Tag: Europe

Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen

Originally, Copenhagen was to be the European starting point of a trip to Iceland I was planning for late summer in 2025. When, in the spring of 2025, Minh and I decided to buy a parcel of land and build a house, that trip was put on hold. In February 2026 the house was finally – well, mostly – finished and we were able to move in.

At that point I got back to trip planning. First, although it had been the center of my earlier travel idea, I scratched Iceland from my itinerary. I decided that renting a car and driving solo around the island, stopping to see scenic wonders along the way, might be a bit too much to handle for my going-on 77 years old physical equipment. As much as it annoys me to acknowledge this, I am simply not as physically capable today as I was even 10 years ago.

I am, however, still capable of travel somewhat less strenuous than a solo drive around Iceland.

Instead of a way point on a journey to Iceland, Copenhagen became the starting point of a European trip that, in addition to Denmark, included visits to Netherlands, Belgium and the UK. The fact that Vietnam Airlines introduced a direct flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Copenhagen sometime in 2025 encouraged me to keep Copenhagen on my itinerary. Although Denmark had never been on my Europe must-see list, I decided it would be an interesting place to begin my travels.

After the long haul from Vietnam, I arrived at Copenhagen Airport on 30 May 2026 at 07:30 in the morning. Fitful sleep is the best I ever manage on long distance flights, and I did not even achieve that level of “rest” on this particular flight. So I was especially fuzzy around the edges as I emerged from the plane. I was relieved that the pleasant looking, graying women at the Passport Control window did not become frigid when I handed her a US passport. Not that A Dane would have any reason to be fed up with Americans. Right? Whatever, entry to the Schengen Area took no more than a couple of minutes (and as I write this I cannot help but think of the hour it took to make my way in a massive line through Passport Control in Hanoi when I returned to Vietnam a couple of days ago). Unfortunately, entering the Schengen Area no longer results in a physical stamp in one’s passport – it is all a digital transaction with data encoded in the passport entered into a computerized database. Nowadays it is virtually impossible to fill up a passport with the visas and entry-exit stamps that document travels. My old passports have become a sort of collector’s item.

When I emerged into the airport, I was struck by the fact that the arrivals area was relatively small, far removed from the cavernous terminals that are so common in airports today. And there was no information kiosk. Virtually all airport services were automated – it was difficult to find anybody to give me information about anything. I did find an ATM from which I hoped to draw around $100 worth of Danish Krone. Alas, muddled as I was, I was mistaken about the exchange rate and drew DKK 5,000 thinking that would cost me USD 80 or 90. Wrong. The transaction cost me almost USD 800. Suffice it to say, I had no shortage of cash during my 8 days in Denmark.

Purchasing a metro ticket that would get me into the city of Copenhagen required the use of a ticket machine with instructions that I found impenetrable. Maybe if I had slept more on the plane… Eventually, I spied two Metro employees standing near the ticket machines – an impromptu information kiosk? – and one of them helped me buy a ticket. He worked so quickly that I had on idea what he did and had to start over the next time I wanted to ride the Metro. On the good news front, the train I boarded at the airport ran directly to the stop for my hotel; I did not need to change trains.

I arrived at the hotel well ahead of the 14:00 check-in time, so I ended up walking around the neighborhood for a couple of hours while the hotel worked on making up rooms. First impressions: Copenhagen – at least the area in which I found myself – was quiet, uncrowded, and affluent. It was a rather blustery, cool, overcast day, not raining, but hardly very welcoming to a tired, first-time visitor. There were several small (man made?) lakes near the hotel and the paths around these were crowded with joggers and bicyclists. Young, svelte, fit looking, Nordic type joggers for the most part. Lots of blond hair. I cannot remember ever seeing so many people out jogging in a reasonably small area. I eventually walked in to a place to get some lunch, lots of whole grains, vegetables and nuts on the menu, and found the place took only cards. Not encouraging, considering my recent ATM misadventure. I ate something that was tasty and, no doubt, good for me before heading back to my hotel where I finally got into my room and a rest at around 12 noon.

To be continued…

The Christiansborg Palace pictured here is the third iteration of a building of this name on this site. The previous two palaces, the first of which was completed in 1745, were destroyed by fire. The palace pictured here was completed in 1928, and in the process of excavations for the building, buried ruins of castles from as early as the 13th century were discovered. The Palace was intended to be the home of Denmark’s monarch, though it seems the royal family has never resided in this building. Today, Christiansborg Palace houses all three branches of Denmark’s government: the Prime Minister’s office, the Danish Parliament, and the country’s Supreme Court.

Man and His Dog, Maribor, Slovenia

It’s 7:40 in the morning. This man and his beautiful best friend are taking a break on their morning walk.

A population of around 100,000 makes Maribor the second largest city in Slovenia. Located in hill country in the east of the country, Maribor is a quiet, charming small city. Among other things, a local restaurant served up the best pizza I ate during my 24 days in Europe. Reason enough to consider a return visit.

St. Nikolaus Church, Innsbruck, Austria

I spent an October day in Innsbruck, Austria, a chance to relax in between larger, more demanding travel venues. The small city is beautiful, featuring plenty of scenic vistas provided by the Tyrolean Alps, more monuments to the Hapsburgs, and good food and beverages. I did little more than wander around for a day, but was in town long enough to get this postcard cliche shot of a lovely Gothic church in late afternoon light with the rugged Alps in the background.

From City Wall to Planty Park

Planty Park? The Polish name seems to mean park of plants, or something to that effect. You’d think the city would have come up with something more evocative of Kraków’s distinguished past, but so be it. This marvelous urban green way is one of features that gives Kraków its captivating charm.

Like many ancient and medieval European cities, for many years, the historic urban core of Kraków was enclosed by a defensive wall and a moat. Eventually, as artillery that could fire explosive projectiles replaced catapults hurling stones, walls lost their defensive edge and cities began to remove them. In the 1800s, Kraków replaced its wall and moat with a green beltway that rings the city’s Old Town.

Today Planty Park is a beautiful common space with lengthy walkways shaded by stately trees. While it never felt crowded to me, the park was full of people, from locals going about their business to visitors with cameras. A place for strolling, quality thinking time, meeting friends, texting, or catching some morning rays.

Finally, when you have walked your fill or gotten where you are going, the city is never far away.

Busy Old Town, Kraków, Poland

The last stop on my trip was Kraków, Poland’s second largest city in the south of the country. During the three weeks since I had left Vietnam, I had covered a lot of ground in Europe, dozens of kilometers walking about the places I stopped and hundreds of kilometers in trains connecting me to destinations in Austria, Slovenia, Italy, Czechia, and Poland, all of which I was visiting for the first time. I had enjoyed myself throughout, but by the time I got to Kraków, I was suffering from a mild case of travel fatigue.

In fact, Kraków turned out to be an ideal place for this rather weary traveler to end his trip. Most importantly for me, the city is considerably smaller than Prague or Vienna, in terms of both area and population; it was much easier to get around Kraków. The main island of Venice is also small, but it is a difficult place to find one’s way, whereas Kraków is wonderfully simple.

Kraków is beautiful, and it is obvious that considerable effort has gone into preserving the historical character of this very old city, the origins of which date back to the 10th century of the Common Era. For hundreds of years, Kraków was home to Polish kings; today the city’s museums house relics of Polish royalty. The Kraków Old Town and Wawel Castle, both UNESCO World Heritage sites, are at the heart of what was medieval Kraków. I spent a good deal of my four days in Kraków walking around this part of the city. There were other places to see in and around Kraków, but I was content to limit the scope of my visit. When I visit a Kraków (or Vienna, Prague, of Venice) for three or four days, I am well aware that going to one site means, in effect, that I have chosen not to go a dozen or more other sites. I give little thought to this, nor do I feel compelled to move “must see” attractions to the head of my list of places to see.

St. Mark’s and the Doge’s Palace in Venice were impressive indeed, but walking through some of the small calle was the most exciting part of my visit to Venice. Several years ago in Paris, I waited in the long line to get into the Louvre and stood with the crowd holding iPhones in the air to get a shot of the Mona Lisa. I can tick the Have Seen box for that painting, but honestly I was not very impressed. It was the huge Renoir’s hanging in the Musée d’Orsay and the sculpture in the small Rodin Museum, which I entered to escape an oppressively hot July day, that left me breathless.

But I am straying from delightful Kraków. The image here was taken in the medieval market square at the center of the Kraków Old Town. It is late afternoon on a busy Friday. St. Mary’s Basilica, built in the 14th century in the Polish Gothic style, is on the left. A section of the massive Cloth Hall is one the right. This was an important trading center for merchants throughout Europe for many years. Today it is filled with stalls selling souvenirs to tourists. I bought a number of t-shirts of the I Love Poland variety to give as gifts when I got home.