Favourite 2012 travel photos – Copenhagen from Church of our Saviour. July 2012.
Looking down on Copenhagen
Denmark
Frederiksborg Palace. Hillerød, Denmark.
Favourite 2012 travel photos – Frederiksborg Palace Church. Hillerød, Denmark.
Wandering in Copenhagen
Like every trip and city visit I make, there’s always a “wandering around” time to see some sights. For Copenhagen, this ended up being the last full day of the visit. Here’s a photo tour of the places I wandered past that last afternoon:
Copenhagen’s famous Nyhavn. An area of 17-18th century buildings lining a canal stretching to the harbour:
A picnic in Copenhagen
When we started planning our Scandinavian trip we knew we were going to be taking it easy on restaurants given the general expense of eating out in Copenhagen. Luckily, we had a pretty comprehensive grocery store close to the hotel and a wonderful organic bakery with a selection of gluten free items made fresh every day (Naturbageriet). We also came to discover the very new market-based food hall, Torvehallerne, that was immediately between our main train station and our hotel (how lucky!):
Hillerød, Helsingør and Humlebæk
The tourist cards most larger cities offer end up being a bad value for us. To “break even” you usually need to spend a couple of days running through museums to feel you got your money’s worth. Not so with the “Copenhagen Card” – for us, the attraction was that full transit and regional train access was included. That made our day trip north of the city on a series of trains painless. Our plans for the day are a visit to Hillerød to see Frederiksborg Castle, a quick trip to Helsingør to wander around and find some lunch, and then on to Humlebæk to visit the highly renowned Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.
About 50 minutes after leaving Copenhagen’s central train station, we arrive in the tranquil surroundings of Hillerød as the castle opens for visitors:
The first full day in Copenhagen
It didn’t take much to shake off a bit of jet lag after traveling to Denmark. A good night’s sleep, some hotel coffee and a chunk of a pretty tasty gluten free bread we picked up on the way to the hotel the day before (more to come on the variety of gluten free products readily available in Scandinavia in another post), and I’m pretty much ready for a big day of exploring Copenhagen.
The morning starts easy enough with some wandering in the Nørrebro neighbourhood. Not on the beaten path of all visitors, this is a great location to get a feel for everyday life in the Danish capital. On a lovely 28°C day, I spent some time in Assistens Cemetary, unaware on entry that Hans Christian Andersen was buried here. Following a few directional signs, I came upon his final resting place:
Copenhagen evenings at Tivoli
After two relatively painless flights – Halifax to Reykjavik, then onward to our destination, we’re in Copenhagen as two sleep deprived people on day one of our Scandinavian trip. We’re at our hotel by about 2:30pm local time and our goal for the day is a snack, a nap and then to spend an easy evening at Tivoli.
Tivoli for your first evening in Denmark may sound like an odd choice, but this is not a run of the mill amusement park. Trust me, I spent four hard summers working at a conventional amusement park and as a result, don’t generally enjoy visiting them to this day. At Tivoli, there are high end restaurants, bars and cafes. Within its walls are an abundance of manicured lawns, lakes and places to simply people watch. On our first night, we simply explored and wandered around Tivoli. Although the rides were enticing, we elected to keep our feet on solid ground. Just inside one of the main entries is the Pantomime Theatre:
First reflections on Scandinavia
Fourteen days. Four countries. A multitude of trains, planes, subways, boats and buses. Having returned from an amazing tour of Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Iceland, I’m reflecting on a trip I’ve wanted to make for many years. Sitting in the airport in Reykjavik yesterday afternoon, my love asked me what my favourite part of our trip was. It’s a question to which I’m not sure I can provide an answer. This is a trip that really felt like four smaller voyages wrapped into one. As I sit on my sofa this morning, having been awake for a few hours adjusting to the change in time, I know it was a great trip – my feet are sore, my camera’s memory cards are full, and my spirit is rested.
More reflection and stories coming on the trip over the next few weeks. For now, a picture of what was one of the deciding factors in making Scandinavia the destination this year over a whole host of places on our “must visit” list. Food is always an important part of our adventures and Scandinavia gave my love (who has Celiac disease) a chance to have something she hasn’t been able to have in years – a (gluten free) Big Mac in Stockholm:
Bluenose Traveler 