copenhagen calling — Summer of Rove

With the end of our trip in sight, we packed up in Stockholm and set off for a final adventure or two. On a very civilized five-hour train to Copenhagen, sitting in comfy first-class seats I’d booked a month in advance, we would gaze at the countryside while eating smoked salmon on Wasa crackers and savoring our memories of Sweden … Except that after we’d boarded and settled in, a few minutes before departure, a voice crackled over the intercom. In Danish, and English, the message was clear: This train would not be going to Copenhagen. The voice advised everyone to exit immediately and find someone in a neon vest on the platform to discuss options.

Turns out, a big fire the day before near a train station in the middle of Sweden had made the route impassable. My vest-wearing helper suggested these two options:

1. Rebook and wait until the next week to try this train to Copenhagen again. (Not an option for us; the next week we’d be leaving Copenhagen for London.)
2. Get back on this train, take it as far as it would go, then try to find a taxi to take us to Malmö, a coastal Swedish city connected to Copenhagen by bridge. The taxi would take around three hours and cost us about $600 USD — and the train company would reimburse us for all costs. (Seriously.)

We got back on the train. With help from some really nice fellow passengers and enough frantic smartphone searches on a wobbly high-speed train that my husband almost puked, we figured out a plan. Taxis were in short supply, so we got out in the city of Alvesta, took a taxi to the nearby town of Växjö, grabbed the actual last available rental car there, drove three hours and dropped it off in Malmö, where we caught a train over the bridge. After 9+ hours on the road we arrived at the home of friends of my sister’s, having logged our wildest travel day of the summer (including, but not limited to, major rainstorms, an impatient taxi driver in a rush to get to a hot date and one nameless family member relieving themself in a water bottle in our moving car).

Did you know that train travel can, at times, literally drive you CRAZY?!

Lunch stop at an aptly named Swedish burger chain before setting off in our rental car.

Copenhagen was worth every second of our freakish travel day. We stayed with the kindest family. My kids were instantly smitten with their tween & teen children, sweeter-than-sweet dog, big trampoline in the back yard and impressive collection of Legos (our family’s favorite Danish invention, naturally). The city itself is lovely, too. We had one of our most fun afternoons renting a boat and motoring around Copenhagen’s waterways on our own, drinking Prosecco and eating potato chips. Everyone took a turn at the helm.

Lulu was determined to catch one of the jellyfish we spotted floating in the harbor. Mission accomplished! We released it immediately even though she was hellbent on trying to “sell it to an aquarium.”

Ahoy, mates! Drinking (responsibly) while boating is not only allowed, it’s encouraged.

Oh, about that outfit. Our friend lent me a captain’s costume she’d worn to a party once. I put it on because I figured I’d get into the spirit of this interesting Danish tradition. (During our few days in Copenhagen we’d seen a few parties of adults involving weird costumes and, in one case, purple wigs.) But I found out later that she’d only suggested it because she thought Americans might like to wear silly costumes in public. Either way, we attracted a lot of stares!

Copenhagen’s waterways are humming with life far beyond the marine creatures the kids tried to scoop up for the better part of two hours. The banks are dotted with outdoor “baths” (saltwater pools built right into the harbor), restaurants, bars, playgrounds, flea markets, art installations and more.

The city’s most iconic harbor pool, Islands Brygge. It’s free, and the water is very cold.

Another Copenhagen highlight was Tivoli, the amusement park right in the city’s center that was built in 1843 and is said to have inspired Walt Disney to create a park of his own in California.

On the Rutschebanen, one of the oldest rollercoasters in the world, Lulu’s hand covers her ear because apparently my screams are worse than the stomach drops. (I got in trouble for snapping this photo of a photo but relax, I bought a print.)

A rainy day led us to the National Museum, where I could indulge my inner 4th-grader with real Viking skeletons and boat frames, and the kids could dress up and face off with, erm, heavy swords and shields.

A walk in the park led us past Rosenborg Castle, which was built in 1606 as a country summer house for King Christian IV and now houses Denmarks’s Crown Jewels.

A bar in the old town where you can drink while keeping an eye on your kids in the playground behind you: pure genius.

This city had never been on my bucket list, but I’m so thankful we made it here. As dread started to creep in — over the impending end of our trip and the ‘real life’ that would soon resume — I followed my kids’ lead and took flight in our back yard. Soaring above the tree line in a faraway place with my most cherished little loved ones, it turned out, was a pretty effective stress reliever.