My flight back to New York City wouldn't leave Copenhagen until close to 8 pm, so I had a whole day left to enjoy the city, but technicalities had to be dealt with.
What to do with baggage for the rest of the day? - Luckily the hotel had lockers you could rent to store your bags until you were ready to leave. This proved really convenient. Once I'd packed my bags, all I had to do was take them down to the basement and put them in a locker.
I woke and started packing what was left of my clothes, and when that was done (which doesn't really take that long given the few things I chose to bring), was off to breakfast. Breakfast at the hotel is not bad, and it was nice not to have to hunt it down first thing in the morning.
I'd planned a busy day to pass the time. I figured I had until about 3 pm to get back to the hotel, collect my things, head for the train station, and get to the airport with sufficient time to get processed and fly home.
By now, I had become pretty proficient at using the bus system to get where I needed to go, and the handy little map and my unlimited pass were ever at my side, so off I went on my first adventure.
I knew there was a botanical garden in Copenhagen, I just wasn't sure about the weather, and whether it would be reasonable to try to get there given the time I had, but I thought I'd give it a try today. It looked farther on the map than the bus ride itself. It is called the Botanical Garden - Natural History Museum of Denmark - University of Copenhagen - http://botanik.snm.ku.dk/english/ -
I'm glad I made the effort to go. By the time my bus got there, it was still early, and there were very few people around (had to wake the ducks again). It's not a very big garden, but it is very beautiful and worth a good 1 hour visit or so. Lots of plants were in flower, and there was a large pond filled with water lilies. Here are some pics I took:
Right next door to the garden was another "garden," so I went to check it out, too. The garden surrounds the Rosenberg Castle - http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Rosenborg_Castle - but I knew I did not have enough time to go in the castle and do all the other things I wanted to do, so I stuck to just the garden:
I'm pretty much at the far end of the garden and ready to go to the next venue - The National Gallery of Denmark - http://www.wikiwand.com/en/National_Gallery_of_Denmark -
I was hoping to try do a couple of museums before I had to get back to the hotel to get my bags, but the National Gallery turned out to be huge, and I spent the rest of my time there enjoying the collections.
Here is where I will try something new. I realize a lot of people don't want to see pictures of pictures from museums, so I will share some of the "highlights" for me, and then I will post the rest of the pics I like on Imgur in an album that you can access, view, etc. I believe if you like a pic, you can also download it (but if you want the original, just let me know, and I'll be happy to send it to you). Let me know if it works, and if it doesn't, I'll have to come up with a Plan B - here is the link: http://imgur.com/a/hprHC
Here are some of the ones I liked:
Well, by the time I've been through the entire museum, I realize I have just enough time to catch the bus back to the hotel and get my stuff.
The whole process of getting there and getting to the train station has been well-rehearsed, so everything goes without a hitch until I get to the terminal for my train.
As I'm sitting there waiting for the train, an announcement is made which I don't understand, but all the people with luggage are suddenly picking up there stuff and heading for the door. My panic sense tells me I probably need to find out what's going on.
Sure enough, I grab someone who I suspect might speak my language and I'm told the terminal for the bus to the airport has been changed, and everyone is moving over to the train sitting in the next terminal which is about to leave in about 2 minutes - YIKES!!!! I don't know how the very old and infirm do it - but I guess they just give up and wait for another train. The rest of us are hauling our "bags" to the next train hoping they don't close the doors on us. Made it!
The trip to the airport is brief and uneventful except for all the heavy breathing (that's me).
At the airport, I am flying Norwegian Air back to NYC, so basically, I go to the kiosk and check in. I've decided I would rather carry my bag rather than check it in, so I go to the appropriate people to make sure I am not over the size/weight/quantity limit (which I am not). Good. The reason I'm doing this is because I will be arriving in NYC at about 9 pm(ish), and I don't want to have to wait for luggage - adding more time to when I eventually get to my hotel.
At the airport, I have a couple of hours to spare, so once I get through security (without incident - I checked all the secret panels on my vest just to make sure), it's just a matter of hunting dinner. Not a problem cause there are food stands/restaurants/stores everywhere, and you can get just about anything you want. I decide on a restaurant so I can sit down and catch up on my laptop with what's going on in the world.
The flight is on time, and boarding goes off without a hitch. I am sitting next to a couple who has just done a car tour of Croatia, and we spark up a conversation about driving in foreign countries and their experience. Nice people from California who happened to have lived in New York City, and were going to do a stopover (like me) in NYC before heading back home. It was nice to be able to share with them.
The flight itself was also uneventful. You have to pre-order or buy a meal on board, and everything, including water comes at a price. It was still a pleasant flight though on a similar plane that brought me to Stockholm at the beginning of my trip. Very comfortable. It was a 7.5 hour flight, and I still couldn't sleep, but that was okay. I'd brought music, book, and videos were available as well on the screen in front of me. So, I was well entertained.
Arriving in NYC was a nightmare. I thought I would speed through and get to my hotel before 11ish, but I did not figure on going through customs/passport check. By the time I got to passport verification, the line was very very long.
You first have to go to a little kiosk and scan your passport, have your picture taken, and electronically answer a lot of questions (which you have already filled out on a form you were given on the plane). Once you are cleared, you go to the next line. Some people had to go to a different line, and I'm not sure why, but I really felt sorry for them. Of course, American citizens went through their line and all others went through a different line.
Once you reach an official, they look at your passport, they look at you, and then they ask you, "what were you thinking?" or something along those lines, and if you're lucky they let you go through.
Now it's 45 minutes later from landing and having done this before, I know I have to find the AirTrain that will take me to the subway that will get me to my hotel.
I find the AirTrain, and remember to use the metro card I had from my last visit, and just fill it up with money. The AirTrain takes me to a different subway station from the last (because I'm going to a different part of town). Along with all the other weary travelers at 12ish, we are all looking pretty haggard and ready to go to bed - soon!
Okay, riding the subway train from the airport to my destination was not an enjoyable experience. First it was not an express train, and that meant that it made every single stop from the airport all the way into Manhattan - and there were lots. B: There were a lot of shady characters riding the train at that hour of the night. I kept thinking about what I wanted my obituary to read once they found my mutilated body lying in the middle of a subway car. But I survived (barely).
Now that I got to my stop, the trick would be to find my hotel in the dark in NYC in a not so happy looking part of town. YIKES. I'm so glad this is "the city that never sleeps" - it was comforting to know that there were other people around while I was in my stupor. I pulled out my Map App and found directions, and THANK YOU JESUS - finally got to my hotel. I threw myself on the bed and slept until I woke up late the next morning.
Traveling is such fun, NO?
And that brings me to New York, Part Deux
Thanks for staying with me folks.
Steve
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