København and Malmö

Another late chronicle of an awesome trip we took in April.

Bob and I took an overnight train from Amsterdam to Copenhagen over my April break.  The sleeper car was kind of hilarious... six bunks in the tiniest compartment ever!  We lucked out and we were on our own for the first 4 or 5 hours of the trip.  Everyone else got on once we were already in our beds on the top bunks, and after a rather restless night we awoke in Denmark.  After checking into our hotel and washing away all the travel dirt, my cousin, Dustin, and his lovely fiance, Vicky, came and met us for an afternoon stroll around the city.  Vicky lives in Malmo, Sweden, which is a short train ride over a long bridge from Copenhagen.  My cousin lives in Connecticut, but happened to be visiting, so we were able to meet up after having been out of touch for a few years.  We walked around the city, had a few drinks, and caught up.

Later on in the trip we were able to go over to Sweden and spend an evening with Vicky, Dustin, and their friends.  We didn't see much of the city, but had a great time hanging out with some really interesting people.  We had a great dinner and then went for drinks at a nice bar, and then ventured to a club where we quickly realized we were the oldest people in the joint (we're between 24 and 28...)  but it was an experience!

Bob and I explored Copenhagen by bike, took a great boat tour, and then spent a day outside the city visiting Kronborg Castle, the setting of Shakespeare's Hamlet (Elsinore).  The castle and the surrounding sea was beautiful, and we were able to tour the castle casements, where the Danish soldiers would retreat during a siege or war.  At one point many soldiers lived there without leaving for years... it was amazing and creepy all at the same time.  The castle was really remarkable and we were glad we went.

Overall, we truly enjoyed our first trip to Scandinavia.  It was gorgeous, the people were great, and I can't wait to go back.