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To cut a long story short, I won't go anywhere abroad unless I'm either meeting someone or going with them. So when my house-mate David invited me to far-off places, I said yes!
After a few teething problems, we managed to book flights and hostels in order to holiday in Copenhagen and Amsterdam. David had been to both places before and hated Copenhagen but liked Amsterdam. But I wanted to see what was so "Wonderful, Wonderful" about Copenhagen!!
Prior to leaving England, David had told me countless times, "now I know you think you're going on holiday and so want to pack your shorts, but Scandinavia is cold this time of year!" I'm rather glad I didn't pay too close attention to him with what I chose to pack, as we had pleasantly warm weather for the entire holiday!
After an early *yawn* start, we landed at Malmo Airport (Sweden) around 10am Saturday 6th May. We swiftly caught the coach over the Oresund Bridge, arriving in Copenhagen earlier than planned at around 11am. We found our hostel, dumped our bags, and went sightseeing.
We started with a souvenir shop before walking around the centre. I was amazed how many statues and fountains there are in Copenhagen! Naturally we saw The Little Mermaid.
David was originally going to the Resistance Museum on Sunday whilst I went to church, but he was so knackered after walking around on Saturday, that he decided to join me. We went to St Albans Church (near the harbour) where we were pleasantly surprised to be in receipt of an English-speaking service where we learned about Shepherd Tom.
After church, we went to Rosenborg Slot where we saw the Crown Jewels. They have nothing on their English counterpart!! The castle was highly decorative and interesting to walk around, though not quite what we expected!
Still fairly tired, we walked around town once more, and went up the Rundetaarn. I can sincerely recommend it! It's more than just a tower: it hosts some interesting Artwork too!
Monday was our last full day on Danish territory. We made our way to Roskilde where we walked around the beautiful cathedral and went to the Viking Ship Museum. I can recommend both.
We left Copenhagen shortly after breakfast on Tuesday morning. It felt strange to be boarding another plane yet still be on holiday!
Despite me having been to The Netherlands more recently than David, it was him who took control! After checking into the hostel, we went for an omelette at a cafe he remembered the exact location of and generally walked around the canals.
The one place I regretted not going to last time I was in Amsterdam, was Anne Frank Huis. We made our way there Wednesday morning. Having never read the diary, I was amazed at what I was reconfronted with. A visit really brings home to you how hard it was to be a Jew during the Holocaust.
Nearby stands the resting place of Rembrandt in the form of The West Church. Although fairly small, it is worth having a look around.
Wednesday afternoon, we decided to follow the signs to Oosterpark. Had we realised it involved and hour's walk, I'm not sure we'd have gone in the heat!! I was determined this would be the place to see tulips in Amsterdam, but it never really happened.
Having contacted my friend Jeroen who invited us to dinner with his wife Gina, we made our way to Arnhem on Thursday. We spent the day at Arnhem Zoo which I remembered from last time was worth seeing! Unfortunately for us, Arnhem, like the centre of Amsterdam, was under construction, and this included the zoo! It was good to go back, but the Safari wasn't what it had been (although I'm sure it will be better following construction!)
I made my way to dinner alone whilst David went in search of "A Bridge Too Far". The bus I took was off it's trolley (literally!) at the first stop, so we all had to abandon ship (or the bus!). I called Jeroen who kindly offered to pick me up. It wasn't until he got me that I realised the bridge I was on was THE Bridge (too far)!!!!
By Friday we were shattered. We made our way to the Van Gogh Museum, expecting a 2 hour queue (as warned by Jereon). Instead we found someone who directed us to a tourist information point where we could buy tickets and fast-track the queue, only to find when we arrived, there was no queue! Better safe than sorry!!
I spent 3 hours studying the works of Art on display only to be disappointed "Starry Night" was not there! Having said this, there were plenty of other masterpieces, and some were by other artists too!!
I decided to meet another friend, Lennart, on Saturday. He offered to show me the sights of Den Haag. This included the Palace, Houses of Parliament... and the beach where there was the annual Sand Sculpture Festival! (2006 was Mozart, and I was amazed how much work people had put into their sculptures!)
We finally arrived back in England around 10.30pm Saturday after a fun-filled holiday. David ended up liking Copenhagen and not being too bothered about returning to Amsterdam! I liked them both!! Who knows where our travels will take us next...
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