The Day I Fell into Copenhagen Harbor
What follows is a tongue in cheek narrative. Yes, I did fall into the harbor. But, aside from my glasses and some pride, nothing was lost. I suffered only a few scrapes. Feel free to laugh at my foolishness. I know I am.
On Friday, July 25, that ill fated day, Gail and I decided to book a harbor cruise through GoBoat. We liked the company because it offered small boat cruises. (The picture below is not one we took, but one from their promotional material, just so you know what their boats look like.)
Here Gail and I are sitting in the GoBoat, unsuspecting of the fate that will befall us in the next hour.
Six passengers (Gail, me, a French couple, a Danish mom and her 3 year old daughter) set sail that day on a one hour tour, a one hour tour.
Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge, cause we’re comin’ to a town.
The red boat on the left and the boat a little further on used to be lighthouse boats. They warned of impending danger. We should have listened.
The National Museum
Christenborg palace
The statue in front of Christenborg palace, Bishop Absalon
The Danish Parliament
Gammel Dok, warehouse in Copenhagen
Kayaks
Apartment building
A party ship that rich people can rent, usually not in port
The king’s yacht, usually not in port
Circle Bridge, usually not open.
Could there be a fourth? Passengers usually don’t fall in the harbor. Hmmmm…
Amalienborg palace is the main residence of the Danish Royal Family.
The opera house. Looks a lot like the opera house in Oslo.
Bird sculptures
You can take the yellow ferry using your bus / metro transit pass
Paper island
Lego guy’s got a gun
Church of Our Savior
The Black Diamond (Den Sorte Diamant) is a modern waterfront extension to the Royal Danish Library. Its quasi-official nickname is a reference to its polished black granite cladding and irregular angles.
Danish Architecture Center
OK, we’re almost back. This weird sculpture is Gail’s last photo prior to our disembarking.
So we’ve come to the moment of truth. And there’s no video or photographic evidence of the catastrophe. We just have a story, a story that will, no doubt, change with time, but this is our recollection of the event some 9 hours later. Our guide pulls the GoBoat into dock. Not the dock we departed from, but from a dock where they can plug the boat in to recharge. Everyone else exits through the side, except for Gail and me. We try, but can’t get our legs over the side. Our guide tells us it might be easier to go out over the front of the boat.
So I go to the front of the boat. It is easier to step up. I should have, of course, waited for the guide, but I jump out, right before I realize the dock is very narrow at this point. I lose my balance and … splash … right into the sea. Down I go. No problem. As soon as my momentum stops I swim up to the surface. But I’ve lost my glasses, never to be seen again. As I surface, our guide and another guide grab me. I hold onto the pier while one guide runs to get a ladder. Eventually, I emerge from the water.
Due to my pickpocket proof pants, my phone survived, my wallet is only a bit damp, the Airbnb keys are safe. I dried off, changed out of my shirt, and they gave me a new one … no charge. (Well, except for falling into the harbor. )
The picture below makes my injuries seem worse than they were. The bandage at the bottom is a result of my shoe rubbing against my foot, and not of the current situation.
One last comment before I finish for the day. Remember that mother of the 3 year old girl? She stayed around until I was ready to go, to see if we needed any help. This was at least 15 minutes, maybe even a half hour. And she stayed, with a grumpy 3 year old. To see if she could help … me, a stranger.
There is a lot of darkness in the world, a lot of greed, a lot of apathy. But there is light in the world too. There is hope for humanity. That woman is proof of it.
