European Invasion

Stuck in Sweden - July 9th

2006-07-09T03:04:00.000-07:00

Two very sad and tired eurogirls

Back to Copenhagen - July 7th

2006-07-07T14:16:00.000-07:00

Two sluggish eurogirls wake up to pack and head to the aiport and back to Copenhagen. An uneventful flight leads to waiting in the airport for an hour for their luggage. Got to the Palace Hotel and their old favorite Hans Chrisitian Andreson suite (which looks even worse after 2 weeks of posh hotels). It is a pretty hot day in Copenhagen as the girls walk to Vesterbro convinced that they must have missed something the last time they were in this town. Vesterbro is definitely less touristy than the other areas the girls have visited. They have dinner at La La, a Vietnamese restuarant that serves very juicy and flavorful grilled chicke with noodles and rice. After dessert of banana cake with sticky rice and coconut milk, the girls walk around the rest of this area.

At about 9pm, it is still very light out and the girls feel lame going back to the hotel. But it has been a long day and as the trip nears its end, the girls are a little weary. (can't wait to get home to see everyone!!)

Buda Hills 90210 - July 6th

2006-07-07T14:03:00.000-07:00

Melissa and Cassie start the morning with early spa appointments. After, they walk down Vaci street, which is supposedly one of the best shopping streets in Budapest. Qucik lunch at outdoor cafe. Next they walk across the famous Chain Bridge to Buda - the hilly castle district. The girls take the funicular up the hill to the Royal Palace, which is now used as a National Gallery. They walk past Sandor Palace, the current home of the president, and right into a Hungarian tourist trap where they pick up tradional garb. the girls continue walking and come across Matyas Church and the beautiful Fisherman's Bastion. This is a serie of turets right on the river that provide great picture taking and views across the river to Pest.

The girls make their way back down the hill and on to the hotel. They've been invited to a BBQ by some of Sean's friends so they pick up a bottle of wine and head to Sean's apartment for a quick drink before heading to Buda Hills. Sean's apartment is right on the water and has great views of Buda and the Cave Church that has been built right into the mountain. After downing the bottle of wine, the three get in a cab and head across the river and up into the hills to the BBQ.

The BBQ is hosted by Josie (texan) and Paul (Canadian) that have started a Stag party tour company (for those of you planning upcoming bachelor parties, you may want to check out www.budapestweekends.co.uk) Dinner is amazing and features grilled salmon, sauteed potatoes and onions, huge salad and homemade peach pie for dessert. The girls hang out at the house for a while with their new and very hospitable friends and then head to a beer garden/club on Margaret Island to meet up with Misi, Mike and Anthony. Margaret Island is in the middle of the Danube River and is a large green area that apparently is home to several outdoor nightspots as well as several parks and tourist attractions. The club is kind of a blur (good thing we took pictures!!) though they do remember watching kids play professional-style fusball (sp?) until very late at night.

Budapest: Hungarian Baths - July 5th

2006-07-07T13:46:00.000-07:00

Melissa and Cassie sleep in late but finally wake up to walk around the Parliament area of Budapest. They check out St. Stephen's Basilica. The basilica is huge and ornately decorated and contains the mummified hand (don't ask, the girls never figured it out) of St. Stephen. Next the girls have lunch in liberty square near the American Embassy. After a quick bite, they head to the Hungarian Parliament. This is a huge gothic building right on the Danube River. There are great views across the river to Buda and the girls decide it looks similar to Prague.

The girls head back to the hotel to change and make their way to the Szechenyi baths (everyone told them to check out the baths). After 1 misdirected ride on the subway (where the girls end up stuck in a train the has pulled into its last station and beyond the area where passengers can get off), the girls make it to the baths. There are lots of outdoor pools, some with jets, some that are round and if you let the jets carry you, you travel in a circle (think conga line, in water, with about 40 other tourists). Inside there are even more smaller pools that each have different temperature thermal water treatments. The girls hopped from pool to pool (again with several of your new closest friends) but found the "classic Hungarian bathing experience" a little weird...very weird.

After making it back to the hotel the girls go to dinner on Andressy street (one of the nicest in Budapest - think Park ave). Bravely ordered the tasting menu without even considering other options as it came highly recommended. Cute waiters (one that looked like Irish actor in Match Point). Dinner consists of Swordfish terrine (fish jello - never again), duck liver (that Cassie could harldy swallow), Cod fish with shredded snow peas (things are looking up), Lamb Shank (very delicious) and yummy homemade lemon and strawberry ice cream (are you guys noticing a trend here?). A very disgusting and over affectionate (the girls have noticed lots of PDA in Budapest) chase the girls out of the restaurant. They pop into cafes on their way home and catch glimpses of France and Portugal game. France wins with Zidane's penalty kick. The girls head to bed and make it an early night.

Budapest: Happy 4th of July - July 4th

2006-07-07T13:29:00.000-07:00

Melissa and Cassie wake up at 4AM to head to the airport and on to Budapest. Somehow ended up on flight with about 30 American high school students who were suprisingly awake and chatty (girls vow first lesson to teach future children is respect your surroundings). When the girls arrive, they are approached in the airport by Istvan, a very friendly cab driver who says he is the best option for them to get to their hotel. Reluctantly (they have been warned about cab drivers) the girls accept his offer but make sure he has the requisite "taxi" sign on his car.

The girls make it safely to the Le Meredien in the middle of Pest (the newer, more active side of town). Very friendly hotel staff escort the girls to their room and showed girls around the beautiful hotel. The girls proceed to take very long naps before waking up to walk around and do a little shopping (somehow the best shops seem to be ones we have in the states). Later the girls return to the hotel and take a quick dip in the pool.

The girls are picked up by Sean, Canadian born ex-pat living in Budapest and acquaintance of one of Melissa and Cassie's friends back home. Sean takes the girls to an outdoor bar to meet up sith some of his friends and watch the Italy-Germany game. The bar is in an abandoned bank that has a large courtyard that has now been turned into a bar. The girls meet Sean's friends Misi, Neil, Mike, Richie, Paul, and Shen (mostly fellow ex-pats from America, Canada and England). The entire game is scoreless until Melissa decides to get up to go to the bathroom. At which point, Italy manages to score 2 goals against Germany. Ballack et al will have to go for 3rd place on Saturday.

The hot dogs the girls ate during the game did not quite fill them up so Sean and Misi take them to a late-night Turkish restaurant for gyros. Next they all head to a very cool and dark beer garden for a few more beers. Later, drunk eurogirls share cab with Sean and Misi and get back to hotel (at least eurogirls didn't have to get up for work in the morning!).

Krakow: Salt Mines - July 3rd

2006-07-07T13:18:00.000-07:00

Melissa and Cassie take the minibus to the Wielczka Salt Mines. They walk down about 380 to get to the caverns and chambers below. It is very cold, at only about 14 C (you westerners will have to do the math) and there are a lot of stalactites and stalagmites. The salt mines have turned somewhat into a tourist traps, though they were used for mining since the Middle Ages. Now not functioning, they spent years further carving out the mines, creating new chambers and man-made lakes and filling them with statues and figures (carved out of salt rock) that explain the history of the mines. There is even a large cavern that is a chapel (more like a cross between a church and a ballroom) with several chandeliers and even a copy of the Last Supper carved into the wall. The girls were eager to get out as it starts to feel a little clautrophobic - thank goodness there is an elevator to take you to the top.

The girls head back to town and to their long awaited pedicure and massage appointments. After a quick rest, the girls are able to peel themselves out of bed to go back to the main Market Square for dinner. The hunt for more pierogies is fruitless as the restauraunt they choose has just run out. Ice cream after dinner (very odd flavors) makes up for it.

Krakow: Wawel Castle - July 2nd

2006-07-06T01:39:00.000-07:00

Melissa and Cassie wake up and decide to check out the nearby Wawel Castle. The castle is huge and is set up on a hill on the banks of the river. You can walk around the grounds but in order to check out the interior, you have to buy individual tickets based on the number of exhibitions you want to see. The girls decide to check out the Royal Gardens and the Private apartments. The Royal "Gardens" are somewhat of a sham. There is a small area outside the castle with a few flower boxes filled with flowers typical of the time the castle was in use. There is also a big weed patch that they built when finding old documents describing an area filled with grasses and wood bench. Melissa and Cassie speculated that paying for a tour of weeds would not go over so well in America.

They girls have a break before the next tour and hang out in the main square of the castle. They witness two separate bridal parties come in to have pictures taken. The pictures are very odd, all with tourists in the background (hopefully they will air brush out Cassie and Melissa), one with the bride putting the veil over she and the groom and making out. Some tourists even run up to the bride and groom and have their picture taken with them.

Finally the tour of the Private Apartments begins. They had been told that there were no more tickets left for the American guided tour and that there were only Polish guided tours left. Since the girls didn't want to come back another day, they went for the Polish tickets. At least they could get into the castle and take pictures, right? Its not like the garden tour was that interesting...So they begin the tour and soon find out that they are not able to take pictures. Cut to 1 hour later, the girls have walked through several rooms in the castle with very little furniture and having no idea what was said about any of it.

After leaving the castle, the girls walk to Kazimierz, an old Jewish neighborhood in Krakow. They break for lunch in a cute cafe in a courtyard and enjoy the mellow sounds of Bob Marley. Next they tour the New cemetery, which is actually very old, but newer than the original cemetery that had to be closed due to hygienic reasons. The cemetery is densely packed with tombs, some of which are in ruins, and tall trees shading the area. They walk around the rest of Kazimierz seeing several of the large cathedrals in the area and then have dinner outside in the main square. Yummy steak and potatoes w/ Bernaise and halibut with Hollandaise make it very easy to head home and go to bed.

What is Black Pudding anyway? - July 1

2006-07-02T13:58:00.000-07:00

Melissa and Cassie awoke early in Prague to head out for the airport and on to Krakow. Two flights and two ill-planned airports later (um, know we know why Poland has its reputation) the girls arrive at the Sheraton in Krakow. The hotel is beautiful, right on the river and directly across from Wawel castle. They have no tour books and very little to go on in this city.

They head out from their hotel to the main market square, which is very similar to Prague's and actually the largest square in Europe. It appears that the rumors they have been hearing are true, the Polish are very attractive and much more concerned with fashion then other Europeans they have encountered. The girls find a cute restaurant for dinner and order traditional Pierogies to start. They then share a meal featuring several different types of meat prepared in traditional Polish style. There is pork, chicken, beef, spare ribs and the questionable black pudding. Both girls have heard about black pudding, but are not quite sure what it is. They do not ask the waiter as he does not speak English too well so they would probably not get the answer they were looking for. Melissa tries it, but Cassie only gingerly pushes it around her plate as to appear to have tried it. (Later internet research makes Cassie very happy with this decision.)

The girls catch the end of Portugal beating England (as the first in a line of about 25 outside the doorway of a packed Irish pub) in penalty kicks (Becks just couldn't pull it through in the end). After ice cream, the girls find a cute underground bar to watch Brazil vs France. Again meet a group of Brits in town for a stag party who were conviced the girls were only a mere 23 years old. (The girls determined this was less a compliment and more a testament to their lack of personal refinement recently and promptly made appointments at the spa that night.) The men seemed more interested in discussing whether the girls liked Bush and Daytona Beach, Florida than watching the game. By distracting them from talking by joining them in a few games of darts, the girls were able to see France beat Brazil (Melissa 4, Cassie 1 - this is not looking good). Despite requests to join them in a strip club, the girls politley declined. The glass knocked over by the sloppier drunk of the three and smashing to the floor sealed the decision and the girls headed home.

"You give me the horn baby, yeah" - June 30th

2006-07-02T13:34:00.000-07:00

Its a rainy day in Prague, but Melissa and Cassie wake up and take the tram to "New" Town. They first pass through Karlovo Namesti (or the town square). To escape the rain, the girls duck into a crepe restaurant for a little lunch. One rude wiatress later, they make their way north and enjoy the sights. The architecture in the part of town is not nearly as beautiful as that near the castle.

They walk through Wenceslas Square with the National Museum at one end and continue to head north. After getting a little disorienterd, they find their way back to the middle of town and stumble on an outdoor market. There are several stands selling souvenirs, produce and artwork. Melissa and Cassie each purchase pieces of art depicting scenes in Prague.

Finally the girls reach the old town square and the beautiful Our Lady before Tyne gothic church. There is also an Astronomical church in the square that tells the time and the relationship of the planets. When the clock strikes each hour, statues of the Apostles come out and dance (or so we are told since we didn't stick around long enough).

Its game time, so the girls enter the first bar they find with a tv playing Germany vs Argentina (there is a huge screen tv in the square, but it has suddenly gotten a lot colder). At the bar the girls are countinuously iterrupted by an Englishman that proposes marriage to Cassie and tells Melissa that her American accenet, "gives him the horn" (what???). The girls are able to push him off long enough to see Germany win, but the night is not over as somehow the Englishman, Eric, and two Mexican men he has met, join in a round of "New York, New York" to serenade the girls.

Somehow able to escape, the girls go to the Irish bar next door to for dinner and to watch the second game. Unfortunately, the girls continue to be interrupted (since when are men less interested in watching sports?) by a group of 40 yr old Brits in town for a stag party. One of them is conned into buying the girls roses by a pushy Czech woman. After Italy beats Ukraine (we know its not your fault Shevchencko) the girls head for home.

Views from Above - June 29th

2006-07-02T13:32:00.000-07:00

The next day the girls head out to sight see in the area of Hradcany. The first stop is the Royal Gardens around the Prague castle. The gardens are simple and don't take long to tour. Before entering the castle, however, the girls spot an area with several falcons, eagles and owls tied to leashes in a grassy area of the garden. Their are bird handlers with leather gloves holding two of the owls. The girls hear about the type of birds and their special characteristics. They even get a chance to hold and pet an owl. (It was never quite explained why the birds were there other than to solicit donations to prevent extinction).

So the girls enter the castle, guarded by young czech men in intimidating baby blue uniforms. The castle is huge and contains the beautiful St. Vitus cathedral in the center. They walk around the castle grounds and eventually out to the garden wall on the south side. From this side of the castle you get amazing views of Prague, including the Charles Bridge and Loreto Palace. So far Prague is the most beautiful city the girls have visted. It is very compact, but the architecture is beautiful and looking down from the castle you see red-tiled roofs and green patina-ed domes.

From the castle the girls head through Mala Strana (part of town south of the castle). They pass by St. Nicolas Church and the small island Kampa that runs along side the river under the bridge. The bridge is covered in artists (due to the amazing views that can be capture by looking back up to the castle or down the Vltava River) selling their paintings and kinck-knacks. After crossing to the other side (to Old Town), the girls make a pit stop at a cafe along the river and enjoy an ice cream sundae.

Later that evening, the girls head to their new hotel, the Hilton in the Eastern part of the city (ingeniously equipped with an ashtry in the bathroom). They have authentic Czech dinner and beer in Old Town (380 krown, or about $17) and more drinks at a Mexican bar La Casa Blu.

Hard Candy? - June 28th

2006-07-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

For their last day in Berlin, Melissa and Cassie decide to take it easy before the long train ride to Prague and relax at the cafe in front of their hotel. They pick up food for the trip and head to the train station. The train is leaving from the brand new Hauptbahnhof station. They board the train and head for Prague. It is a fairly long train ride but they have great views of other cities in Germany, including Dresden, and entering the Czech Republic. As the girls pass by Dresden, they get a view of the Castle and opera house . They learn from their train companions that there is conflict in Dresden over whether to recontruct buildings that were damaged during WWII or to leave them as a reminder of the atrocities of war.

While on the train, the girls decide to make this whole World Cup thing a little more interesting and each fill out a bracket for the remaining games - although the stakes are still not quite set (maybe there are suggestions from our readers???)

Finally, the girls arrive in Prague and try to make their way to their hotel, which appears to be in Hradcany (reminds the girls of hard candy, but actually pronounced much differently). The train station in Prague is the most shady they have encountered yet, and rumors of being ripped off by cab drivers only add to their anxiety. They take a cab, pre-arranged by the tourist center, and arrive at the Crowne Plaza hotel. It is late in the day and the girls are hungry, so they ask for suggestions for dinner. Apparenly almost every kitchen is closed by 10pm, so they end up at the Restaurant Internatiounale. They are brought a menu about the size of a New York Phone book and begin to flip through. Not only is the menu bilingual (czech and english) but it features a color phot of every meal that they serve. (Wish we had taken a picture of this but did not want to seem rude!) There are a range of dishes, from chinese to czech. The girls err on the safe side and order salad and potatoes and a couple of beers (grand total 257 krown, or about $13).

Fanfest 2006 - Tuesday, June 27th

2006-06-27T17:22:00.000-07:00

Today Melissa and Cassie explore the two unique sides of Berlin. Starting in the East, they head to the area of Scheunenviertel. This is a very hip part of town with lots of shops and outdoor cafes. On recommendation, they eat lunch of Vitnamese noodles and curry at Monssieur Vong. Then they tkes the S-bahn (the above ground metrotrain) to Savigny Platz. This area is a little more upscale and similar to small side streets in Paris. They shop around a little loading up on world cup fan gear and check out Europe's biggest department store - KaDeWe. From there, they plop down at an outdoor bar, with the remains of Kaiser Whilehlm Gedächtnis-Kirche (church destroyed during WWII and left unrestored) in the background, and watch Ghana lose to Brasil.

At night, Melissa and Cassie head to Fan Mile, a long strecth of road that runs through the middle of Berlin that has been closed off during the World Cup for one big party. There are several large screen TVs and beer and bratwurst stands that run along the sides of the street. It is truly an experience to see thousands of people from all over the world cheering for their country (or whomever's they may have adopted as their own that day). France happened to lose to Spain (Bye Bye Cesc!), but at least we'll get to hear the anouncers say Henry (ahn-REE!!!) and Makelele (just fun) when they play Brazil on Friday.

To top off the night, the girls head to the top of the Reichstag. The German Parliament house that allows vistors on its roof and inside the giant glass cupola. There are amazing views of the city, especially when all lit up at night, and you can even lay down and star gaze at the sky through the huge whole in the top of the glass sphere. Melissa and Cassie gaze for several minutes dreaming up ways in which they could buy real estate, get jobs and move to this amazing city that feels more and more like home.

Plaue is German for Penthouse... - Monday, June 26th (cont)

2006-06-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

...or suite or huge-ass hotel room bigger than any NY apt these girls have ever seen.

So the platinum status finally pulls through and Melissa and Cassie check into the biggest room on the top floor of the Westin Grand Berlin. The room has a foyer with a powder room (baby powder smell included), a sitting room, a study, bedroom with one über-comfy king-size bed and a bathroom with a jacuzzi big enough to swim in (don't think the girls didn't try!). Not to mention an amazing view of Unter den Linden - the main street running through the center of Berlin that is similar to the Champs Elysse (sp?) in Paris. Soon after checking in the girls are greeted with a chilled bottle of wine and a bowl of peanuts - what more could a eurogirl want?

After enjoying the Platinum amenities, the girls head out to do some sight seeing. First stop is the Gendarmenmarket. This is sort of a market square similar to and Italian piazza that was built in the 17th century and is one of the most beautiful squares in the city. In the middle of the square is the Schauspielhaus Konzerthaus (theatre) which is flanked by almost identical cathedrals - Französischer (funny symbols made easier by this tricked out keyboard) Dom and the Deutscher Dom for France and Germany, respectivelly. From thier they head to the Forum Fridericianum which is basically a beautiful historic area with great architecture that includes museums and Humboldt University. Within close view is Berliner Dom (largest and most ornate cathedral in Berlin. Berliner Dom is located on Museuminsel (museum island). This really is an island where the Spree river splits and runs along each side of a piece of land that now holds several muesums and the cathedral.

On their way back to their hotel, Melissa and Cassie spot a collection of over a hundred life-size bear sculptures painted in various patterns. They discover that these are Buddy Bears - similar to the cows, elephants, donkeys, apples, etc. that have decorated the major cities in the US. These bears have each been designed and painted by artists from different countries around the world. The statues will be auctioned to raise money for schools in Africa.

They head back down Unter den Linden towards their hotel and visit the Brandanburger Tor, a large ornate gate, at the other end of the street. Next to the gate is the modern French Embassy and the elegant Hotel Adlon. Also at this end of the street is a huge inflatable soccer ball. This city is World Cup obsessed (even a spherical tower at the other end of the city is painted to look like a soccer ball) and the girls quickly catch the fever.

After a traditional dinner of Weiner Schnitzel (the girls decided it was something they had to try though not at all what they expected), Melissa and Cassie watch Ukraine beat Switzerland after two overtime rounds and a series of penalty kicks. So sorry Wicky!

See ya, Copenhagen! - Monday, June 26th

2006-06-27T16:49:00.000-07:00

For their last day in Copenhagen and the fine Palace Hotel, the Melissa and Cassie head to the Danish Design Museum. Thank goodness the ticket is free because several of the exhibits are under construction. There is an interesting 'store' that sold empty bottles with ironic labels like Anti-Overconsuption and Unconditional Love (again...pictures to follow)

A quick nap and then off to the airport and on their way to Berlin. While in the cab, the girls take a moment to reflect on the past few days most important lessons learned:

- 4 stars, apparently given very liberally in Denmark
- Scandinavia, not so Scandinavian
- All Danish words are no less than 16 letters long, 14 of which are consonants
- Do not get hair too close to the intake end of a european hair dryer
- The only thing Le Meridien about the Palace Hotel were the shampoo bottles
- Never wear a wrap shirt near an open flame of a Danish

Ok, so Copenhagen didn't leave so great an impression on the girls. Maybe it can redeem itself when they return in 2 weeks - all suggestions welcome!

Copenhagen Triangle? - Sunday, June 25th

2006-06-27T16:34:00.000-07:00

Melissa and Cassie awoke to a beautiful sunny day in Copenhagen. To begin they head to the Botanic Gardens in the nothern part of the city. Just outside the gardens is the Rosenborg Castle - one of about seven castles in the city. Danish royalty are apparently a fickle bunch as they would commission new castles to be built every few years. The Rosenborg Castle was used as a "summer getaway" at about a half a mile from the main Christianborg Castle.

Before entering the castle, Melissa realizes that she was now missing her phone. Speculations of early-onset dimentia, invisible theives rampant in Copenhagen or somehow they had entered a bermuda triangle-like vortex are swirling through the girls minds. They decide to through caution to the wind and sat down for a beer.

After touring the Rosenborg castle, the girls visit the Amelinborg Castle where the current royal family resides. Melissa and Cassie soon realze they know nothing of Danish royalty and head for the hotel. On the way, the girls stop off at Illums department store and pick up some food for dinner. Back at the hotel, Melissa's phone is found hiding out in the bathroom and shagworthy Beckham is seen scoring penalty kick against Ecuador to win the game. Go Becks!!

After a quick nap, Melissa and Cassie walk down to the river and have their romantic picnic dinner al fresco. Later they veture to a nearby bar (watch Portugal beat over-dramatic Holland) and Cassie manages to spill a beer on Melissa's purse. Three scoops of ice cream (no chocolate dip) later and all is forgiven.

Welcome to Copenhagen! - Saturday, June 24th

2006-06-26T04:40:00.000-07:00

After 9 hours, 4 meals, 3 in-flight movies and 2 connections.... Melissa and Cassie arrive in Copenhagen. They make their way to their hotel ("The Palace," as someone was witty enough to name it) located in what can only be described as the Times Square of Copenhagen. Lots of people, "billboards" on the buildings and a truck full of roudy futbol fans with face paint and costumes yelling and circling the area. The room is not yet ready, so the girls begin to explore the city by wandering down the nearby Stoegart, or pedestrian walkway. The street is very commercial and full of Shwarma/ice cream stands, cheap clothing stores and outdoor cafes. After a quick bite to eat the girls head back to the hotel to check-in.

"Congratulations....You've been upgraded!" The girls recieve this message on a note along with their room key - oh the perks of Platinum status. Excited about the prospect of staying in the best room in the Le Meridien, the girls enter the Hans Christian Anderson (local legend) Ambassador suite. Unfortunatley, Ambassador must not have the same connotation as in America. Though big, the room offers one lumpy, lopsided and springy bed, no A/C and windows that only open 3 inches. (Pictures to come)

Not staying too long in the room, the girls shower and get ready for dinner. They walk back down the Stoegart and decided to find a pub to watch the Sweden/Germany game. Go to Carlsberg (modestly coined "Probably the best beer in town") Bar and order a round. At this point the girls are approached by a group of locals that offer them Fisherman (a medicine tasting shot). Cut to guidebook: "Copenhagen is not a city where you need to watch your back (bag)." Wrong! No less than 4 hours after their arrival, the girls learned this is not sound advice. Not only do they steal, but you must definitely watch your back or they may untie your shirt! (Don't worry mom, all will be explained later.)

The girls brush off the experience and walk to dinner on the very cute Nyhavn canal - lined with multi-colored buildings and tons of outdoor cafes. They eat their meal at around 9 o'clock, which in Copenhagen looks more like 3 pm. This also makes it quite difficult to go to sleep as it did not get dark until about 1 am - at which point the girls were woken up by cheering world cup fans outside their window.