It’s supposed to storm today so I am heading out early to the gloriously historic theme park of Copenhagen, Tivoli Gardens.

First I stop at the nearby food hall to try smorrebord and some fresh strawberries. We grow many strawberries where I live and I am embarrassed at what we call a strawberry; I believed I didn’t care for them much because ours are usually tasteless and a large size. This market’s strawberries are the opposite – bite size and full of sweet flavor. I am a fan. I buy a box of them to carry with me today.

Tivoli Gardens, the 19th century amusement park, feels like a walk in a Time Machine with all the splendor of times past. Although most rides and exhibits are actually high tech now, it gives you the feel like you are experiencing something from 150 years ago.

I buy a ticket to just enter the garden, which you can do, but there are also options for passes for rides. There is even an app to buy passes for individual rides if you wish to do so. It is probably more cost effective to buy a ride package but I didn’t really come to do all the rides so I just buy one ticket for one ride I want to try. I spend the rest of my time admiring the decor and eating all the things. I even do a little shopping. I stop at a restaurant on site for a beer and some white asparagus, one of my favorites lately. Not long after my lunch the clouds get thicker and I decide to start heading back to my hotel to wait out the storm.

Before I go back to my room I buy some snacks and gin cocktails to hunker down with. I am being warned about this upcoming storm by locals. I am from Florida and we know how to prepare for a storm (aka Land of Hurricanes) but turns out the storm is actually just a large amount of rain. My local friend tells me a storm like this is a big deal here because they aren’t a car centric city. Everyone has to try to get to their buses or trains or ride their bikes to places in this terrible weather. It is very disruptive. I use it as an excuse to call it a night early and try to see if I now like gin.

The next morning I finally get laundry done. The place close by doesn’t take credit cards but the one ten minutes away does. I start my load and then go out to enjoy a coffee and croissant. The lady who served me asked why I am out so early when it is obvious I am not a local. Yes I get up early no matter what time zone I am in; its my curse: sun is up and so am I. This will explain why I try really hard to go to bed early when I can. My wake time will not change no matter what time I go to bed.

After laundry I go back to Nyhavn to catch one of those canal boat tours, sitting in the back in the open even though it might rain again.. and it does. Luckily I remembered my jacket and it is only a light sprinkle. I get to see other parts of town I have yet to see and probably won’t due to time like Freetown Christiana (an independent hippie squatter part of the city). Today will be another short sightseeing day because I have bought tickets for a concert tonight.

After the boat tour I decide to eat all the foods I’ve had on my list. This leads inevitably to a tummy ache. I go back to my room to briefly recover when I get a message from friends of friends to meet them at a bar before the concert.

I am going to see one of my all time favorite bands tonight – Depeche Mode. When I am traveling I do check to see if any good bands will be in town while I am there and I always just miss bands. This time I am lucky and there are tickets available. After I purchase my seat though I notice I have a warning of it being a possible partially obstructed vision. Darn it! My local friend is going with some other friends. They have tickets in general admission. I avoid floor seats and general admission these days because I’m short and my views are usually very obstructed. It might have been fun to be down below with the crowd and dancing; no one but me is really dancing my section.

I never find the people I am supposed to meet at the Depeche Mode pre-party. I have never met them in person and it is hard to locate them based on the photos I see in the group chat. I decide to go ahead and head down toward the stadium because I have no idea how long it will take me to get there.

I eventually find my seat and the obstruction isn’t the best but I should still be able to enjoy the concert with it. Only unfortunate thing is I am in the center of the row so I need to monitor my fluid consumption. It will be a pain getting past all those people to go to the bathroom.

The show is everything I wanted it to be, the perfect mix of cool new stuff and fan favorites (the last time I saw DM they played majority new music). I am very happy I bought tickets to the show.

As expected it takes a while to get back with the crowds thick. However they have non-stop trains arriving to move the crowds out. Copenhagen knows how to plan! I end up sitting in the front and there is a cool view of the tunnels I never noticed before.

Time for bed since I am heading to Berlin tomorrow morning.