Copenhagen: Summer Holiday 2009

Okay. So, after arriving back in Göteborg on Saturday, we relax for a few days before Mike gets into town. He was a little groggy late in the afternoon, but did not have major jet lag. Good thing cause we left the next morning for Copenhagen.

Due to a last minute review of the weather and some advice from Norwegian travelers in Greece, we opted to skip the fjords. Instead, we decided to head South. First up was Copenhagen which was hosting the World Outgames. Coinciding with Copenhagen Pride. How gay and festive!

The weather could not have been better. As such, we hopped on a boat and took a canal tour of the city. Once back on dry land, we wandered along Strøget, a long pedestrian shopping street that runs through the heart of the city. Note: The images in this post link to my Picasa photo album with all trip photos.

The next day was time to wander about. Off to Vor Frelsers Kirke (Church of Our Saviour) to investigate the stairs up the outside of the spire. You begin the climb inside and walk past the bell. Once you arrive at the outside platform, you're up pretty high; it is 90 meters to the top of the spire. The stairs take you nearly to the top. Just underneath a giant gold ball. Apparently, trying to touch the golden ball is some sort of manliness test. Had we known, that would have been the goal. Instead, we were left to enjoy the amazing view of the city. TJ, who was in front of me, did get almost to the very top where the stairs narrow to a point.

Later that night, we saw Kate Ryan in concert near Vor Frue Kirke (Church of Our Lady). She sings in both English and French and is fairly popular in Europe (and Canada). I've known of her music for a number of years. She was great! The gays loved her. Je t'Adore, Kate!

The next day was the Pride Parade. So we set about that morning to see some sights. Just as a gay cruise had docked. It was kind of amusing to see the guys from the boat slowly work their way through the city. Mike kept track of new arrivals. Hard to miss some of them in their tight shirts, worked out bodies, and shopping bags. Meow.

The Pride Parade was, um, interesting. Kind of what a lot of parades have become. An endless series of semi-trailer trucks filled with people dancing to music blaring from huge loudspeakers. Needless to say, with beers in hand, we enjoyed the show. Until that lesbian on the truck threw water at us. Karma, honey. At the end of the parade, we joined it. Yes, this was the quickest way to get back to Rådhuspladsen (City Hall Square) where the concerts and entertainment was taking place.

The entertainment included a Michael Jackson impersonator. I could not tell if it was a man dressed as a woman dressed as Michael or a woman dressed as a man...dressed as Michael. How appropriate. A drag review from Canada (is that an oxymoron?). And...Kate Ryan again! What luck. We stayed until the bitter end.

As luck would have it, TJ ran into some friends from Laguna Beach and Chicago. Both had been on the cruise. We were hanging out with the Chicago boys until late. They were witness to TJ making new friends with the usual suspects: lesbians, large-breasted women, little people, and fellow Swedes. At one point TJ jumped up on a rather large lesbian (she did invite him to do this), wrapped his legs around her waist, and let her swing him around. Unfortunately, I was not able to whip my camera out in time.

Speaking of which, the one casualty of the trip was my videos. A truly unfortunate circumstance. When I got back to Sweden, I downloaded the photos but forgot to download the videos. Then, later that day before I was to use the camera again, I erased all the photos. Ugh! I had purposely taken videos in place of photos on this trip. And had gotten some really great stuff. Well, okay, lots of Kate Ryan singing. And some nice virtual tours of Cologne and Brussels. All gone. But, be sure to ask TJ about the chicken dance.

For more photos of our trip to Copenhagen, click here.