Saturday – Playday!

Saturday is for playing. So play we did. First stop – breakfast!

We walked about 15 mins from apartment to get a seat outside at Mad & Kaffe. It’s a busy cafe on a bustling street. Lots of cool kids. They let us seat anyway.

Breakfast is kind of an a la carte thing. You have a list and choose your own smorgasbord. Literally my favorite way to eat. (I think I must have Danes in my gene pool…) Scrambled eggs with chive & parmesan cheese. Some dairy/yogurt kind of thing with roasted peaches. Assorted bread & butter. Yogurt with coconut & mint. A strawberry lemon tart. Latte. Peach ice tea. I ate about a third. Kenny finished his and mine.

Then we took a Viggo (Danish Uber-like service) across town to Rosenborg Castle. All the viggo cars are EVs. Which is totally fun for me as I’m not so familiar with EV cars. Kenny knows all the models and happy shares his reviews. Since we are in Europe, there are more EV options than the USA. All the viggos we have taken have been spotless, prompt and friendly. The drivers are helpful and gratefully speak fluent English. I love asking ‘drivers’ for their tips on the city. Often they impart ‘gems’ of information.

We arrived about an hour before our castle tour time. We wandered about in the King’s Garden which is adjacent to the castle. We were lucky enough to see a changing of the guard. They reminded me of toy soldiers with very large, fluffy helmets.

Reflecting pools semi-surround the castle and are full of massive carp. I mean huge – about 2 feet long. They look a bit like large eels slithering through the muddy water. We quickly moved away from the pools into the main part of the King’s Garden when we happened upon a horse & buggy parade along the main road. Fun! Draft horses, minis and work horses pulling bedecked riders in 1900’s outfits. Back to the Castle for the tour.

Rosenborg Castle was build in the 1600s as a pleasure palace of King Christian V and his following heirs. Wow. The Castle is packed with art and all things that glitter. Truly my favorite part is all the naked women. Why? They are full bodied women floating above. Rubenesque. (Peter Paul Rubens was heavily influenced by the art and depiction of the female form in the Castle.) These are real women, not some ‘ozempic’ dream. These floating women enjoyed life – food, drink, sex & motherhood. Ideals to celebrate in my book.

The entire Castle is overflowing with art and monarchy treasure. The upper floor holds the throne room with thrones of gold, narwhal tusks and sparkling, giant, golden lions. Tapestries of battle victories surround.

In the basement, also guarded by Danish armed guards, is the treasury. Jewels that sparkle. Crowns. Gold. Intricate ivory carvings. Truly a unique experience.

We wandered back into the sunshine and the King’s Garden with Queen Caroline holding court among the roses. Her austere pose demanded respect and no funny business. I didn’t imagine her enjoying the pleasure palace ever. I think she liked the garden better with her book.

We crossed the busy street in front of the castle to the Botanical Gardens for a rest on the velvet grass in the shade. We were not alone in this plot. The gardens were full of young families picnicking, lovers entwined on the banks and eager tourists taking in the sights. The murmur of laughter and multi-languages twinkled. All of us, enjoying this magnificent day together.

After a good rest and ice cream, we took another viggo to the apartment to change and hit the streets again for supper. Kenny had found another ‘cool kid’ area about 10 mins walk away. We were looking for a new restaurant. We landed at Bar Pasta, sitting outside with the young families. We ordered the ‘price fix’ menu…steak tartar, antipasto, burrata cheese, soft focaccia bread, pasta with cream, lemon & pistachios, pasta with beef & pork ragu, some light ice creamish thing and booze to spar. Wine and homemade limoncello.

We rolled our way home. Climbed the 85 steps again and collapsed. Another fine day in Copenhagen. JoY!