Follow that band!

Sunday 22^nd September.

Linda said last night “what do you want to do tomorrow?” “Sleep in” we say!! No rush to get anywhere or do anything. By the time we get going, we might just make the Changing of the Guard Ceremony at Amalienborg Palace. I’m not sure of the orientation of the Palace or where the event takes place, so we just head in the general direction when we get off the train. Lo and behold, we hear the sound of a marching band so let our ears lead us.

We are ahead of them and thankfully, due to their pace, we can stay in front and snap away. Only problem is, we have to wait at each potential turn just in case we go the wrong way. We reach the Palace ahead of them and there’s already a reasonable crowd assembled. Not much time to stake a claim, so we jump in close to where we entered and it turns out to be the best spot. The band and the New Guard march in and the Ceremony begins under the watchful eyes of the police who maintain ‘crowd’ control.

There’s no cordons, the crowd only has to toe the cobblestone line on the ground. All very civilised, I must say. There’s marching, heel clicking and orders barked, the main body of the guard is changed and the band forms a semi-circle and belts out a few more tunes. At the end of each one, the crowd applauds and the band leader turns on his heels and salutes the crowd, like a little tin soldier. The crowd quickly clears, only the really curious remain because there are still two groups of guards standing to attention in the courtyard. We realise that now, each individual guard station must be changed, so take up another position to get a good view.

Love a good bit of pomp and circumstance! We look towards the Palace where Crown Prince Frederick and Princess Mary reside and I see someone pass the window. It’s Princess Mary for sure!! Don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story!

The Marble Church is close by so we wander over, but being Sunday, it’s closed to sightseeing. Maybe we’ll get back before we go. The worms are biting, so it’s picnic time, sandwiches in the King’s Garden. This garden is worth spending a bit of time in so we wander around for a while then go back to the David Collection to see what we missed the other day. And buy a poster. There is so much to this Collection, it takes us a couple of hours to get around.

The majority of the Islamic Collection is on the upper 2 floors and the signs are in Danish, so an English language guide is provided on a tablet, also free of charge. This place just gets better and better! Everywhere you see a black and white bullseye you hold the tablet over it, and all the relevant information appears. Very, very clever.

Much to-ing and fro-ing went in to the decision over which poster to purchase, finally, decision made and time to head home, via the supermarket to buy something for dinner. The cost of living here is very high, but you just have to suck it up. Apparently Norway is worse, look out next week! Knowing what a reasonable price is for a cup of coffee is the best yardstick, even if it’s way more than you’d pay at home. It was overcast this morning and the wind has a definite nip to it, but it stayed fine until we were leaving the supermarket and by the time we were home just a short while it was raining. So much for old mate from Manchester’s weather forecast.

Plans for tomorrow call for a plan for if it’s a nice day, and a plan for if it’s not. Christianborg Palace is on the cards, even though the ruins of previous castles beneath the present castle are currently closed. That’s mostly an indoors day, and if it’s fine ?? who knows?? It’ll be a surprise!

P.S. The Rejsekort card for public transport may not be all that it’s cracked up to be. We could be stuck with cards that we can’t cash in when we’re done with them, costing us around $30 AU each. Sheeeeeeeetttttttt…………….