The sculpture of The Little Mermaid was first displayed in 1909. It was based on the 1837 Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale. I first saw it in 1979. It was actually further out in the channel. Today, the Mermaid is reasonably close in order for people to climb all over it and take pictures.
Copenhagen was and is one of my all-time favorite cities. There is always something to see and do. It is a vibrant place with about 600,000 people.
We highly recommend paying for the “Copenhagen Card” on-line. It is one of the few cities that have mastered the use of a travel card. Many of the museums, activities and even transportation is all consolidated under one card. If you are going to see a lot of places and travel in Copenhagen, this card is for you.
We flew from Amsterdam to Copenhagen just a tad over an hour. It was mid-June of 2019. If you go by train, a few dollars cheaper, it was a 16-hour trip. It was a no brainer to fly.
A modern train whisks you into the city center in forty minutes. The train center is showing its age these days.
On one side the train station is where you can pick-up busses. The same side is also the famous amusement park, Tivoli Gardens. The opposite side is where our hotel was located.
We highly recommend Hotel Andersen. A block away from the train station without the noise. It is a modern, comfortable and smart hotel. In your room is a free International phone—no charges!
What we liked best about Hotel Andersen was not only the spread at breakfast, but the Happy Hour at night! Our superior room was large and so was the bathroom.
We thoroughly enjoyed the fresh breads at Hotel Andersen. So good.
The Copenhagen Card will get you into Tivoli Gardens. You just have to love a city that puts an amusement park in the center of its city!
It is the second oldest park in Europe, and it is not very large. Over four million people visit Tivoli Gardens in a year—and it is closed for several winter months. The roller coasters and rides are extra.
The Star Flyer was my favorite. This ride swings you around while flying at 260 feet up. Going in circles, it was hard to see anything after a moment. And, these rides are not short either.
Tivoli Gardens is connected to a “food court.” Once again, Kathie and I found “Padron Peppers.” So delicious.
We enjoyed walking along the waterfront. Eventually you arrive at the Nyhavn Canal. In 1979, there really wasn’t much there. Just some bars where sailors would hang-out. It has surely changed.
Along this area are cafes, souvenir shops and ice cream parlors. If you have time and the money, sitting at one of the cafes would be memorable.
Nyhavn does make an iconic picture of Copenhagen.
If you can swing a deluxe hotel, we recommend Nyhavn 71. There are a number of rooms that have water views . Their breakfast is legendary. We used their “open” foyer bathroom several times. Normally, bathrooms are locked in hotels. This is a first class operated establishment.
It is at Nyhavn that you can take a cruise exploring the canals and areas that make Copenhagen special.
One area we wanted to explore was “Freetown Christiania.”
This is an international community and commune of hippies. About a thousand people “squatted” over an abandoned military area in 1971. It has become a thriving village.
Pictures are not allowed in the village. They really don’t want you to come out with pics of people “using drugs!” Cannabis is tolerated in this area. There is quite an extensive history of these 19 acres. We appreciate that they tolerate tourists.
From Nyhavn, you can walk over “The People’s Bridge” to an outside food court area. It is here that we learned by “Gasoline Grill.” They really do make one of the best hamburgers I have ever tasted. The name may not be appealing, but the food is tasty.
Walking the waterfront will get you to the “Little Mermaid.” Come early or come late if you want to see it with a reasonable amount of people. When the cruise ships are in, the place can be a madhouse.
The “Little Mermaid” has had its head stolen and knocked off a few times. Also, she has been plastered with all different colors of paint: blue, white, green and red just to name a few colors. Most recently, someone wrote on its stone base, “racist fish.”
Various cities have tried to copy “The Little Mermaid.” There has been a number of law-suits. We did see a similar one while walking around Stanley Island in Vancouver, Canada.
Along the way, we did see other statues along the waterfront:
Walking back, we did stop at the beautiful Gefion Fountain. A group of oxen are being driven by the Norse goddess Gefjon. It does make a nice picture with the St. Alban’s Church behind.
St. Alban is a small Anglican church. Anyone who is British comes into the church. It was built in 1887.
A Church that attracts people is the Church of Our Saviour. The spire that can be climbed goes up over 300 feet. Spectacular views can be had. It is easy to see why Copenhagen is sometimes called “The City of Spires.”
There is an Urban legend that says the architect killed himself by making the spire steps “anticlockwise.” All evidence points to the fact this legend is not true. Anyhow, we love going “anticlockwise” walking in our local mall.
Inside the church there are several sculptures of note. First, a spectacular sculptures angel. And at the back of the church are two elephants!
Throughout Copenhagen there are unique pieces of artwork:
We did spend a full morning visiting the Rosenborg castle and gardens.
This castle and gardens was actually a summerhouse to Denmark’s famous king, Christian IV.
The castle is guarded.
We were met, though, by a friendly member of the staff. His name was “Martin.” I just love that name.
We loved seeing the “Crown Jewels.”
Many of the rooms are of the “Baroque” style.
We found two interesting artifacts. First, we located the shrapnel that took Christian IV eye out. He made the pieces of shrapnel into earrings, which he gave to a mistress!
Abraham Lincoln in 1861 gave two colt revolvers to King Frederik VII. The colt was a new weapon and highly prized. Lincoln had the weapons inscribed, “From the President of the United States to the King of Denmark.” We wonder if this gift was before the start of the Civil War, April 12th, or afterwards?
There are several “walking streets,” people only and cars prohibited. These streets can get crowded.
You may run into the “Round Tower.” This was built in the 17th century. Horse carriages could go up eight stories using the “round” paved road. You do have to climb a number of steps at the end to obtain a spectacular view of Copenhagen. Once again, this is free if you have the Copenhagen Card.
1979, the Carlsberg Brewery was located in Copenhagen. There was a fine tour with free beer at the end. Today, the main brewery is outside of the city.
Most of the old brewery is being used for modern development. An apartment complex is being built.
Although, the main parts of the old historic brewery are being kept. One of those historic pieces are the “Elephants” that guard a gate. I took a picture of these Elephants in 1979.
I was told a number of years later by one of my students that on the sides of these Elephants that were built in 1909, there are “swastikas”. The swastika symbol comes from Asia and is a symbol of peace, love and prosperity. Hitler distorted this thousand year old symbol for his own means. The swastika remain on these elelphants as a testament of what they were originally intended for.
There is still a museum at the complex. You may even run into a brewery wagon.
We did make a half-day journey to see the Viking Museum in Roskilde, about a 40-minute train ride west of the city. There is also the Roskilde Cathedral which is quite famous for being the burial ground for many Danish Kings and Queens.
On our final day we did make it to a superb museum known as “Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek” museum–not to be confused with the smaller Carlsberg museum at the brewery. We were pleasantly surprised how interesting this place is.
There were plenty of statues, paintings and a superb Egyptian collection:
