This is our last day in Copenhagen and we headed to Amager, an island where the soil was so good that farming flourished, however Copenhagen needed an airport so a great part of farm country is gone. We learned today that cars are highly taxed (luxury item) so you see many small cars here as the tax is only 1 1/2 times the price of the car as the larger cars pay 2-3 times more. Most cars get 45-60 mph and there is no tax on gas. Sales tax on other items is 25%. Most work days end at 4pm so parents can pick up children from daycare which closes at 5.
Family homes average 1,400 sq feet and cost $250-300,000. Many families have allotment or summer houses.
We visited the fishing village of Dragor where all the historic houses are the same color, a goldy yellow, which was originally made by mixing white paint and copper and they either have red tile or thatched roofs. This village helped to smuggle many of the Jews of Denmark to safety during WWII. Cobblestone streets are the norm.
Back in Copenhagen , We drove by the Church of our Savior which if you can walk up the 400+ steps on the outside of the spire, you can a brilliant view of the city. The government takes 5% of every paycheck to give to church. It then pays for church up keep and ministers. So technically ministers are government employees. Only 2%-3% of the people go to church but 45% -70% are christian. The number is unknown as Denmark don't ask don't tell in its laws about religion.
Rosenborg Palace is our last stop before boarding the ferry to Norway. It is still used by the Royal family for special occasions and it houses the Crown Jewels. These can only be used by the queen and only in Denmark. The rooms are beautifully furnished, rich in history, and contain more priceless objects than you can imagine. Many are very impressive, but the three life size silver lions who guard the throne and the casket of the monarch after death are brilliant. There is also a room called the glass cabinet houses a collection of glass from Venice and Saxony. The arrangement of glass in this room is the same as it was in 1714.
We boarded the DFDS ferry to Oslo and had an outside cabin with window view and enjoyed a hugh Scandinavian buffet. Since alcohol is so expensive, we went to the duty free store for a six pack of Faxe beer ($10.00).