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Published: December 22nd 2007
Nyhavn
Just the standard Nyhavn photo.Our arrival to Copenhagen did not go over quite as smoothly as we had hoped. Once we arrived at the central train station, we headed to the tourist information center. Since we weren’t sure when we would leave Stockholm, we only had a hotel booked ahead of time for Thursday through Sunday. This meant that we’d have to find a hotel for Tuesday and Wednesday if we planned to stay in Copenhagen for the remainder of our vacation. Thankfully, for a small fee the tourist information office had the ability to book places to stay for travelers in need. Having arrived at 6:00pm, we were anxious to locate a room so we could drop off our bags and start exploring Copenhagen.
Problem was, there were basically no rooms to be had in Copenhagen. I was befuddled, how could a city as big as Copenhagen have no rooms available on a Tuesday night of all nights? Our search included hotels, hostels, and even private homes renting out rooms. Nothing. After a couple hours, the best we could do was book a room in a hotel up in Helsingor. Helsingor is about 30 miles
Kronborg Castle
Moat crossing into the courtyard. north of Copenhagen, about an hours train ride. That’s like staying in Leesburg, Virginia with the intention of spending your time in Washington, D.C. Madness! On the bright side, there was an old castle in Helsingor that both Tegan and I had interest in visiting, so we opted to book the room and make that our first destination for Wednesday morning. By 9:00pm we had finally arrived at our hotel after a long day of traveling. For the record, while the staff at Hamlet Hotel in Helsingor was very friendly, the room itself was a real craphole!
All through Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning the rain kept pouring down. There was a brief pause for about 30 minutes Wednesday morning where we quickly went up to see Kronborg castle, snapped a few pictures, and then barely made it back before the rain started up once again. It was a miserable start to our time in Denmark. Wednesday morning we discussed our options, and decided that a trip out to Aeroskobing might be a good idea given our lack of hotel accommodations in Copenhagen. Committed to the plan, we grabbed our tickets and started off on our journey to
Tivoli Gardens
Lit up at night. Aero Island.
I’ve setup a separate journal for Aeroskobing at http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Denmark/Aero/Aeroskobing/blog-84279.html
Refreshed from our time in Aeroskobing, we arrived back in Copenhagen at about 4:00pm on Thursday. Luckily this time through, the forecast for the upcoming days did not have a significant amount of rain in it. Things were definitely looking up for us. We quickly headed for Avenue Hotel to check in for the final stages of our vacation.
We would have likely preferred a hotel a bit closer to the city center then where Avenue Hotel was located. It got to be a tad tedious walking a few blocks to the closest metro stop. However, that was the only complaint we could really find with Avenue Hotel. The room was spacious, very clean, and the staff extremely helpful. Other amenities included free wireless internet, satellite TV, and an outdoor patio with numerous pillows for relaxing on. We both agreed that the hotel had exceeded our expectations.
Our first stop for Thursday evening was the world famous Tivoli Gardens. Situated in the heart of Copenhagen, it’s really very unique to have a large amusement park so integrated into the city nightlife. The park was very
Who Stole My Bike?
Why drinking and bike riding don't mix! alive with crowds of happily entertained visitors. We grabbed dinner at a steakhouse before spending an hour or so wandering around Tivoli grabbing sweets along the way. It was definitely the cleanest amusement park I had ever set foot in. A must see at night. The decorative lights really create a very unique visage as compared to the daytime.
From Tivoli Gardens we took a late night stroll down Copenhagen’s shopping corridor Stroget. Even at a late hour Stroget was bustling with crowds of visitors. Our stroll was often delayed as we stopped at various street performers still working for those last few Danish kroner. Stroget eventually ends at Kongens Nytorv, a popular square in Copenhagen. In the winter, rumor has it that the square is turned into a very busy ice rink. For now, there was an interesting animal photography display spread throughout the square. After reviewing many of the photographs, we continued on through Kongens Nytorv to the newly popular Nyhavn district. Once a sailor’s quarter, Nyhavn is a recently cleaned up stretch of cafes, restaurants, and bars alongside a canal that leads out into the harbor. Very picturesque, the photograph of the buildings along the canal
Gamla Stan
Close to where we took the canal tour. is certainly one of the more popular shots from any Copenhagen trip. For Thursday evening, Nyhavn was so populated with socialites that among the 20+ establishments with outdoor seating, an empty table was difficult to locate. Apparently we weren’t the only people looking forward to the positive change in weather for Thursday night. We eventually ended up back in Kongens Nytorv at a bar called Hviids. With a drink in hand, we grabbed a table outside for the remainder of Thursday evening.
Friday we decided that a daytime look at Nyhavn for lunch would be a great start to our day. Dining canal side, we snapped a few pictures before finishing lunch. From Nyhavn we were determined to visit the “free city” of Christiania. A separate society within Copenhagen, the small section of town is a popular tourist attraction. Strolling down the main dirt road called Pusher Street, the natives were happily out enjoying the day and selling their wares. I found the area to be slightly over hyped. While I appreciated the extreme contrast in lifestyle and the proudly displayed graffiti artwork everywhere, the area never really grabbed me. I suppose this is not a surprising revelation for
Now That's a Tour!!!
Tegan couldn't help but pose under this tour sign! Hmmmm. those people who know me well enough.
For dinner on Friday night, we followed the advice of one of Tegan’s co-workers and dined at Sankt Gertruds Kloster. The dining experience was extremely unique and the food equally delectable. The dinner started in a study adorned with old books and leather furniture. Given the menu for the evening, we enjoyed a drink while placing our order. Once comfortable and ready for our meal, we were escorted downstairs into an old dungeon like dining area. Lit entirely by candlelight, Sankt Gertruds Kloster really worked to create an intimately romantic atmosphere. With a slow pace, each course of the meal was delivered with perfect timing. A lengthy dining experience, over two hours had passed before we had finished our dinner. With as much as we enjoyed the meal, neither of us was really anxious to leave what will definitely be our most memorable meal from our vacation.
Saturday we started out by visiting Rosenborg Castle and the adjacent gardens. The small residence is the current residing place for the Danish crown jewels. Once we arrived and saw the castle in person, neither one of us was particularly impressed enough to pay for entrance. Small in comparison to most castles I’ve seen on this trip, I was quickly ready to move on.
From Rosenborg we headed back to Stroget to do some T-shirt shopping for Tegan. During this Saturday, the stretch of shops were jam-packed. Weaving through crowds of shoppers, we eventually found a couple T-shirts for Tegan to take home as souvenirs. We both had a good time wandering up and down Stroget while doing a bit of people watching at the same time.
From Stroget, our walking eventually led us to Copenhagen’s Gamla Stan. In this old town area, we noticed a sign on one of the canals offering a tour by boat. With the sun still out and the weather encouraging, we hopped on for a one-hour tour of the canals and harbor. We found the tour to be very enjoyable, and a perfect way to relax after a long day of walking. Along this boat ride we finally passed the infamous Copenhagen Little Mermaid sculpture. As we anticipated, we just didn’t understand the attraction to this out of the way statue. Simply overrated.
Saturday night we found ourselves back at Tivoli Gardens for our last hoorah. It was a great way to unwind after a very busy day, and a location certainly worthy of making our last visit while in Copenhagen.
Sunday morning was a 3:30 am wake-up call to head to the airport. Sleepy and reluctant, we said our goodbyes to Copenhagen while hopping in a taxi bound for the airport. On our way to the airport, it was very obvious that the nightlife in Copenhagen was just now winding down on what would likely have been a wild Saturday night of partying.
Overall, we really enjoyed our time in Copenhagen. We found the city to be very fun and full of exciting things to do. We were a bit shocked by the number of bicyclists in the city (apparently the tax on owning an automobile is ridiculous), as it seemed there were five bikes for every one car at any random traffic light. I look forward to returning to Copenhagen sometime in the near future.
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I know it's an old post, but I just want to say I enjoyed your posts from Denmark very much. I am a Dane living 10 minutes from Copenhagen. I applaud your sense of really capturing the feel of Copenhagen, and naming most sights correctly :). The thing I do not understand is; why so many people (particularly Americans) are disappointed by 'The Little Mermaid'. Admitted, she is kind of small - but does a sight need to be large to be worth visiting? She is a symbol, and she most be viewed with that in mind - atleast in my opinion. But overall very enjoyable reading, and I hope you'll come back some day :).