Kopenhavn, Denmark
May 16, 2004 - May 18, 2004

I made a last minute decision to go to Kopenhavn, where I had SO much fun in 1996. It was totally worth it. I spent 3 days there. It started off pretty exciting, when our train pulled INTO a boat to be sailed across the ocean. Never seen that before. Then, on the boat, I ran into a kind of weird guy I met in Interlaken, Switzerland. I thought I was pretty unlucky, because he thought we were best friends and wanted me to come sit with him in his train car. But as it happens, he was sitting next to a really cool girl who is getting involved with Cirque du Soleil as a dancer. Of course I had loads to talk about with her (I saw Zumanity in Vegas), so the rest of the train ride was a cinch.

This was the train inside the boat!


The inside of the boat was amazing.  It was like a mall, with a supermarket, restaurants, lounges, and all sorts of things I didn't need.


Around Kopenhavn

I had just missed Prince Fredrik's marriage a few days earlier, but the festivities seemed to be lingering.  This was 
really big news in Denmark.  He had been Denmark's most eligible bachelor for decades.  After Fredrik's marriage, 
everyone was taking the flowers that had been placed all over the streets.






So here's how this works. I found out everything from a proud father watching his son lead his first changing 
of the guard. First, these guys are also guards. When guards are not "guarding" they have to come out in these green 
uniforms and watch, to learn and comment.


So these guys are called Bodyguards, because they are guarding the body of the Queen.




And just like everywhere else in the world, they have a Changing of the guards every 24 hours at noon.


So these guys being relieved have all been awake for 24 hours.


These guys were guarding 24 hours ago, but when they're not guarding, they still have to make attendance to the changing of the guards.


There are guards inside in the guard room relaxing. Every 2 hours the outside guards come in for a rest, and the inside guards go outside to stand.


They ask "anything to report", and the response is always "all's well.  Nothing to report"
The father who told me all this used to be a guard himself, and said he doesn't think there's 
ever been any other answer given


Before the relieved guards can go change out of their uniforms, the new guards' leader (the son of the father I spoke to this day) has to go into the guard room and count all the ammunition and guns, to account for them. Then the old leader, and his guards can take a 24 hour break.


And that's all I have to say about that.

More free bikes in a bike-friendly European city




Now... we'll never be sure, but I met a great girl from Kopenhavn 6 months after I took
this picture while I was in Nepal. She SWEARS the girl on the left wearing the yellow shirt (talking
to the guy in the black shirt) is her! She even says she remembers that day specifically because the
guy was a wierd stranger that sat down with her and her friends. How's that for strange!


Train station