The Mod Muse

On Sunday my friend Peter came to me from Esbjerg, a city located on the west coast of Denmark. It was good to see him and we had a great day walking around Copenhagen being tourists. Peter used to be what the Danes call a life guard (a soldier who guards the Queen) and it was interesting to walk around Amalienborg (the Queen’s residence) and learn about his duties as a guard. On my last trip to Copenhagen I neglected to see the little mermaid and Peter insisted this time I needed to meet her. I have to say it was cool to see the Lille Havfrue (Danish for little mermaid) in person but it was so dark by the time we made it there it was difficult to see her in all her glory.

But I thought it was very sweet Peter made such an effort to make sure I made the visit. Peter also made good on his promise to take me to Tivoli, a small amusement park in the middle of Copenhagen. It’s usually open only during the summer however during Christmas it is lit up with millions of lights and  X-Mas decorations. As you walk around there are stalls to buy various Christmas presents such as Nisse (elves or gnomes), funny hats, decorations, etc… and of course plenty of food stalls  selling traditional holiday food.  It was really lovely to walk around the grounds and soak up the holiday spirit. And even though we didn’t ride any rides (Peter and I share the same affinity for observing instead of riding) we both had a great time just spending time together.

We enjoyed a nice hot meal at Tivoli and later visited the Nisse Village (a really cute village with animatronic elves) where I ate my first bowl of  risengrød, a warm rice dish kind of like porridge they set out for the Nisse (elves) during Christmas.

After a busy  day of walking, eating and Nisse visiting, Peter and I decide to go back to his hotel and watch The Godfather 3. Peter had never seen it and I had fun telling him the whole back story. I think he liked it! It was sad to say goodbye to him the next day but I know I will see him soon and I look forward to visiting him in his hometown.