Copenhagen for 36 hours

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Before visiting my sisters for Thanksgiving, I decided to take an extra couple days of me time. I flew on Emirates in economy and it was okay, surprisingly crowded. Getting from the airport to the hotel was a breeze. I stayed at the very friendly CitizenM near the train station and Tivoli gardens. However, the Christmas markets at Tivoli would not open until the next day.

So, after taking a nap, I wandered past the town hall plaza and down the pedestrian only shopping street, Stroget, to get my bearings. I was happy to see small Christmas markets along the way in two places before I even got to Nyhavn. The first looked to just be opening, so I wandered around, then the second market seemed to be a bit more hopping. I was able to get a (surprisingly hard) pretzel to eat while I made my way towards the popular Nyhavn area. The walk was pleasant and the weather a bit damp, but not too cold.

Nyhavn was a nice location, just like the pictures, though my pictures do not really do it justice. It was a bit busy, with many people eating outside along the wharf. Lots of tourists taking photos as well. So, I walked back up the wharf and came to another Christmas market at the plaza where I got some hot cocoa with brandy - yum! Then I slowly walked back towards my hotel, stopping at one of the markets along the way to buy some cute earrings I saw on my first time. I ate my dinner at the hotel bar before heading to bed, sleeping all through the night.

The next day, I woke up fairly early, had a good hearty breakfast at the hotel and started my day. I wanted to walk around the city early before the crowds hit. And yes, at 9 am, the city was empty. Empty. I walked down to the Christiansborg area where I crossed the canals, saw the big palace, and two beautiful horses hanging around outside on the royal grounds. The palace was rebuilt in 1928, following two major fires. The palace is home to the Danish parliament and the three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. It also houses some royal apartments for use when necessary. Recently, the Danish Queen Margarethe has vastly reduced the number of working royals, only including her direct heir and his children which has led to some drama in the last couple of months. It was not open being before 10am, and I think most tourist sites really don't open until 11 am around here.

Then I got a good view of the amazing architecture of the city before crossing the other canal. Soon, I passed the Nyhavn area again, where I got some nice photos with no one around at this time.

I continued onto the Amelienborg Palace area, which is four identical palaces around a large plaza, forming an octogon. It is the home of the Danish royal family. The Palaces are named after Christian VII, Christian VIII, Frederick VIII, and Christian IX. There is also a large statue in the center of the plaza of Frederick V. Leaving the palace grounds, you can continue directly west to the impressive Frederick's Church, which has the largest basilica dome in Scandanavia. It was beautiful, but closed of course. Just until 12:30.... Oh well.

I headed back to Stroget and did some shopping, before returning to the hotel for a nap. In midafternoon I got up and purchased my Tivoli Gardens ticket online, then was able to get in fairly quickly, but boy was it crowded!!! There is a nice lit pathway leading you to the interior with a couple of small shops along the way. I wandered about a bit, looking at some of the shops, including a popular store of Danish made goods. The gardens were all decorated and the feeling was decidedly lively. As you go further, it becomes more of an amusement park, with rides and games. I bought a memory card game at a shop, with a Tivoli gardens theme (I was a bit disappointed when I opened it later as it was a very large box for very little cards). Other than that, I wandered around, enjoying the atmosphere and took some photos. I ordered a pork sandwich; I had been eating only a pescatarian diet until today, and so it was a bit weird! I also had a couple of cups of glogg along the way, before realizing I was ready to call it a night.

I returned to my hotel, had a drink at the bar, and then headed off to bed to get ready for my early morning train ride to Stockholm.

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Comments

[Tracey Gaffney]

Memories
This post brings back memories of our Christmas spent in Europe in 2013. After flying into Munich and ‘doing’ the Christmas markets in several German cities we travelled on to Copenhagen. After a couple of very cold days exploring beautiful Copenhagen and all the fabulous winter markets we were all set to continue by train to Stockholm. Unfortunately some nasty weather caused the inter-city train to be cancelled … but only after we had crossed the Øresund Bridge on a local rail service … so we had an unscheduled night in a hotel in Malmö, Sweden. The adventures that we have when our travels don’t quite go according to plan!

[D MJ Binkley]

Copenhagen
We've only been to Copenhagen once. We enjoyed our time and your blog created some memories. I suspect the reduction in working royals has really caused a stink but it makes sense to me.