Copenhagen has always been on my bucket list and so I was really pleased to be able to visit at the end of last year, here's a write up of that trip.
4th December
We arrived at the airport at 8pm and found our way to the station to get the train into the city. It was a short journey and we were amazed by the station itself which was wooden, very beautiful. Our Hotel the Copenhagen Star, was literally 200 yards from the station couldn't be handier! Our room was basic but clean and had all we needed.
We went out and had a meal at a restaurant called Cafe du Nord which was opposite our hotel. The meal was good but pricey, but only to be expected in Scandinavia. Whilst there we noticed that, although the area was not particularly seedy, it was a red light area as there were girls hanging around on street corners.
5th December
After breakfast at the hotel and went to the tourist information and bought a combi for the hop on hop off bus, boat tour and entry to the Tivoli Gardens. The bus tour was good, we saw the Little Mermaid (which was really little,) the colourful houses of Nyhavn, palaces, interesting modern buildings and much more.
The boat trip went to some of the same places but you saw them from a different viewpoint. The weather was cold, but bright and sunny.
After getting off the boat we visited a Christmas market which was lovely. Older areas of the city were interesting but I preferred Stockholm for that. Copenhagen is very flat and bikes are everywhere and you have to look out for them.
That evening we went to the famous Tivoli Gardens. It is said that the inspiration for Walt Disney's theme parks was inspired by a visit to he took to Tivoli and you can see how it could have influenced him. The Gardens were on the other side of the station
from our hotel so they were very handy for us. They first opened in 1843 and have been going strong ever since. We were stunned when we went in as it was magical, due to the time of year the Christmas theme was evident (the gardens have different themes depending on the time of year.) Lights everywhere, huge Christmas trees, decorations, fairground rides, shops, cafes, restaurants, concert hall, theatre. Lots of fun and laughter, I've never been anywhere like it. Some of the rides were very old, for example the roller coaster is the original 1914 one, that added to the charm of the place.
After a couple of hours we were beginning to feel a bit cold so we had a meal in a restaurant in the gardens called Paaflugen. It was cosy and warm inside and the food was good.
We both loved the Tivoli Gardens, it was such a unique experience especially special at Christmas time. The photos here don't do the place justice.
6th December
We visited the National Museum of Denmark today. Outside it had an old facade but it was very modern inside. The ground floor was dedicated to Viking culture and had some fabulous exhibits. Lots of beautiful, intricately worked gold artifacts. There was also a floor dedicated to classical culture and I was especially interested in the Ancient Egyptian section. There were some amazing exhibits and the good thing was that you could actually touch some of them and throughout the museum you could also take photos which is really good.
Later, in the evening Marian and I went on the Food Trail tour. Our guide was Bryony from Wales who was studying in Copenhagen.
and loved the city. Our first stop was a hot dog van in the main square. I don't like the hot dogs we have in the UK they taste like nothing, but I had heard how good Scandinavian hot dogs were. And boy it was good! The sausage was tasty and it had ketchup, remoulade, mustard, onions, sweet pickle on it with some crispy onions on top. Absolutely delicious and really warming on this cold night.
Then we went to a pub called the Taphouse and sampled two small glasses of beer, in all they have 61 types to choose from! Very good they were too.
We then walked to a food market and there tried Fiskedellen which was fish and potato mixed together, fried and served with bread and remoulade. Again it was really tasty.
The final destination was was another pub called Skaal. Here we sampled traditional smorgasbord, open sandwiches. There were two types, pickled fish and potato. I didn't like the fish, I've never been keen on raw fish. The potato one was nice and the rye bread they were on was really good. To finish off we had a Danish pastry and that was the end of the tour. It was great to sample real Danish food like this and we were certainly full at the end of the tour!
We had no idea where we were but with the aid of my mobile we found our way back to the hotel.
And that was the end of our trip to Copenhagen, a lovely city well worth visiting - and if you do, get a hot dog!
4th December
We went out and had a meal at a restaurant called Cafe du Nord which was opposite our hotel. The meal was good but pricey, but only to be expected in Scandinavia. Whilst there we noticed that, although the area was not particularly seedy, it was a red light area as there were girls hanging around on street corners.
5th December
 |
| Little Mermaid |
The boat trip went to some of the same places but you saw them from a different viewpoint. The weather was cold, but bright and sunny.
 |
| Nyhavn |
 |
| Tivoli Gardens |
 |
| Tivoli Gardens |
After a couple of hours we were beginning to feel a bit cold so we had a meal in a restaurant in the gardens called Paaflugen. It was cosy and warm inside and the food was good.
We both loved the Tivoli Gardens, it was such a unique experience especially special at Christmas time. The photos here don't do the place justice.
6th December
We visited the National Museum of Denmark today. Outside it had an old facade but it was very modern inside. The ground floor was dedicated to Viking culture and had some fabulous exhibits. Lots of beautiful, intricately worked gold artifacts. There was also a floor dedicated to classical culture and I was especially interested in the Ancient Egyptian section. There were some amazing exhibits and the good thing was that you could actually touch some of them and throughout the museum you could also take photos which is really good.
Later, in the evening Marian and I went on the Food Trail tour. Our guide was Bryony from Wales who was studying in Copenhagen.
 |
| Best Hot Dog Ever! |
Then we went to a pub called the Taphouse and sampled two small glasses of beer, in all they have 61 types to choose from! Very good they were too.
We then walked to a food market and there tried Fiskedellen which was fish and potato mixed together, fried and served with bread and remoulade. Again it was really tasty.
 |
| Smogasbord |
We had no idea where we were but with the aid of my mobile we found our way back to the hotel.
And that was the end of our trip to Copenhagen, a lovely city well worth visiting - and if you do, get a hot dog!
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