The Great Ocean Road

Winding around the bend we go sometimes fast sometimes slow, but always with eyes open. Green with flowing water over smooth surface, ending in pools that spin and dance on a journey beyond any world I have ever known. Large you are, standing so important, but alas you will not always be there.  The mighty sea will always be and she slowly takes a little bit of you each and every moment. So stand and guard this coast for as long as you can for one day she will take all of you.

Into the rainforest

We drove over a winding two lane road with the sea on one side and a green, lush wall on the other side. Pulling over we started walking in this green, wet landscape.  Strange birds were singing and the water started to fall.   It was a drizzle and sometimes a soft mist that made the ground and plants glow with moisture.  Stepping in the soft, wetness. Leaves with drips like pearls reflecting the little sunlight that sometimes made its appearance.  I wanted to understand this wet world, so green and strange and it welcomed me with many wonderful sights around every corner.  The small red appeared so suddenly on its bed of brown and green. Its hidden world reveled only by a chance encounter.

Australia a far, far land of wonder

The adventure this time takes me across the mighty Pacific, and almost all the way around the globe.  Flying from Tucson, to LA was the easy part, just under an hour. The next leg of the journey from Los Angeles to Melbourne Australia took over 15 hours.  The pacific Ocean, with its  giant mass of water that covers our planet and separates humans with such a vast amount of space, it is indeed a mysterious wonder.  I arrived in a state of confusion. Day was night, I was ready to sleep but I forced myself to stay up and face the day, as it was day in Australia!   Great people whom I knew back in Tucson, Aussies and ready to help me discover the land down under.  A wonderful bar, a fantastic visit to a nature park that is also a preserve for animals was in store for me.  A muddy looking river runs through the mega skyscraper city of Melbourne that creates a green band that snakes back and forth, creating a park like setting.

How to ride a bike in Copenhagen.

The wide bike lanes make it such a wonderful place to explore on bike. Just make sure you know what you are doing.  Just a few times around the block, so to speak, and you can be on your way to biking with confidence. The traffic of cars and other bikes know that you must move with out hesitation, using your hand signals to make sure everyone is aware of what you are going to do. Slower bikes stay right, and passing becomes easy.  So go and explore Copenhagen, it's a fun, beautiful, ride on bike.

The Copenhagen food!

All of these dishes have one thing in common, some sort of fish. Raw or cooked, lots of greens and they tasted wonderful. Yes, me the desert person tried pickled haring. It was fantastic, just a touch of fish flavor, but lots of vinegar fresh greens and herbs. Lots of dark brown bread, pickled vegetables, fresh ones, smoked salmon, and cheese.

Copenhagen the adventure continues.

Copenhagen is a true wonder of both architecture, art museums, and beautiful parks.  The top pic was at The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Here one finds famous Danish painters as well as the likes of Warhol, and Calder to name just a few. The middle picture is at one of the many parks in the city. The bottom picture is a vast collection of both South American, Mexican, and early Native North American pottery that was collected by a Danish man, and left to this museum after he passed on.  We walked from one stunning work of art to the other. The landscape with it's huge monumental Calder, Henry More and other works of art were presented on lush green lawns overlooking the sea. It was truly a site to take your breath away. The very top pic was the boat house that the king used at his palace in Frederiksborg. The castle was closed, so I went on a long, wide path with lush green trees on either side. As I came down to the lake, a small boat house was seen with a very beautiful lake and coffee house. I sat for a while, looking at the sparking reflection of the water. The boat, rocking gently on the small waves. It was truly a wonderful place to be, and I had the whole place to myself.

Copenhagen

Traveling around Copenhagen it is all about water. After a fantastic day with Niels, I was on my own with a bike.  Yes navigating the streets with so many other bikes was at first a challenge. I pushed off from the curb, looking in all directions, and just seemed to join the steady stream that flowed like a river of metal, rubber, and flesh. Sometimes I was good, but sometimes I had a few near misses. The cyclists could move, change direction, and even the cars seemed to know what they were going to do, it was amazing. All the  green parks in Copenhagen  run like a ribbon throughout the city, and you eventually end up at the water, or some amazing architectural wonder, like the "black diamond" above.  The famous Nyhavn is the shot above with me and Niels.  The wonderful colored buildings used to be the hangout of sailors and prostitutes and the raunchy side of town. It is now very commercial has expensive shops and too many tourists and bad tourist eating establishments. Even with this seemingly bad review, I would highly recommend a visit, it just feels very Copenhagen.