The Weekend Before Christmas

'Twas the weekend before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. That's because we weren't home!! This past weekend (December 21st-23rd) we went to Copenhagen, Denmark and Berlin, Germany. The trip was completely organized and booked by Ag and I must say, my travel agent did a fantastic job! Our basic itinary was as follows:
Fly into Copenhagen on Friday morning, tour around the city all day and fly to Berlin that evening. Once in Berlin, relax Friday night, all day city tour on Saturday, Sunday, relax and do whatever, then head back to Zurich around 7pm that night.

We left early Friday morning and caught a flight from Zurich to Copenhagen (CPH). Once we arrived in CPH we jumped on a train that took not even 15 minutes to get to the main city center. At the center train station, we left our bags in a locker and we were off to explore!

Oh, yes. One thing I forgot to note, on our flight was a couple around our age with a newborn baby. Long story short we switched them seats so that they could have some extra room for the baby (there was no one next to us, originally). Well, about 2/3rd into our flight, the husband (a native from CPH) saw us looking at our CPH map and showed us where to go and what to be sure to do. Very helpful information!

Once our bags were secure in the locker, we started out by passing the large Tivoli Gardens (where the X-Mas markets were) and then to the main pedistrian strip. From there we walked into a few shops and just took in our surroundings. We got a Danish pastry (you have to have a Danish in Denmark!) and also some warm fresh bread from a local bakery.


We wandered over to the canel area and up to the Little Mermaid statue. One suprising thing to us about our walk from the main street area to the statue is that there was no "life" along the river.. there were not many buildings near the shore and really no activity on the water.

Then, we headed back to the center area and on the way, stopped to grab a bit to eat/drink at a restaurant. Once we got to the center area, it was going on 2pm and we decided to spend the remainder of our time at the Tivoli X-Mas Markets (we had to head to the airport around 5pm).

The market was like a mini-Kings Island in the wintertime. There were tons of shops, restaurants, rides, etc. I must say, it was rather chilly that day too (around 20 degrees). What was so key is they had charcoal grill type stands all over to warm yourself at. We got lots of fun pictures at the market and one of the best is the babystroller "parking lot". There was even a valet guy directing parents as to where to park their baby stoller so that the families could go on some rides. Crazy!


So, we left the markets and headed out to the airport. We sat down at a bar in the airport and while we were finishing up our beers, a random dude asked me to arm wrestle. This was someone about 55+ years of age and just drunk off his bootie! Long story short, I didn't arm wrestle him. He asked me 5 times if I was "with" Aggie and every time I said, "Yes". Then he would say I was a lucky man, and I would agreed. Randomly, after telling me that I was a "happy guy" for the N'th time, he started crying! He kept saying "Sorry" and "It's okay". Nuts! Who was this dude?! The whole time, Agnes was kicking me under the table and mouthing the words "be careful"...it was really a strange situation.

The time had come for us to go and we had to leave Crazy Man and catch our flight. We hope he is okay and made it home that evening and didn't cause any problems...

We got to Berlin around 8:30pm and caught a bus to the city center area. Instead of booking a hotel, Aggie did some research and booked us in a mini-apartment. Long story short, this girl has a studio and rents it out pretty cheap. It was in the dead center of the city (and the X-Mas Markets), well furnished, had a kitchen area, etc. We walked in and the first thing I said to Ag is, "This totally makes up for Paris!" (Please read previous blog about Thanksgiving and Paris to see what I'm refering to.)

Anyway, we asked her for recommendations on places to go out for drinks and dinner and she sent us to an area called Hachkescher Markt. We found an awesome bar that had some amazing food and good night life so we were pretty happy when we finally crashed that night.

The next day we went on a all day walking tour of the city. It was AWESOME. Our tourguide was from Oregen and around our age. There were 2 other couples on the tour with us as well. We saw everything possible in the city area from homes with bullet shots, memorials for those killed by the Nazis, various spots where Hitler gave speeches, burned books, and finally killed himself, the Berlin Wall, the Brandenberg Gate, etc. It was amazing to see how much of the city was lost during WWII and how much new construction was going up. Learning more about the Wall, how poor the city is and the reasons why there are still very vivid signs of bombing and fighting, and the differences between the East and West was really cool too. Apparently the new saying/motto in the city is: Berlin, Poor but Sexy. It's a city that is trying to rebuild its image and self.


Our tour ended around 6pm and we asked the guide for recommendations on dinner. He sent us to a pretty cool area...We grabbed a bite to eat at a pretty local bar and then on our walk back to the apartment, we stopped for a night cap and dessert at this swank bar. We got one of the best cheese plates ever! I have to say, the food in Berlin was outstanding. We didn't have one bad meal there (not that we are picky eaters) and we were very satisified.

Sunday morning we slept in and then went to the musem center area. We checked out one huge church in the center and then we went to the Christmas markets. We left later that day and got in, safe and sound to our apartment by 10pm Sunday night.

Now it is Christmas! Josh just got in today and so far it has been a solid day. We picked him up from the airport around 8am, had a big breakfast, walked around town and are now just relaxing. The next few days are going to be super fun and busy so stay tuned to see what we do....