Well - that was the plan: both mine and Deutsche Bahn's. However, best-laid plans and all that ..
We got to Hamburg OK, but ran into trouble there - the train broke; or to be more accurate, the train wouldn't break. You see, in Hamburg they split the train with one half going to Copenhagen and the other half heading somewhere else. However, when it came to decoupling the train halves, they couldn't, despite trying for around half an hour. Now, this is where having worked for a rail company helps my understanding - you might think that it's just a matter of physically unhooking the two halves - and you'd be half-right; the two halves (each with an engine) are normally connected wirelessly, so that they act in synch, so when that doesn't stop, the two are still connected, and as the master engine goes one way, the slave engine does the same thing - so we were stuck together.
After a half-hour of trying to sort it out, they announced (first in German, then in Danish, and finally in English) that it was a no-go, so we'd have to get on a train to Puttgarden, which we were told would leave in about 10 minutes from platform 8 - but on arriving at platform 8 there was no train, and were told that we had to go to platform 6 (where we'd just come from) - so we all dutifully went back and found the new (Regional - not Intercity Express) train.
On arrival in Puttgarden, we walked a couple of hundred metres to the ferry, which took us across the Ostsee to Rodbyhavn in Denmark, from where we boarded another train that delivered us to Copenhagen, finally at around 8:30pm. It all adds to the excitement really - and an added experience in foreign lands too!
So in the end, we actually did take a route almost directly north, but ironically in a somewhat more circuitous manner and taking an extra couple of hours. But I'm not complaining, as we got here, and my host was waiting for me - I texted him to let him know that we would be late, so he came home from a party to meet me, which was really good of him. The apartment is great - all Scandinavian design.
I have now reached the northernmost point of my trip through the European continent; when I head back to the UK I will end up slightly more northerly than here - dropping Kim off at Glasgow, which is about half a degree further north.
Originally a Viking fishing village founded in the 10th century, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the early 15th century, and during the 17th century, under the reign of Christian IV, it developed into an important regional centre.
Of course, most importantly, Copenhagen is home to Tasmanian-born Princess Mary, oh yes, and her husband the Crown Prince Frederik (which means he'll be King one day, and as a commoner-born, Mary will be Queen Consort).
Between the 8th and 11th centuries, the Danes were Vikings. Together with the Norwegians and Swedes, they colonised, raided and traded in all parts of Europe. Modern-day Danes pride themselves on their country’s welfare state with its widespread social protection for everyone.
Denmark is a constitutional monarchy, ruled today under the 1953 constitution. The single-chamber parliament or Folketing has 179 elected members. Among the best-known Danes are the writer Hans Christian Andersen, famous for his fairy tales, and the designer Arne Jacobsen
I am told that all of the locals speak impeccable English - which is a real bonus, as I don't think I could cope with the Danish language at all. On the flip-side, I had to change some money, as Denmark uses the Krone, not the Euro, although they are part of the European Union.
I have two full days here before heading back south, and east.