Denmark

visitdenmark.com

Trip Report - DC Mom - August 2003

In August 2003 I visited Denmark for three days with my daughter. We traveled to Copenhagen from Sweden by train, arriving in late afternoon, and our first stop was the tourist office where we found a city map and a great deal of other useful information. From there we walked to our hotel, the Cab-Inn Scandinavia, located on Vodroffsvej in a nice, quiet neighborhood a few blocks from the main tourist area. The rooms were amazing - very tiny but very efficient, just like a ship’s cabin. There was a single movable bed and bunk beds fixed to the wall, a little desk and table that folded down from the wall, chairs that folded up for storage, and a TV attached to the wall in a corner near the ceiling. The bathroom was a tiny one unit shower/sink/toilet combination, and when it was time to take a shower, we pulled the curtain around a circular track to screen the water spray from the toilet and sink, but all the fixtures shared the same floor. It was definitely a new experience in accommodations for us.

We began exploring Copenhagen by walking to Radhuspladsen, the large square in front of the city hall, and then down Strøget, Copenhagen's long pedestrian street, and we window shopped and checked out restaurants along the way. We finally stopped for dinner at Mama Rosa’s Cantina, an Italian/Mexican restaurant with an eclectic menu and good food.

The next day began with the hotel's breakfast buffet that was included in the price of the room. It was the standard northern European buffet of breads, cereals, cold cuts, juices, coffee, and tea. Our plan was to see as much of the central part of Copenhagen as possible, and we started with the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek where we spent most of the morning looking at Etruscan and Egyptian art, Impressionist paintings, and Rodin sculptures. The building itself is beautiful with an atrium in the middle, and we enjoyed the art collections. There was certainly more to see in the museum, but we decided to continue our walk and arrived at Frederiksholms Canal where we crossed the Marble Bridge to reach the Christiansborg area where Copenhagen was originally founded. The center of Christiansborg is the palace where the Danish Parliament, the Prime Minister's offices, and the Supreme Court are located. We didn't visit inside the buildings and continued on past the very beautiful Børsen, the old stock exchange building, with its spire depicting four entwined dragon tails. We eventually reached Nyhavn, the picturesque canal that's one of the most famous sights in Copenhagen with colorful restored warehouses and homes lining the quaysides. Today most of the ground floors of the buildings are restaurants, and it was here that we stopped for lunch at Galionen, a restaurant in a green building with tables inside as well as outside on the quay. Our sandwiches and roasted potatoes were excellent, and we sat for awhile just absorbing the atmosphere.

After lunch we walked to the Marmorkirken, the marble church whose huge dome is one of Copenhagen's landmarks. The church is beautiful, both inside and out, and it's part of a district planned by Frederik V in the 18th century. Amalienborg Palace, the official residence of the Queen of Denmark, is part of the same area, and it was our next stop. The palace is actually four identical mansions around a piazza with an equestrian statue of Frederik V in its center. Guards dressed in traditional uniforms guard the palace, and when the Queen is in residence, a changing of the guard ceremony takes place daily at noon, but we learned that she usually resides in the palace only during December - April so there was no ceremony on the day we visited.

Our next stop was the very interesting Frihedsmuseet, a museum chronicling the efforts of the Danish Resistance during World War II and the suffering of the Danish people under German occupation. It was really interesting, and we spent a good deal of time there. We talked for awhile with an elderly Danish man who was actually part of an exhibit on how the Resistance communicated. He was using an old Morse Code transmitter to talk to other Morse Code enthusiasts in Europe and was happy to answer our questions about it and about life during the occupation.

When we left the Frihedsmuseet, rain began to fall and continued steadily for the rest of the day. We walked to Nyboder, an area of pretty golden-colored rowhouses built in the 17th century to house Christian IV’s naval staff. One part of Nyboder has multicolored rowhouses rather than golden ones, and these are the oldest houses in the complex.

We walked on toward Rosenborg Castle through the King’s Garden. Rosenborg Castle started out as Christian IV’s summer house, but it became his favorite residence and was expanded in the early 17th century. Its rooms were some of the most beautiful I'd ever seen, and they contain personal treasures the royal family collected from the reign of Frederik III, Christian IV’s son. The castle is no longer an official royal residence, and it's been a museum since 1833. Some of the highlights for me were the Glass Cabinet with beautiful glassware on display and the Long Hall with its throne guarded by three solid silver lions. In the basement of Rosenborg Castle is the Danish treasury, including the crown jewels and the royal regalia. Security was tight and understandably so. One security guard was inside the treasury room itself, and two armed guards who appeared to be soldiers were outside. The size of the rubies and sapphires was amazing, and I especially liked a set of emerald jewels. Some of the pieces in the collection reminded me of treasures I had seen in the Green Vault in Dresden.

From the castle we walked back toward Strøget and turned into a side street to the Rundetaarn, an observatory built by Christian IV. It has a wide paved spiral ramp and a narrow spiral staircase that lead to the platform at the top of the tower. Visitors can stop to catch their breath at the halfway point where there's a large room with a souvenir shop. We walked all the way to the top of the tower, and fog was setting in as we looked out over the roofs of Copenhagen.

We returned to Strøget for some serious shopping at the Royal Copenhagen and Holmegaard stores - in fact, we were the last customers in Holmegaard when the sales people asked us to please decide on our purchases because they were closing! We bought porcelain and glass pieces for ourselves and as birthday gifts to take home for friends and family.

By this time we were definitely ready for dinner so we looked for a restaurant along Strøget, but nothing seemed promising and we ended up at the very crowded Bistro Restaurant inside Central Station. Although the restaurant was extremely busy, the service and food were very good. From there we headed back to our hotel for the night.   On our final day in Denmark my daughter and I took a harbor cruise in Copenhagen on the Netto-Bådene boats. The embarkation point is beside the Holmens Kirke and opposite the Børsen, the old stock exchange building we'd seen on our first day in the city. Our guide narrated the tour in Danish, English, and German, and along the way we passed by Nyhavn and saw a Danish naval ship and the large ferry boats that travel the Baltic and North Seas. The route followed the Inner Harbor out to the statue of the Little Mermaid, Copenhagen’s most famous symbol, and then we turned back past renovated warehouses, the Amalienborg area, and a set of sculptures made by Bosnian artists who came to Copenhagen during Serbia’s war against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Before the artists returned to their homeland, they created these sculptures to thank Denmark for giving them asylum.

The cruise continued on in Christianshavns Canal through the heart of Christianshavn. This area has kept much of its original character with restored 18th century houses and is a popular place to live for artists and young professionals. The multicolored buildings were pretty, and the canal was filled with boats. The final leg of the cruise crossed the Inner Harbor into Frederiksholms Canal past the area that was the fish market and commercial center of Copenhagen for many centuries. After completing the loop around the island where Christiansborg is located, our boat ride ended where it began.

Afterward we walked to Christianshavn to see the Vor Frelsers Kirke, the church that's the dominant landmark of Christianshavn with a 295' spire in copper and gold. It’s possible for visitors to climb the more than 400 steps that spiral narrower and narrower to the top. We purposely visited the church on a Sunday to attend the worship service because large parts of it were supposed to be in English, but it turned out that two babies were being baptized so the usual format wasn’t followed and nearly all of the service was in Danish. The babies were so cute, and many of their family members and friends were there. I was a bit disappointed that nearly all the worship service was done in Danish, but at least I had the chance to hear the organ and the choir.

After the service was over, we walked back to our hotel to check out and travel to Copenhagen's airport for our return to the U.S. Along the way to the hotel we passed through the Christiansborg area where we saw horses, carriages, and wagons in the courtyard with people dressed in period costumes. It looked like a competition was taking place because there were people with clipboards making notes, and the wagons and carriages were following marked routes. One of the things I enjoy about traveling in Europe is the surprise of coming upon events like this one.

I found Denmark and Copenhagen to be very easy to visit, although a bit pricey. I've included this link for those who might be interested in hostels or some of the less expensive hotels. As far as the Danish language, if a visitor knows no Danish, it's not a problem because English is spoken everywhere. I found the Danish people to be much like my impressions of the Dutch - tolerant, welcoming, and very gracious. The folks who staff the tourist office, wait staff in restaurants, ticket agents in the train station, and the staff in our hotel were universally efficient, helpful, and kind. Copenhagen is a cosmopolitan city, quite walkable, and packed with sights to see - I recommend it.   we saw many folks on bicycles. There are special lanes in the city, and the terrain is relatively flat so it's easy as well.

As far as the beautiful women, if a person is attracted to Nordic types, both Sweden and Denmark are full of stunning examples, both male and female  . I have never seen so many good-looking people as I did in those two countries. Eye candy ... mm mmm mmmm.  
When we travel to Europe, my daughter and I are the typical "castle and cathedral" tourists - we've never met one we didn't like - so for our visit to Denmark, we decided to see Roskilde Cathedral and Frederiksborg Castle in the same day. At Copenhagen's Central Station we asked the ticket agent how to go to Roskilde and Hillerød where Frederiksborg is located, and she explained that we needed a 24-hour ticket for the trains and advised us to take the train to Roskilde first since the cathedral is only open in the morning on Saturdays, then return to Copenhagen, and finally take another train to Hillerød.

When our train arrived, we mistakenly boarded a double-decker car in first class along with several other travelers, and we were all asked to leave and find seats in second class. The train cars had upper and lower seating levels, and we sat in the upper level as we traveled to Roskilde. When we arrived, the town's Saturday market was in full gear, and the main square was busy with shoppers.

The bishops of Roskilde were powerful clergymen who influenced the course of Danish history for over 300 years, and the most famous bishop, Absalon, is the person who founded the city of Copenhagen. For several centuries Roskilde Cathedral was the burial place of Danish monarchs, and today it's a popular site for weddings. In fact, on the day we visited, the cathedral was closing at 11 a.m. because of a wedding. The interior was beautiful with a magnificent golden altarpiece that depicts the life of Christ in 21 scenes. Queen Margrethe I's white marble sarcophagus is behind the altar. There are many side chapels containing tombs of other kings and queens, and one of the most beautiful chapels is that of Christian IV with a statue of the king by the famous Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen and a ceiling of gold stars on an electric blue background.

We returned to Copenhagen and transferred to the train to Hillerød. This train seemed to be very new, and its interior like that of the Roskilde train was designed in the clean, sleek Danish style with blue seats. We traveled past beautiful homes in Copenhagen’s suburbs and were able to see a windmill farm and the sea in the distance. We finally arrived in Hillerød and made our way into town to the main pedestrian street. Since it was market day, the street was very busy, and we noted large numbers of children, baby strollers and prams, and many families with three and four children each. I don’t think the Danes are in any danger of depopulating, based on the number of children we saw! We bought some sandwiches for lunch in a fast food restaurant in a shopping arcade, and then we walked to the end of the street and arrived at Frederiksborg Castle.

The castle is one of the most majestic buildings in northern Europe and is built on three small islands in a lake. It was a royal residence for 100 years, and monarchs were crowned in its chapel. Like Roskilde Cathedral, today it's a popular place for weddings. As we entered the central courtyard of the castle, we saw a wedding party and guests who were waiting for their picture to be taken. We went to the ticket office, and I learned that the castle chapel was closed for the day because there were six weddings scheduled in it! I was very disappointed because the chapel was the room I most wanted to see, but we were told it might be possible to see it for a few minutes at 2:45 p.m. between weddings if we went to the courtyard entrance to the chapel. We walked through the first two floors of the castle and enjoyed seeing the incredibly beautiful rooms, especially the ceilings. I was amazed at the intricate designs and marveled at the craftsmen who created them. I thought this castle and Rosenborg were outstanding in the beauty of their interiors.

Since it was almost 2:45 p.m., we went to the courtyard where another wedding party was having its picture taken, and I noticed tourists in the chapel windows so we asked a security guard if we could see the chapel for a few minutes. He said yes so we went in, and I was very happy to have the chance to visit it. It looks almost exactly the same as it did in Christian IV’s day since it survived a fire that gutted the rest of the castle in 1859. Because the chapel was in use for weddings during our visit, we could only walk around the balcony and weren’t permitted on the main floor, but I was able to get a good look at the priceless 1610 organ and its 1,000 pipes. Next we visited the third floor of the castle and saw the Great Hall, and from there we walked down to the courtyard where we could hear the strains of the chapel organ as another wedding had begun.

We walked to the back of the castle and visited the baroque gardens. Unfortunately all the pools and canals had been drained and were being repaired, and since it was early autumn in Denmark already, very few flowers were blooming, but from the upper terrace we were able to look down and see the patterns made by the plants and hedges. We returned to the central part of Hillerød and the train station and boarded the train for our return to Copenhagen.

Our plans for the evening were to meet my daughter's Swedish friend for dinner at Tivoli. This park is one of the world’s oldest amusement parks, and it’s in the heart of Copenhagen between Central Station and the city hall. It’s been described as part beer garden, part Victorian amusement park, and part Disneyland with restaurants, beautiful gardens, stages for live entertainment, game arcades, and carnival rides. We had a great dinner at the Hercegovina Restaurant - the food and service were very good, and the restaurant was atmospheric with strolling musicians. After dinner we walked around the park which was very pretty with all the lights twinkling and Chinese lanterns hanging from the trees. Finally and reluctantly we said goodbye to our friend and walked back to the hotel.