Copenhagen Experience September 2024
A good short break away
INTRODUCTION
This is my second attempt at giving a bit of background to the photos I take on holiday!!
DAY 1 - LEAVING UK AND FIRST DAY IN DENMARK
The first part of the day (early) was a tad stressful – the cross country route to Stansted was extremely foggy!
Knock on effect – plane was delayed for an hour and a half. Not pleasant standing out in the gloom and damp – the only distraction was watching our own suitcase being loaded on the plane!!
10 mins after taking off we were of course in bright sunshine. Copehagen welcomed us into 27 degree sunshine for that day and the two following days.
No time to waste – train to hotel, dump bags and find our bearings. It didn’t take us long to find a very pleasant city centre park. Clearly a very popular park. Despite the weather it was obvious that Autumn is still beginning to be in evidence.
Food was next on the agenda and a square nearby to the centre provided some excellent opportunity for food and rest and then the sunset!
DAY 2 -EXPLORING COPENHAGEN
We have an interesting modus operandi when we have visited European Cities. Use the Hop On – Hop Off bus. It does what it says on the can and includes a commentary as we complete the circular tour. It is an excellent way of finding out where things are and gives pointers to where we want to return to.
We were warned that the Little Mermaid would be underwhelming and so it proved. The picture says it all.
People who know me well will understand why I have included the next picture. I believe it to be a De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter. I have to say that there was a temptation of spending EUR110 but for a 14 minute flight I really didn’t think it was worth it.
In our opinion far more interesting was what laid a few hundred yards back from the waterfront.
St. Alban’s Church, locally often referred to simply as the English Church, is an Anglican church in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built from 1885 to 1887 for the benefit of the growing English congregation in the city. Designed as a traditional English parish church in the Gothic Revival style, it is in a peaceful park setting a next to the citadel Kastellet and the Gefion Fountain.
The church is part of the Church of England’s Diocese in Europe. It is dedicated to Saint Alban, the first martyr of Great Britain.
The Church is situated in the Churchillparken
a public park, occupying a tract of land between Kastellet, a 17th-century fortress, and the street Esplanaden. Located on the former esplanade which used to surround Kastellet, the area has a long history as a green space but received its current name in 1965 to commemorate Winston Churchill and the British assistance in the liberation of Denmark during World War II.
St. Alban’s Church, the Anglican church in Copenhagen, and the Museum of Danish Resistance are located within the boundaries of the park. Access to Kastellet through its main entrance, The King’s Gate, is also reached through the park.
The Kastellet afforded some great views from its ramparts and a leisurely walk in the sunshine
Kastallet
Night time at Tivoli Gardens
Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli , is an amusement park and pleasure garden. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken (Bakken) in nearby Klampenborg,(1583) and Wurstelprater in Vienna, Austria (1766).
With 4.6 million visitors Tivoli is the most visited amusement park in Scandinavia . It is located in downtown Copenhagen, next to the Central rail station.
This was a fun evening albeit late – we entered the park at 10.30pm. The live music was fantastic as was the amusements and fireworks
DAY 3 -EXPLORING COPENHAGEN
Our third day in truth started much like the previous day – catching the Hop on Hop off bus to Nyhaven. In truth we could have walked it but we didn’t find that out until later!!
Nyhavn ; New Harbour) is a 17th-century waterfront, canal and entertainment district. Stretching from Kongens Nytorv to the Inner Harbour just south of the Royal Playhouse, it is lined by brightly coloured 17th and early 18th century townhouses and bars, cafes and restaurants. The canal harbours many historical wooden ships.
History
Nyhavn seen on a detail from Rosen’s Map of Copenhagen, 1674
Nyhavn was constructed by King Christian V from 1670 to 1675, dug by Danish soldiers and Swedish prisoners of war from the Dano-Swedish War 1658–1660. It is a gateway from the sea to the old inner city at Kongens Nytorv (King’s Square), where ships handled cargo and fishermens’ catch. It was notorious for beer, sailors, and prostitution. Danish author Hans Christian Andersen lived at Nyhavn for 18 years.
The first bridge across Nyhavn opened on 1874. It was a temporary wooden footbridge. It was replaced by the current bridge in 1912.
During the 1960s it was renovated.
The best way to explore the area is via the canals and waterways is by boat and this provide a leisurely way to see Copenhagen from another angle.
There was a variety of buildings to be seen including original architecture and ultra modern areas such as Paper Island – so named because originally it was the site of a large paper mill. We visited Christianshavn.
For much of the 20th century a working-class neighbourhood, Christianshavn developed a bohemian reputation in the 1970s and it is now a fashionable, diverse and lively part of the city with its own distinctive personality. Businessmen, students, artists, hippies and traditional families with children live side by side.
Nyhaven was a brilliant place to explore. A coffee was 
needed after the trip and to escape the heat we dodged down a side street. My humour got the better of me and saw this.Look carefully – the grammar is correct on the flag but not on the shopfront.
Again our navigation let us down trying to find one of the museums so we headed to the Guinness World of Records – fascinating facts abounded.
Guess what food intervened again and we headed back to the colourful streets of Nyhaven.
Replenished we headed back to our hotel following the main shopping street – Observation told us that we started at the Posh end – Gucci etc and within a mile we had dipped to JD Sports.
There were some interesting shops which made me think that the Danish have an obsession with plastic ducks. Judge for yourself
DAY 4 -EXPLORING COPENHAGEN
We knew from the weather forecast that the glorious sunshine we had enjoyed for the previus 3 days was not going to last. True to form it rained most of the day ending with a massive downpour in the afternoon – we got soaked to the skin!!
All of our activities ere close to our hotel – walking was the name of the game.
Here are the bullet points for the day and the gallery shows the highlights from the day.
- Tivoli Square suurounded by hotels and the City Hall
- Famous citizen of Copenhagen – Hans Christian Anderson – a statue and roads named after him. Did you know his contemporary and friend was Charles Dickens?
- Bridge – apparently the most beautiful bridge in Copenhagen – Hmm? Known as the Marble Bridge – it is actually made to look like Marble and is constructed of Sandstone
- Most of the rest is centred around the Christianborg Palace – has a long history (since 1200s) of building and destruction.
- The kitchen is vast and cleared catered for some large banquets. There was a guest list for one in 1937 held in honour of the Kings of Norway and Swede. One Name caught my eye (humour again!!) – Bogholder Goreson. Accountant it means!!
- There is a picture of the roof of the palace that made me think that I was at the Brandenberg Gate in Berlin.
- The random picture of the car is the King’s car. He had been at the palace for a function. He is new to the role – he became King in January 2024 following the abdication of his mother.
- The Guard of Honour – not a patch on ours. Made me think that the uniforms were purchased at Primark!!
- Dinner Service – magnificent and hasn’t been used for 30 years. Originally a present for Catherine the Great but it was so long in manufacture it never made it to Russia.
- Picture of pdestrians waiting at a crossing. Why? The Danes are incredibly disciplined – nobody wallks across until the Green Man is showing
CONCLUSION
A great place to visit. A clean, green and friendly city. More to see on another trip – maybe a sneaky trip to Malmo on the train – just to say that I had been across the Oresund Bridge!!
Very Expensive but I knew that – all of Scandanavia is like that