I am sitting in a first class carriage on a train that will take us from Copenhagen to Hamburg. We have been in Denmark for 6 days, they have been very busy
To begin with, we were supposed to arrive early Thursday morning but we missed a connecting flight, because we had the bare minimum transfer time. Between getting off the plane, through a large airport and security and passport control, it just wasn't enough. We rushed as much as we could and missed it by 2 minutes. So we got to Copenhagen later that morning but next thing to go wrong was my bag didn't arrive. The plane had been too heavy so some bags were left in Amsterdam. At least it wasn't in China! After all that, we didn't get to the city till after lunch and after our huge journey you know what we did first? We found a local pool and went for a swim and a steam. It was a great way to shake off the long-distance travel feeling.
Our first full day in Copenhagen was Friday and it was spent shopping. We had a suit and rings to buy, and I needed snap fasteners to finish my dress. Sewing projects always end up being last minute! I also was in general shopping mode and found a couple of great items. Copenhagen is expensive but I had looked up some good vintage secondhand shops in advance. One of my friends from Ireland met us in Copenhagen, so we had socialising to do too. That night we took it easy, and tried to catch up sleep, to be ready for our big day.
Now we've been planning this elopement since we decided to go to Europe last February, Denmark is one of the few places that foreigners can legally marry in Europe. Going to the USA would have been way easier but we really wanted to visit Europe. It's been pretty hard keeping the secret, hardly anyone knew. I made my dress, it is not perfect but only I see the faults. My something old is the clasp on the back, a gift from a friend, it had belonged to her grandmother. I borrowed a pretty hair clip from my sister, and my something blue was hidden under my dress ... And of course the shiny gold rings were brand new.
So on Saturday morning we got dressed up and took the subway to the city centre. We made our way to City Hall where we met our photographer, who Nathan found on Facebook. So there are real photos coming! I will hopefully have them in a few days. We were scheduled to get married at 10 and we were in tune but my friend was late - by about half an hour! Luckily, the celebrant didn't mind and let some other couples go before us instead. A lot of people were getting married at City Hall that day!
The ceremony was very simple, it was a civil marriage so no religious stuff, there was a celebrant and two official witnesses, all wearing robes and sashes. The room was sort of dim and the walls were covered in paintings - they gave us a book to tell us all about them. I hardly remember the words but my friend's partner recorded the whole thing, right up to the rings, so I'm looking forward to seeing that when I get it. The whole thing can't have taken more than 10 minutes, and then we were shaking hands with the celebrant and leaving. We went off and took photos around City Hall, and then it w time to go find some champagne.
It was so early and we had no reception to get to if course so we spent the rest of our wedding day at Tivoli, which is a garden and amusement Park right in the city centre, next to City Hall. We did all the rides in our wedding clothes and when we stopped for a drink we each stole our vessel as a memento of our special day. We tried a few of the games but didn't win me a giant teddy bear. I got a small dinosaur though. After that just Nathan and I went for a nice dinner, then it was finally time to get out of our wedding clothes, and until something a bit less dressy to hit the town in. There are no alcohol bans in European cities so we drank gin and tonics by a fountain in a city square, then went for cocktails. Then the grand finale - a fireworks display. We went back to Tivoli, where there are fireworks every Saturday this summer to celebrate their 175th year. What a lucky coincidence for us.
So that's it, the story of our secret elopement. Now we're married, which is a bit weird to say but I'm sure I'll get used to it. The next few days have flown by. We had bought these tourist cards that covered our transport and entry into attractions. So we had to get our money's worth of course. We have climbed towers, visited castles, gone to the zoo and tired carlsberg breweries. Press there was a canal tour of the city, which was really nice. We did a bit more shopping, souvenirs from Denmark include jewelry, books, china and art. I was reminded how badly a big city can smell especially after a Saturday night, and the water in Copenhagen is bad. It has so much calcium that it tastes soapy and made my hair gross. Plus I've had a crook stomach, I'm hoping it was because the water was so different to what I'm used to and that I'll get better now.
Now it's time to enjoy some scenery and find out how this first class thing works, because the Internet says we get drinks and snacks but the train lady thinks not. We'll see.
To begin with, we were supposed to arrive early Thursday morning but we missed a connecting flight, because we had the bare minimum transfer time. Between getting off the plane, through a large airport and security and passport control, it just wasn't enough. We rushed as much as we could and missed it by 2 minutes. So we got to Copenhagen later that morning but next thing to go wrong was my bag didn't arrive. The plane had been too heavy so some bags were left in Amsterdam. At least it wasn't in China! After all that, we didn't get to the city till after lunch and after our huge journey you know what we did first? We found a local pool and went for a swim and a steam. It was a great way to shake off the long-distance travel feeling.
Our first full day in Copenhagen was Friday and it was spent shopping. We had a suit and rings to buy, and I needed snap fasteners to finish my dress. Sewing projects always end up being last minute! I also was in general shopping mode and found a couple of great items. Copenhagen is expensive but I had looked up some good vintage secondhand shops in advance. One of my friends from Ireland met us in Copenhagen, so we had socialising to do too. That night we took it easy, and tried to catch up sleep, to be ready for our big day.
Now we've been planning this elopement since we decided to go to Europe last February, Denmark is one of the few places that foreigners can legally marry in Europe. Going to the USA would have been way easier but we really wanted to visit Europe. It's been pretty hard keeping the secret, hardly anyone knew. I made my dress, it is not perfect but only I see the faults. My something old is the clasp on the back, a gift from a friend, it had belonged to her grandmother. I borrowed a pretty hair clip from my sister, and my something blue was hidden under my dress ... And of course the shiny gold rings were brand new.
So on Saturday morning we got dressed up and took the subway to the city centre. We made our way to City Hall where we met our photographer, who Nathan found on Facebook. So there are real photos coming! I will hopefully have them in a few days. We were scheduled to get married at 10 and we were in tune but my friend was late - by about half an hour! Luckily, the celebrant didn't mind and let some other couples go before us instead. A lot of people were getting married at City Hall that day!
The ceremony was very simple, it was a civil marriage so no religious stuff, there was a celebrant and two official witnesses, all wearing robes and sashes. The room was sort of dim and the walls were covered in paintings - they gave us a book to tell us all about them. I hardly remember the words but my friend's partner recorded the whole thing, right up to the rings, so I'm looking forward to seeing that when I get it. The whole thing can't have taken more than 10 minutes, and then we were shaking hands with the celebrant and leaving. We went off and took photos around City Hall, and then it w time to go find some champagne.
It was so early and we had no reception to get to if course so we spent the rest of our wedding day at Tivoli, which is a garden and amusement Park right in the city centre, next to City Hall. We did all the rides in our wedding clothes and when we stopped for a drink we each stole our vessel as a memento of our special day. We tried a few of the games but didn't win me a giant teddy bear. I got a small dinosaur though. After that just Nathan and I went for a nice dinner, then it was finally time to get out of our wedding clothes, and until something a bit less dressy to hit the town in. There are no alcohol bans in European cities so we drank gin and tonics by a fountain in a city square, then went for cocktails. Then the grand finale - a fireworks display. We went back to Tivoli, where there are fireworks every Saturday this summer to celebrate their 175th year. What a lucky coincidence for us.
So that's it, the story of our secret elopement. Now we're married, which is a bit weird to say but I'm sure I'll get used to it. The next few days have flown by. We had bought these tourist cards that covered our transport and entry into attractions. So we had to get our money's worth of course. We have climbed towers, visited castles, gone to the zoo and tired carlsberg breweries. Press there was a canal tour of the city, which was really nice. We did a bit more shopping, souvenirs from Denmark include jewelry, books, china and art. I was reminded how badly a big city can smell especially after a Saturday night, and the water in Copenhagen is bad. It has so much calcium that it tastes soapy and made my hair gross. Plus I've had a crook stomach, I'm hoping it was because the water was so different to what I'm used to and that I'll get better now.
Now it's time to enjoy some scenery and find out how this first class thing works, because the Internet says we get drinks and snacks but the train lady thinks not. We'll see.
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