Oops, I forgot to tell you about Copenhagen, Denmark. As usual, the city was delightful, and we were very fortunate to get a berth (they don't call them "parking spots" for ships) very close to everything. We were only about 100 yards from the "Little Mermaid" statue. You can always find it just by looking for lots of tour buses! There has been talk about moving her out into the water to minimize the vandalism that occasionally happens. The good news is that this has always been a replica -- the original (plus molds) has always been kept in a safe, secret location. What a pensive, sad face -- this is the face of opera star Ellen Price, with whom Carl Jacobsen (son of Carlsberg Brewery founder) was smitten when he commissioned this statue. Ms Price, however, wouldn't pose nude, so the artist's wife is the model for the body.
Tivoli Gradens -- known to the locals "The Old Garden" was constructed in 1843, and it's the second oldest amusement park in the world. It was a time of political unrest, and a canny developer approached the King wit this idea: "The people won't be thinking about politics if they are being amused." And so the King granted him the land to create this iconic park in what is now the middle of Copenhagen. There are only 25 rides, but 43 restaurants and other eateries.Click the video to watch and listen to the sounds of the roller coaster. The roller coaster was quite predictable, but the Golden Tower was that anticipation -- I know it's going to drop, but when? It was fun watching them. [for some reason, I can't upload a second video -- sorry]
On the pier, there was a kiosk that was very busy selling treats to all ages. For some, it was the local brew; for others, little the little one in the photo, it was a tempting treat of ice cream.
On our last sea day (July 30th), I had a nice meeting with Captain Nikolaos Frantzis, Master of the Vessel, on the Bridge. We had an engaging conversation, and when it was time for Luisa, the Activity Manager, to take a picture, the Captain wanted to make sure that no one else was in "our" photo.
All good things me to an end, of course. And so on July 31st we pulled into Amsterdam port to leave the Celebrity Constellation. She'd been a good home for the past 12 days, and I look forward to seeing "her sister," the Celebrity Silhouette, in September for two back-to-back cruises out of Italy (Adriatic and Holy Lands cruises). Until then -- cheers, safe travels, peace, and happiness to all.
