Copenhagen - August 19, 2018

Today was a day for relaxation; we let ourselves be like royalty. No rush; shoot, we didn't even take showers until nearly noon. Stan made coffee and let me lounge in bed getting totally caught up on email and Facebook. We ate our leftovers for breakfast. Then I worked for several hours on organizing photos for uploads to support my blog on Off Exploring. I have to confess, it's a pain.

We finally left the apartment at about 1 pm. We had explored public transportation but decided to walk to city center. It was a long walk, and we did it like a power walk.

When we arrived at the train station, we randomly picked a restaurant for lunch. It was called Mado. We sat outside on a sidewalk table. Stan had the most beautiful cheese burger I have ever seen - it was gorgeous and came with what is called "chili mayo." He was in heaven. I tried to eat sensibly and ordered salad with grilled salmon. My Lord!!! It was incredible!!! I asked where the tomatoes were grown. The young girl server said Turkey. She said all the vegetables served at Mado come from Turkey. The tomatoes were the reddest, sweetest I have ever tasted - they beat the heck out of my Georgia homegrown tomatoes! A couple with a very young baby walked by and stopped to examine the menu posted near us outside. I just could not help from saying, the food here is truly delicious!!

When we were here in Copenhagen last year, we missed getting to visit Tivoli Garden by only a day or so. It was closed for the winter season and about to open just a day after our last day here. I thought it was such a loss! It pained me. Guess what we did today!!!! Yes! Tivoli!!! This park is the second oldest amusement park in the world and is among the world's most visited amusement parks as well. It opened in 1843!!! The actual oldest amusement park is in Denmark as well. I just had to go! Admittedly, I was expecting a musty, old place with dated, faded attractions. Boy, was I wrong! Tivoli is gorgeous, up-to-date, compact, and extremely well-maintained. It has some of the most awesome, gorgeous, scary rides I have ever seen. Plus its grounds are perfectly manicured, blooming gardens. And just get this, no, we didn't get to see this place last year, but THIS year, 2018, is its 175th Anniversary! Wow! No wonder we couldn't go last year; we needed to go THIS year so we could be a part of the celebration. At 6 pm, a Disney parade of floats, characters, marching bands, soldiers and clowns danced and wound their way through the park, honoring the Tivoli Anniversary and thrilling everyone, young and old! For just a few minutes, I was ten years old, dazzled by the sights and beaming ear to ear once again.