Welcome to my cruise blog - Vision of the Seas - Copenhagen to Athens - 9/14/09 t 9/29/09

This is the Nyhaven area of Copenhagen where we enjoyed lunch while sitting along the side of the canal.

Here you can see the windmills, although you have to really take a close look. They're the same as the windmills in Atlantic City, but there are many more.

September 13th, 2009 - Continental flight from Newark to Copenhagen - 7 hours 20 minutes

Arrived Copenhagen 8:00 AM - checked into Hotel - Clarion Hotel 27 - weather cool 60 degrees which warmed up to about 70 degrees by the afternoon. We had some breakfast in the hotel and set out for a day of sightseeing in Copenhagen. This city is very bicycle friendly. There are separate bike lanes and most people will bike to work. You'll even see families biking with their children in a cart at the front of the bike. We noticed a man out with about 4 of his dachshunds in the cart. Very different than here in the US. As our plane landed you couldn't help but notice the windmills in the ocean. We managed to take in a hop on hop off bus tour first. Copenhagen is not an especially pretty city. Very simple architecture and not much in the way of greenery and flowers. Later in the day we took a canal tour which was even better than the bus tour. We especially loved the Nyhaven area with the colorful buildings along the canal. We followed the advice of Rick Steves who said we should go to the "polsevognen" to get a sausage sandwich (wrapped in bacon) and then go to the Kiosk and buy a couple of cans of Carlsburg beer. We sat at the side of the canal and had one of the best lunches we've ever had. These sausages are not exported out of the area, so it was something not to be missed. The "polse" is Denmark's answer to our hot dog --- but much, much better. In the evening, we walked to Tivoli, but didn't go in since we weren't interested in the rides, and it was getting late. Tomorrow we embark on Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas to begin our 13 night journey.