I like Jazz - but I'm not sure I quite understand it.

Day 43 - July 6^th

Keeping on with the fitness theme, we started the morning with a quick 4km run into town and back and I decided to cool off by jumping into the North Sea for a quick dip.

Luke taking a morning swim in the chilly North Sea.

The area north west of us was renowned for it’s picturesque coastal road, so we decided to unload the motorbike and take it for a ride towards Liseleje. There were a few black clouds when we started and we held out hope that there would not be any rain for the next hour. Regrettably, about 20 minutes into the ride the heavens started to open, so we decided to head back to camp. The heavens really did open just before we got home, so both of us ended up drenched!

After toweling off and getting changed, we started to make our way towards Copenhagen via the eastern coastal road. It was a fairly subdued drive at the start, but about 10-15kms outside of Copenhagen we encountered what must be the ‘Brighton’ of Denmark, with massive sprawling houses with quite sizable grassy lawns leading down to the waterfront.

Heading into Copenhagen, we had been told that there was free parking and no restrictions around the Carlsberg Brewery – not a bad place to ‘have’ to camp for a couple of days. We found the specific street and slotted in between a couple of cars, although the rear of our van took up a good portion of the walkway.

Camped right outside the Carlsberg Brewery - any closer and we would be in it!

As Copenhagen is renowned for being a cycle friendly city, we got the pushbikes out and rode into town – heading towards the Tivoli, which had been highly recommended to us by our family friend Dorothy. 

My original expectations of Tivoli were that it was a central garden/parkland in Copenhagen so I was quite impressed when it turned out to be an old school amusement park. It was so old school in fact, that it had been running for 160 years!

Outside the front entrance to the Tivoli.

Tivoli's version of the Taj Mahal.

We wandered around the grounds for a half hour or so to get a feel for the rides you could go on. I’m not a huge fan of amusement rides, but Claire is and I agreed to go on the rollercoaster with her. About 2 minutes after we entered the grounds and seeing the ‘Spinning Top’ (a 150m high pylon with a couple of chairs dangling off it going around in circles), I had noted to Claire that I would definitely not being going on that!

The Spinning Top I swore not to go on.

So I was again a little surprised when I was sitting at the top of the ‘Spinning Top’ instead of the rollercoaster. Much to my amusement though, was the fright on Claire’s face when we started hurtling around the Copenhagen skyline in what can best be described as a supermarket trolley seat.

I Love Lamp!

After that little bit of excitement, we left and headed towards Nyhavn (New Harbour), which was a fantastic street of restaurants and bars built onto the canal. We were also lucky enough to be in Copenhagen for the start of their 10-day Jazz festival and enjoyed the sounds of a local group with a few beers, while we sheltered from the drizzle. As the atmosphere and music was so great, a few beers turned into a couple more and a takeaway pizza. 

The glorious Nyhavn in Copenhagen.

Having a beer along the canal in Nyhavn

Before leaving the Tivoli we got a re-entry stamp, as we had read that there was a jazz band playing in the grounds that evening from 10pm. So after, picking up a bottle of red and a couple of Mars Bars we headed back into the amusement park and sat ourselves down on the grass to listen to a couple more hours of jazz. 

Now, I haven’t followed jazz that much, but I do enjoy the sound of it. What I don’t really understand though is the whole – Mr. Trumpet player you do what you want for about 5 minutes while the rest of the band tap their feet. He then finishes his solo and the crowd applauds. 

Then Mr. Clarinet, you do your thing for a couple of minutes, while the rest of the band scratch their arse. 

He finally finishes and the crowd applauds. Then Mr. Pianist…Mr. Drummer…etc (I’m not being sexist, but they were all men by the way) and it goes on until you’ve listened to the same song for the better part of half an hour, you’ve finished your can and busting for the toilet. 

Everyone erupts at this stage, as they also extremely happy it’s finished, as they were equally holding on for the toilet. Oh and don’t get me started on how you actually dance to jazz music.

Jazz in Tivoli with the Taj Mahal in the background.

The Chinese Theatre at Tivoli.

After a couple of hours we decided to head home, which was quite a strange experience doing os in the dark, as we had not stayed up long enough in Scandinavia to see it completely go dark (it’s about 12:30pm before it's completely dark). 

The ride home was a little difficult, as a heavy fog had come into Copenhagen making it extremely tough to read street signs and see landmarks. Unfortunately, I managed to get us lost, after what originally was a very straightforward ride into the city. 

After getting told off by the police for having no lights, bumping into a Danish woman and Australian guy singing Powderfinger songs, we finally made it back to the van before the sun started to rise again.