Haslev and Copenhagen, Denmark: An Adventure and Stairs

Because today is Grandma and Grandpa's last day, and because we had quite an adventure, be forewarned: there are more pictures than usual.  Anyhow, early this morning, we caught the train to Haslev, the town where Grandpa's father was born and raised until he left for America at age 14.  Since all of Grandpa's relatives are dead, we went to the only place we could think of to connect with them: the cemetery.  Unfortunately, if you don't pay for your plot upkeep in Denmark, they take it, and bury someone else there.  We didn't find this out until after we had combed the cemetery in the rain for over an hour, but when we did (from the very nice gravediggers), we decided to take a picture by the stone commemorating the 'common grave' of everyone buried in that cemetery.

Even though journey to Haslev was not very succesful (and was very wet), it was still neat to see the town where my great grandfather frolicked as a youth.  The picture above is of Grandpa on Haslev's main square.

After our Haslev adventure, we trained back to Copenhagen to start climbing stairs.  Our first venture was up the tower of the 17th-century Our Saviour's Church.  The spire is 95m tall, and is located in the Christianhavn district of Denmark.  We begin our climb, and...

...398 stairs later (250 inside, and 148 spiraling on the outside of the tower), we made it to the top!  Because of the wicked wind and cold, the view was breathtaking!

After this climb, we needed sustenance, so we headed to the local cafe for some traditional fare: open-faced sandwiches with fish varieties for toppings.

Our next stop was the Round Tower, which is the oldest astronomical observatory in Europe, and was in service as part of the university from 1685-1861.  This climb was not as long as the other, but the view from the top was still nice (and it was still windy).

A stroll along Denmark's most famous pedestrian street and a successful search for ice cream completed our sojourn to Grandpa's homeland.  We all had a wonderful time...Grandpa and Grandma, thanks so much for coming to be a part of my travels with me!