With only today and tomorrow left in our trip, energy levels in some quarters have been dropping (though, impressively, Zoe and Nadia have had enough energy to go have a drink in one of our hip hostel bars on each night we’ve been here).  Last night there was a debate between members of the group who wanted to get out first thing in the morning to maximize sightseeing opportunities, and those who thought that 11am was a reasonable time to aim for.  (One consequence of the few late nights that we’ve had while traveling has been that we really haven’t completely adjusted to European time.  We’ve all mostly been up until 12 or 1 each night, even if we try to go to bed earlier.)  We compromised by agreeing to get out the door by 10am.

We came pretty close to making it, though not without some grumbling.  We figured that we needed to go into energy conservation mode, so we decided to take the bus to our furthest destination of the day, then gradually make our way back on foot.  (Luckily the buses here proved to be very easy to navigate, even though the driver invariably would just gesture to me impatiently anytime I tried to show our Copenhagen cards.  I guess they care more about keeping to the timetable than ensuring that riders have paid.)

We started out at the Botanical Garden, always one of the stops on our list.  As usual, the gardens allowed people to wander off and explore at their own pace, which is a nice break in the day.  This one had a series of tall greenhouse-type buildings built in the 19th century, containing tropical plants, as well as a butterfly house full of all different species.

At the end of the garden was a small natural history museum, which had a lot of very

Dramatic sky over Copenhagen. We found the weather in Scandinavia to be very unpredictable — pretty much every day veered suddenly between sunshine and rain multiple times.

cool wildlife photography.  When exploring museums, Zoe is known for wanting to read every sign on every display — while Nadia tends to move through practically at a jog.  So this time Zoe and I went to the museum early, while the others spent more time in the garden.  This seemed to work out well for everyone.

After the garden and museum, we decided to swing by the nearby Round Tower again, to have another crack at solving the mystery puzzle that we’d failed to progress on the previous day.  The good news is that

Bob did eventually find the dog and three ducks carving that we’d been looking for the previous day.  The bad news is, we found ourselves completely unable to do anything else.  I don’t know if the puzzle was really hard or if we’re just overtired, but we struggled with every clue and eventually gave up in defeat after walking up and down the same street five times looking for a particular address and not finding it.  Sadly the case of the missing money lender and the bloodstained briefcase will have to remain unsolved.

Going under one of the many, many low bridges

Next up was a more restful canal boat tour through the canals and out into the harbor.  Copenhagen claims the cleanest harbor in the world, and there are frequently docks and ladders where people can jump right in to swim.  It was initially quite disconcerting seeing someone suddenly jump into the water right from an urban dock, but a pretty great feature for the locals.  We also saw plenty of paddleboarders and kayakers.  The waterfront itself is beautiful as well, with colorful buildings and stone palaces, and old church spires rising in the distance.

Nadia got some unholy “ice cream burrito” conconction where the “tortilla” was crushed cotton candy.

Our final destination was the one that the kids have been most excited about — Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest amusement parks in the world.  It’s a strange and lovely mixture of beautifully landscaped, peaceful gardens — and giant metal rides, with people screaming their heads off.  Zoe and Lanie elected to go with the unlimited ride pass, while Nadia (who does not like heights or speed and gets sick on things that spin around) chose to spend her budget on various food items instead.  The park was supposed to close at 10 but many rides ended up being open until 11, so they really got their money’s worth.