Denmark - Day 15 - Denmark Part Deux

As I mentioned, all the shopping we did the day before inspired Ingrid and me to head back out to Copenhagen and get some more shopping done. So early in the morning, we geared up for a second visit to Copenhagen. Having just caught the same route there the day before, I knew to catch the #4 bus outside of Evelyn's place.



We were chatting most of the train ride there the day before, so I didn't get a chance to take some pictures of the beautiful scenery. This time, however, I made sure I captured a few shots. It's so green out there.



And so yellow out there.



There was one store we spent a majority of our time in. It was a home-furnishing place that had wonderful products, many of which were scandanavian in style.



I liked this cylindrical vase, but knew it would never survive the trip home.



For lunch, we had a romantic meal at a great little place Ingrid found. After that, we headed back out for more shopping.



All that shopping eventually caught up with Ingrid, who wanted to get a cup of tea to nurse her cold.



While Ingrid grabbed her tea, I grabbed a Carlsberg.



And then accidentally spilled half of it on myself.



And the nice people of Denmark replaced my spilled drink free of charge!... What wonderful people. Maybe I'll drink half of this one and spill it again. Hmmm...



I've mentioned before that when Ingrid and I travel, we love to eat good food and cherish every meal we eat, and after each meal, can't wait to get hungry and eat again. Well, I had been craving pizza the entire trip, and Ingrid had grown tired of hearing me talk about pizza. She agreed to sacrifice one of our meals so that I could have the pizza I wanted so badly. We stopped here and we stood at the counter and enjoyed what I recall being one of the tastiest pizzas ever. Mmmmm. Made my day.



We eventually finished our shopping and geared up for the long trek back to Evelyn's. Hey, Ingrid, stop monkeying around with your friend. We've got a train to catch.



Do you see those blue bags in the previous picture? Well we had four of them. And they were all filled with heavy items we bought that day. Now look at this picture. This is a picture of us the next morning at the start of our long journey home. We miraculously managed to stuff all of those items into our already overpacked luggage. Not sure how we would avoid paying fees at the airport, but Ingrid was confident.



It was time to say goodbye to Sweden. We had an awesome time there, but had to hurry to catch our train and flight back home.



It's been proven over and over again that Kevin, plus Ingrid, plus airline travel, equals ridiculous happenings. And there were two such happenings that day.

First, we arrive at the airport with what feels like three thousand pounds of luggage. Over the course of the trip, we accumulated various nicknacks, trinkets, clothes, household goods, including wine racks, magnetic knife holders and coat racks, and various other items, all of which were somehow stuffed into our luggage. Having experienced Ingrid's wrath after paying the luggage fee on our flight from Spain, I left the process entirely up to her, but I was totally skeptical. As we approach the lady who checks our bags, Ingrid and I are super-friendly with her as she processes our information. We're joking around with her, laughing and smiling the entire time. When it comes time for her to take our bags, we graciously hand them over. The bags were so heavy that she squinted a bit as she struggled to maneuver them. But in the process didn't utter a single word about a fee. "And that's how you do it!" Ingrid touted, as we laughed on our way to the gate. Sometimes, this woman amazes me.

Surprisingly, we arrive at the airport with time to spare so we immediately head to the duty-free area and have a look around. Then all of a sudden, I have this great idea that if I purchase some of the duty free alcohol, I could drink it on the plane without having to buy any from the airline. Great idea, or so I thought. I purchase a mid-sized bottle of vodka and go to the bathroom to empty it into an empty water bottle and put both in my luggage. Eventually the time comes to to board the plane and we head to the gate. Of course, just my luck they're conducting random baggage checks at the gate. I'd guess one in about every 10-15 people were being searched. And just my luck, I'm one of those who gets selected. They ask Ingrid to have a seat on the bench behind me as they search my luggage and stumble across the opened glass bottle of vodka. They tell me that since the seal has been broken, they're going to have to confiscate the bottle even though I have a receipt showing that I purchased it at the duty-free shop in the airport. Knowing I have my other "water" bottle in my bag, I quickly agree to giving up the glass bottle in the hopes that he'll stop searching and close up my bag. And sure enough, he does exactly that. As I stand there as he's zipping up my bags, I hear Ingrid behind me ask "Why are you taking that bottle if the other bottle is okay to bring on the plane?" I couldn't believe my ears. I slowly turned to look over my shoulder with the most angry look I could give her without letting the airline people know, and she immediately became quiet. Not realizing the inspector didn't see the other bottle, she was trying to make an argument that the bottle they had found should not be confiscated, and in the process, almost cost me my secret stash. As you can see in the picture above, I managed to smuggle the bottle on the plane despite my partner-in-crime nearly giving me up to the authorities.



That's right, lady... you better hide your face. We laughed so hard as we boarded the plane. What a great way to end a wonderful trip! Ingrid and I both know we'll be back in Europe soon. We love it there.