It was nearly 600 nautical miles from Rotterdam to Copenhagen our next port of call. This necessitated a whole day at sea which meant everyone on board could relax and go stir crazy with nothing to do. Actually that's not true there is a lot to do on a ship like this if you are into learning how to fold towels to resemble animals, or making a d*** out of yourself at Samba dance classes. We watched one class while chilling in one of the lounges, I reckon a corpse would have more rhythm than we saw on display then. Unfortunately there was a deficit of sunshine that day so it was too cold even for the (very large) Russians to get their gear off on the pool deck - which was a shame because I wanted to get some flesh shots for my blog! That would've made your eyes water. The next morning we awoke to the sight of the Danish capital Copenhagen in the distance with its spires and domes glinting in the hazy sunshine. Hundreds of wind turbines dot the seas around the city generating electricity. Denmark leads the world in green energy and their "just get on with it" attitude in this area makes our vacillating Australian politicians look like the bunch of clowns they are. We docked at a desolate albeit new cruise terminal 25 minutes from the city by road, and hiked about 800 meters to catch a local bus. I should say the ship and lots of other operators provide shuttle buses, taxis and tour buses - but we quite enjoy using the public transport systems in various countries - despite the hazards of sometimes ending up somewhere totally different to where you wanted. We made it into central Copenhagen and headed off to explore. The first sight we encountered was a drunk singing "Always look on the bright side of life" at the top of his lungs. We thought this fitting as we'd been at a talk the day before onboard where we learnt Denmark is considered one of the happiest countries in the world. The nation's mindset is moulded by a set of principles one of which is not to expect too much from life and thereby avoid disappointment. How true is that! The day we visited was a public holiday so things were a little on the quiet side. Nonetheless we wandered through the cobblestoned streets and soaked up the atmosphere. We are spending two days in Copenhagen at the end of our cruise so will take in more of the sights then. For now we were content to just wander, take lots of photos ( me) and enjoy the sunshine bestowed on us. Copenhagen is an ancient city and dates back to at least the 12th century may be earlier. It's intersected by rivers and canals and at every turn there seems to be an old cathedral, tower, palace or beautiful old civic building. The city is rated as having amongst the world's best urban infrastructure and facilities. It is also one of the planet's most expensive cities, which can take the shine off things if you're on a tight budget. I was intrigued by the huge numbers of new Mercedes Benz saloons on the road the vast majority of which are taxis. I reckon 8 out of 10 cabs we saw was a Benz. Coming from Australia where Benz is classified as a prestige car its demotion to being on par with a Ford Falcon taxi is amusing. The open sandwich has its origins in Denmark and there around 250 varieties available. And so we set our sights on this local delicacy for lunch. We happened on a quaint little cafe near the Christianborg Palace and hunkered down for lunch. We weren't disappointed. Terry had a open sandwich on rye of egg, mayonnaise and shrimp. I opted for a platter of herring, smoked salmon, shrimp, meat balls, Brie, pickles and warm rye rolls. Delicious made even more so by the totally unnecessary apple cake afterwards. An hour later, and 55 Euros - about AUD$70 - poorer we waddled off. There was a bunch of modern day Vikings staging a mock battle with a bunch of school kids in one of the squares which was a bit of fun to watch and photograph. After that we jumped on a river cruiser for one hour canal tour which was wonderful ... and also cheap! AUD $8. A chance to see up close, life in Copenhagen from a different perspective. Queen Margarethe's yacht - gorgeous old vessel dating from 1903 - had just docked alongside Amalienborg Palace where she lives. The Queen - who is deeply revered by the Danes, as are the rest of the royal family - had apparently just returned from a sailing tour of the nation. That brought our visit to Copenhagen to a close. We returned to the ship where something like 700 passengers had disembarked and about 600 new passengers had joined the ship. So the shipboard demographic has changed a little. There seems to be quite an influx of French and Spanish. Aussies and Kiwis definitely remain a tiny minority. A lot of Germans and Russians have left the ship. This means the visual senses are no longer subject to the same level of assault as they have been thus far.! Got to go now. It's Sunday and we're about to berth in Gdynia, Poland. So must get it together for another day of exploring on shore. All the best now. Ciao ciao Keri.