To Copenhagen

Security is a pain. It is not because you have to line up for ages, have your bags x-rayed and then given a ‘pat down’ by some random member of staff. It is because of the rude and ignorant staff. Now, another security measure is that you can liquids of up to 100 mL on as hand luggage. This liquid for some reason must be stored in a clear plastic bag. Why? How does the clear plastic bag help security? How does putting your liquid in a plastic bag make the flight safer? I don’t get it. I don’t’ think the person who came up with the idea even thought it through! I had a tube of toothpaste. One tube. Purchased a matter of hours ago. This had to be put in a plastic bag to be x-rayed. Outside the bag it was a security threat. Inside it was safe. What is worse is that I had to pay £1 to purchase a bag! If something is a security threat and you want to make people believe it, then you don’t make they pay for a bag for one tube of toothpaste. Then it just looks like a money making scheme. What is worse is that the rude lady security guard, on an obvious power trip, could not tell me how putting my toothpaste in a plastic bag makes it safer than not having the plastic bag. 48p for a tube of toothpaste which ended up costing me double that to take it on the plane. That is why I hate security. I can see where the idea comes from and I understand. But doing things like that is just dopey as it takes away all the credibility of the policy. I can fully understand why people get annoyed with these dickheads who force you to follow these pointless rules. The worse thing is that they don’t even bother to find out why they are being told to enforce it. It shows that there is something seriously wrong with the security systems and agencies in this country.

Anyway, rant over. I boarded my flight after telling the security guard what I thought of their rules, only leaving when I saw her colleagues starting eye me suspiciously. The flight was uneventful and I arrived at the airport and, after a quick consult of my iphone map, I walked to my hotel. This was the first ‘day’ of the tour. I walked into the hotel lobby and tried to check into my room. Apparently they only have one key for each room and my roommate was already up there. I wandered up as the lady at reception phoned up to let my roommate know that I was coming up.

When I knocked on the door my roommate opened it. I’m not sure if he expected me. He said that he had received the phone call but, as he answered the door in his underpants, I don’t know… I found out quickly though that he was a bogan, and that explained everything. I guess the main hint was that he introduced himself to me saying, and I quote. “I fart and I snore”. He then proceeded to get undressed and change right in front of me while still talking and repacking his bag. This was a man that I hadn’t even met for two minutes and already he was making the single supplement of $1500 sound a very good idea. Still, I decided to make the best of it and just ignore the whole first impression. After meeting the rest of the group the next day, I couldn’t help thinking why the tour couple didn’t pair me with someone closer to my own age instead of the 50 year old light and curtain salesman that they did. After dumping my bags and freshening up I left the room and caught the train into the centre of Copenhagen. I’d arranged to meet Lewis, Naomi and Edie in the city. They were arriving around 2 pm and so I had a little time to see the sights. I wandered past the Royal Palaces, fortresses, harbours, monuments and lots of other sights that the city had to offer. While waiting I spent a bit of time by the fortress moat, watching the ducks swim by. It was quite relaxing. As the time to meet drew nearer I wandered back to the centre and found my way to the mall and to the prearranged meeting spot (with a lot of help from my iphone).

It was good to meet Lewis and Naomi. They came around the corner and seemed to appear out of the crowds pushing Edie in her stroller. I couldn’t believe how big Edie had grown. When I saw her just over a year before she was tiny. I could hold her in one arm then but now, it took two. She was smiling and happy. I’d like to think that it was to see me but probably just because she was in a new place and getting to go for a ride in her pram. After they checked into their hotel we wandered back into town and saw a few more of the sights. We went to check out the Little Mermaid statue and Nyman Harbour, both of which are very famous in the city. We ended up having dinner in a restaurant on one side of the harbour. It was a nice evening. I’d missed the first day of my tour but couldn’t be happier that I did.