Copenhagen, Denmark

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I was really excited to arrive in Copenhagen. It was a bit rainy, however I was not going to let this detour me from seeing what beauty Copenhagen would have to offer. I find my hostel which was quite close to the city center, and check in. After refreshing a bit, it is time to wander out and see what I could see. Surprisingly, there were quite a lot of people walking around. I go to the city center to start my adventure. My first objective was to see the canal with the sailboats that I have always seen in pictures of Copenhagen. After a short walk, I make it to this destination. I knew I was really in Copenhagen once I saw this sight. Just to see the row of houses with the different colors was a beautiful sight. I decide to walk up and down the docks just to look at the boats and shops in the area. I wanted to get a feel for the Danish people, and what better way to do this I thought. I knew I would be taking a walking tour in the morning time, so I focused my efforts in this area for the time being. It got a bit late so I head in to rest up for tomorrow which was going to be a busy day.

I awake in anticipation of the walking tour. As it was a bit rainy, I just get my rain jacket and go to the meeting point. There were several people there, and it had began to rain. At the specific meeting point, we were broken off in groups, and introduced to our tour guide. I could tell by our tour guides look that he was going to be fun and energetic. He was a happy go lucky looking gentlemen named Magnus, and he already had on his rain boots. I was thinking to my self that we may be walking to who knows where. He would walk very fast or almost jog to certain spots, and we would just have to keep up or catch up. He would wait until the group got around before he starting telling of the history. At one point, he told us to run to the main street for we would be seeing something that does not happen very often. We did as he said, and we witnessed the Danish Royal Guard marching right on the main street. There were a few of them playing the drums. That was pretty neat. We stop in front of the Hotel d'Angleterre which is one of the most famous in Copenhagen. Many very important dignitaries stay here, and this is one of Copenhagen's finest hotels. It was constructed as a neoclassic palace, and has maintained its 1870s historical aspects. It is ideally situated next to the Royal Danish Theatre on the Kongens Nytorv Square in the heart of Copenhagen and connected to the famous Strøget pedestrian shopping street. We next make our way to the canal to look around. This landscape is the same scenery I have seen on pictures, puzzles, and other works of art. It was surreal to be standing there. We stay for a short bit, and then we go to the Royal Palace. The guide tells us of some history of the Royals and the palace which was quite interesting. We were able to walk around a bit, and look at the beauty of this place. Frederik's Church, popularly known as The Marble Church for its rococo architecture, is an Evangelical Lutheran church and was just beside the Royal Palace. It is impressive, especially the main entrance. I did not have the opportunity to go in at this time, but I most assuredly would come back. Lastly, our group makes our way from the Royal Palace to a little park that looks out across to the Copenhagen Opera House. Designed by a famous architect Henning Larsen from Denmark, this waterfront venue attracts both opera and architecture lovers from around the world. We were told great expense was taken to build the grand Copenhagen Opera House. A local shipping business donated the building to the city of Copenhagen, and the project was completed for a cost of nearly a half billion U.S. dollars. This is one of the most expensive opera houses in the world. I did not get to go inside, however it symbolizes the economic optimism that marked Europe at the beginning of the 21st century. Its ceiling features 105,000 sheets of gold leaf and the floor is made of smoked oak. You can tell from a far that no side of the building looks the same, with a rounded glass wall facing the waterfront and straight stone walls under the contrasting metal roof. The Copenhagen Opera House is located just outside the city center on the island of Holmen. It is connected by bridges, so you can walk, cycle or take a bus to get there. I just did not have this in my current itinerary.

After this enjoyable walking tour, I make my way back to the Royal Palace to watch the changing of the guard. If at all possible, I try to do this at each city I visit. I just think it is neat, and I like to watch the discipline and precision of these guards. They take such pride in this event. Next, I decided I wanted to see one of the most iconic statues in Copenhagen. I didn't necessarily know where to go to find it, but I knew it would be near the water, so I just started walking. I see a large crowd of folks, and I make my way there. Then I see what I was searching for, the Little Mermaid. This sculpture is a bronze statue by Edvard Eriksenis and is displayed on a rock by the waterside at the Langelinie promenade. It was erected in 1913, and was inspired by Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale of the same name. This little statue is slightly over four feet tall, and just sits on a large rock. You can actually get next to the rock she sits on, if the water is down, for a photo opportunity. Many people were doing this. One other note, this statue has been vandalized many times over the years including decapitated several times, arm removed, and even blasted off the rock by explosives. She keeps getting put back together, and should be an icon for many years to come.

I have to walk back by the Royal Palace to go towards my hostel, so I take the time to enter into Frederik's Church. What beauty to behold, and I highlight the Dome, externally and also the inside which features paintings of the twelve apostles, as well as the main altar and the beautiful organ. I am definitely glad I took the time to go in. I then go back toward the canal to just walk around the dock area. I stayed here a bit, and then I retired in for the evening. I have a busy day tomorrow, and I wanted to be well rested.

I awake and make my way to the center of town, as I had booked a bike tour of the city, and I was eager to get there. After a short wait, the guide arrived and rounded the group together. We were going to use some power assisted bikes for this tour. A series of new intelligent City Bikes has been launched in the City of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg. Special features like a tablet with built-in GPS makes it easy getting around. These bikes would assist if needed when going up inclines, or if I just got lazy. I was pretty okay with this. The City Bike, as it is called, is synonymous with Copenhagen. In fact, this was the official gift from the City of Copenhagen to president Bill Clinton. Pretty neat. Anyway, we start our tour, and the guide takes us through places that I just would not have seen unless I took this tour. On the guided bike tours you get to see the famous sights in Copenhagen and the less known places around the small districts of the city. We make several stops along the route with the highlights being going to a military fortress to look around, the Little Mermaid sculpture, a small little beautiful church, the Royal Palace, and the iconic canal and docks. We find our way back to the starting point, park the bikes and say our goodbyes. What a wonderful tour. I would suggest this to anyone traveling if you really want to see different sides to a particular city.

I was asking myself what I wanted to do now. As the weather was starting to get nasty, I thought I would want to be inside. I was thinking of iconic places to see or visit, and another icon of Copenhagen is the Carlsberg brewery. You can visit Carlsberg's first brewery and the “Visit Carlsberg” museum can be worth a visit. So, in the afternoon, I decided I wanted to tour the Carlsberg brewery. I found the main place where the ticket sales were, and I purchased a tour time. It was raining, so waiting on the bus was not a pleasant experience, but luckily there was some shelter under little building roofs, and under some trees. I am sure happy I packed my rain jacket. The drive to the brewery was probably ten to fifteen minutes from the center of town, and once we arrived, we were free to start our tour. This was a self guided tour, so I just walked around looking at the different exhibits, and reading what I could. This place actually had won a Guinness Book world record for the largest collection of beer bottles. The record was in 1968, and at that time they had amassed 16,384 bottles. They had a sign that they were now at 22,558. I am not sure if they still hold the record or not. I walk through the stables, and they have large Clydesdale like horses as well. Not sure if they were Clydesdales, but they looked like them. They had many old wagons and trucks that used to haul their products. Pretty neat to see. After a couple of hours here, I decided I would go back to the city to spend my last night just walking around and taking photo opportunities.

As my next destination was Amsterdam, I had to take a ferry to cross over a body of water between Copenhagen and Amsterdam. I am not sure if it was the North Sea or Baltic Sea, but none the less, I could not get there without taking the ferry. I have never taken a train and then ferry, and I was in for a treat. The train actually boarded the ferry and was carried from Denmark over into the Netherlands. Pretty neat. We were able to depart the train and walk around on the ferry, as there was some downtime crossing the sea. There was a large cafeteria area, in which I took advantage of, as well as places to just sit and rest. You could also go on top of the ferry and sit. I did this and let the wind blow in my face. What an experience this was. After a bit of time, you could see we were getting close to the land, and we were told to board back on the train. I did this, and before you know it, we were off the ferry and heading toward the main train station. What a wonderful experience Copenhagen was, and I hope one day to return.

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