England 40 Years Ago — August 6, 1981

Sweden is a land of broad valleys near the sea, and the wheat harvest was in full tilt. We drove from Oslo to Helsingborg, spent the night and began our exploration of Denmark. We really didn’t see enough of Sweden to be able to compare it with Denmark and Norway.

Actually the whole hotel was a converted warehouse right on the water front. We were given a two-story room on the top floor, which was better than the one we’d booked. The lower level had the bathroom and living room with convertible sofa. Up the open curved stairway was the sleeping loft with king-sized bed. We liked the huge exposed beams – at first to look at, and then to hang the wash over when we found no laundry open on the weekend. The window in the roof opened, and really kept the rooms cool.

We arrived in Copenhagen at the height of summer weather. Half of Europe seemed to be thronging the pedestrian streets. We wandered along the shopping area and into Tivoli gardens.

We thought the entrance fee for our family at $6 was expensive, so we stayed to get our money’s worth. After a couple of hours, I thought the park benches worth the price!

The girls had carnival rides, and we bought food. I was amazed at all the people. According to a tourist guide 40,000 people stroll in Tivoli every day. I think we met them all! From the restaurant where we ate dinner, we heard a band and saw a tight-wire act. The free concert that evening was a treat – two pianists playing Haydn and Brahms. Sitting for the music helped our sore feet so that we felt like strolling further to enjoy the lavish display of lights around buildings, over walkways, under water and in the trees.

Several times in Denmark we ate fried plaice with a sauce of asparagus and shrimp. It seems to be a national dish, and what a good one!