the last hotel room

Well, tomorrow morning it's off to Newark and then Toronto.  I'm sitting in my compact little hotel room one train stop from the airport.  The flight is at 9 am so I will be leaving the hotel about 6 am and walking to the train station -- a few hundred meters and off I go.

Copenhagen was wonderful on some levels, the best of course being that I spent it with Richard and Jennie.  We had a triple (family) room at the Maritime hotel, just a half block from one of the major canals that are such an important part of the city's history.  There is a real mixture of working and pleasure boats and the wonderful weather brought out all the pleasure seekers.

On the suggestion of a friend, Jennie had made reservations at a restaurant for Friday evening.  I couldn't believe how busy the city was even at 9pm, but the wait was certainly worth it.  It was a different menu but featured some fabulous cuisine.  I would take that friend's suggestion again.

I don't know who put Jennie onto La Glace,  but it had some of the most remarkable cakes I have ever seen.  We each ordered a different slice and then tested around.  Wow -- so good that Richard had to go back today to sample another one.

One of the things I wanted to do on this trip was picnic by the water.  We managed that on Saturday as well with cheese and fabulous dark bread.  I need to find someone who bakes like that at home -- or yes, I know, learn to bake it myself.  We shall see.

Then as part of my birthday gift, Jenn and Rich took me to the ballet at the National Theatre.  The building was amazing, the orchestra very interesting and the ballet surprisingly much more enjoyable than I imagined, never having gone to a ballet performance before!  What a wonderful treat, -- thanks Rich and Jenn!

This morning we couldn't find any city bikes (the kind like our grocery carts where you shove in a coin and go and use it and get the coin back when you return it), so we wandered around.  There were many shops open today (first Sunday of the month!), so lots of people out enjoying the weather and the city center.  There was a lovely park to explore and some very exclusive shops for fashion, footwear and decorating.  OK, there was a cheapie store too and we found some cool little items, but some of those will show up at Christmas so no more clues.

In our last hour, we headed to the south side of the city where an unusual church spire had been beckoning and yes, we walked all the way up the spiral, right to where the steps became so small that only a child could stand on them.

Negotiating the train to the airport was no problem and I said to goodbye to Richard and Jennie, and hopped onto another train to go one more stop to this little hotel.  And so all that remains is to repack and try and sleep a little before the alarm goes off at 5:30.