With thanks to Silversea for this Norway cruise
More photos to come when the wifi is faster
Anyway. This beautifully sunny morning we set out via the
ubiquitous HoHo bus into town where, during a short wait, I marvelled at the
Tivoli Gardens, so old and yet still so appallingly vomit-inducing - and,
somehow, still drawing crowds of masochists. Across the road was the Town Hall
with its imposing exterior, and interior, so huge and high and empty, an ornate
stage waiting for the day's performance. Outside were bronze creatures, some
recognisable like the fountain bull, and some deeply weird, like the three
dragons? on the wall. And of course there had to be Hans Christian Andersen,
here the bronze highly polished on the reachable bits, and his hand, as seems
usual, with a finger holding his place in a book.
We drove through the clearly expensive and classy district of
Frederiksberg, all imposing 5-storey apartment blocks, more than a bit Parisian
and heavy on the decorative details; and eventually got to the Carlsberg
Brewery, which we had been convinced was The Thing to Do. The museum part was
earnestly thorough, starting the story of beer back in the early Bronze Age
with the cheerful fact that human skulls were used as drinking vessels. No
explanation of how beer was discovered though, which, considering much effort
was spent explaining how difficult it was to refine the product and control
yeast, was a question worth having answered. However that happened, by the
Middle Ages it was an essential part of daily life - ordinary water being
undrinkable - and people were drinking 10-30 litres a day, driven as much by a
salty diet as anything else. It was even standard for kids.
It was a thorough museum, and interesting, laid out through the
old original buildings but, despite having become, thanks to the Baby, a beer
convert, it was when we got to the stables that I really got interested. That’s
where five people cosset seven horses, beautiful dun draught horses, smaller
than Clydesdales but still wonderfully sturdy and hairy. Outside in the cobbled
courtyard we drank our complimentary beers (not as good as Erdinger, can I say
that?) and then went for a gentle spin in a cart pulled by Axel and Louisa, and
driven by Jens, who was pleasantly chatty. It was just lovely, clopping along
through a quiet suburb of pretty, old brick houses with Viking flourishes,
blackbirds singing in the trees and whiffs of that glorious evocative aroma of
horse washing over me where I sat next to Jens. Highlight of the day.
Back on the HoHo, we circled through Christiania, where the bus
commentary mentioned hovels and loose dogs as well as restaurants and concerts;
and got off in Reffon, tempted by talk of smørbrød and street food stalls.
Which there were, in repurposed shipping containers, where enthusiasts sold
food from everywhere, even Peru, and the tables had great views across the
harbour to the cruise ship terminal – but it was too far for one of us to walk to, and so we got back on the bus.
Pretty soon we were at the Langelinie terminal ourself, going
through the process of boarding Silversea’s Silver
Spirit, which we last sailed in around the Adriatic, but which is now 14m
longer (they cut it in half and fitted in a new bit) and fully refurbished. So
it’s different, but still the same, and it was almost like coming home again
with everything so familiar. Although, it was noticeable that there are more
people aboard – 608 altogther. Hardly Ovation
of the Seas, but still on a different scale from last year’s expedition
ship Silver Explorer, with only 144
passengers. It certainly feels less personal.
However. It’s good to be aboard and the sailaway out past various
Danish islands on a calm sunny evening was just beautiful – and sitting outside
later having dinner and seeing a classic castle slide past, and learning that
it was Kronborg Castle at Helsingør, aka Elsinore? Priceless.
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