Curious in Copenhagen...

I'm finding that my first European Vacation (shout out to Chevy Chase) is resulting in more questions than answers. I want so badly to understand everything, and there's just so much I don't "get" here.

First, the language. I'm big on words. I'm an English teacher. And I'm mesmerized by this consonant-laden cousin of German. When I listen to the television broadcasters (well, I have to have some noise in my hotel room) the intonation sounds very American...not so much English, but American. Their cadence is similar, and they go up and down at all the same places. But the words are unrecognizable. I do know that "tak" means "thanks." I saw it on the trash cans at McDonald's. And I'm still working on understanding that O-with-a-slash-through-it-thingee. That one worries me a little...I can't figure out how to type it!

Next, Denmark is known for being the happiest place on earth. Being a modern welfare state, Denmark offers its citizens free health-care and education, among other benefits, and everyone feels the sense of the community that a country that shares all resources will feel. Only 2% of the budget is used for police, jails, and the court system, for goodness sakes! How much happier can you be?

But since we've been here, two people have jumped in front of moving trains to commit suicide (and we've only been here four days.) You see, Denmark also has one of the highest rates of suicide in the world. So how is it that the happiest people are also the UN-happiest?

And next, why is there grafitti everywhere? And I do mean everywhere! If it's not moving chances are it's been spray painted.

Well, on to a recap of the past couple of days...

I took my first European train ride yesterday. What an experience! I love the words here that remind me so much of the British (I've always wanted to visit England but haven't made it yet.) For example, I took a "lift" at the airport instead of an elevator. And when we got to the train station we were told to go to "Platform 5." I was immediately reminded of Harry Potter's Platform nine and three quarters and looked for a similar Danish version to no avail.

Our train platform - to Roskilde...

Harry Potter's platform to Hogwarts.

We traveled across the Denmark countryside to visit Roskilde, a quaint little town with cobblestone streets, the first gothic cathedral in Northern Europe, and our destination, the Viking Ship Museum. Roskilde was the first capital of Denmark, but it also is the home of five Viking ships that were sunk off the coast somewhere between 1070 and 1090 A.D. The ships were excavated and painstakingly put back together in a process that involved gently lifting and washing separate pieces, diagramming exactly where they were found in the water, and then making models of how the pieces should be put together to most closely resemble the original ships. This process took a lot of patience (and twenty-five years!)

Here's the train station in Roskilde.

Here's Roskilde Cathedral, the burial place for 30 kings and queens of Denmark.

The Danish folks like scale models; we saw several, but here's the entire city of Roskilde.

After following a little path from the cathedral, we stepped out to this view. That's the Roskilde Fjords, the place where the Viking ships were discovered in the 1960's. A fjord is an inlet created by glaciers, by the way.

Here's one of the ships...

and another...

and another...

The Danes encourage hands-on activities for their children (remember the toilet from a few days ago?) Here are some Viking costumes the children can try on.

And here's the Viking ship they can play on.

As we walked back through town, I thought this was a firetruck. On second glance, maybe it's a street cleaner.

After viewing the ships at the museum, my little group and I shopped a little on those cobblestone streets. Of course, we had already figured out, from our time in Copenhagen (and the $8 I paid for a muffin and Coke) that things are really expensive here. I looked at several tshirts in Roskilde shops but found none under $60. After experiencing my first "soft ice," (like our soft serve ice cream), we hopped back on the train and headed to the hotel to get our passports so we could leave the country and visit Sweden!

By now, I was getting this train thing down, and personally I think they're easier to navigate than the ones in New York City. At least here we're looking for cities, and all we have to do is ask, "Is this train going to Copenhagen?" if we're not sure which one we need. In New York you have to understand the numbered streets, and I don't.

So we settled in on the train headed for Malmo, Sweden (and, yes, I need one of those o's with a slash through it for Malmo!) The view was gorgeous as we traveled over the Oresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden, the world's largest bridge carrying both road and railway traffic. While in Malmo, we explored and shopped a little (the prices were lower than in Copenhagen), and I was a little disappointed in a toy store when I found out that the Swedish word for Cinderella literally translates to "ash pot." Prince Charming and Ash Pot, what a pair!

Welcome to Malmo!

We came upon a huge square full of music and celebration.

The buildings are beautiful.

Got any money stowed away in a Swedish bank?

Again...there are flowers for sale everywhere in Denmark and Sweden. Each home must have fresh flowers on the table...but I haven't been able to peek in one to see.

We found our way back to Copenhagen by train, and then walked (way too far - it was right on the other side of Tivoli Gardens, but we went in the other direction) to find the Hard Rock Cafe. Sometimes you just want a cheeseburger. Next I'll be visiting the setting for Hamlet, Kronborg Castle...stay tuned...