pass under a bridge- not even the lowest one....

 The canals are lovely, lined with colorfully painted house, and house boats, and go along a lot of the historical monuments of the city - making this a great way to see the city -  but.....
our timing was not great, and the moment we boarded, it started raining - hard!  And of course, the boats are not covered (because the bridges are too low for covered boats to pass under) - we did get parkas because - since we are tourist, we get wet.  The Danes do not get wet - seriously!  it's not just that they don't mind the rain ...  there was a guy kayaking next to our boat, and his hair looked perfectly coiffed.....  Is it possible that after living here for so long, the Danes have evolved to be water proof????  Anyway, the famous mermaid did not seem to mind the rain at all, but, after all, she is half fish.....

 Here is a picture of a cute boat house, many of which line the canals,

 And a couple of example of the colorful buildings.  
 I just love the red roses against the blue house!

One cannot help but think that painting the building in these vibrant colors helps people deal with the grey sky.....

 Ok - I'm overdoing it - it is really not that grey - and I sure that some time - when I'm not around - it is even blue.....

After our boat ride, and after warming and drying up for a bit in one of the numerous little cafes, we strolled through the old town seeing many  old buildings and intricately decorated fountain, of which these are just a couple of examples:

 And we passed the famous Tivoli gardens - just looking at this picture makes me a bit dizzy....

 We also took a short stroll through Cristiania - an interesting social experiment, where a large commune, not regulated by Danish laws or taxes has been living for decades.  Among artists, bumbs, and social philosophers, there are also a large numbers of pot dealers - but we don't have any cash and I don't think they take credit cards.  Here are the entrance and exit gates:
(the entrance says: "Beware, here be dragons")

At last, we went and revisted the little mermaid (who looked happier in the sun - so did I), and another interesting statue, with whom I had a long chat:

We then had a spectacular 6 course meal, at a restaurant called Amass:  you may have heard of Noma, the restaurant named "best in the world" for the last 3 years.  It is right here in Copenhagen, but we did not go because 1) you have to make reservations 6 months in advance, 2) it's about $500/person and 3) when restaurant critics describe it, they use the word "interesting" more than the word "delicious".....   Amass is the same concept though - very local food, careful wine matching, very good service, etc...  but a lot cheaper and it was really delicious - as well as interesting....  The only part that was more interesting than delicious was the mushroom butter served with the pound cake for dessert.....  I have pictures, but am too tired to post now (the wine pairing involved 4 different wines.....).  

Here are some pictures of the restaurant (I'm in Norway now, but I just won't be able to sleep until the sun gets down just a little bit....... giving me more time for blogging...

The Menu, and the cool looking restaurant

 
A few of the dishes - it is hard to do justice to them - such a great combination of taste and texture.  I was particularly impressed by the balance of salty, bitter and sweet- but that does not do a good job at describing the amazing combinations of flavors .....