The White Buses

Warning: some readers may find some of this content distressing.

On our final day the weather, which had previously been warm and sunny, turned and we were forced to abandon our plans of going for a swim in the harbour and headed of to a museum instead.

Today’s museum of choice was the National Museum of Denmark and we wove our way chronologically through the Stone, Bronze and Iron ages as well as learning about the Vikings, Middle Ages and all the way through to the present day. Suffice it say that the museum gave us a fantastic insight into what it is to be a Dane.

The temporar exhibition at the time of our visit was of ‘the white buses’ a rescue mission carried out by the Red Cross during the Second World War.

In 1940 Nazi Germany invaded Denmark ‘peacefully’ yet as you can imagine this didn't last long and in 1943 six thousand members of the Danish police forces were imprisoned and sent to the concentration camps. 

The exhibition was harrowing to say the least yet the death rate of these 6000 was fairly low at 10% whilst in comparison out of 4.5 million Polish prisoners the death rate was a terrifying 81%. Whether this was due to the prisoners being put to death by gas chambers or otherwise or they died in the camps of starvation or exhaustion it is very hard to tell yet it is believed that the Danish prisoners were spared a one way visit to the ‘showers’. 

The main reason why the death toll in Danish prisoners was considerably lower compared to other nationalities is because of the ration boxes sent by the Red Cross. These boxes were literally a lifeline to the malnourished and freezing cold Danes as they contained not only food but also clothes and tobacco.

Tobacco was a crucial commodity in the camps as it used to barter and in some ways was a type of currency. When these boxes arrived however they did not reach to intended recipient unopened. Indeed after the Nazi officers and wardens had had their pick there wasn't  that much left.

The rescue mission started in earnest in 1944 with the ‘white buses’. Under the pretence of moving  the Danish prisoners to another camp the Red Cross and its volunteers would take them to neutral Sweden where they received a heros welcome. The journey however was a treacherous one as despite the fact that the buses were white like an ambulance did not mean that they were safe from bombing.  

After a quick trip to Christianborg to look around the grounds we went back to Nyhavn for a late lunch. before returning to our hotel to pick up bags and setting off towards the airport where  in the morning we were homeward bound.

The Little Mermaid and Tivoli Gardens

Good Morning Copenhagen! This morning we went over to the less touristy area of Norrebro and despite the fact that it is merely just over the bridge from the inner city you can instantly sense that Norrebro is off the beaten track as it is eerily quiet.

Whilst we sat down for a iced latte and a rhubarb muffin a group of young men dressed as Vikings
ran into the square and 'fought'...standard procedure then.

On the way back into town we stumbled across the famous Copenhagen outdoor food market aka foodie heaven. There were rows and rows of delicious looking food stalls and the bread was to die for! A personal favourite of mine was the cake stand with their scrumptious selection of sweet delights. I thook one for the road as our next stop was the Little Mermaid.

The little bronze statue was erected in 1913 by the artist Edward Ericksen yet much like the tale by Hans Christian Andersen the mermaid has experienced much hardship: she once lost her arm, was decapitated twice and was even blown off her perch in 2003. The little statue weighs in at 175kg so that must have been quite some wind.

Our evening excursion was to Tivoli Gardens as I had heard there was a big band playing. A former pleasure gardens and then later amusement park Tivoli Gardens which opened its gates in 1843 is considered to be the second most popular amusement park in the world. The first being Disneyland. The gardens have attracted many famous guests over the years including Hans Christian Andersen and Walt Disney. It is believed that Tivoli was even inspired by Tivoli!

The park has multiple theatres around it including the Peacock Theatre where we stayed and watched the ballet.  Going to the ballet was one of my absolute musts in Copenhagen so I'm glad that I got to see one.

The main arena stage where every Friday there is a 'rock concert' and upcoming shows include Snoop Dogg (24th) and Belle and Sebastian. On Saturdays however there is a big band and the dance floor was flooded with couples doing the lindyhop, cha cha and lots of other ballroom dances.

Why is it that men in particular from all around Europe and even the rest of the world aren't impartial to get up and dance whilst in England it is always really hard to get a dance partner.

Surrounded by hippies - help me

The plan was to leave early this morning and pack as much into the day as possible and me aching feet can testify to the fact that we did indeed pack a lot in from palace viewing to boat trips and lots in between....only later than anticipated.

The first stop of the day was Rosenborg which up until the late eighteenth century was the royal residence. It is amongst one of few museums that is arranged in chronological order and is therefore a great place to practice your skills in time travel as you travel through the centuries as go from room to room.

When we first arrived at Rosenborg we were informed that the burglar alarm had just gone off and as the palace was the home of the Danish crown jewels this was quite a big deal. All the visitors were herded to the front lawn to wait for the all clear as the police and army officers patrolled and searched the grounds.

A personal highlight of Rosenborg for me was the Knights Hall a.k.a the Throne Room. The thrones for the King and Queen at the far end of the long hall were guarded by three large silver lions. These statues were meant to signify the absolute power of the monarchy.

From Rosenborg we walked towards the picturesque Nyhavn where the first ice cream of the trip was to be enjoyed. The pier with multi-coloured houses is often what people associate with Copenhagen and what you will see in all the travel guides and is therefore a must see.

As we walked along the front we tagged onto the end of one the cities 'Free walking tours' and followed our guide Rosie to Amlienborg and then the marble church.  The latter of which was to built entirely of marble yet as the monarchy ran out of money part of the way through construction the church stood unfinished for 150 years.

On my previous post I mentioned that when we bought our bus ticket we also got a boat tour and today we decided to cash it in. The boat stopped at a lot of the same places as the bus tour yet we also went through the district of Christiana as well as seeing where the Eurovision song contest 2014 was held (how exciting)

By this point we hadn't stopped walking all day and I had the blisters on my feet to prove it. A new pair of shoes were therefore in order so a large part of the afternoon was devoted to just this task. During our quest to locate every shoe shop in the city we stumbled across the Copenhagen branch of Hotel Chocolat (yay!)

In the evening we returned to Nyhavn with the intention of eating dinner yet instead were met by the adorable sight  of a bunny sat chilling on the harbourside next to its owner much like what a dog would do. The rabbit was quite at ease  and was lying on the cobbles with its legs stretched out whilst some tourists (including us) stopped to say hello.


We hopped onto a water taxi and crossed over to the other side of the river where we were to eatr at the Copenhagen Street Food Centre. This is definatley a haunt of the cool kids - yes I did feel out of place.


Whilst in Christiana we ventured through the neighbourhood and even visited the Freetown- and by that I mean the home of the hippies- and went to a 'Love Party'. As a former hippy herself I thought my mother would be right at home in the district whilst I...not so much.


We returned to our hotel and ended the second day in the skybar with matcha tea cocktails.

Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen

We were up before the crack of dawn (3am) to get down to Luton for our early morning flight. From Copenhagen airport we took a train to the central station where our hotel was located yet upon arrival at the station we took a wrong turning and ended up taking the scenic route….and be scenic I mean train tracks, dual carriageways and warehouses. 

However when we (finally) arrived at the hotel we were to discover that are room would not be ready until 3pm so we left our bags with the concierge and went off for a spot of exploration. 

En route to the city centre we bought a 48 hour bus pass which allowed us to board any ‘Red Bus’ around the city and hop on and hop off at our leisure as it meandered around some of the cities most famous tourist attractions. We payed 215 DK for the pass and this also included a boat tour (more on that later) 

After some time wandering around the streets of the city centre we stopped for a spot of lunch at Huk Fuchs in a picturesque square. Between the two of us we ate a lunch plate which included pickle herring and succulent duck and Skansk toast and a side of salted almonds.

In the afternoon we took advantage of the sightseeing tour; taking in the many parks, gardens and waterways of the island city as well as learning about the cities architecture.

I very much enjoyed seeing the rows upon rows of yellow houses commissioned by Christian IV. These houses were intended to be homes for the members of the armies and their families much like the village of Saltaire was built to house the factory workers. 

To the end of the tour we hopped off the bus and strolled along the waterfront yet were stopped in our tracks by the sound of music. Up ahead was what looked like a dome shaped greenhouse in a kind of hexagonal honeycomb design where a band were having a jam session. With a hot chocolate i(for me) and beer (for mother) in hand we stayed a while and embraced our new home. (At least for a few days) 

Bubbleology- The science of bubble tea

Trends in food and drink are fast paced and ever changing for example the cupcake craze or the time when everybody went sushi mad. The latest wave to hit British shores is bubble tea.

The blogger event tonight (14th July) was held at Cafe 164 and in addition to the tea there was a delicious array of breads and cakes on offer that are all made in the cafe itself. Some of our favourites included the mozzarella and sun blush tomato loaf, the olive, asparagus, sun blush tomato and parmesan loaf, toffee apple cake and the lemon drizzle. Who am I kidding, all of the food was divine! If you find yourself down by Munro House on Duke Street in Leeds you should definitely check it out. :)

Bubble tea was first invented in Taiwan in the 1980s and refers to a refreshing tea based drink with chewy tapioca balls  that you suck up through a large straw. The balls are sometimes referred to as 'pearls' or 'boba' and over time 'boba' became 'bubble' hence the name.

However a very westernised addition to the traditional bubble tea is what is known as popping boba. These multicoloured bubbles composed of fruit syrup enrobed in a seaweed case burst in your mouth. It's a very weird (in a good way) sensation.

Bubbleology are based in London and have only recently opened a new store in the Trinity centre, where I am told they are making quite the impression as bubble tea not only looks great but also tastes fantastic.  The vast variety of fruit syrups allows you to make your own custom drink and is a fun brew and snack in one!

The art of making bubble tea is a precise science that involves adding hot tea (Bubbleology used Jasmine Green tea in our drinks) to cold fruit syrups (of your choice) and shaking vigourously to cool the tea down before adding the boba and/or tapioca and finally sealing the cup. Our bubble tea was served cold (somewhat like ice tea) and is therefore a perfect summer drink, yet you can also get milk based bubble teas that are similar to milkshakes and even hot bubble teas that are highly in demand during the winter months.