Copenhagen, Denmark
Day 2 - Thursday, 3 August 2000
After breakfast on our first morning in Copenhagen we walked to the Nyhavn area to board a boat for a very pleasant cruise of the Copenhagen harbor. From there we hoofed it down the Storget, Copenhagen's pedestrian street. After a quick lunch at a Danish Burger King we returned to our hotel for a nap. At 3:30 PM we walked to the Norreport train station where we bought two 24 hour tickets for 70 Dkr each (about $9). The 4:20 PM train got us to Allerod about 4:50 PM. Janice met us at the station. After walking around the village shopping area for awhile we went on to Janice's house for dinner with her, hubby Frank and son Daniel. David was away from home for a violin master class.
About 9:30 PM we caught a train back to Copenhagen.
During our dinner conversation Frank told us that the Danes pay 43% income taxes, 25% sales taxes, plus property taxes. A new car is taxed at about 200%. All those taxes go to pay for the welfare state of Denmark, with health care and education through university level being "free."
Yes, there are Burger Kings in Copenhagen. McDonald's too! Note the golden arches behind the Burger King sign. There was another McDonalds across the intersection behind me.
Public transportation is good and reasonable in price, and the government is in the process of making it better, by building an underground metro.
Bicycles are everywhere. The streets have special lanes for bikes, there are separate signals at intersections for bikes, and people on bikes seem to have the right-of-way. People who live in the suburbs and work or study in the city might keep a bicycle at the train station at each end.