2 Go Denmark Photos

Copenhagen

Our first stop in Scandinavia was the Kingdom of Denmark. While in Denmark, we could not resist but visit the colorful port city of Copenhagen, or København, as it is known by its own people. Copenhagen is seat of the Danish royalty and parliament and the home of the famous children's storybook author, Hans Christian Anderson. It is also a stylish, progressive and lively city that was great fun to explore.

Our favorite street in Copenhagen is Nyhavn Street. Having always been the meeting place for sailors, they now must share it with the pub crowds and tourists as the area has grown into a major attraction. This is not a surprise as you see can see it is rather picturesque. Hans Christian Anderson was quite fond of this area as well, and lived and wrote many of his stories from his home on Nyhavn.

We enjoyed Nyhavn from the comfort of our canal boat. A canal boat tour is a great way to get orientated with the many waterways and sights of Copenhagen. The boats meet you at Nyhavn street and take you around for 1 and 1/2 hours for only $2.50 usd.

Kelly sits on Hans Christian Anderson's lap, like every other tourist, as is evidenced by the golden shine that has been worn on his knee. Incidentally, HCA did not did not like for children to sit on his lap while he told stories.

Hans Christian Anderson continues to entertain children and adults alike with his tails of the Ugly Duckling, the Little Mermaid, the Princess and the Pea and many more delightful stories.

Christianshavn is a colorful waterfront area that was designed to imitate Amsterdam. It is home to government officials as well as hippies and bums. There are many great shops and restaurants in this eclectic area.

Located just across from the city hall, the Tivoli amusement park has been a Copenhagen establishment for over 150 years. It continues to entertain children, tourists and old people who sit at the slot machines until they spend all of their retirement funds.

Free bikes! The city of Copenhagen, progressive place that it is, offers free bikes to everyone (the blue and white wheeled bikes in the stand, together with the red wheeled one Kelly is on, are part of the program). It is very simple. All you need to do is slip a 20 krone coin (a little less than 3usd) into the lock and the bike is released. The bikes are made of theft proof parts, making them unattractive to thieves. They are paid for by the advertisements that are displayed all over the bikes, as you can see. When you are done with the bike, you just lock it back up wherever you can find a stand and the 20 krone piece comes out as the lock is put back into place. As you can see, Kelly had a great time on her bike.

The hot dog man can be found everywhere on the streets of Copenhagen. In this country that places a high premium on egalitarian social welfare, the position of hot dog man is saved for those who may have a handicap or some other impediment that makes finding a job difficult. The hot dog man with highest seniority gets the hottest locations in the city. The Danish people hang out at the stand as they enjoy one of their favorite snacks. We embraced this Danish tradition and munched on a few wieners ourselves--not so much because we loved them all that much. Rather, everything is so expensive here in Scandinavia (relatively speaking), it was one of the more reasonably priced eating options.

Carlsberg beer has been brewed in Copenhagen for over a century. We enjoyed touring the grounds and the museum, and also enjoyed the Carlsberg horses and the free beer.

A highlight of our Copenhagen experience was the afternoon that we spent with Hans in the free-to-be-you-and-me city of Christiania. To meet Hans and learn about Christiania, see Meet Hans.

We came back through Copenhagen on our way back from Norway, and we took the time to see Frederiksborg Castle. We were glad that we did, as it was very beautiful and well preserved.

Continue with us to Norway.

2 Go Maps / 2 Go Actual Itinerary / 2 Go Photos / 2 Go Home Page

PLEASE E-MAIL US. . . WE WOULD LOVE 2 HEAR FROM YOU!

[email protected]