Saturday, August 23, 2008

Copenhagen, Denmark

As I mentioned in a previous post, I did very little research on Copenhagen and left all the planning to Dan! I turned out to be the best decision I’ve made in a long time!

Copenhagen is a very small city, easily covered in a day! We left Brussels on Thursday night, as Friday was a holiday here in Belgium!

Copenhagen (Københaven in Danish), capital of Denmark and once head of Sweden and Norway too, is a pretty, seaside city and is the world’s ninth richest city in terms of gross pay her head (maybe I should have looked for a husband there!??!). It is also located on the largest of Denmark’s 406 islands.

My first impression of Copenhagen was that everyone spoke perfect English (yeah!!) and how the city was so clean and modern. Did you know that the Danish people are considered the happiest people in the world??!! How cool is that?! I found it to be true!

We got up on Friday, walked around a little, and decided to take the city bus tour! One of the first stops was The Little Mermaid ! Hans Christian Andersen first published the beloved fairy tale of The Little Mermaid in 1837. It is the story of the Little Mermaid who saves the life of a shipwrecked prince and sets off on a perilous quest to win his love. The price she pays is dear. To become human she must give up her lovely voice as well as her mermaid's tail, and if the prince should wed another, she will turn into foam on the waves and disappear forever… The sculpture was put up in 1913, and has since then been the symbol of Denmark.
Our next stop was at the Amalienborg Palace (Amalienborg in Danish), which is the winter home of the Danish royal family. It consists of four identical palace facades with rococo interiors around an octagonal courtyard; in the center of the square is a monumental equestrian statue of Amalienborg's founder, King Frederik V. Amalienborg was originally built for four noble families; however, when Christiansborg Castle burnt down on February 26, 1794, the royal family bought the palaces and moved in. Over the years various kings and their families have resided in the four different palaces.
We got there just in time to see the changing of the guard ceremony. This was my view of the ceremony!!
Close to the palace is Frederik's Church, popularly known as The Marble Church. Frederik's Church has the largest church dome in Scandinavia with a span of 31 meters. The dome rests on 12 columns. The inspiration was probably the Pantheon in Rome. It was opened August 19, 1894.
Yep, this was the toilet!!!!!!! Love the name!
Next up was the Copenhagen Opera House (Operaen in Danish) which is the national opera house of Denmark, and among the most modern opera houses in the world. It is also one of the most expensive opera houses ever built with construction costs well over 500 million dollars. It is located on the island of Holmen in the center of Copenhagen.
Next, we stopped for lunch at Nyhavn, the canal and promenade that runs down to the sound. The name literally means “new harbor”, has tons of restaurants and terrace cafes.

As with any trip with Pam, we shopped! We strolled along Strøget (literally means "the straight" or "to wander"), where we bought some amber (ring and earrings, for me!!). Amber is very popular in Denmark. Hardened tree sap from ancient forests, amber can today be harvested from beaches all around the Baltic as "stones". My favorite part of Copenhagen was Tivoli Gardens (amusement park). Tivoli (spell it backwards) is a famous amusement park and pleasure garden and opened on August 15, 1843 and, except for Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampenborg, it is the oldest amusement park which has survived intact to the present day. It was also the inspiration for a little well known man named, Walt Disney!! Walt Disney, during a trip overseas with his wife Lilly, visited Tivoli Gardens. Walt was so impressed with the Danish amusement park, he immediately decided Disneyland should try to emulate its "happy and unbuttoned air of relaxed fun”.

We had such a great time at Tivoli! As soon as we entered, we ran over to a ride called the “Demon” and rode it twice! It was awesome!! We then had dinner and rode it again and walked around! It was such a great atmosphere and a beautiful night.
My 2 favorite people!



Part of the Demon!!!
There was also a rock concert (have no idea who it was and it was not in English!) going while we were there. It was just a fun place to be!
Of all of the fun we had the entire weekend...the picture below sums it up! It is of Dan, Pam, and I on the Demon ride in Tivoli! Please note the overwhelming excitement on my face and how much fun Dan is having! However, you must also notice the sheer FEAR Pam was experiencing while riding the Demon! Her face tells it all!!! If I do not post anything for a while, that means Pam has literally killed me for posting this picture...so go after her first!!!
We had a great time visiting Copenhagen; however, the time we spent in Sweden the following day was incredible! That story up next! And, don't forget, you are going to meet Trixie Woods!

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous5:20 PM

    How awesome! Now I am curious about Trixie Woods...

    ReplyDelete