Ærø (Aero) Island

We left Copenhagen on Friday and took the ferry to Æro (Aero). Æerø is a small island in the southern part of Denmark, about nine miles across the water from Germany. We are staying in the village of Ærøskøbing which is cute as a button and just about as big. It has managed to retain its charm in part because the Daniah government prohibits any modern buildings in the town center We spent Saturday morning just wandering around the town before joining our tourgroup for a bus tour around the island.

On our tour we stopped at a farmhouse for a traditional Danish lunch -- smørrebrød. Smørrebrød is an open-faced sandwich with a variety of ingredients from ham, turkey, beef or other local meats to shrimp, sliced boiled eggs or fried fish. To pronounce the word "smørrebrød" like a Dane, try to imitate a person with a head cold and so inebriated that he is slurring his speech. Then imagine you're saying this while trying to get peanut butter off the roof of your mouth. Combine the two and…there, you've got it!

Ærø Coastline

Copenhagen, Denmark

We arrived in Copenhagen on Wednesday, July 8. During our orientation walk on the way to dinner, we happened onto a square where our tourguide, Dave, had arranged for an actor portraying Hans Christian Anderson. He was in full period dress from his tophat and high collar to his long purple topcoat. After passing out shots of Gammel Dansk (the Danish firewater that smells like honey, but goes down like razor blades), he regaled us with his biography as well as a telling of the Little Mermaid story along with other amusing anecdotes.

After dinner, several of us walked to Tivoli Gardens, an amusement park from 1843 which is illuminated with over 100,000 lights and nearly as many ice cream stands. It certainly isn't Disneyland, but it doesn't try to be. We arrived before dusk and it was truly magical watching the park transform into a twinkling fairyland.

The next day the group took a canal boat tour. It mixed some of old Copenhagen with the new. Afterwards Cindy and Mike walked through Christiania, a community established in 1971 when 700 squatters took over an abandoned military barracks to establish an ''alternate living'' utopia. Today it's a mixture of a flea market, commune, homeless encampment and tourist mecca.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon exploring other areas of Copenhagen including Nyhavn (New Harbor) built in the 1670's. While the sidewalks are lined with a collections of cafes, bars and jazz clubs, the canal hosts a collection of boats of every description. We rested our tired feet while quenching our thirsts with a local Danish brew, Tuborg Classic. The people watching in this area was some of the best of the trip. In Copenhagen it is perfectly acceptable to buy a can or bottle of beer at the 7-11 (yes, they have them on nearly every street corner here, too) and sit in the parks or along the streets while drinking it. It's not a rowdy or drunken thing, it's just an alternative to the higher prices charged by the cafes and bars.

Kalmar, Sweden

On Tuesday morning, we picked up our tour bus and drove from Stockholm to Kalmar in the southern part of Sweden. Kalmar was the site of the signing of the 1397 treaty which united Sweden, Denmark and Norway for a brief period.

Our group dinner was at Kållaren Kronan, a romantic candle-lit restaurant in a converted wine cellar which, ironically, never actually stored any wine except for what is on the current wine list. It was very authentic, however, with brick ceilings, walls and arches throughout the interior.

On Wednesday we toured Kalmar Castle. Although built in medieval times, the interior was decorated in the Renaissance style by King Gustav Vasa in the early to mid 1500's.

Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm Waterfront

We arrived in Stockholm on Saturday, July 4, to partly cloudy skies and temps in the upper 60's --a refreshing break from the London ''heat wave'' of the low 80's. Stockholm is built on a series of 14 islands connected by 54 bridges. We're staying a short walk from Gamla Stan, the Old Town section where Stockholm was first settled.

Although it dates from before the 1500's, Stockholm is clean, orderly and ''runs like a Saab.'' With it's wide streets, numerous parks and vast public spaces, it doesn't feel crowded, even in the height of the tourist season.




We met up with our Rick Steves tour group on Sunday. The tourguide, Dave Fox, is an American who fell in love with Scandinavia as a high school exchange student in Norway. He went on to study linguistics as the University of Oslo, Norway, and has a healthy passion for the region. You can check out his website at: http://www.davethefox.com/

Royal Palace Courtyard

Royal Palace Guard

Stockholm Skyline


On our first day with the tour group, we took a walking tour through the new and old parts of the city. We visited the Vassa, a restored warship from the early 1600's when Sweden's navy was one of the largest in Europe. In fact, Sweden was such a military power that it controlled much of the eastern Baltic region including parts of Germany, Russia and Poland. Who knew the Swedes were so militaristic? All this time I thought they just drove around in their Volvos listening to ABBA tunes!

Stockholm Waterfront