Biking for free in Denmark
By David G. Molyneaux, editor, The Travel Mavens
Our athletic tour in this wonderful city was free, as my wife and I pedaled around town on bicycles. A program called City Bikes requires you to feed a meter the equivalent of about $3 to unlock a bicycle. When you place it back in the rack after your ride, you get your $3 back. Wheeling about town made us feel closer to the community.
Because our ship stayed in Copenhagen overnight -- on a Friday -- we also had researched the possibility of attending Jewish Sabbath services on Saturday at Copenhagen's magnificent old synagogue in the heart of town.
Yes, we learned, visitors are welcome, but only during services, which, in the Orthodox tradition, separate men and women.
So I sat downstairs, my wife upstairs, among the Jews of Denmark. We joined the congregation outside after the service for the traditional Sabbath wine blessing (with wine) and light snacks. We were received warmly by the local folks, who told us that their Jewish life in Copenhagen dates back to the 1600s. Many local Jews were saved during the German occupation in World War II by Danes who hid them from the Nazis.
The Danish Tourist Board provided information on Copenhagen.
Comments