Denmark Day 5

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Day 5: Merry Christmas Eve everybody!! Copenhagen is very quiet. The whole city has been dead since I woke up. In fact, Dad had to buy croissants at 7-11 because the local cafes and bakeries are all closed today. Christmas Eve is much more important to the Danes than Christmas Day is, and they cherish family time. After breakfast we went out on another walk, seeing was we could do. The hustle and bustle was non existant, no one was crowding the side walks and very few bikes were speeding down the bike lane. All the small shops, the cafes, the pedestrian district, and even the mega department stores were all closed. No last minute shopping in this city! The big square we live near also has an ice skating park, with a small ice oval (think hockey rink style ice, not real ice) circling a statue. It was open and we watched some cute Danish children slip and slide. There are a few of these ice parks in Denmark apparantly. With shopping out of the question, we picked a street and started meandering, looking for some sights. We did manage to find the Danish Parliament buildings and Reception Rooms, which, although dirty, were pretty magnificent. Seeing them white washed would've been amazing. Lots of the historical buildings here are grimy and filthy on the outside, it would be awesome to see them all cleaned. We also toured some more churches with magnificient architecture. Since all the restaurants that do not require a reservation were closed, we had the magnificent Christmas Eve feast of peanut butter (that we brought for dad cuz it is impossible to find here), crackers, and the remaining warm ham and cheese croissants from 7-11. Even the small street sausage vendors are closed! Tomorrow we did manage to book a reservation at a fancy Danish restaurant, since Christmas Eve is more important to them, and they had plenty of open spots. I'm looking forward to seeing what a traditional Christmas feast in Denmark looks and tastes like. I am still blown away by everything being closed (except restaurants, but they only open at 5) today. One sure can notice the cultural differences.