Denmark Day 2: Copenhagen, Tivoli Gardens, Vor Frue Kirke

Day 2 really begins about 3:00PM in the afternoon on Friday when we arrive at the Kong Arthur hotel. Dad must be giving us some general instructions in this photo. The plan was to check in, get settled for a few minutes, and then hit the streets. We were all raring to go.

Our very serene room in the hotel. It was lovely and cool and seemed so crisp and clean.

Of course, with any large group you tend to spend some time waiting for others.

Dad is waiting very patiently with the rest of us. I loved the lobby of this hotel. It felt very Scandinavian to me--check out the shields hanging on the wall.

Matt knows how to sleep anywhere. This is just a little catnap so he is ready to party.

We're walking, we're walking.

Just a few more blocks and we arrive.

A common sight throughout Denmark were bikes leaning against the side of a building. Everyone seemed to be riding bikes in Copenhagen.

Which way do we go now?

We walked to Vor Frue Kirke but it had just closed. We will find this throughout Denmark--most sites at this time of year close around 4:00PM.

Fortunately, there will be a night service later on so we will still get to see the Christus statue on this day.

Megan and Spencer waiting at the corner as we are walking to Tivoli Gardens.

The very important bike lane is typical of every road in Denmark.

The crew marches on. This was a great shopping street in downtown Denmark that we spend some significant time in the next day. For now, we are looking for dinner and amusement.

Some street entertainment for you to enjoy.

We've just gotten cash and are ready to cross the main square.

As we cross Radhus Pladsen, Meg captures the flowers and the birds gathered on the building's steps.

I have no idea what building this is but it was on the corner of the square and so full of company names, it was amazing.

I notice Brock taking a picture of Julie in front of that building and I'm wondering why she wanted a close-up of it. What I realize later is she was trying to get a shot of this cute, chubby baby and his funny little hat. He seems to have caught on that we think his hat is a crack up.

We reach Tivoli Gardens. Everyone is hungry now and we go in search of food for the entire crew.

Ric and Tami in front of the main entrance. Tivoli Gardens was a prototype for Disneyland. Really, it is a great amusement park with very short lines. We had a great night here.

It took some walking around to find a restaurant that wasn't busy or closing. Megan seems to be asking, "What are we going to do now?"

At last, the food. Most got hamburgers, Danish hot dogs, and some rye sandwiches. What you can't see is the roller coaster directly overhead that provided a certain ambience you can only enjoy at an amusement park.

Cissy with a great shot of Tivoli Gardens behind her. That is the roller coaster we ate underneath.

After a few roller coasters, this was the next ride. It's so tall!

Rus is gauging the heighth of the ride. His motion sickness eliminated him from most rides. He would have been miserable afterwards so he wisely abstained.

Megan and Cassie are both really excited for the tall ride.

Just chowing on some cotton candy in preparation. (Hey! I don't remember eating any cotton candy!)

Okay, ready. . . set . . . and in just a minute they go. I love that Michelle takes her shoes off for the ride. That's right. Just go ahead and get comfortable. I would be wetting my pants about now.

I think even Adam was a little nervous for this one. Ric, Tami, Brock and Julie are on the other side of the ride too.

And they did it!! Everyone survived. In fact, I think it might have been the favorite ride of the night.

The next ride though is a real doozy. It not only goes around and around like a merry-go-round, but each individual pod on the ride can then be rotated 360 degrees additionally. So the rider is being rotated horizontally and vertically. Yuck! You see the only candidates for this ride out of our entire group are not blood relatives. Tami, Julie and Michelle are all made of sturdier stock than the children of Jamie. Everyone of us looked at that ride and said, "Blech! My dinner would not survive such an ordeal." But these three conquered and jumped off the ride like it was nothing.

The next roller coaster made some a little woozy and then disaster struck at the very end. A few of them get hit by bird doo-doo. Thanks to Jenny and her amazing bag of miracles, there was plenty of anti-bacterial wipes to assist in the clean up.

Fortunately, everyone handled the little misstep with aplomb and were ready to ride the next roller coaster.

We exhaust ourselves thoroughly--me included. I went on the last roller coaster and screamed my lungs out. Too much fun. Mom and Dad are waiting patiently for us back at the gate, so we wrap up the party and start the walk back home. Look at Mom's face. She's on the wrong side of tired at this point, poor thing.

Ric and Tami get a great shot of Radhus Pladsen that we cross on our way back.

Mom, Adam and Michelle and Rus on Radhus Pladsen. That is the courthouse or central government building behind them.

And on the way back to the hotel, we just have to stop for our first real Danish ice cream. This begins a tradition we continue throughout the trip.

Brock is so excited about the ice cream he can barely contain himself.

The chocolate sprinkles are to die for. They are crunchy and great--nothing like the waxy kind we have here.

On the way back to the hotel we are stop in at the night service at Vor Frue Kirke (The Church of Our Lady) and see the Christus statue.

It was a lovely, peaceful way to end the first day. It was also thrilling to see these great statues.

The next day is more Copenhagen, shopping and shwarmas so stay tuned.

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Read the rest of the journey:

• Day 1: Traveling