| I travelled to Copenhagen in early May with my family. May is springtime in Scandinavia, and this was the perfect time to visit the capital of Denmark. The kids loved it, and so did we! |
Jun 2008 |
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Frederik's Church, also called Marble Church
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Copenhagen is the largest and most important city of Scandinavia. People in this northern part of Europe are known to be tall, blond and blue-eyed, inherited from our ancestors, the terrifying vikings. Copenhagen is founded in the viking era, but today the city is known for it's openness, friendlyness and beauty.
Looking at a map of Copenhagen, there are 3 things that strike me: It is a natural harbour, lying quietly and protected on the east coast of the island Sjaelland. It has lost it's commercial importance, but is a popular cruise ship destination with more than 50 arrivals during the summer period. One of the largest shipowners in the world, Maersk, has it's headoffice in Copenhagen.
Secondly, it's a fortified city. Kastellet is one of the best preserved fortifications in Northern Europe. At the opposite side of the cruiseship quay Langelinie, you will find the seafortress Trekronor, which was attacked by Admiral Nelson in 1801 during the Napoleon wars.
Third, it's a city of many palaces. Most famous today is Amalienborg Palace. It consist of 4 identical facades built around an octangual court. This is where you can see the changing of guards every day at noon.
Rosenborg Palace is the former royal residence, and houses today the Royal Copenhagen exhibition and a very lovely garden.
Christianborg Palace houses the danish parliament and is built upon the ruins of bishop Absaloms castle, which he built when he founded the city in 1167.
When travelling to Copenhagen, most visitors travel through the Kastrup airport, which has been voted the best airport in the world twice.
To get from the airport to the city centre, the Metro is a good alternative. All stations are marked with a red M, and there are two lines, both taking you to the central areas.
Once in the city, USE THE BIKE! Borrow it, rent it or use a bicycle taxi. All streets are planned with separate bicycle lanes, and almost every citizen use it. (And Denmark is really flat....)
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| Favourite spots: |
Tivoli is the amusement park that covers a big area right in the middle of the city. It was founded in 1863 and has a combination of carousels, rollercoasters and international pavilions. The chinese pantomime theatre and famous tower, the norse Valhalla castle and the persian inspired Nimb palace are just a few examples. The entrance to the park is not very expensive, but if you want to try out all the activities, it will cost you 265,- danish kroner (50,- USD)
Den lille havfrue (The little mermaid) is a surprisingly small and dislocated statue that has become a tourist icon of Copenhagen. The mermaid is a figure from one of HC Andersen's fairytales, and is commercialized by Disney. You find it close to the cruise ship quay Langelinie.
Nyhavn (New Haven) is a quay area near Kongens Nytorg (King's New Market) with lots of restaurants, bars and beautiful old wooden ships. The nice colors of the buildings makes this a perfect area for an day in the sun and an evening hangout.
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| What's really great: |
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The changing of the guards
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The best thing about Copenhagen is for me the boldness in planning of streets, squares and palaces. Only cities that think really high of themselves, have this boldness. Not to compare with typical Eastern Europe socialstic planned mega squares, Copenhagen combines boldness with intimacy, charm and is full of small surprises.
Every day at noon, the guards at the royal palace Amalienborg perform a ritual where the guards are changed. This is always popular for the crowd, and we see such rituals also outside Buckimham Palace. The fascinatition in Copenhagen is that your are surrounded by 4 identical facades on each sides, beautiful mosaic and the colorful guards. When inside the square, the east-west axis is closed by the opera house and the church.
The shopping street is called Strøget. It is said to be the longest pedestrial shopping street in Europe. I have not measured this scientifically, but as far as my knowledge to the shopping profession goes, you can buy everything here.
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| Sights: |
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Circular walkway to Rundetaarn
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There is a number of beautiful canals in Copenhagen. Several of the interesting buildings can be seen from the water. My suggestions for trips is to hire a boat AND and architect as your guide of the city. This is available on: www.canaltours.dk
If you are looking to combine your trip with some physical workut, you can hire a cajak and guide on: www.KajakOle.dk
Copenhagen Opera House is located at the small island of Holmen, and as earlier mentioned aligned in a beautiful axis with Amalienborg and the Marble Church. The main concert hall has 1700 seats and has supposedly the best aquistics in Europe.
Rundetaarn is an astronomic observatory located in the Trinitatis complex. The broad circular walkway to the top is the only of it's kind in Europe.
Høybro plads is an open square close to Frederiksborg, Strøget and Børsen, known from the popular childrens song, a nice place for a rest on either Cafe Norden or Cafe Europa. Note the huge statue of Absalom, the founder of the city.
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| Accommodations: |
I have stayed with friends every time I have been to Copenhagen, the only exception being my study trip to Copenhagen AIrport Control Tower, when I stayed at Hotel King Arthur. This hotel is centrally located and is special in the sense that it is a CO2 neutral hotel. Read more on: http://www.kongarthur.dk/
The best hotel in town is supposed to be Hotel D'Angleterre, located at Kongens Nytorg (New market). The cheapest room costs 350 Euros, but in return you get 100% luxury and the most central location. Webpage: http://www.dangleterre.com/
Another centrally located hotel is Ascot Hotel as Raadhuspladsen, near Tivoli. http://www.ascot-hotel.dk/. This hotel has reasonable prices.
Nearby is also Palace Hotel, another luxury hotel, with it's public landmark tower. http://www.palacehotel.dk/
I recommend to use www.hotels.com to find accomodation that suits your budget.
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Published on Monday June 9th, 2008
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Sun, Jul 20 2008 - 08:34 PM
 by here-i-come
| Thank you Terje... what a delight to read your summary with lots of detail that almost brought tears of great days spent in Copenhagen back in 1990 which your many recommendations had highlighted and is a profound recap to our experience both at the Hotel D'Angleterre which was like being a royal Emissary given the best treatment there is... i am sure their standards remain very high to this day. A good job done with a deserving nomination as voted and it was a pleasure to read yours this night in July 2008. |
Sun, Jun 22 2008 - 09:17 AM
by bineba
| It's been a long time since I visited Copenhagen, we went to a wedding in Helsingoer and visited the city on a day trip. it brought back happy memories (even if my friends have since divorced!). |
Wed, Jun 11 2008 - 03:32 PM
by louis
Hi Terje,
Great report, interesting with a lot of useful informations. Also the pictures are great. I am also very happy that you posted this report because next week I am going to Copenhagen, so this report will be very helpful for me.
Rafal |
Tue, Jun 10 2008 - 04:08 PM
by mistybleu
| A very interesting report, thanks for sharing. |
Tue, Jun 10 2008 - 07:51 AM
by christianj.
Hi Terje,
in Copenhagen I've been twice - reeding your report made me rember how much I liked this city. You wrote an interesting report with enough information to spend a longer weekend - thank you!
Christian |
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