It was a windy, blistery day when the Regatta pulled into the harbor of Copenhagen. It was the kind of weather we had expected. We passed the fortress of Trekroner and noticed some of the many windmills that are so common now in Denmark. After the ship moored at Langelinie Pier, behind the cruise ship shown above, the four of us went ashore. Our plan was to see the statue of the little mermaid first and then take the bus into town. However, it was so windy, that we exchanged some money at an exchange bureau right on the pier and hopped on bus 26 that pulled up next to the ship. The little mermaid would have to wait.

Wet got off the bus at the corner of Frederiksholm Kanal and walked to the old palace on Slotsholmen. This large building used to be part of the royal palace but now houses the Danish Par lament. We walked through and exited on the opposite side with the equestrian statue of one of the Danish kings. From there we turned left and walked around this large complex to the bridge and Netto boat tour platform. It was too early for a boat ride; besides, we had an appointment with Hans Christian Anderson. So we continued to Cammel Strand and headed for the City Square.

Our route took us past the back entrance of Tivoli and then we saw the statue of Hans Christian Anderson, the famous story book author of years ago. But we were looking for the real Hans. A block further south we found him. We were the last to join him for a walk through the Latin quarters of Copenhagen and learn all we wanted to know about Copenhagen and the Danish way of life. His first stop was city hall, right on the main square. He explained the origin of the various details on the outside of the building and then took us inside.

Hans, as he referred to himself many times, was full of knowledge and details. But he also had a great sense of humor that made listening to him a delight. He was actually from Philadelphia, so his English was not too bad. From city hall he took us past the big shopping street, Stroget, and into side streets of old Copenhagen. While explaining the Danish social system, he stopped a woman with a baby stroller to ask her (in English) what she thought of the funds she received from the government by having a baby. At first she was taken back by Mr. Anderson, but then volunteered how much she received and what she thought of this kind of social welfare. Then he asked this lady on a bicycle what she thought of the Danish government which resulted in a candid, albeit somewhat negative, response. We were all astounded by Hans' approach.

We stopped at the Reformation Monument honoring one of the Danish kings. It is across the street from the Church of our Lady, the Cathedral of Copenhagen. Inside we saw beautiful marble statues of Christ and the apostles by the sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. From here we continued to the Round Tower and entered the Trinity Church. This small church is very ornate, but I got a kick out of seeing this man relaxing in the back pew reading his newspaper.

This was the end of this tour. It was time to have some lunch. So we said goodbye to Hans and promised to say something nice about him. So, anyone interested in his splendid, informative and fun tour go to his web site at: http://www.copenhagenwalks.com

We had a table for eight at this quaint restaurant set below street level on a corner. Unless you know your way, you would never find it. It not only was charming, but the open faced sandwiches, such as the smoke salmon, and the dark beer were just what the doctor ordered. Our friends were fellow passengers from the ship and we had a great time together.

From here we walked a couple blocks to the Gammel Strand and the Nemo platform to catch the boat tour. Someone on the Cruise Critic Forum had mentioned that this would be less crowded than the starting point at Nyhavn. A lady with her son confirmed that the boat would be here any moment. It was 2:00 pm, a sign proclaimed,but on the other side it said that the boat would not be here until 3:00 pm. I quickly changed that to match the front side. A few minutes later a boat arrived, dropped off all the passengers and we were ready to board. "Hold on, this is a private tour group from Poland," we were told. After some friendly negotiation and pointing at the sign that now said 2:00 pm, the captain agreed to take all of us to the next stop, Nyhavn. So we had the whole boat almost to ourselves. By the way, the white house in the picture below is where Hans Christian Anderson used to live.

Now it was time to head back to the ship. Rather than taking the bus, we agreed to walk back along the shore. There is a nice walk way that led us past the old fortress and to the little mermaid statue. After that it was just a bit further to the pier and our ship.

Our next port would be Gdansk, Poland.