Both inside and outside the restaurant were works by local artist Keld Moseholm at varying scales. This one was my favorite:
We had one last thing to do before leaving for the airport: buy diapers. We wanted to have enough on hand to cover our upcoming flights, and felt that the half-dozen or so might not cut it, so out I went, while Tessie's Mom did the last of the packing.
Tessie wears a size-4 diaper, and I must have visited at least half a dozen stores, from corner markets (sample dialog - Me: "I'm sorry, I don't speak Danish..." South-Asian immigrant store clerk: "That's O.K.; neither do I.") to the big Danish grocery chains REMA 1000 and Super Best. I walked for miles (really!), finding plenty of sizes 3 & 5, but not a single size 4.
My perambulations, stressful and unproductive as they were, still gave me an opportunity to wander the city and take in the sights one last time. I really learned to like Copenhagen in the short time we were there. It's a well-organized city with a vibrant core, highly efficient public transit, beautiful architecture, friendly people... there's a whole lot to like, just no size 4 diapers. That, and it's as expensive as all get-out.
I did get to see a few more unique sights while walking, like a Porsche 928 converted into a pick-up truck, and this sign over the Rådhuspladsen, which seems to be Tessie's personal motto:
For diapers, I had to hit my last resort: 7-11. 18 DKk for three - that's over a buck each! Not for nothing does Copenhagen place seventh on Forbes' list of the "World's Most Expensive Cities." Necessities acquired, I hurried back to the hotel, and we hit the streets for our short walk to the train station.
We boarded our train for the short ride to the airport, then had plenty of time to kill after checking in. Luckily, there was an O'Leary's Bar in the airport, and even more luckily, there was an open table. O'Leary's is - of all things - a Swedish chain of bars emulating Boston sports bars. Needless to say, I felt right at home amid the Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins and Patriots memorabilia lining the walls. I took Tessie to a wall of Red Sox photos, and we named all the greats: Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, Fred Lynn, and that steroid freak from a few years ago. Tessie recognized Wally the Green Monster without any prompting.
So that was it. Our time in Copenhagen was done, and we were ready to go home. We boarded our plane for the long, long, looong trip back. Leg #9: Copenhagen to Seattle. Yikes, this is a long flight. Tessie hadn't had much opportunity to tire herself out that day, so by the time we got strapped in she was raring to go, and totally unwilling to sit still. We had three seats in a row this time, so she was between us, and we tried to take turns entertaining her. All she seemed interested in, though, was running loose in the cabin, and we couldn't allow that, of course.
We walked up and down the aisles a few times, and hung out in the galley at the rear of the plane, trying to stay out of the way of the flight crew. I noticed a sleeping bag back there just like the one Tessie had been offered on the flight out; this time, it was being used to keep bread warm. [Airline: SAS. Freebie: a rattle and a (mercifully small) stuffed tiger.]
Leg #10: Seattle to Los Angeles. Finally, the home stretch. I think by this point we were so tired we are completely unable to remember any details of the flight, other than that Tessie slept through it. [Airline: Alaska. Freebie: none.]
We landed, collected our luggage and our car, and drove home to find everything as we left it, which is, of course, the best way to end any trip.
Tessie still talks about her cousins and wants to visit them again, and she asks to see the videos from the trip almost every day. She understands that Slovakia is far away: "It's too far to walk - we have to go on an airplane!" she says, and it helps that when she asks "What [are] Andrejka and Zuzka doing?" we can honestly answer that they are probably sleeping.
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