After a very nice weekend with Kirsten and her friends, Dick and I took the train to Aarhus, where we separated. He was on the way to Aalborg and I hopped the train to Copenhagen.
Anyone traveling in Denmark BEWARE!!! Going to Viborg, which is worth the trip, means you have to change trains Everyone and I mean every person in Denmark tries to force you to change at Langaa, which is a station that has been closed for a number of years. If it's cold and raining and windy, which is most often the case, you have to stand out and wait for the train in the weather, because there is no pleasant place to find shelter. Also it has no elevators or escalators. All the tracks in Denmark are, unlike Victoria Station in London, situated in such a way that if you need to change tracks it means carrying your luggage up and down the stairs. If you're young and strong, this is no problem, but someone my age has a problem managing one suitcase. And if you have a lot of luggage, it is a nightmare. However, everyone can change at Aalborg, which might cost you $5 or $6 more, but well worth the cost. Aalborg has elevators. Okay back to the trip. It was an uneventful trip to Copenhagen. The fun started at the arrival. I stupidly didn't check to see if I had the address of my hotel. Well, I didn't. But at first I was very excited because there was a big sign stating CABINN CITY HOTEL LOCATED BEHIND TIVOLI. I have spent no time i n Copenhagen, which I realized last night was a big mistake. But hey we got to see the metropolis of Humlebaek, such a great place, NOT. So I didn't know where Tivoli was. Znd when I looked at the map Tivoli is quite large. So luckily there is a McDonald's in the station and like their clean bathrooms it also has free wifi. So I took my smart phone and found the address. Mitchellsgaede. Okay, now it will be easy. I found a map at the tourist office, where by the way, no one had heard of the street or the hotel, even though there was a huge sign in the station. Guess what there was no street index on the map, because there were dozens of advertisements to pay for the map. Not a great help. I knew it was not very far and now it's after dark, so I looked around for the information center, which everyone assured me was in the station. However, no one knew where. In any case, after fifteen minutes of searching, I decided to ask a taxi driver or even take a taxi. But there was an elderly man standing on the steps outside, who had on a government jacket, so I asked him. And he gave me good general directions. Walking there, I couldn't find the name of the street and started to get a little nervous. Not every street is lighted so, I felt a little anxiety going down streets without lights. I asked a pedestrian, but of course he wasn't from here either. Finally after two or three tries, an elderly man escorted me to the hotel. He wanted me to feel welcome in Denmark.
The Cabinn City hotel turned out to be quite nice. Where there are few hotels that are not extraordinarily expensive, this is a good, clean, friendly hotel right near the station (three blocks). And it is about 500 Kroner, which is about $80.
Here is what you get for the price: All the good things: 1. Very clean, 2. good hot water,3. plenty of space to hang your clothes, 4. a desk with enough space to do your computer work with adequate number of plugs and the internet, 5.comfortable bed and 7. many channels on the TV. 8. Plenty of light to read by and 9.a friendly helpful staff. 10. No stairs to deal with, even though one seems to think so at the front door. But there is an escalator up to reception. 11. Restaurants are within walking distance, though the one I ate at, Wagamama, left a lot to be desired. Disadvantages: 1.Room is small. However it is not as small as we have seen at other hotels in Denmark. You don't have to walk over the bed to get to the other side of the room. 2. The shower is not separate from bathroom, though it works very well. It is like the showers in East Europe. 3. To wash out socks and underwear---there is not a specific place to hang them, though I hung mine over the chair arm(Rattan Chair) and they were dry enough to wear this morning. 4. Though there is plenty of food for the breakfast, there is nothing hot, no eggs or bacon. But plenty of cereals, different breads (a couple with my beloved poppy seeds) yogurt and coffee, but no cappuccino. It is more a Danish breakfast, not an International one. Still it is worth the price (70 Kroner) All in all, it was an interesting experience. Oh yes, I ate at a socalled Japanese restaurant. It was no more Japanese than the Korean restaurants in the US. I was very hungry and the food tasted good at first, but, oh well, after awhile, it was pretty disgusting. It was called Wagamama.
Anyone traveling in Denmark BEWARE!!! Going to Viborg, which is worth the trip, means you have to change trains Everyone and I mean every person in Denmark tries to force you to change at Langaa, which is a station that has been closed for a number of years. If it's cold and raining and windy, which is most often the case, you have to stand out and wait for the train in the weather, because there is no pleasant place to find shelter. Also it has no elevators or escalators. All the tracks in Denmark are, unlike Victoria Station in London, situated in such a way that if you need to change tracks it means carrying your luggage up and down the stairs. If you're young and strong, this is no problem, but someone my age has a problem managing one suitcase. And if you have a lot of luggage, it is a nightmare. However, everyone can change at Aalborg, which might cost you $5 or $6 more, but well worth the cost. Aalborg has elevators. Okay back to the trip. It was an uneventful trip to Copenhagen. The fun started at the arrival. I stupidly didn't check to see if I had the address of my hotel. Well, I didn't. But at first I was very excited because there was a big sign stating CABINN CITY HOTEL LOCATED BEHIND TIVOLI. I have spent no time i n Copenhagen, which I realized last night was a big mistake. But hey we got to see the metropolis of Humlebaek, such a great place, NOT. So I didn't know where Tivoli was. Znd when I looked at the map Tivoli is quite large. So luckily there is a McDonald's in the station and like their clean bathrooms it also has free wifi. So I took my smart phone and found the address. Mitchellsgaede. Okay, now it will be easy. I found a map at the tourist office, where by the way, no one had heard of the street or the hotel, even though there was a huge sign in the station. Guess what there was no street index on the map, because there were dozens of advertisements to pay for the map. Not a great help. I knew it was not very far and now it's after dark, so I looked around for the information center, which everyone assured me was in the station. However, no one knew where. In any case, after fifteen minutes of searching, I decided to ask a taxi driver or even take a taxi. But there was an elderly man standing on the steps outside, who had on a government jacket, so I asked him. And he gave me good general directions. Walking there, I couldn't find the name of the street and started to get a little nervous. Not every street is lighted so, I felt a little anxiety going down streets without lights. I asked a pedestrian, but of course he wasn't from here either. Finally after two or three tries, an elderly man escorted me to the hotel. He wanted me to feel welcome in Denmark.
The Cabinn City hotel turned out to be quite nice. Where there are few hotels that are not extraordinarily expensive, this is a good, clean, friendly hotel right near the station (three blocks). And it is about 500 Kroner, which is about $80.
Here is what you get for the price: All the good things: 1. Very clean, 2. good hot water,3. plenty of space to hang your clothes, 4. a desk with enough space to do your computer work with adequate number of plugs and the internet, 5.comfortable bed and 7. many channels on the TV. 8. Plenty of light to read by and 9.a friendly helpful staff. 10. No stairs to deal with, even though one seems to think so at the front door. But there is an escalator up to reception. 11. Restaurants are within walking distance, though the one I ate at, Wagamama, left a lot to be desired. Disadvantages: 1.Room is small. However it is not as small as we have seen at other hotels in Denmark. You don't have to walk over the bed to get to the other side of the room. 2. The shower is not separate from bathroom, though it works very well. It is like the showers in East Europe. 3. To wash out socks and underwear---there is not a specific place to hang them, though I hung mine over the chair arm(Rattan Chair) and they were dry enough to wear this morning. 4. Though there is plenty of food for the breakfast, there is nothing hot, no eggs or bacon. But plenty of cereals, different breads (a couple with my beloved poppy seeds) yogurt and coffee, but no cappuccino. It is more a Danish breakfast, not an International one. Still it is worth the price (70 Kroner) All in all, it was an interesting experience. Oh yes, I ate at a socalled Japanese restaurant. It was no more Japanese than the Korean restaurants in the US. I was very hungry and the food tasted good at first, but, oh well, after awhile, it was pretty disgusting. It was called Wagamama.
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