Copenhagen is a walkable city, in many ways similar to Paris. Both offer excellent and easy to use mass transport, both have world class museums and a fascinating history that draws you in at every corner.
So naturally, faced with the daunting task of unraveling Copenhagen in three days, I took the easy way out by getting tickets for the hop-on hop-off tour bus. This was actually a good idea, and a better one was buying the add-on ticket to make it a two-day, all four lines ticket. Of course, the line that I had initially bought, the "Mermaid" line, did hit most of the highlights, the other lines also have some cool stuff on them, especially when it is pouring down and you don't feel much like walking anyway.
But I get ahead of myself! The first day the sun was shining and it was a great day to see the statue that is inextricably linked to Copenhagen: The Little Mermaid. Isolated from shore by a few feet of water (cuts down on the "stealing her head" type of events, apparently,) she patiently sits and gazes outward from the harbor while (again like Paris) nearby vendors try to sell small copper replicas.
After finishing the Mermaid line of the bus, Robert and I were oriented, and headed off on a winding route through the Old Town towards treasure. Our first stop was the Rundataarn, or Round Tower, a lovely way to view the city. The distinguishing feature of the tower is that there is a wide (about 15 feet) ramp all the way to the top, so the inside is one continuous space.
Next up was Vor Frue Kirke, the cathedral of Copenhagen. An airy and spacious interior that caught the sunlight and spread it out over wonderful statues of the apostles made this an uplifting place. Turns out they were the work of Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, and I was to get to know his work very well over the next few days.
Finally we made the main event of the day: Rosenborg Slot. This started as a getaway for the king outside the city. Now of course it is smack in the middle of Copenhagen, but ended up being the royal residence for a number of centuries. In the mid 1800's the king decided to turn it over to become a museum, and so the interior covers the history of the monarchy up until that point. In the chambers below the castle lie something even more interesting: the Crown Jewels of Denmark. In fact, they have several sets and a wealth of treasure down there for viewing. Definitely the highlight of the day!
But, being only 4:00 in the afternoon, there was still plenty of day to go! First, we wandered over to Nyhavn, which two centuries ago would have been the place you didn't tell you Mom you'd been to. Today, it's pretty touristy, but that's because sipping a Carlsburg by the water and watching the people go by is so much fun.
For dinner we headed to the Hard Rock Cafe and I expanded my collection of T-shirts by one. There was two reasons for this: first, its harder to find a good burger in Denmark than you might think. Second, it was next to our final stop for the evening: Tivoli Gardens.
Tivoli goes back about a century and a half. Designed to keep the Copenhagen residents from rioting, today it has well tended grounds befitting its name, some very cool rides, and entertainment throughout the day. We listened to both the orchestra for a while and the Big Band music. There was also a Pantomime show, carnival games, and a vast array of restaurants for fine dining and snack shops for not so fine. The day ended with "Illuminations", a laser light show down by the fountain, and then we took the S-train back for the night. Whew!
Okay, so there's more pictures than I can fit into my entries at this point. For those wanting to see more, check out http://markhuber.shutterfly.com/.
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