The Road to PBP (and other stuff)

As we wait for the boys to recover sufficiently from PBP to start blogging again, I’ll fill the time by posting pictures of my trip to Denmark. While Justin was riding across the French countryside, I was at a summer school in Humlebaek. I flew over on Icelandair, stopping in Keflavik at 11:00pm, just in time to watch the sun set.

Travel tip: Fly Icelendair! The airline itself is pretty average but the big bonus is that you get a layover in Iceland. I have since learned that the correct way to fly Icelandair is to make sure you have a 3+ hour layover in Keflavik. After you land, exit the terminal and take the bus to the Blue Lagoon (~ 30 minutes) where you can refresh yourself by soaking in the natural geothermal seawater while watching the snow fall before taking the bus back to the airport for the second leg of your trip. Ahhhhh!

If you have never visited a country where English is not the primary language, Denmark is a nice place to get a gentle introduction to traveling in Western Europe. Copenhagen is extremely easy to get around; it’s well-organized and most everybody can speak English. The city (in fact, as far as I could tell, the whole country) is extremely well set up for biking. There are many many well-maintained bike paths in the city, through the woods, along the sea, between cities … and PILES and I really mean PILES of bikes around all the train stations.

I was only in Copenhagen for a day which was long enough to walk along the canal to see the little mermaid and Kastellet (the citadel) and to wander through the botanical gardens.

After a day in Copenhagen, I took the train up to the summer school in Humlebaek. Humlebaek has a wonderful modern art museum, Louisiana (named after the founders three wives, all of whom were named Louise), with a fabulous Giacometti collection. From Humlebaek one can take the train or bus a few kilometers north to Helsinore and Hamlet’s castle. August was the perfect time of year to go — sunny but not too hot, a nice break from Boston in August!

End of Danish interlude … back to biking in the next post …