Thanx to the Mermaid

Day 5

I woke up with my phone ringing. I can write about this now, but could not have had I posted this earlier. The call was to let me know that Cisco had just sent me my offer letter post all the interviews that had been conducted. Yippee! The day had started in the right fashion. All I was hoping was that the offer was a good one. Now I couldn't wait for this blasted train to get to Copenhagen.

We were really going through Germany now. The train was rushing past signs announcing Dusseldorf, Bremen, Hamburg, Rutborg. That's when the Danish Immigration folks got on the train...and boy did my passport throw them off.

Firstly, my passport (having been issued outside of India) does not have the markings that are usually found on the bottom of the main ID page. Secondly, it was an Indian passport which was issued in another country. And thirdly, the Dutch embassy in India had given me a 2 year multiple entry tourist visa. It was this final point that had the Immigration folks completely baffled! They kept checking the passport and wondering how I had gotten a VISA with that kind of validity. My passport went up and down the aisles of the train bogey (with me following it dutifully) until they finally decided I was legit and they let us be. It is only after that did I go for my morning dump in peace!

We landed at Copenhagen 2 minutes ahead of schedule rather than the 6 minutes we were supposed to be behind. Despite the rerouting, the train had made up time somewhere and got us where we wanted on time. First order of business was to call the hotel and check where it was. That was Praveen's task. My job was to get some currency converted. After a little local currency had found it's way into our pockets, we took a train to Vesterport and walked the small distance to the Best Western and checked in.

My first order of business was to get onto the WiFi and check my mail for my offer letter. So Praveen was deputed to the bathroom for a shower while I perused the document. All was well, so I had a smile on my face which I was certain would follow me the whole day :) The hot shower only made the day better!

Leaving the hotel, we were greeted with a gorgeous site! The weather was perfect for photography and immediately the cameras came out. Here are a few that we snapped right away.

This last one is an HDR shot of the Centraal Station with the Sun setting behind it

Praveen wanted to pick up gloves for the cold, so we went glove shopping. That was right next to an Apple store where we found out that another store would be able to sell Praveen the iPhone 4 without a contract. The price sounded right for him, so we called up that place from the Apple store itself, took directions and then realized we had to hurry. That meant it was going to be a quick lunch, so we headed into HRC - which was right across the street - to grab a bite and we left the shopping at HRC for later.


Then we headed to the Central Station to catch a train to Islev where the store was. It was quite a long walk, but the weather was a gorgeous blend of cold air and harsh Sun, so I didn't exactly mind it. Got some nice pix along the way. Here are a few:

As is prevalent everywhere in Europe, Graffiti at the Islev Railway Station

After taking possession of the iPhone 4 (Praveen grinning from ear to ear and seriously resisting the temptation to take the phone out of the box), we headed for Nyhavn so that we could take a canal tour ride. A few more pix on the way:

After we landed at Nyhavn, we discovered the tours were not operating and that the harbour was frozen. That felt convenient as it felt like the time was right for a drink. A lovely bar right by the harbour provided both the external and internal warmth we so longed!

Across the harbour from the Bar where we were warming ourselves up a bit

HDR Shot of the bar with the Bar Maid :)

Sunset on a frozen harbour

We decided that Ameliaborg was right behind us and so a visit to the Little Mermaid seemed like an obvious decision to make. It would be cold tho. We would have to brace ourselves! Ameliaborg provided some nice pix, one of which is right below.

But we still had a long way to go and we were losing light pretty quickly. So on we went...and stumbled into some of best pictures of the trip! The colours were so good that we didn't mind the fact that we were having trouble pressing the shutter...it was that cold! And boy, was the wind blowing cold air from the Arctic circle. But at the end of the day, I got some gorgeous pix and wasn't that the intent of the trip in the first place? So no complaints.

It looks like the Chimneys are colouring the sky

The water is frozen!

Finally as we ran out of light and body warmth, we decided that it was better for our survival if we took a cab. It was going to be the most expensive cab rides we had ever taken, but at least we would survive to tell the story. After clicking pictures in sub zero temperatures for close to an hour, I would need to put my hands in a microwave oven for a few minutes to thaw them. The 95 Danish Kroner spent on the cab were a small price to pay to avoid frost bite!

So back to the hotel, a warm water soak to bring my core body temperature back to normal and then we were off to the Hard Rock Cafe for a beer (Tuborg Gould) and some food (onion rings). The guy waiting on us at the the HRC store (Wally) kept on talking about his time in India and how much he enjoyed staying there and how he dreams of going back. He kept going right up to the point where we had finished our shopping and were about to sit down for food. Nonetheless, it was a great conversation.

Now we had to hunt for an Indian restaurant as Praveen was fed up of eating bread based food for the last few days. A walk that led us all the way around the Tivoli Gardens perimeter and brought us right back to the HRC then led us to a street close to Vesterport station where we did find an Indian restaurant with fairly intricate decor. We were so pooped, we decided to take away the food to the hotel and eat there. Praveen wanted the Dal to be made extra hot, a decision he would later regret after he started eating when we got back.

Today had been a tiring, but good day. A lot of walking, very very cold, but some good pix. Tomorrow would be another great day (hopefully).

Good night!