| Copenhagen, Denmark | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I had
done a fair amount of research on the city of Copenhagen prior to even
leaving Seattle so I was particularly anticipating my arrival there.
My flight from
Berlin arrived into Copenhagen at approximately 11:15am on Wednesday,
July 9th, and then I
ventured into the main terminal to find a shuttle into the city
center. DSB Trains run about every twenty minutes from Kastrup
airport to Copenhagen Central Station (Hovedbanegården). I purchased my ticket at an
office in the airport and in very little time, I was on a train heading
into the city. It was not only a very simple process but also an
enjoyable way to get into the city inexpensively. Upon arriving at
the Central Station, I decided to also venture by foot with my luggage
and find my hotel. I stayed at the Scandic Hotel Webers located on
the Vesterbrogade and it was approximately a ten minute walk by foot
from Central Station.
Keeping with my typical routine, I decided to take a brief nap before venturing out into the city. After a short rest, however, I was very eager to get out and explore! I decided to first head away from the major city center along the Vesterbrogade and check out what the outlying areas had in store.
Even just within the first hour of my walking around, I was instantly captured by the unique character and beauty of Copenhagen. A couple of the most easily recognizable sites from my studies were the Strøget and the Rådhuset. The Strøget is a unique pedestrian walkway closed to traffic that offers a wide variety of shops, restaurant, and other tourist attractions. The easiest way for one to gain access to the Strøget is to simply find the expansive Rådhuspladsen and Rådhuset and branch off from there.
I found Copenhagen to be a very clean, neat, and well-organized city. I enjoyed the winding and hidden streets that each seemed to have its own personality. Another notable characteristic is that of the many waterways that exist throughout the outer areas of Copenhagen. There is one main waterway, however, that I was very much anticipating to find. I had read so much about Nyhavn and its beautifully painted buildings and channel lined with watercraft that it was definitely at the top of my list to see. Despite its being fairly crowded when I visited Nyhavn, it was just as beautiful as I had read about and I was eager to capture various photos from a number of angles.
I found Copenhagen to easily be one of those cities where I could just continue to walk and never even realize where the time or distance is going. It had still been my first day in Copenhagen and I was finding myself over in the Christianshavn area with more specialized stores where it appeared many more of the locals would frequent versus simply the tourists.
Despite how much I
had already walked that day, I realized just how far north I was headed
and anticipating finding what almost everyone associates with
Copenhagen. Approximately twenty minutes farther north, I began to
see a crowd assembled and knew that I had stumbled upon Den Lille
Havfrue (the Little Mermaid). I could hardly believe how many
people were crowded around, walking up to the Mermaid, and even falling
in the water! It is surprising that such an attraction is based
upon this mermaid who sits slumped upon a rock looking out for her lost
love whom she refused to kill to return to sea. To say the least,
I made sure to get a good collection of photos of such an anticipated
attraction.
On the
morning of Thursday, July 10th, I enjoyed a European style breakfast that
was complimentary at the hotel. I always find that style breakfast
to be great in its simplicity and healthy food options. It primarily
consisted of meats, cheeses, fruits, juice, and coffee. As with many
European hotels, there is a common dining area in which many of the
hotel's guests gathered to enjoy the same breakfast. This particular
Scandic Hotel's happened to be in the lower level.
I spent just a few moments at the port and then decided to just walk and conquer. I had a pretty good mental list of what I still needed to see. A big priority of mine was to watch the changing of the guard at Amalienborg. The actual ritual began at 11:30am and I was there with plenty of time to spare and secure a good place to stand.
It was quite an exciting event to see the changing of the guard. Shortly thereafter I walked through some less traveled streets to see intersections and roundabouts that I had not yet seen. It had become quite a warm day so I decided to balance my time walking in the sun with going through quaint stores. One of the most popular department stores in Copenhagen is the Magasin du Nord. I walked through each level of this grand store enjoying the various products and style of shopping. I particularly enjoyed the electronics department where I gazed at the various products of Bang & Olufsen. I pondered on how much I would love to outfit my apartment with these products all the while wondering how I would ever finance that.
After enjoying Magasin du Nord, I proceeded to walk through the various channels and walkways of Copenhagen. I happened across another sight that was on my list and I was very happy to find. Located on Købmagergade is the Rundetårn (Round Tower) which was completed in 1642 and stands 114 feet (34.8 meters) above the city. The Rundetårn was built for the astronomer Tycho Brahe under the command of Christian IV.
Another big attraction that I knew I needed to still explore was another attraction that Copenhagen is very well known for, Tivoli Gardens. In everyday life I am not very much into amusement parks, fairs, and events of the such so I was not sure what to expect. I knew that it had to be much more charming than my preconception given that it was European designed and operated. I decided to go through Tivoli Gardens once by the afternoon and then return after dusk in order to see all of the lights in operation. I found it to be very interesting and lively even though it still did not evoke much of the child in me. I basically captured some photos that I thought summarizes the essence of Tivoli Gardens. I left just prior to the dinner hour and had my hand stamped in order that I may return later in the evening. Regrettably, my hand stamp had washed off in the shower but I merely showed the guard my receipt from prior in the day and he allowed entrance. It did not seem, however, as though they prefer that method of validation.
Between visits to Tivoli Gardens, I decided to have a light café dinner more along the lines of local cuisine. I sat at a sidewalk café and enjoyed a fresh smoked salmon sandwich. It was wonderful cuisine and it was nice to sit open air and people watch at the same time. After having had dinner, I returned to my hotel to shower and change before heading back out to Tivoli Gardens for additional photos.
I returned to Tivoli Gardens at about 8:00pm and discovered just a short amount of time into the visit that there was a concern taking place therein. The crowds soon grew so large that I was just looking for a way out! I could hardly believe the large amount of people attending this concert. It seemed, for that brief moment, that there were not nearly enough exits for the park. I managed to find my way out, however, and took some last-minute photos just outside of Tivoli Gardens and just across from my hotel.
After having
escaped from the crowds at Tivoli, I walked back to my hotel and dropped my
camera before going out for the evening. While my hotel was relatively
close to all of the goings on, it seemed like I walked that path so many times
back and forth. I quickly discovered that the night life in Copenhagen
did not get started until much later than I'm used to in the United
States. Given that, I took my time walking to and from and just enjoyed
the dusk and mild temperature gracing the city. I did not want to stay
out too late in that I would be getting up a bit earlier the following day to
meet the Noordam at Langelinie Pier. I truly had a great time
this last evening in Copenhagen, though, and loved the music. It was so
much fun to stand back and watch the local Danes out and enjoying themselves
with friends.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)