Rames' in Denmark

Yes, I know this is Rames' in Ireland, but the Rames' have gone on a little summer holiday and the destination was Denmark or Danmark as they call themselves here.  Denmark, you say?  Why Denmark?  Well, we wanted to reprise the Griswold family experience by heading to a legendary theme park.  Our Walley World was Legoland in Billund, Denmark.  Denmark is, of course, the mother ship of the Lego empire.  We had really hoped for a factory tour, but they just don't offer one.  I'm sure the thousands of pre-teen kids that would demand the tour would make work nearly impossible.  Here are the events to this point:

Day 1 -  Fly to Copenhagen
Joining us on our Danish adventure were Lynn and Lucca.  They live across the street.  Lucca is 9 years old and a serious Lego fan.  A big enough fan to name his new Golden Doodle Lego a few months ago.  We had an morning flight out of Dublin for a short 1 1/2 hour flight to Copenhagen on Norwegian Air.  We picked up a car at the airport and drove to our hostel.  Yes, you read that correctly, we were staying at a hostel.  I know I didn't have "Stay at a hostel" on my punch list in life, but if I did, I could now check it off.  And I've now made it an easy mark for my kids who had their first hostel experience.  My visions of hostel were no where close to what this was.  Danhostel has 95 properties in Denmark and this is the flagship location with 1,020 beds.  We had a luxury 11th floor corner room with 8 beds and our own bathroom.  It was closer to a group holding cell and the country jail than a hotel room at the Radisson.  Bunk beds bolted to the walls, but no bars on the windows.  My list of thoughts during the stay:

1. Rent my sheets?  Really?  Martha had taken care of this in our packing, but renting sheets was new to me.  
2. Wow, this is where all the young people with backpacks end up?  This place was packed with the youth of the world.  I was met with a "Go Green" greeting (yes, I was wearing my Spartan gear) by a German guy who had spent a year in East Lansing.  I responded with the requisite "Go White".
3. My God the sun is bright up here.  They don't provide anything that could be considered a luxury in a place like this, so the thin curtains barely kept the star light out.  Also missing were the phone, TV, mini-bar, little soaps, towels, and cleaning service.  They were kind enough to supply a broom and dustpan, not that we used it.
4. But they do provide the youth of today what they really want and need:  A free internet connection and a bar in the lobby.

We got into town early afternoon and made our way to Tivoli Gardens.  Think of a small Cedar Point or Six Flags.  Roller coasters and carnival rides.  Junk food and themed areas. 

 

Day 2 - To Helsignor and Sweden

We moved out of Copenhagen on Day 2 to take a drive north to Helsignor.  Helsignor is the home of a castle reputedly the inspiration to Shakespeare's Hamlet.  It was a great day with great weather and we toured the castle and played with period toys.  From there, we got on a ferry and went to Helsingborg.  These two cities face each other across the small strait of water between Denmark and Sweden.  Helsingborg is the home of IKEA, but we didn't venture there.  We basically wanted to visit Sweden since we were close.  There was no passport check and we just drove onto the ferry and off the other side.  We visited a local castle, had some ice cream and made our way back to Copenhagen via the  Øresund Toll Bridge between Denmark and Sweden.  And when I say toll, I mean TOLL!  This bridge was about 300 SEK, which ended up being about $50.  It really made me feel good about the $3.50 that I used to pay on the Skyway in Chicago.  I'm sure it's more than $3.50 now, but it probably hasn't made it to $50.  Granted, this one is about 8km long.  This bridge along with another on the other side of Denmark opened in 2000 and connected Scandinavia with continental Europe. 

I'll add some more soon.  You're still a couple of days behind, but we have more things happening tomorrow and it is time to go to bed.