The Big Trip: Copenhagen

Our last stop in Scandinavia was Copenhagen, Denmark. We arrived mid-day after an overnight train and a morning of walking in Malmo. Then throw in the non-stop traveling we had done since we arrived in Scandinavia a mere 5 days before. In short, we were beat. When we checked into our hostel, Kara and I both had the idea to take a quick nap. A power nap if you will.

Well, 15 minutes turned into 3 hours and we found ourselves with all of the afternoon gone. I would have felt bad for the time we missed if it weren’t for the fact that it was one of the most blissful naps of my life–we needed the sleep. So we had a night and a full day left to explore the city. I had gotten some amazing recommendations from a local blog reader, Jennie (Thanks Jennie!) and so we were armed with some ideas on what to do. That first night, we decided that what we most needed was some fun. So fun was what we had.

Tivoli Gardens is a famous amusement park in Copenhagen and I believe it is the oldest existing amusement park in the world. Kara and I weren’t sure what to expect but after just a few minutes of walking around the park we were pleasantly surprised. I have been to several amusement parks in my day and outside of Disneyland I feel like most are carbon copies of each other. Tivoli Gardens is no copy. It is beautiful in that wild fantastical way that only amusement parks can pull off. I loved the lanterns and the lights and the themed buildings and alley ways.

This is a dragon that follows the length of a walkway.

Kara and I didn’t come to the Tivoli for the rides but we decided to buy a few tickets and choose a couple rides to go on. The first was a thrill ride that felt like it lasted maybe 30 seconds but had some fun loops and was suitably scary. The second ride we choose was my personal favorite.

Oh yeah, that’s right. A Hans Christian Anderson ride. It had wooden mechanical characters acting out scenes from his stories as we sat in a moving pod with really bad speakers. I loved every second. Hans is a favorite son of Denmark and we felt is was only appropriate that we paid tribute to him while in his homeland.

We spent several hours walking around the Tivoli, enjoying our rides, eating fair food–including the best churros I have ever had, people watching, and enjoying it still being light outside at 10:30pm. We loved the Tivoli.

The next day was our one full day in Copenhagen and we wanted to get the most of it. The tone of the day was set when while walking across a city square Kara was spanked with a newspaper by a Danish hippie. This was going to be a good day.

One of the first things we did was take a boat tour of the city:

This is Nyhavn harbor and if I remember correctly I think our friend Hans Christian Anderson might have lived in one of these houses for a time–or some famous Danish person did. Either way, it is a pretty cool harbor area with lots of activity and people around.

On the water we saw views of the city:

A cool spiral thingy on a roof:

And much more. It was about an hour tour and a great way to start off the day. After the boat ride we continued our walk of the city. We knew we had to see the famous Little Mermaid statue which was erected, yet again, to honor favorite son, Hans Christian Anderson.

It is smaller than I thought, but pretty I think. I like the way her fins/feet look. While we were on the boat, our tour guide told us that the statue has been beheaded a couple times and that the first time it was treated like a murder investigation by the police. I like a city who honors it’s art.

After the Little Mermaid statue we walked over to Rosenburg Castle and the gardens that border it.

This is not the main castle anymore but it was fun to tour and we also got to see the crown jewels which are housed in the basement. It is too bad I am not a royal, I really think I could rock some serious crown jewels.

Besides being bordered by an actual moat (see above) the castle also has some beautiful grounds to walk around. It was there we found the coolest tree ever:

I don’t have any idea what was done to this tree to make it look this way but I love it. It was also at this park that we enjoyed one of my favorite treats of the trip.

Magnum bars.

I had the Mayan Mystica (I think it was called) which was advertised on posters everywhere we went by a very Mayan looking Eva Longoria. It was delicious.

Also, being in Denmark and all, we did manage to eat a danish or two.

I am not really sure what I am trying to do in this picture. It looks like a cross between taking a bite and kissing the danish while quizzically and inexplicably raising my eyebrows in fear? understanding? Very confusing, but the danish was delish.

Copenhagen is also home to some beautiful shopping.

I ended up buying some awesome shoes with cut out polka dots in them. You know, to remember Copenhagen by. All in all, we had a really great day and could have spent much more time exploring the city. But, with a super early flight out the next day we decided to head back to our hostel and get in a few good hours of sleep

I am not sure if you can tell in these pictures but a week of hostel living, train travel, spotty sleep, and cold weather was starting to take a toll on us. I believe both of us felt like we were ready to be done. I was a little nervous because we had one city left, a city I was really excited about and that I had never been to before and I worried that I would be too wiped in order to fully enjoy it–that it wouldn’t get the attention or the energy it deserved.

Up next: Revived by Paris