Copenhagen

When I was flying to Ebeltoft, Denmark, I took a flight from Seattle to Copenhagen and then another flight from Copenhagen to Aarhus. The Aarhus airport is only about 15 minutes from Ruth's house which makes it very convenient to go visit. Since it is so easy, maybe I should plan another trip! Just kidding, Ruth!

Ruth needed to go to Copenhagen to take care of some family business. We took the ferry(!) from Ebeltoft to (?) I am not sure where and then drove for about 45 minutes. My lack of concrete details tells you how relaxed I was on the trip!

Here we are driving onto the ferry.



Honestly I must tell you that this was one of THE MOST RELAXING vacations/trips I have been on. I think it was because Ruth and Jens are very laid back people and I felt so very comfortable in their home. I really felt like I was a member of the family. I slept so well at their house! Maybe I should live there part-time(Don't worry Ruth..I don't mean at your house!). After all, the Danes are the happiest people in the world!

Once we got to Copenhagen, Ellen and I left Ruth to take care of her personal business. We left with a map in hand and started on our discovery. Mind you we are knitters and we only had 5-6 hours. The night before we had traced out where we absolutely had to go. You know the places we had to find were the yarn shops!!

Joni also has a much more detailed review of a couple of the shops we visited. See her post here.

We walked along the canals and finally made our way to Uldstedet & Gepard. This shop was underground. If you are a Hanne Falkenberg fan, they had a lot of her finished designs. It was nice to see all the various designs completed, in person. This shop only took cash or debit cards so I was turned off by this as I always use my credit card. More on that issue later.

Here is a photo of Uldstedet & Gepard. Very unassuming entrance. We almost walked right by it.





They had nice yarn but they carried a lot of yarn I can find here so we left without buying anything.

Next we found Strikkeboden. This was very close to Uldstedet & Gepard. He had wonderful window displays. He also displayed the yarn very nicely in the shop. He knew how to merchandise his yarns. I was taken by some linen blend yarns. They had wonderful colors. I love linen yarn and in Denmark they have a lot more linen/linen blend yarns. I wish I would have had more time to go back to Strikkeboden so I could purchase some of that yarn. No need to worry. I found PLENTY to buy while on my trip, believe me!!! The man in the shop was very helpful and even gave us some recommendations for where to go for really great dessert!

After Strikkeboden we found a nice cafe to have a wonderful lunch. It was a bookstore/cafe that had outside seating so we could people watch while we enjoyed our lunch. It was a beautiful day. This was one rare store where I could actually use my credit card. He had to enter the transaction differently but he knew how to deal with my type of credit card!



After lunch we ventured to find Sommerfuglen. I think we were in this shop for TWO HOURS! They had great stuff. Ellen and I kept looking around, talking about this design and that design. Man, it was heaven and at the same time it was hell! Trying to decide what to buy without going completely insane was challenging.

We each bought a Hanne Falkenberg kit. How could you NOT when in Denmark. The price is 1/2 the cost of what it would be here in the States. I had planned to buy one before I left home but I just had to decide which one I really wanted. I bought Tweedie. Ellen bought Blues.

We also bought a kit designed by Geilsk> I love her designs. I purchased the design called Uppercut. So cute!

The women working in the shop were so kind and helpful. While Ellen and I were in the shop another American woman was shopping. I was so embarrassed by her rudeness and behavior. Sometimes when I am abroad and see people acting like they are entitled to be waited on hand and foot I hate to admit being from the same country. I see it more often than I would like. Where has the kindness and respect gone? If you are American, please remember you represent all Americans when travelling abroad!

I was supposed to call Ruth by 4pm to find out if she was going to have to stay overnight. If that were the case then Ellen and I were going to have to take the train to Aarhus and have Jens pick us up from the train station. Unfortunately I could not get cell coverage in Denmark. Ellen and I both have iPhones and she could get service but I couldn't. Very curious and maddening!

I can't say enough about the help we received at Sommerfuglen. They were great. It is a must see shop for knitters visiting Copenhagen! Not only do they have a great selection of yarn and designs, you will get excellent help.

Ellen asked the kind ladies at Sommerfuglen if we could use their phone to call Ruth and they happily obliged. It was so generous of them because without that we were going to have to walk a VERY long way to get back to Ruth.

Ruth needed to stay overnight. She picked us up so we could all share dinner together. We went to a sushi place near the train station. It was a very nice place to eat. Since I was so bad about 1) taking pictures and 2) documenting what we did, I can't tell you the name of the restaurant!

Then we walked over to the train station to buy our tickets and catch the train. Once again I could not use my darn credit card. Sad, so sad!

In Denmark they now have a certain chip in their credit cards and you have to enter a PIN number. I don't have that kind of card which meant....I couldn't use my credit card in many places. It was certainly maddening. I have used my credit card all over the world and have never had a problem. Ever. Good thing I could use my ATM card. The bad thing is knowing how much money I needed and having to carry it around. When I travel I rarely carry cash and always use credit. This was very frustrating. I kept saying that the Danes didn't want me to leave my money in their country! I even encountered shops that only took Danish Visa. Ok, what does that say to tourists??? Enough on that *issue*.

We had a nice train ride from Copenhagen to Aarhus. We got to ride in their newest train! It was very nice. We sat next to a very nice young Swiss man. He was an exchange student for a year in Pennsylvania when he was in high school. I thought it was neat that he told us he remembered when he had his first dream in English. At that point he knew the language was really taking root in his brain.

We arrived back in Aarhus around midnight. It is about a 45 minute drive from the train station to Ruth and Jens' house. As we were driving Jens mentioned something about midnight and I was surprised. It doesn't get very dark at night that far north. That was one thing I just didn't get used to while we were there. I always thought it was earlier in the evening than it was because of all of the light.

We had a wonderful day. We only saw a very specific segment of Copenhagen. Next visit there I would like to take in historical sights and museums and just wander around the city. Of course I will have to see the yarn shops again as well.