July 9-11, 2019 Copenhagen, start of B&B tour

July 9 Tuesday
Today we flew to Copenhagen to start our B&B tour of Europe.  That stands for Bucket list and Budget.  The original plan was to visit our friends in Denmark.  But we decided to extend the vacation/holiday.  We flew on Air Portugal to Lisbon.  They had awesome food.  We had a salmon dinner with free wine.  We had a breakfast sandwich with ham and brie cheese.

breakfast sandwich on the airplane with brie cheese

July 10 Wednesday
We arrived in Lisbon at 1:00am EST which was 6:00am local.  We had about an hour to run through customs and immigration and catch our flight to Copenhagen.  They were very good at moving people through to a short line if you had a connecting flight.
We arrived in Copenhagen at 11:30 am and took a taxi to the Admiral Hotel, which was suggested by our Danish friends.  We walked to the Nyhavn district along the harbor.  We found Dave’s favorite restaurant from about 15 years ago with a herring buffet, Nyhavns Færgekro.  Back to the room for naps.  Then we walked Stroget-the large walking street in Copenhagen.  We had a bite to eat, returned to the hotel for a beer and called it a day.

when the hotel was used for shipping

outside of hotel

some of the original structure

Nyhavn

herring buffet

herring buffet

July 11 Thursday
We made ourselves get up for breakfast to get on the local time.  The breakfast was amazing!!  There were hot and cold meats, cheeses, etc.  All kinds of fruits and breads with a variety of condiments.  There was a couple kinds of yogurts with all the fixings.  There were two dining rooms set up to avoid crowds.  It was very very nice. 
After a nap, we took the subway to a mall to get a SIM card for our phone. We found out it would have been better to get one in the states before we left.  Everyone wanted a local address.  We ended up getting one SIM card that was only good in Denmark.  One interesting thing about their subway:  there were areas marked on the floor on either side of the door for the subway.  The people waiting stood in that area away from the door until everyone exited the subway.  Very efficient.
Back at the hotel, we walked along the harbor.  We saw the Little Mermaid statue from the Hans Christian Andersen tale.  Then we hiked around the Kastellet, the citadel.  It is one of the finest and most well-preserved fortresses in Europe.  It was built in the 17th century as part of the larger fortification ring that surrounded Copenhagen.  It houses Europe’s oldest in-use barracks, but Kastellet is primarily a green oasis and a historical place.   There were beautiful walkways around and within the citadel.  We had a great fish and chips dinner near the water before heading back to our hotel.

Another favorite of Dave's-a hot dog with all the fixings and chocolate milk.  the Pølse med ristet og cacao is sold at a wagon and the toppings include, ketchup, mustard, French fried onions, raw chopped onion, slices of pickled cucumber, and danish remoulade and lots of napkins

opera house in the background

boat on the far side of the dock had a dragon hull

the Little Mermaid

fountain outside the Kastellet

crossing the moat

St Alban's Anglican Church

original design

beautiful walking paths

awesome fish and chips

MERSK the Danish shipping company that owned the ship captured by Captain Phillips-made into movie with Tom Hanks.  Pete was also on one of their ships and passed Somalia shortly after that event while training with the Merchant Marines