Today was basically all travel day. We got up and cleaned up the apartment, got ourselves cleaned up and packed and watched a few stand-up comedy videos till it was time to go to the airport.
The first flight was from Copenhagen to JFK. It was a long feeling flight without in the seat entertainment systems on a 757. I will rate it as the worst service flight I ever have been on. The exchange at JFK was not pleasant either. There were no boards directing you to the correct terminal after you land. Ok, so the passport control and customs weren't too bad, though customs had an undisciplined line which really annoyed me. We had to take a tram to terminal 3 from terminal 4 but then had to walk around outside to terminal 2 because all entrances to terminal 3 were blocked but it wasn't posted anywhere.
The flight to Boston was delayed an hour due to weather in Boston. It was 37 minutes in the air when we finally got to it. It wasn't that bad of a flight but due to its brevity there was no services on it. My brother picked us up at the baggage check and I got home about 11:15 or so.
All in all it was a fun trip. We had some weather issues but nothing show stopping. My nephew said he had a good time. I had a good time minus the day lost driving to nowhere. That did set us back some of the things I would have liked to do.
I have one picture from day 6 but I still have to download it from the camera. I will post it when I can.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Denmark 2010 Day 5
Today strarted a bit earlier with a second attempt to reach Kertiminde, well actually Ladby for the viking museum there. The location is the site of a burial mound in which a viking ship burial was unearthed first in 1934. It took a couple years to excavate it. The actual ship's wood is long gone due to the makeup of the soil but the impression was left behind. It took us about 2 hours to get there this time when we took the correct direction. It is not a particularly big museum but it was cool to see it and they appear to be expanding. The thing is due to the location of the dig it is practically in the middle of nowhere. It was very cool visit but it was finished in short order.
We then decided to drive to Odense to have lunch. We walked around the city, which is the capital of Funen - the next isle over from Zealand, and eventually settled on Mona Lisa which was a Danish run Italian restaurant it appeared. The food was filling but a bit bland. After lunch we walked back to the car and drove straight back to the room to get cleaned up and changed to head into the city to meet Ditte for dinner at a Greek restaurant, Restaurant Constantine. She had arrived just before we got there and we ate dinner and stayed and talked for some time. I had the souvlaki. It was reasonably good. We had some white wine and eventually an appertif and a dessert wine. We stayed for a couple hours (which is a Danish thing to do) then walked down to Nyhavn where we chose a place to have coffee and tea. Eventually the wind had picked up a bit much to stay outside and we took the metro to the train station and headed back home after saying good night to Ditte.
The pictures for day 5 are located here.
We then decided to drive to Odense to have lunch. We walked around the city, which is the capital of Funen - the next isle over from Zealand, and eventually settled on Mona Lisa which was a Danish run Italian restaurant it appeared. The food was filling but a bit bland. After lunch we walked back to the car and drove straight back to the room to get cleaned up and changed to head into the city to meet Ditte for dinner at a Greek restaurant, Restaurant Constantine. She had arrived just before we got there and we ate dinner and stayed and talked for some time. I had the souvlaki. It was reasonably good. We had some white wine and eventually an appertif and a dessert wine. We stayed for a couple hours (which is a Danish thing to do) then walked down to Nyhavn where we chose a place to have coffee and tea. Eventually the wind had picked up a bit much to stay outside and we took the metro to the train station and headed back home after saying good night to Ditte.
The pictures for day 5 are located here.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Denmark 2010 Day 4
Well, today should be listed as a RTFS day. We intended to make our way out to the viking museum in Koteminde which required us to travel to Funen the next island over. In punching in the information the GPS informed us we would have to cross a toll road, which we knew would happen to cross the long bridge. We said yes to the question and 2 hours later were confronted with a ferry across to the mainland. It had not asked to avoid the toll road but to avoid the ferry. So that meant turning around and since the ride back around and the correct way over the toll bridge would have brought us to the destination far too late we opted to instead try to visit Vallo Slot. On the way we stopped at a rest area restaurant and had burgers. They were good. William even tried to eat his with a knife and fork like the locals.
By the time we got to Vallo it had started to rain somewhat and we found out it is open to the public but the outside only. We walked around the castle as much as we could and then decided we would head up to Helsingor to see Kronborg Slot. I had been there a couple years ago and we passed by it last year. With traffic we unfortunately only got there a few minutes before closing time so we walked around a bit and found that we had just missed them putting on productions of Hamlet in the courtyard as they were breaking down the stage. It ended the 22nd so we couldn't have seen it but it would have been a neat idea. (For those who don't know Hamlet is set in Kronborg, I believe I mentioned it the first visit...)
After Kronborg we followed the Strandevej down to the apartment, picked up some pizza and called it a relatively early night. Not every day can be a winner in travel. This one is chalked up as a mild failure though we still saw some cool stuff out in the bits of Denmark we hadn't seen before.
By the time we got to Vallo it had started to rain somewhat and we found out it is open to the public but the outside only. We walked around the castle as much as we could and then decided we would head up to Helsingor to see Kronborg Slot. I had been there a couple years ago and we passed by it last year. With traffic we unfortunately only got there a few minutes before closing time so we walked around a bit and found that we had just missed them putting on productions of Hamlet in the courtyard as they were breaking down the stage. It ended the 22nd so we couldn't have seen it but it would have been a neat idea. (For those who don't know Hamlet is set in Kronborg, I believe I mentioned it the first visit...)
After Kronborg we followed the Strandevej down to the apartment, picked up some pizza and called it a relatively early night. Not every day can be a winner in travel. This one is chalked up as a mild failure though we still saw some cool stuff out in the bits of Denmark we hadn't seen before.
Denmark 2010 Day 3
Today we drove south and headed down to the cliffs of Moen. We had done this last year and it was a fun trip but we also had a secondary reason to head that way because Jesper has since moved to a farm close to that area. We were going to visit Jesper and go to dinner with him so it made sense to go that way.
The weather in Copenhagen was a bit touchy looking before we started but as we drove south it got nicer if still cloudy. By the time we got to the cliffs we didn't really see any rain. We had a quick lunch at the snack shop of the Geocenter then walked down the stairs to the beach and around the beach in the opposite direction of our last visit. About 1.2km down the beach we took the next set of stairs up. It took us a while. That particular some had counted and marked off with chalk (probably from the cliffs, if you recall they are chalk cliffs like in Dover) and they said there were 486 steps. After finishing the walk we rested a bit and checked out the gift shop.
On the drive back we took a quick stop in the town on the edge of the island where we ate lunch last year. Since it was Sunday everything but the market was closed. It started to rain and even got to be downpour like for a little bit but it did pass. Before we got to Jesper's house George drove us on a tour of the "block." Jesper's new house with farm and stable and a lot of land is really nice. He has 2 guest apartments, a barn, stables, 2 paddocks for his 2 horses. The interior is very nice as well. We had a quick home cooked piece of cake and some cherry lemonade during the tour.
After Jesper fed the horses we drove in to Vordingborg and had dinner at a tiny little restaurant on the harbor named Cafe Oskar. We took a quick walking tour of the town after we parked to get there. It is a very cute little town (also closed for Sunday). Jesper, George and I had the set menu for the night which was a started of muscles in cream broth followed by a grilled fish dish with onions and apples that was very good. I rounded out with a Jacobsen Dark Lager. William had a burger and ate all the bread they served to us while we were eating our muscles.
After dinner we walked back to the car, dropped Jesper off at home and drove back to the apartment to crash for the night.
The weather in Copenhagen was a bit touchy looking before we started but as we drove south it got nicer if still cloudy. By the time we got to the cliffs we didn't really see any rain. We had a quick lunch at the snack shop of the Geocenter then walked down the stairs to the beach and around the beach in the opposite direction of our last visit. About 1.2km down the beach we took the next set of stairs up. It took us a while. That particular some had counted and marked off with chalk (probably from the cliffs, if you recall they are chalk cliffs like in Dover) and they said there were 486 steps. After finishing the walk we rested a bit and checked out the gift shop.
On the drive back we took a quick stop in the town on the edge of the island where we ate lunch last year. Since it was Sunday everything but the market was closed. It started to rain and even got to be downpour like for a little bit but it did pass. Before we got to Jesper's house George drove us on a tour of the "block." Jesper's new house with farm and stable and a lot of land is really nice. He has 2 guest apartments, a barn, stables, 2 paddocks for his 2 horses. The interior is very nice as well. We had a quick home cooked piece of cake and some cherry lemonade during the tour.
After Jesper fed the horses we drove in to Vordingborg and had dinner at a tiny little restaurant on the harbor named Cafe Oskar. We took a quick walking tour of the town after we parked to get there. It is a very cute little town (also closed for Sunday). Jesper, George and I had the set menu for the night which was a started of muscles in cream broth followed by a grilled fish dish with onions and apples that was very good. I rounded out with a Jacobsen Dark Lager. William had a burger and ate all the bread they served to us while we were eating our muscles.
After dinner we walked back to the car, dropped Jesper off at home and drove back to the apartment to crash for the night.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Denmark 2010 Day 2
Today started with a typical Scandinavian late start where we allowed the kid to sleep a bit longer than I really should. After a quick breakfast in the apartment we drove out to Roskilde for the better part of the day. We checked to see if they were going to do boat tours in case the weather was not going to cooperate but it was so we bought 3 passes for noon and visited the Viking Ship Museum until it was time to ride the viking style ship. It took us about an hour to get there especially because of the traffic merging down to one lane a couple kilometers before the exit which was fairly frustrating. It took us over 15 minutes to go 2km. Anyway we walked around the museum until our boat ride then did the boat thing. For George and I it was the second time doing it and for William it was obviously his first. For me, one of the main memories of the first time was getting hit in the back during the rowing experience by the young Spanish woman behind me who couldn't row in time to the leaders. I thought for sure that I would be safe this time as the person behind me was a healthy Italian male. However, I was completely incorrect as he didn't manage to put the oar in the water in time with the leaders even one time. I guess I'll always be keeping memorird of that. In any event we did a lot more sailing than rowing this time. We even doubled back and then headed back out again because we had enough time. William got to handle the middle sheet but George and I were just ordinary crewmen. All in all it was a blast and we had great weather with decent wind throughout the ride.
After the ride we left the museum and headed up to downtown Roskilde. The Domkirken was closed to public visits due to a wedding that was just wrapping up as we got there, but it must have needed clean up because it stayed closed all day. We found lunch at a place called Cafe 42 which had reasonably ok food. I had a shredded beef sandwich that was not bad but probably could have had a bit more beef. By the time we finished eating though it was basically 3pm and the whole of the town was closing down. We walked around a bit longer for the sake of it. The restaurants were staying open but all the shops closed. Imagine that happening in a tourist town in the US on a Saturday... Anyway we had some ice cream then headed back to the car.
After leaving Roskilde a bit after 4pm we drove around randomly for a while until we got ourselves in the wrong direction and over a drawbridge to the other side of the fjord. We then decided to apply the GPS and head back into home before dinner. We decided to go back into Copenhagen to have Italian. We chose Amalfi. We ate there last year and the food was excellent. This time I had a lamb dinner which was spectacular. The lamb was incredibly tender and very flavorful with a rosemary red wine sauce. I finished with Affogato al Caffe (espresso over coffee) and we tried to find the same grappa from last time but had a just average one instead as they didn't appear to still have it.
From dinner we walked about a bit and then went into Tivoli where William rode one of the roller coasters and we went to one of the brewhouses and had a beer to finish the night before a ride back home.
After the ride we left the museum and headed up to downtown Roskilde. The Domkirken was closed to public visits due to a wedding that was just wrapping up as we got there, but it must have needed clean up because it stayed closed all day. We found lunch at a place called Cafe 42 which had reasonably ok food. I had a shredded beef sandwich that was not bad but probably could have had a bit more beef. By the time we finished eating though it was basically 3pm and the whole of the town was closing down. We walked around a bit longer for the sake of it. The restaurants were staying open but all the shops closed. Imagine that happening in a tourist town in the US on a Saturday... Anyway we had some ice cream then headed back to the car.
After leaving Roskilde a bit after 4pm we drove around randomly for a while until we got ourselves in the wrong direction and over a drawbridge to the other side of the fjord. We then decided to apply the GPS and head back into home before dinner. We decided to go back into Copenhagen to have Italian. We chose Amalfi. We ate there last year and the food was excellent. This time I had a lamb dinner which was spectacular. The lamb was incredibly tender and very flavorful with a rosemary red wine sauce. I finished with Affogato al Caffe (espresso over coffee) and we tried to find the same grappa from last time but had a just average one instead as they didn't appear to still have it.
From dinner we walked about a bit and then went into Tivoli where William rode one of the roller coasters and we went to one of the brewhouses and had a beer to finish the night before a ride back home.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Denmark 2010 Day 1
After getting cleaned up from the flights we were ready to start moving by about 3pm. First we went to the local Super Best and bought a few supplies for the apartment and returned and stowed them.
We then took the train into Copenhagen for the evening. Upon arriving in Central Station we started towards Nyhavn and along the way discovered that the local teens were all dressing in costume for some sort of event. There were all sorts of costume types from vikings to superheroes to soldiers. It appeared that each specific group of friends chose their own theme and went with it. We were curious about why it was all happening and it appears that the local gay pride rally was having a costume party or something like that and all the kids decided to run with it because it was a reason to drink and be loud. Some of the costumes were very good actually.
We had dinner at the Royal Garden Chinese restaurant. We had a couple dim sum and each selected and entre we shared. The food was good and their very spicy Sichuan beef was actually mildly spicy (I am sure it kills the average Dane).
After that we walked to Nyhavn and had a beer on the deck of the new theater. The weather was overcast but still pleasant. We did get a couple spits of rain during the evening but nothig serious. We had a soft serve ice cream along the way then just sort of wandered the city till it got dark. We returned to the room about 9pm and watched a couple stand-up comedy videos by Russell Peters and then crashed for the night.
I have posted today's pictures here.
We then took the train into Copenhagen for the evening. Upon arriving in Central Station we started towards Nyhavn and along the way discovered that the local teens were all dressing in costume for some sort of event. There were all sorts of costume types from vikings to superheroes to soldiers. It appeared that each specific group of friends chose their own theme and went with it. We were curious about why it was all happening and it appears that the local gay pride rally was having a costume party or something like that and all the kids decided to run with it because it was a reason to drink and be loud. Some of the costumes were very good actually.
We had dinner at the Royal Garden Chinese restaurant. We had a couple dim sum and each selected and entre we shared. The food was good and their very spicy Sichuan beef was actually mildly spicy (I am sure it kills the average Dane).
After that we walked to Nyhavn and had a beer on the deck of the new theater. The weather was overcast but still pleasant. We did get a couple spits of rain during the evening but nothig serious. We had a soft serve ice cream along the way then just sort of wandered the city till it got dark. We returned to the room about 9pm and watched a couple stand-up comedy videos by Russell Peters and then crashed for the night.
I have posted today's pictures here.
Friday, August 20, 2010
In Denmark
After a reasonably easy pair of flights, on the longer of which I watched Clash of the Titans and it did make the flight seem shorter because of all the pain I was in and Invictus which I liked, we have arrived in Denmark. I slept for about 2 hours on that flight too.
We were issued a Citroen C3 diesel for a rental. We are in the process of getting settled in before we hit the town for the evening. Mmmmmmmm, Carls Special.
We were issued a Citroen C3 diesel for a rental. We are in the process of getting settled in before we hit the town for the evening. Mmmmmmmm, Carls Special.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
On the Way to Denmark
We are currently on the plane to Schipol airport. We will be departing soon. We have a short layover in Amsterdam then on to Copenhagen.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome
On Saturday of my stay in Danbury I decided to go to Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in Red Hook, NY. The idea was suggested by the instructor of the class I am taking as I asked about the military museum in Danbury (which he hadn't heard of). The Aerodrome is a museum and air show wrapped into one with the ability to take a 15 minute biplane ride to boot. Being a fan of the World War I era this seemed very up my alley as the main concept in the Aerodrome is WWI and just beyond vintage era airplanes.
I got up early as I always do and planned to get there around about their opening time which is at 10am on the weekends (they only have the air shows on the weekend and obviously weather matters). I wasn't sure how long it would take so after eating breakfast and gassing up the Jeep I headed out probably too early. I took the top down for good measure because it promised to be a beautiful day and that held up to the end. I got to the place about 50 minutes before opening time but they had opened up their parking lot at least. I was the first person there. The drive probably took about an hour and 20 minutes but I didn't speed at all. The ride was very scenic and there weren't many cars on the road that early in the morning on Saturday which was nice. The kid that opened the parking lot had to direct people around and I spoke to him for a few minutes. The Aerodrome was opened by Cole Palen who died in 1993. He started with preserving one vintage era airplane and then the neighbors and such joined in and suddenly they really had something going. I was told the place has been open for around or over 50 years. Being early I watched them pulling out all the aircraft that are stored in various hangers. Some are replicas and some are mostly original. Obviously, airplanes around 100 years old aren't going to be all original. The ones they pulled on the field are all flyable. Some are wing worn but can at least take off. They display that during the air show at the end of the day.
The reason I arrived so early is because they have a first come first served opportunity to ride in a 4 passenger biplane, the New Standard D-25. It is a touch expensive at $65 for the 15 minute or so ride but once you get up in the air you can easily see it is worth it. Anyone I spoke to who did it, myself included, really enjoyed the ride. I was solo of course so I had to wait until the 3rd ride because they try to do things efficiently. The first couple rides only have 2 passengers because of the fuel load but they then put me on the third with a couple from New Jersey. I will say it was tougher to be in the front seats because the cockpit is high in the front but not so much where the back 2 seats are. Still it was easy to look over the sides I think. They take you up and through a ride to the Hudson River where the pilot does a figure 8 over a highway bridge over the river. Then you come around and over the airstrip then circle back and in for the landing. I think it might get up to about 1500 feet or so. I tried to take pictures of the landing but I am not sure how they came out. I was having battery troubles at the time or I might have tried to video it.
The positive to arriving so early is that I got to ride the biplane for sure. The mild negative was having to kill time until the 2pm air show. I managed that by visiting the hangers museum which has non-flying airplanes and replicas (though apparently all could fly at one time) and by generally walking around and chatting with folks. They have a snack shop and 2 gift shops as well. the weather was beautiful but at times I was hiding from the sun a bit.
The air show included them demonstrating some of the older planes (they apparently had a period fashion show but I couldn't really see it from where I sat) they did a few tricks with some of the more flyable planes such as cutting toilet paper they dropped from the plane or attempting to bust balloons launched from the ground. They had a simulated dog fight as well as some other stuff on the ground that was geared more towards the kids (there were a lot of kids out there). The show lasted about 2 hours and was very fun to watch, especially the acrobatics. They have a replica Fokker Dr.I which is the plane that was made famous by the Red Baron (the triplane) and a Spad VII that did a very fun mock air combat. I learned it is hard to video airplanes in the air but tried anyway.
I should also mention they had vintage cars and some of them even drove.
All in all it was a full and very enjoyable day. I would highly recommend seeing Aerodrome some day in your life. I cannot think of anyplace else like it. Indeed they claim to be the only place in the world like it.
I got up early as I always do and planned to get there around about their opening time which is at 10am on the weekends (they only have the air shows on the weekend and obviously weather matters). I wasn't sure how long it would take so after eating breakfast and gassing up the Jeep I headed out probably too early. I took the top down for good measure because it promised to be a beautiful day and that held up to the end. I got to the place about 50 minutes before opening time but they had opened up their parking lot at least. I was the first person there. The drive probably took about an hour and 20 minutes but I didn't speed at all. The ride was very scenic and there weren't many cars on the road that early in the morning on Saturday which was nice. The kid that opened the parking lot had to direct people around and I spoke to him for a few minutes. The Aerodrome was opened by Cole Palen who died in 1993. He started with preserving one vintage era airplane and then the neighbors and such joined in and suddenly they really had something going. I was told the place has been open for around or over 50 years. Being early I watched them pulling out all the aircraft that are stored in various hangers. Some are replicas and some are mostly original. Obviously, airplanes around 100 years old aren't going to be all original. The ones they pulled on the field are all flyable. Some are wing worn but can at least take off. They display that during the air show at the end of the day.
The reason I arrived so early is because they have a first come first served opportunity to ride in a 4 passenger biplane, the New Standard D-25. It is a touch expensive at $65 for the 15 minute or so ride but once you get up in the air you can easily see it is worth it. Anyone I spoke to who did it, myself included, really enjoyed the ride. I was solo of course so I had to wait until the 3rd ride because they try to do things efficiently. The first couple rides only have 2 passengers because of the fuel load but they then put me on the third with a couple from New Jersey. I will say it was tougher to be in the front seats because the cockpit is high in the front but not so much where the back 2 seats are. Still it was easy to look over the sides I think. They take you up and through a ride to the Hudson River where the pilot does a figure 8 over a highway bridge over the river. Then you come around and over the airstrip then circle back and in for the landing. I think it might get up to about 1500 feet or so. I tried to take pictures of the landing but I am not sure how they came out. I was having battery troubles at the time or I might have tried to video it.
The positive to arriving so early is that I got to ride the biplane for sure. The mild negative was having to kill time until the 2pm air show. I managed that by visiting the hangers museum which has non-flying airplanes and replicas (though apparently all could fly at one time) and by generally walking around and chatting with folks. They have a snack shop and 2 gift shops as well. the weather was beautiful but at times I was hiding from the sun a bit.
The air show included them demonstrating some of the older planes (they apparently had a period fashion show but I couldn't really see it from where I sat) they did a few tricks with some of the more flyable planes such as cutting toilet paper they dropped from the plane or attempting to bust balloons launched from the ground. They had a simulated dog fight as well as some other stuff on the ground that was geared more towards the kids (there were a lot of kids out there). The show lasted about 2 hours and was very fun to watch, especially the acrobatics. They have a replica Fokker Dr.I which is the plane that was made famous by the Red Baron (the triplane) and a Spad VII that did a very fun mock air combat. I learned it is hard to video airplanes in the air but tried anyway.
I should also mention they had vintage cars and some of them even drove.
All in all it was a full and very enjoyable day. I would highly recommend seeing Aerodrome some day in your life. I cannot think of anyplace else like it. Indeed they claim to be the only place in the world like it.
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Danbury, CT for Now, Denmark Soon
Currently, I am in Danbury, CT until the Thursday following this. I am here for a training class pertaining to the M-IV Mammography system. I drove down here using my own Jeep. It took a bit over 3 hours. I am staying here over the weekend and returning right after the class ends on Thursday to drive home. I am sure I will be getting home at some hideously late hour but such is life. I will be home for less than a week before my nephew and I head over to Denmark for 5 days. When I am done with that I will be at home until the vacation to Italy in late October.
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