Colossal Waste: Europe Day 43 of 59, Copenhagen

We planned ourselves a pleasant day that would involve a park, a palace, and a pool. When the day began, I had no idea that everything started with a "p."

Rosenborg Have, a few blocks from our hotel and home to Rosenborg Slot. I soon learned that "Have" means garden and "Slot" means castle. Personally, I dig maps that use the native names and not translations. This park is also known as Kongens Have, which means, "The King's Garden." And now I finally know why the square outside our hotel is "Kongens Nytorv," the King's Square. Durr.

In the gardens we came upon this statue. Lifelike, no?

She is Ekko by Aksel Hansen, 1888. I looked her up. Juno, queen of the immortals, was trying to catch her husband with the nymphs. Ekko used her clever skills with words to delay Juno and let everyone get to safety. When Juno figured this out, she punished her. "You shall forfeit the use of that tongue with which you have cheated me, except for that one purpose you are so fond of REPLY. You shall still have the last word, but no power to speak first."

Rosenborg Slot from across the garden.

Rosenborg Slot a bit closer. From Wikipedia: The castle was originally built as a country summerhouse in 1606 and is an example of Christian IV's many architectural projects. It was built in the Dutch Renaissance style, typical of Danish buildings during this period, and has been expanded several times, finally evolving into its present condition by the year 1624.

THIS is a big, stone ball.

Rosenborg Slot protected by two lions across the moat. Moat? What moat?

That moat. Isn't that cool, a castle with a moat!

I am pointing out my source of joy for the day. If you wanted to take pictures inside the castle, you paid 20 kronens ($4) and they gave you this sticker that meant the guards would leave you be with your camera. If only the Spanish caught onto this method.

I'm also looking like this happy king. Got to love a king with a grin and not looking stern.

Barbie reflected in a royal mirror.

A royal shirt. Yes, it is exactly like the Seinfeldian puffy shirt.

The royal toilet. Do not doubt that this was luxurious in the 1600's.

Barbie posing with a royal portrait. She could not get over his lack of, how you say, good looks.

For the ornate furniture lovers among us. Baroque means, "Do it to it until you can't do it anymore." As in make it really, really intricate.

She calls this Vanna, I call it Price Is Right. Either way, "You've won a Royal Sofa!"

The king wasn't the only funny looking resident.

This room had a mirror on the floor and the ceiling.

So one day King Charles IV calls in his craftsmen. "I need a bird cage," he said, "And I need a clock. What the heck. You know what you can do?"

The top floor was the throne room, with amazing tapestries depicting military victories along the walls and an incredibly ornate ceiling.

The throne itself is guarded by three silver lions. Recall that there were lions guarding outside as well. Danish Kings like lions.

These lions have something very human in their faces.

Then again, in the 1600's, it was most likely that nobody in Denmark would ever see a lion in person. We learned that, too. Think about it. When would they?

In the basement is a vault with the really cool stuff. Like the royal sword.

And the royal hat.

Okay, the hat thing was a joke. Royal Crown. Or Royal Crowns, now. In person, the glitter was absolutely stunning. Talk about bling.

Leaving Rosenborg Slot, one last pic from the opposite side.

Barbie wanted nachos, and not just any nachos. Hard Rock Nachos.

If you look to Barbie's left, there is a street performer whose performance is not moving at all and making it look like there is a strong wind. A beggar with a still life angle.

I just love how thousands of people stroll the Strøget and pretty much ignore the beautiful spire of St. Nikolaj.

Did I tell you that this country is clean? Along the Strøget you have trash cans that use solar panels to create the energy needed to compact the rubbish so that more and more can be loaded. If you do not find that bit of tech impressive, I'm not sure that you and I would get along very well. Because this solar powered trash compacting rubbish bin is the height of civilization.

See what I mean? They are oblivious to the spire of St. Nikolaj. How can that be?

You cannot read it, but the yellow sign reads, "Closed for good." More than one meaning, my friends.

The third P of the day.

Life could be a whole lot worse than this.

On our way to dinner, that is the sky at 9 pm. I could get used to this, but I put it together that Copenhagen has only 6 1/2 hours of darkness in July, which has to mean that they only get 6 1/2 hours of sun in December. Another reason I want to live on the Equator.