A 2-hour plane ride from Ireland.
We visited J-san's home country for the first time in 2 years.
Please enjoy this walk through Copenhagen.
That mountain is a roller coaster in Tivoli Gardens, a theme park in Denmark.
Apparently it's the oldest roller coaster in the Europe.
Tivoli was the 2nd oldest theme park in the world and started as a garden for nobles.
As a side note, the oldest one is called Bakken which opened in 1583.
It's also located in Denmark.
This is Copenhagen Central Station.
This is Tivoli's main entrance.
Today we're just passing by.
That looks cold...
Them too...
Denmark is where LEGO was born.
There's some modern architecture around here too.
Copenhagen is one of the world's leading cities for bicycles.
As expected, everyone is cycling well without losing to the rain and wind.
We were cycling every day too when we lived here.
We found a snow queen pigeon.
She looks very elegant with her beautiful white coat.
This is Copenhagen City Hall.
Next to it, there is this statue of Hans Christian Andersen, famous for his children's stories such as the Little Mermaid.
What's he gazing up at...?
...his Tivoli-themed castle across the road.
Ah, the 1 o'clock bell just started ringing.
Today's lunch is...
Ramen!
There are no Ramen restaurants in the Irish countryside where we live, so we've been looking forward to it :)
I'll have this. Wait, 'Tonkutsu'? It should be Ton-KO-tsu :D
It seems more Ramen restaurants have been opened in Scandinavia these past couple of years.
I'm happy that more Japanese food is available, not only Sushi.
~ music from the restaurant ~
Slurping Ramen with classical music in the background.. haha
It's very different compared to the atmosphere in a Japanese Ramen shop.
We quite like it :)
We thoroughly enjoyed our elegant Ramen time.
We came to the alcohol shop in Frederiksberg which J-san likes.
There is a good selection of local and imported items.
Danish beer with cool packaging.
Snaps is a strong Danish spirit not unlike Japanese shochu.
Danes usually drink it together with oily food like herring.
What a huge bottle of rum!
I thought these were for display but they're actually on sale.
You can get Japanese whisky here too.
They have it!
It's a whisky J-san got before as a souvenir from my parents and was looking for..
Nikka Whisky From the Barrel
Happy for you :)
We came to a shopping mall.
Apparently these are all made out of chocolate, so you can eat them.
These are called flødeboller.
They're a dome-shaped Danish confectionary with fluffy meringue cream coated in thin chocolate. It's quite delicate.
This is Kongens Nytorv.
You can see a famous sightseeing spot called Nyhavn in the back.
It's so nostalgic.
We're walking around the town we used to walk almost every day.
It brings up many memories.
The bicycles with boxes in front are called Christiania bikes and are popular in Denmark.
They are convenient for carrying stuff and sometimes children around too.
This is Nyhavn (meaning 'new harbour').
It can get very cold in winter so that sometimes even the water in the harbour freezes,
but it feels very nice in the summer and becomes crowded with many tourists.
Let's rest our feet a bit.
Speaking of Denmark, you can't leave out pastry.
Danish pastry is all about the butter and flakiness.
This is J-san's soul food.
There are many fashionable and cosy cafes everywhere in Copenhagen.
There is space for hygge which Danes cherish.
It's already dark outside.
The daylight becomes very short during winter in Scandinavia.
Though Denmark is located in the south of Scandinavia,
The sun in December rises around 8:30 and sets around 15:30.
Let's take a look at winter market.
Silver jewellery with Scandinavian designs.
Metal part sculptures
Ahaha, this one is very creative!
Cute grating plates from Finland.
They are handmade so each plate is slightly unique.
It's hard to chose one.
Let's get this one.
This is the one of the café we used to come often.
There is antique library atmosphere.
It's time for dinner.
We came to this greenhouse-like restaurant.
I like the calm, cozy atmosphere.
This restaurant offers modern Scandinavian cuisine.
It looks like he's drinking Japanese tea, but...
it's mushroom soup.
It's a new style.
But it really does looks like tea.
All the dishes were delicious and we had a great time.
Spend your days warmly.
Stay tuned for part 2...