A trip to Copenhagen

Since we travelled using United Airlines miles, our trip research & planning revealed that we could fly into Copenhagen via SAS Airlines for fewer miles than any other European city served by any United flight or Star Alliance Airline.

I had not been to Copenhagen since I worked for Siemens in the 1980's, and Celeste had never been there, so it was an easy decision for us to make Copenhagen a "stop & explore" city.

The decision to go there was made even simpler after I showed Celeste pictures of various Copenhagen interesting locations, and since our next trip stop was Oslo, Norway, then Copenhagen made that flight much shorter than it would have been from other European cities.

If you have never been to Copenhagen & either you are planning a trip there, or you just want to know more about it, here are some good sources of information;

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Copenhagen Day One

We arrived early in the morning of July 18th, and we took a taxi from the airport to the Hotel Christian IV located at Dronningens Tvaergade 45. After arriving, we took a short nap and then headed out for a bite to eat at the Bistro Pastis, just around the corner from our hotel.

It is easy to see from the expression on my face, that jet lag has already set in - however - hunger was the motivating force at this point!

After finishing breakfast (and lots of coffee!), we decided to take a hike around the city. The plan was to walk towards the southern end of the city, and to return via the beautiful park ("The King's Garden") that surrounds Rosenborg Castle. This castle was originally built as a summer house by King Christian IV in 1606, and was used as a royal residence by Danish regents until 1710.

As you can see in the images below, the King's Garden and the Castle itself, are extremely beautiful!

Rosenborg Castle from the Garden: We are approaching the castle to take the interior tour, and the garden was so pretty we decided to take a picture.

Rosenborg Castle garden entrance: once you cross this little bridge, the interior tour ticket office is just a few yards away, on the right side of the building from this angle.

Rosenborg Castle Interior: The building is comprised of two upper floors, a ground level floor and a basement. This picture was taken in the "Knight's Hall" (second floor). The hall, which was the last room to be furnished, was completed in 1624. It was originally intended and used as a ballroom. Around 1700 its functions had changed and was mostly used for audiences and banquets. The name “The Knights’ Hall” was attached during Romanticism.

Rosenborg Castle Garden View: This is the view the Royal Family had from a window in one of the Castle bedrooms. That is the King's Garden, and the Castle entrance bridge.

Bench in the King's Garden: surrounded by beautiful flowers and statues - it is a very pretty area.

A beautiful Trellis in the King's Garden.

Quick History Lesson

The King's Garden is Denmark's oldest royal garden and is a popular place for everyone to meet and relax and for children to play in the artistic playground. The Renaissance style garden was established by King Christian IV in the early 16oos. Among the attractions to be enjoyed here are the impressive herbaceous borders, numerous historical sculptures, and Krumspringet ('The Caper') - a restored Renaissance park with a pavilion, espaliers and rose gardens.

Copenhagen Day Two

With jet lag a bit more under control, we decided that today would be the major hiking day. We ate breakfast at the hotel (since it was free), and decided that we would visit the harbor, Tivoli Gardens, and then hike up to the other end of the harbor to see the Little Mermaid statue.

We hiked from our hotel directly to the Amalienborg Palace, and from there to the Harbor where the Royal Danish Playhouse building is located. This is a beautiful building, right on the edge of the harbor.

Nyhavn District: A short walk just around the corner from the Royal Danish Playhouse, is the Nyhavn district. This area is where most of the harbor tours depart from, and there are a number of very nice sidewalk cafes there.

After exploring the Nyhavn area, we decided to hike over to Tivoli Gardens, a 2.6 kilometers walk. As you can see in the images below, Tivoli Gardens is not only very pretty, it is the oldest Amusement Park in Europe - first opened on August 15, 1843.

Tivoli Garden Entrance: This was the first view we had of Tivoli Gardens, as we walked up along the Tietgensgade to the Glyptotek entrance.

Quick Tivoli History Lesson

Tivoli Gardens is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the second-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampenborg, also in Denmark.

With 4.6 million visitors in 2017, Tivoli is the second-most popular seasonal amusement park in the world after Europa-Park. Tivoli is the most-visited theme park in Scandinavia, and the fifth most-visited theme park in Europe, only behind Disneyland Park, Europa-Park, Walt Disney Studios Park and Efteling.

With a Copenhagen Card in hand you get free admission to Tivoli and over 80 attractions as well as free public transportation in the whole capital region.

This was one of the first rides we walked by, it is called The Himmelskibet Star Flyer. At 80 metres (260 ft), it is one of the world's tallest swing rides and affords sweeping views of the city's historical centre. It was manufactured by Funtime and opened in May 2006.

Dragon Boat lake and Dæmonen roller coaster in the background.

Tivoli Quick Facts

The Tivoli Gardens contains; 25 rides, 28 restaurants, 110,718 outdoor lights, 134,000 tulips and narcissi, 876 trees, 6,200 square meters of water, and 20,679 square meters of buildings.

After an excellent lunch at one of the Tivoli Gardens restaurants, we decided to hike up to the northern side of Copenhagen, so that we could see the Little Mermaid statue. This was a more ambitious hike, as Tivoli Gardens is 3.7 kilometers from the Little Mermaid statue area.

I cannot begin to stress how beautiful Tivoli Gardens is, flowers, flowers and more flowers! We had a nice lunch in one of the cafes and then on to the next adventure.

Copenhagen Harbor: The building with the slanted roof, is the world's greenest power plant with a ski slope on top of the building.

The roof has a 440-metre slope on the slanted roof of what will be the world's greenest power plant, designed to turn waste into energy – will cater for skiers at four different levels, and includes a 45% 180-metre black run.

These bicycle racks are all over the city, as bike riding exceeds the number of cars by a mile!

There are approximately 560,000 bicycles in the city of Copenhagen, more bicycles than people, yet they share only 48,000 bicycle stands. With a view to remedying the situation, in 2008 the Danish Cyclists Federation published a "Bicycling Parking Manual" with a number of guidelines.

Little Mermaid Statue by Edvard Eriksen,

Quick History Lesson

The Little Mermaid is a bronze statue by Edvard Eriksen, depicting a mermaid becoming human. The sculpture is displayed on a rock by the waterside at the Langelinie promenade in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is 1.25 metres (4.1 feet) tall and weighs 175 kilograms (385 lb).

Based on the fairy tale of the same name by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, the small and unimposing statue is a Copenhagen icon and has been a major tourist attraction since its unveiling in 1913. In recent decades it has become a popular target for defacement by vandals and political activists.

Kastellet Bridge: As we walked from the Harbor area to the Kastellet Fortress, one of the best preserved Star Fortresses in Europe.

The Castle is constructed in the form of a pentagon with bastions at its corners. Kastellet was continuous with the ring of bastioned ramparts which used to encircle Copenhagen but of which only the ramparts of Christianshavn remain today.

Gefion Fountain: A large fountain on the harbour front in Copenhagen, Denmark. It features a large-scale group of animal figures being driven by the Norse goddess Gefjon. It is located in Nordre Toldbod area next to Kastellet and immediately south of Langelinie, close to the Little Mermaid Statue.

St. Alban's Church: opened in September of 1887, is located just south of the historic Fort Kastellet in central Copenhagen, Denmark and just immediately west of the Gefion Fountain.

Vore Faldne: ("Our fallen") is a six-metre bronze & travertine monument, by Sven Linhart - which was paid for by nationwide public subscription and erected in memory of those Danes who gave their lives as volunteers in the service of the Allies of World War II.

The monument depicts an ordinary soldier, in British Army battle dress and the characteristic British Tommy helmet with his head bowed, in silent remembrance of his fallen comrades, as he faces the nearby St. Alban's English church. Located in Copenhagen's Churchill Park, just outside the Citadel's Royal Gate.

Celebrity Eclipse: in Copenhagen Harbor. We found out later (in Norway) that some of the cruise ships we had seen in the harbor had traveled next to Norway. There are a number of cruise lines that sail up the fjord to Flam and elsewhere.

Just a block north of the Little Mermaid location, is the Langelinie Lystbådehavns Bådelav Marina. A sharp contrast to the large cruise ships in the harbor immediately to the east of the marina!

Copenhagen Day Three

We caught a Norwegian Air Shuttle to fly to Oslo, Norway. Our flight arrived at 10:40AM and we took the Flytoget Train from the airport into the city. As usual, the train station was beneath the airport, so all we had to do is wheel our luggage down the escalator and hop onto the train.

Note to the seasoned traveler: the Flytoget Train Service is fast, frequent, and less expensive than a taxi into Oslo.

European Travel Tips

Please click here to read our complete list of European Travel Tips. These are the tips that we utilize every time we travel, so we hope you find them as useful as we do.