Copenhagen!

We spent last weekend exploring Copenhagen, Denmark and all it has to offer. We saw three palaces, took part in two boat tours, climbed 400 steps to the top of a church tower, admired Nyhaven, an old windmill and the little mermaid statue, rode on one of the oldest running wooden roller coasters and indulged in so many delicious meals and treats. What a weekend!

We woke before the sun on Saturday morning in order to catch our 6:30am flight (sometimes we think we’re nuts, but the early flights allow us to spend the entire day exploring, so it’s worth it). We were greeted by quiet streets and a layer of fog as everyone else was still asleep or getting ready for the day. We hurried over to the Nyhaven where we admired the colored houses on the harbor. We snapped a few foggy photos before jumping on some scooters and making our way to the first palace.

The Christiansborg Palace was fantastic! As we walked to the front of the castle, we stopped to admire the beautiful white royal horses trotting around the track. It looked like a movie set with the palace, fog, carriage and coachman! As we wandered into and around the palace, we had the place to ourselves. There were a few other people, but for the most part we were able to wander around the palace, admire the large rooms and pretend we owned the place. The palace which was once the living quarters of the royal family, is now used for royal events and government shindigs. This stop would be one of our favorite parts of the trip!

After visiting the Christiansborg palace, we made our way to the Amalienborg Palace, which is where the royal family currently lives. We made sure to arrive at this palace shortly before noon in order to watch the changing of the guards. It was a little less eventful than expected but still fun to see. By the time we finished with the guards and the tour of the palace (which included several costumes created by the queen), we were ready to delve in and taste our first bit of Danish food. We found a little shop close to the palace that had the famous smørrebrød. Not too bad! 

Following lunch, we walked back to Nyhaven and hopped on a canal tour. We enjoyed the views from the water as well as learning more about the city. On the tour we saw the royal yacht hanging out in the harbor, our first view of the little mermaid statue and Christiania neighborhood, as well as a bungie jumper jumping over the water. During the canal tour, we scoped out the perfect place to enjoy a snack and sit on the harbor, so that’s what we did next! We grabbed two drinks and a tasty bowl from GRØD and sat on the edge of the dock soaking up the sun.

 

After resting our legs, we set off on our next journey to see Kastellet and the little mermaid. Kastellet is a beautiful star-shaped fortress with two unique gateways and it is home to a traditional windmill (which we love). We enjoyed a stroll around the park before setting our sights on the famous little mermaid (she was neat, but a little more hype than sight).

By this time, we were starting to feel our 4am wake-up call and decided to pick up our bags and make our way to the hotel. After checking into the hotel, we enjoyed a free beverage before heading to the Tivoli Gardens where we enjoyed a delicious dinner. As one last hurrah to our long day, we decided to stroll around the city and find some dessert. We found ourselves walking around the strøget (one of Europe’s largest pedestrian streets) and to our delight, we found a little coffee shop with fresh cake, the perfect after dinner treat!

We had another full day planned for Sunday. We started off by enjoying a delicious breakfast at a quaint little cafe near our hotel (they had delicious iced coffee and they allowed you to piece together your individual breakfast given a list of tasty options, brilliant!). The café happened to be on the path of the Copenhagen Marathon which was taking place that day, and as we finished breakfast, the first group on runners swiftly passed by our table as everyone outside cheered them on. After breakfast, we made our way to the third palace, Rosenbourg Castle, where we learned we needed to get a ticket for a later time slot. No worries though, we had plenty of other sights to see. So, we scheduled our 1pm tour and took off to visit the Rundetarn (Round Tower). The Rundetarn is a 17th century tower which houses the oldest functioning observatory in Europe as well as a great place for a bird’s eye view. 

We still had time to kill after the Rundetarn, so we made our way to the botanical gardens where we enjoyed smelling the flowers and observing the butterflies in the butterfly house. Shortly before one o’clock we made our way back to the castle, dodging the marathon runners as we went. Rosenbourg Castle is located in the King’s Garden, providing a picturesque setting for an enchanting building. The inside of the castle houses amazing statues, tapestries, and your typical royal decorations, but the best part is it also houses Denmark’s crown jewels. We stood in awe as we admired the stunning jewelry and incredibly detailed crowns. They are so fancy!

As our stomachs began to rumble, we made our way to the Tovehallerne Market where we enjoyed some good old-fashioned street tacos and our favorite treat of the trip… a cinnamon twist from Laura’s Bakery… it was the perfect, melt-in-your-mouth, absolutely amazing dessert. It tasted just like Amy’s grandma’s cinnamon rolls, and man were they good!

With full bellies, we made our way to the Church of our Saviour to experience an afternoon work-out. The church has a unique helix spire with a spiral staircase twisting to the top. There are a total of 400 stairs and several skinny stairwells and the view from the top is incredible. We arrived at the church right on time, because we only had to wait 10 minutes before starting the trek up the tower (the man working said the line is usually down the stairs and out the door!). As we climbed the stairs, the bells began ringing, letting us know it was three o’clock. This is the second time we’ve been in a large bell tower while the bells have rung and it’s so neat!

 

Following our mid-day workout, we decided to rest our legs as we enjoyed a different canal tour. Many of the sights were the same as the first tour, but it was still fun to be out on the water again. After the tour, we made our way back to the Tivoli Gardens, this time with the plan to hop on some rides and truly experience the second-oldest amusement park in the world. Tivoli Gardens still possesses its classy old-time feel. The decorations, rides and atmosphere were wonderfully relaxing and enjoyable. We wandered through the park, scoping out which ride we wanted to go on and decided “The Roller Coaster” was the perfect choice (it was built in 1914 and runs through a large make-shift mountain, what more could you ask for?). We patiently waited for our turn and a couple extra turns (thankfully the lines weren’t long) so we could enjoy the ride from the very front row. Like the young kids in line around us, we giddily climbed into the first seat of the coaster and set off for a thrilling ride. Too fun! We enjoyed some cheddar popcorn (one of Jeff’s favorite treats and a rare find over here) while lazing on the park’s lawn watching the fountains, birds and people around us. We enjoyed another dinner at the park as we patiently waited for the sun to go down so we could admire the lights that covered the gardens, rides and bridges. Once the sun had set and the park was illuminated, we took one last stroll around admiring the beautiful sights and indulging in one last treat, Danish ice cream (ice cream dipped in sprinkles, Mmm!). As we wandered back to the hotel, we reminisced about our trip and anticipated our 5:30 am wakeup call and flight the next morning. Thank you Denmark for another incredible trip! P.S. if you go to Copenhagen, look into the Copenhagen Card, it was worth it for us!