Denmark

The Sights of Copenhagen – Part 3

In my final post on Copenhagen, I will share a few more sights we visited. Copenhagen has so much to offer, it seems around every corner there’s another interesting building, monument or museum. It’s worth just wandering along the canals and streets to see what you can discover.

Nyhavn means “new harbor” in Danish and dates from the 17^th century. It was a significant port in Copenhagen until the early 1900’s. Like many port areas, it was a bit seedy in its heyday but now has been restored and is a popular area for tourists, with many restaurants and cafes. Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish author and poet lived here for 18 years.

The Nyhavn district. Lots of restored 17th and 18th century houses and old ships along the canal.

Radhus Square. The Radhus is the Copenhagen City Hall. Although it looks older, it was built at the beginning of the 20^th century. This square, right next to the world famous Tivoli Gardens, is a very popular people watching and restaurant spot.

The Radhus is on the right. Great area for strolling and people watching.

Christiansborg Palace. This is the center of the Danish government, used by the Danish parliament, Supreme Court, Prime Minister and the monarchy. The first castle was constructed here in 1167, and some of the ruins from this castle remain preserved and open to tourists underneath the current structure. Although some parts are older, most of the palace we see today was constructed in the early part of the 20^th century. Having been to many palaces, we did not take a tour.

Christiansborg Palace is huge, this is the visitor’s entrance side.

Christiansborg Plaza, near the Palace.

Marble Church or Frederik’s Church. This impressive Lutheran church contains the largest dome in Scandinavia. It reminded us just a bit of St. Peter’s in Rome, but of course not nearly on the same scale. It has an interesting history. Construction started in the 1700’s but it sat as an unfinished shell for about 150 years, until the late 1800’s, due to a lack of funds to finish construction.

The interior of the Marble Church.

The Marble Church (large domed building) from Amalienborg Palace Courtyard.

A panoramic view of Amalienborg Palace and Courtyard.

Visitors can climb to the top of the dome for a great view of Copenhagen, but plan on doing this in the afternoon, it was not open yet when we visited in the late morning. Amalienborg Palace, the winter home of the Danish royal family surrounds a huge courtyard leading up to the entrance of the church, making this an impressive sight.

The Sights of Copenhagen – Part 2

There’s lots to see in Copenhagen, here’s part two of a three-part series.

The Round Tower was built between 1637 and 1642, and was used as an astronomical observatory until 1861 by the University of Copenhagen. It’s 114 feet tall and offers a good view of the Copenhagen skyline. There is still an observatory at the top, and it is open during the winter months and a limited period in the summer (I would think the lights of Copenhagen would interfere with the celestial views at night?).

The Round Tower is in the heart of Copenhagen.

The sloping circular walkway winds its way to the top of the Round Tower.

Visitors can take the circular walkway to the top for great views throughout the year.

View of Copenhagen from the Round Tower. The church in the center is The Church of Our Lady, discussed below.

The Round Tower is also very close to the 17^th century Rosenborg Slot (castle) right in the heart of Copenhagen.

View of Rosenborg Castle (center right) from the Round Tower.

The Church of Our Lady (Vor Frue Kirke). This is the national cathedral of Denmark and several churches have been built on this spot since the 1200’s. Many coronations of Danish kings have happened here. The current edifice dates from 1829. This church has the famous Bertel Thorvaldsen’s marble statues of Christ and the apostles.

St. Peter, holding the keys of the Kingdom.

Statue of St. Paul in the The Church of Our Lady.

The Christus statue in The Church of Our Lady.

These works are very impressive and beautiful. Having seen a replica of the Christus at the Mormon Visitor’s Center in Salt Lake City I was very interested in seeing the original in Copenhagen.

Twizy by Renault. The Twizy, a small electric car built by Renault has a range of about 60 miles. Given how tight the seating area is, I wouldn’t want to go much farther than 60 miles! Ok, this isn’t specific to Copenhagen, but in such a compact city it would be a good way to get around! There was a promotion going on and my wife and son had to check it out.

The two-seater Twizy car.

Bicycles are a primary means of transportation throughout Copenhagen. The terrain is flat and bikes are much easier to park and maintain than cars in this city.

Ubiquitous bycicles in Copenhagen.

The Little Mermaid. I had imagined that this bronze sculpture would be more in the heart of Copenhagen, and was surprised that it’s located a bit north of the downtown (still within walking distance if you like long walks) and not too far from where the cruise ships dock.

The Little Mermaid contemplates life sitting on a rock right next to the shore.

This statue is the symbol of Copenhagen and always has a crowd around it, even though it’s fairly small and not all that exciting!

St. Alban’s Church (The English Church). This is a 19^th century Anglican Church, built in the late 1800’s for the considerable English population in Copenhagen. It definitely has the look and feel of a British countryside church.

St. Alban’s Church and Gefion fountain.

Some of the building materials (such as the roof tiles) are from England. Next to the church is Gefion fountain, celebrating the Norse goddess, Gefion.

The Sights of Copenhagen – Part 1

Copenhagen is a great city for tourists with lots to see in a relatively compact area. We spent about a day and a half exploring the town, walking everywhere. With all the canals and harbors, Copenhagen reminded me (just a tiny bit) of Amsterdam, but it definitely has its own personality and character.

Christianshavn

This is a neighborhood located across a large canal on the east side of the old town and originally was part of the fortifications of Copenhagen.

This district is home to Christiania, or Freetown Christiania, a bohemian community having some autonomy from Copenhagen, and Denmark, for that matter. The community is one of Copenhagen’s most famous sights.

The “border” into Christiania.

A sign in four languages welcoming visitors to Christiania and explaining the rules.

One of Christiania’s residents on the left side of the picture.

One of the many colorful buildings in Christiania.

Robyn stands by a creative sculpture in Christiania.

If you’re looking to see something different than the normal historical tourist sites, this is the place. Photographs are forbidden in the main part of the community (to keep the “citizens” from being recorded or identified since there is an active “soft drug” trade here). There are ongoing legal battles between the community and the Danish government.

This sign is only partially joking!

Our Savior’s Church. The tower of this church dominates Christianshavn, and is one of the taller structures in Copenhagen. Part of the climb up the tower is inside and then the last part takes you outside, as the steps circle the round tower and narrow to nothing at the very top, giving great views of Copenhagen.

A view of Our Savior’s Church, just a few blocks from Christiania. Note the round tower and the stairway circling to the top.

Robyn and Sean on the tower’s outside stairs overlooking downtown Copenhagen (looking west).

Another view of Copenhagen from Our Savior's Church tower, looking northwest. Cruise ships dock in the upper right of this photo, which is close to the "Little Mermaid" statue.

Another view of Copenhagen from Our Savior’s Church tower, looking northwest. Cruise ships dock in the upper right area of this photo, which is close to the “Little Mermaid” statue.

There was a funeral going on in the church, so we couldn’t go inside the church itself. The church building was completed in the late 1600’s, and the tower was completed in 1752.

Practical Notes: The main train station is only about two stops (15 minutes) from the airport and has storage lockers (lower level), which are handy if you’re in transit or looking to store your luggage prior to boarding a cruise ship. The main train station is very conveniently located, right next to Tivoli Gardens, one of the world’s first amusement parks, which opened in 1843. Given all the other sights to see, we did not spend time here. We stayed at the Marriott hotel, just a few blocks east of the train station, a great location for tourists. Be forewarned that Copenhagen is expensive, but perhaps slightly less so than its other Scandinavian counterparts, Oslo and Stockholm. Denmark uses the Danish Krone (DKK), not the Euro as its currency.

Visiting Fredriksborg and Kronborg Castles – A great day trip from Copenhagen

If you have an extra day in Copenhagen, or have most of the day before boarding your northern European cruise ship departing from Copenhagen, visit these two castles. We are able to see both in about a 7 hour round trip from Copenhagen by renting a car at our hotel (Marriott). The rental company (Sixt) delivered the car to the hotel and picked it up upon our return, a great service.

Fredriksborg Castle

This castle is located about 40 km northwest of Copenhagen in the small town of Hillerød. The castle dates from 1560 but most of what we see today is from the early 1600’s.

A view of Fredriksborg Castle from the fountain courtyard.

Fredriksborg slot (as castles are called in Denmark) was more of a palace than a military stronghold. It has some beautiful gardens and huge lake surrounding it.

A view of Fredriksborg castle, lake and gardens.

Bedroom chamber at Fredriksborg Castle.

The castle’s interior decorations are elegant. The collection of Carl Bloch paintings in an anteroom of the stunning chapel are probably the most famous interior feature.

The chapel at Fredriksborg Castle.

The subjects of the twenty three paintings include scenes from Christ’s life. They were painted over the years from 1865 to 1879. The room is kept fairly dark, making good photos without flash hard to capture.

One of the Carl Bloch paintings in Fredriksborg Castle.

Kronborg Castle

This castle is not as ornate as Fredriksborg, the interior being much starker, and it definitely served a military purpose, guarding a key sea route into the Baltic Sea.

Exterior view of Kronborg Castle.

Kronborg slot, in the town of Helsingør is about 24 km northeast of Hillerød, and 47 km north of Copenhagen, on a narrow strait separating Denmark and Sweden.

Interior of Kronborg Castle.

The inner courtyard of Kronborg Castle.

Kronborg’s claim to fame is that it was the setting (called Elsinore) for Shakespeare’s play Hamlet.

Statue of Holger the Dane underneath Kronborg Castle. The sleeping viking is to awaken and rescue Denmark in its hour of need.

The castle was originally constructed in 1420, but was rebuilt and renovated several times since. Be sure to visit the casemates, the eerie foundations underneath the huge castle.

The underground storage bins and casemates of Kronborg Castle.

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