Kastellet

Well, I'm officially a fan of only having class on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We had our first day off today, and it was SO nice to just be able to explore København for the day and not have to worry about going to class. Kayla & I slept in today and took our time getting ready, which was kind of nice. We also forgot some of the things we needed for our mornign errands, so the morning didn't go quite as hectically as planned--it was nice!

After wandering and a bit of shopping, we grabbed lunch and then met up with a few girls from our class to go to the Kastellet, the Citadel, which is on the northern end of København. Historically, the Kastellet was built in the 17th century as an entrenchment to protect the city. It is still owned by the defense ministry, but is not quite as associated with the military these days. It's a beautiful area and we really enjoyed walking around. The blueprint of the Kastellet shows that it is designed in a star shape, but you can't really tell that when you're walking around. Also in this area is the statue of The Little Mermaid. This fairytale was written by Hans Christian Andersen, who is the pride and joy of Denmark. The statue really isn't anything special, but it's definitely a tourist attraction in København and something we all wanted to see--so now we have!

After visiting the Kastellet we walked back into town by way of the palace and stopped at Nyhavn to get some ice cream. Then Kayla and I explored Amager, where we live, a bit before settling in for the evening. It was so nice to have a relaxing day and to be able to really enjoy being in and walking around København.

Our metro stop--I've really fallen in love with Public Transportation

People watching at the square by DIS.

At the Kastellet, Citadel. Although it's a fortress/military base, it's not quite like the ones in the US.

Who knew? Marie, Prinsesse af Danmark!

The Little Mermaid

Entrance to one of the palace buildings

Denmark is a country of happy people--they even dress the Kastillet and the palace in hearts :)

Tomorrow evening we're heading out to Jyllinge to meet the relatives! I'm really excited. It's kind of strange to think about the fact that our ancestors were siblings, but it'll be very cool to meet some new family members!