Day 57 Copenhagen, Denmark

July 15

Today we arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark.

We visited the Little Mermaid Statue, followed by a tour of Rosenborg Castle, and lastly some free time for shopping before returning to the ship. 

We passed a few sites on the bus along the way. One place that I couldn't get a photo of was the Tivoli Gardens, the famous amusement park founded in 1843. It has the worlds oldest wooden roller coaster, and also has open air concerts, restaurants and flower stands, like a permanent county fair.

I would also like to visit Hans Christian Andersen's Wonderful World, I loved his tales as a child, even though they generally don't have happy endings with exception of The Ugly Duckling. Our tour guide told us that the tale of the ugly duckling was like Andersen's personal life, he wanted to be a dancer but was rejected, he loved theatre and wanted to be an actor, however he was too shy on stage, and when his big break came and his stories became noticed, he turned into a beautiful swan.

Sea Princesses behind.

The Little Mermaid bronze statue sits along the Langelinie promenade, representing Copenhagen, a symbol of fantasy and imagination. The statues head has been cut off twice, she has been painted every colour of the rainbow and even dressed up. When her head was removed, it was treated like a murder investigation, however the head has never been found. Lucky they still have the mould.

The Little Mermaid is from a Hans Christian Andersen tale. The story doesn't end as sweetly as the Disney version, she does not get the prince to fall in love and marry her, and as punishment she is turned into sea foam. These pictures didn't turn out well, the sun was in the wrong spot.

 Nyboder, old naval yards and housing for soldiers in the 17th century. 

Rosenborg Castle. Built in the 17th century as a summer home for King Christian IV, it houses Denmark's cultural treasures today. 

Rosenborg Castle Gardens.

King Christian IV is a well known King because he had written over 3,000 notes and letters still available today, so there is a great insight to who he was. Our tour here included a viewing of the monarchy's Crown Jewels and a visit to the royal apartments. You have to pay extra to take photos, however the light inside is not very good, and any photos of the jewels would have reflection from the glass in the shots, so not really worth the price for photos.

The highlights inside the royal apartments for me was the 500+ year old clock that still works today, plays a merry chime every 30 minutes, and little figurines come out from the inside. It was all gold and silver and beautifully engraved, it looked just under a meter tall.

Rosenborg Castle entrance (from the inside).

Christianborg Palace, the official seat of the Danish Parliament since 1918. More than three centuries old, it was the principal residence of Kings until 1794. The castle burnt down both in 1974 and 1884, and was built for the last time starting in 1907, finishing in 1928. New monarchs continue to be proclaimed from the balcony overlooking Castle Square. 

The tower of the Borsen, the world's oldest active stock exchange, has three green dragons with their tails twisted into a thin 196-foot "dragon spire" tower.

Right in the mid-left of this picture you can see another twisted spire which belongs to the Church of Our Saviour. The tower on this church is unique, with an outside spiral stairway with 400+ stairs to the top, giving a great view of the city.  It was a shame that we didn't get a closer look. You can't see in this picture, but from a distance the tower is black and gold.

Hehe.

Stroeget, the longest car free pedestrian shopping area in Europe. We didn't buy anything, too expensive here in Copenhagen, even the souvenirs are expensive.

Stroeget

Lego Shop.

Lego Shop.

Nyhavn waterfront, the old port with many colourful 500 year old gabled houses and restaurants. From here you can take a canal boat tour. I think this is the prettiest part of the city that I saw from the bus.

Nyhavn.

Nyhavn.

The Opera House.

Amalienborg Palace, the official winter residence of the royal family.

The Marble Church, a small version of St Peters Church in the Vatican, Rome.

The Amalienborg Palace surrounds a square with four rococo style pavilions (mansions) of equal size.

This particular mansion is home to Queen Margrethe II. When she is in residence, the flag is present. Both Prince Frederik, Princess Mary and their four children have a pavilion, and Prince Frederick's brother has one, the last pavilion is used for guests. 

A statue of King Frederik V sits in the middle of the palace square. Most Danish Kings have been named either Frederik or Christian.

The changing of the guards takes place every day at midday. There are ceremonial changes of the guards when the Queen is in residence. Danish toys modelled after these guards are one of the country's most popular exports. 

I think this is the Gefion Fountain.

Tomorrow we stop at Oslo.