Snoring Dwarfs and a Big Smile:

Sleep was not readily forthcoming. It seemed that the other 35 beds in my dorm were exactly the same as mine – saggy and squeaky. The domino effect, caused by one guy rolling over, followed by the people in the next bunk doing the same and so forth, kept a background level of annoying and random sounds echoing throughout the room. This random cycle of rusted springs did nothing to distract from the snoring dwarf in the bunk next to mine. For what the man lost in growth hormone levels, he surely made up with nocturnal upper airway obstruction. This guy was even worse lying on his side!! A strong pair of ear plugs barely kept the noise at bay.
As I awoke (the transition period between kind of asleep and fully awake) I did not think that things were really going to change.
Question:
What do you do when tired, cranky and not really sure what you are doing in Denmark?
Answer:
Grab a free bicycle sitting outside your hostel and go for a ride.



Cool. The Danish tourism board provides about 1000 free bicycles for the inner city. You grab it, use it, then leave it. These are easily recognised by their spokeless wheels and cheesy advertising. When you find one, you insert 20 crowns, ride it as much as you want within the boundary indicated on the map provided on the handlebars and then relock it when you are finished and take back your 20 crowns. Be warned, they are not luxurious. There are no gears, an adjustable seat is a luxury and brakes are the old school type that work by pedalling backwards. Nonetheless they are free and a great way to see Copenhagen.
Town planning in Copenhagen began with bike lanes and then they added the rest. The city is amazingly bike friendly. There are direction specific bike lanes everywhere, complete with lines, traffic lights (all three colours!!), bike parking and even tyre pump stations!!
As I cruised the street on my bike, smiling for doing something different for a change, I began to notice something very important about Copenhagen: the locals were smiling too. Everywhere I looked, I noticed people smiling; on bikes, on foot, in shops and even the bus drivers!! This infectious aura quickly erased all hesitancy regarding the place. Once this happened, all of this amazing architecture and friendly culture emerged. It was almost like “No tourism enjoyment for you until you smile young man!!!!” and smiling I was!
Breaking with tradition, I went onto a guided tour of the Royal palace. After doing a quick jig on the Royal red carpet in my bare feet it was off to see how Mary was doing. Well, she married well that’s for sure. The richly decorated rooms (although no couches) certainly gave a feel of how the other half live. The previous two palaces (technically not a Royal residence therefore explaining the lack of couches) were burnt down and so only the Queen may smoke inside. Despite this, many of the frescos and paintings are from the original palace, having been rescued before the flames could damage them. This now a fully organised plan for ransacking the palace should there ever be a third fire. Hopefully third time is a charm.
After breaking with one tradition by taking a tour, I dispensed with another and got onto a guided canal tour. In hindsight, it was well worth the stretch since the perspective from the water is totally different from that of the land. We passed the Royal yacht which was more like a Royal Ship than a yacht.
Finally, after a boot load more sight-seeing, bike riding, a big night out with some locals and a stronger defence system against snoring dwarfs, it was time to leave Copenhagen for Sweden. I certainly left there a lot happier than when I arrived.

As promised the Royal Family!?!?!?