Here and There Blog

Time for a confession! I got to learn the hard way about handling rental car problems in Denmark. Back story - I had to rent two cars for the last trip, from two companies, both cars automatic so everyone could drive the. Had a Ford Focus that ran sluggish and a VW Jetta that was horrible at low speeds but great at high speeds. The Focus is a non-issue other than the rental car company didn't update the new return date and I've been getting panicked calls on where is their car? But the Jetta. Sad story, not sure how it will end. The rental car agreement said "Unleaded Fuel."  So after a week of driving it, the time came to put in fuel. I went to the pump (I can now pump fuel with Danish touchpads) and I set it all up and grabbed the unleaded pump and filled up the tank. As I finished up and closed the gas door, I noticed some very disturbing words. "Diesel Fuel" I checked the agreement and sure enough it said "Unleaded Fuel." I did what an...

At noon every day, the ceremonial Changing of the Guard takes place at Amalienborg Palace. The whole process takes 30 minutes but once you've seen the guards walk around the first 10 minutes, it's sort of a repeat experience. The guards are protected from you and you are not allowed to be near or in their face which makes it easier to take photos without clusters of people in front of you. The guards start from the street.  Lots of marching.  Lining up.  Changing places.

Went out along the water and into the park today. It was almost warm - I only needed 3 layers!  Standing tall  I wanted to pose with the trees but the bench was wet from last night's downpour!  They don't mind the rain. More water for the lake.  The trip is nearly done. Three more nights before heading home.

Tivoli Gardens closes in October but re-opens briefly for Halloween nights before closing again for the winter. It's about $20 US to get in and walk around (no rides) and for that money, this is what you get. A Truly Scary Crowd of People. Try and work your way down that alley!  Jack-O-Lanterns on Windmills.  Pumpkin "Children of the Corn"  Pumpkin ET?  Greetings from the Court  If I hadn't been driving later, I would have enjoyed some Gluhwine and fortified myself against the crowd. Sadly, I had to sniff the aroma only and hope to hit a Christmas market later this year for that annual treat.

The leaves turning around a building window  The below caption on the building is: Tomorrow is Today's Dream  In a park  More street art  Long view of St. Peter's Church 

I've decided the smaller the town, the better the street art. Spent a couple of hours walking around Naestved's city center looking for murals. There are even maps to some of the invited artist walls. Below are a few of what I found.  This is on the side of a building with no windows.    One of a series around town  Celebrating the 875th anniversary of the city's founding by the Benedictine monks in1135. 

This year's #BAD is one tough topic - Human Rights. Guidance on writing about today comes from sources of the UN doctrine on Human Rights and Amnesty International's position.Great sweeping statements that have never reached the millions of people living in poor conditions, in camps or tents, or under threat of death or rape by what ever group is currently controlling the drug/money/illegal arms trade in any number of countries. Human Rights for all people can't change until the world as a whole changes. There is not much that I can do to stop one group of people from killing another. Even the United States can't stop dictatorships, coups, civil wars, and the mind set of the people who perform those acts. Human Rights is based on the idea that all people agree with this idea. So how to change the idea? How does one girl in Pakistan go to be a hero while countless others are still made child brides at 8 years old? Can the one girl go back and initiate change or will...

My hotel is the building on the left and parts of the building date back to the 1500's but renovations have changed the original look. St. Peter's Church on the right dates close to it's original form from 1375. The church is known to have been here since at least 1135. The tower clock was added in 1736.  Random sculpture on the grounds. Behind the main entrance, looking to the clock tower. The sky really isn't blue, the camera editing decided to auto-correct this rainy day.

Moved into Naestved today. The hotel would be on the Rick Steves' approved list. No elevator, walked two flights of stairs to my room, front desk only open 8 to 8. Clean, sparse, economical. WiFi god but logs you out every 15 minutes. I asked for a quiet room so I'm off the street and overlooking back yards. Not really that quiet. And I can hear every door slam. Good thing this is only for a few days!

A short walk from the hotel and off the tourist path is a small lake with a walking/biking trail. Various church towers pop up in visibility behind the trees, and the afternoon sun gleams off the water making for a relaxing stroll.  Even the weather warmed up a bit as if to soften the blow for the coming days of rain.  This was taken on Oct. 6. I wonder how soon it will be before all the trees are red?

Now in Central Copenhagen for a few nights. Overcast skys, grey river, perfect for getting out and walking!

Moved into the CPH airport Hilton. No status here so I get a parking lot view with partial water and a nice sunrise. After driving the 1 hour each way to work yesterday I'm almost ready to go no GPS today. It's hard not being able to go right on red or make u-turns. Here lights go Red, Yellow, then Green. Yellow really does mean go fast quick or you'll get run over!

No time to rest. 3 nights at home was as good as it was going to get. I took off Sunday morning to Washington DC for an overnight and then boarded a flight Monday to Denmark. Many hours later, I'm in the first of several hotels for this stay. Something is happening in the city and the hotels are either sold out or super expensive. So it's hotel hopping time. I'm close to the airport and looking out one window I can see air traffic control and the bridge to Sweden.  Looking out the other window, homes, businesses, and the sea. Oh, and I have a car. It's not like driving in the US or Canada. I'm sure I broke at least one traffic violation going the 2 miles to the hotel. The lanes are a bit crazy but at least it's driving on the right side of the road. Tomorrow will be the test when I have to drive 1 hour. The new GPS worked well on it's first outing.