They waited for the Stettin boat and in the very early morning of the third day they landed in Copenhagen.  Two hours later they were in the Thorwaldsen Museum, and Effi said:  “Yes, Geert, this is beautiful and I am glad we set out for here.”  Soon thereafter they went to dinner and at the table made the acquaintance of a Jutland family, opposite them, whose daughter, Thora von Penz, was as pretty as a picture and attracted immediately the attention and admiration of both Innstetten and Effi.  Effi could not stop looking at her large blue eyes and flaxen blonde hair, and when they left the table an hour and a half later the Penz family, who unfortunately had to leave Copenhagen the same day, expressed the hope that they might have the privilege of entertaining the young Prussian couple in the near future at Aggerhuus Castle, some two miles from the Lym-Fiord.  The invitation was accepted by the Innstettens with little hesitation.

Thus passed the hours in the hotel.  But that was not yet enough of a good thing for this memorable day, which Effi enthusiastically declared ought to be a red-letter day in the calendar.  To fill her measure of happiness to the full the evening brought a performance at the Tivoli Theatre, an Italian pantomime, Arlequin and Columbine.  She was completely captivated by the little roguish tricks, and when they returned to their hotel late in the evening she said:  “Do you know, Geert, I now feel that I am gradually coming to again.  I will not even mention beautiful Thora, but when I consider that this morning Thorwaldsen and this evening Columbine—­”

“Whom at bottom you liked better than Thorwaldsen—­”

“To be frank, yes.  I have a natural appreciation of such things.  Our good Kessin was a misfortune for me.  Everything got on my nerves there.  Ruegen too, almost.  I suggest we stay here in Copenhagen a few days longer, including an excursion to Fredericksborg and Helsingor, of course, and then go over to Jutland.  I anticipate real pleasure from seeing beautiful Thora again, and if I were a man I should fall in love with her.”

Innstetten laughed.  “You don’t know what I am going to do.”

“I shouldn’t object.  That will create a rivalry and I shall show you that I still have my powers, too.”

“You don’t need to assure me of that.”

The journey was made according to this plan.  Over in Jutland they went up the Lym-Fiord as far as Aggerhuus Castle, where they spent three days with the Penz family, and then returned home, making many stops on the way, for sojourns of various lengths, in Viborg, Flensburg, Kiel, and Hamburg.  From Hamburg, which they liked uncommonly well, they did not go direct to Keith St. in Berlin, but first to Hohen-Cremmen, where they wished to enjoy a well-earned rest.  For Innstetten it meant but a few days, as his leave of absence expired, but Effi remained a week longer and declared her desire not to arrive at home till the 3d of October, their wedding anniversary.