Having asked around in the weeks before our flight, it seemed that Ryanair wasn’t held in the highest regard for either its timeliness or customer service. Admittedly, there are numerous cues that make it clear that this is a budget airline but overall our experience was great. Our hour and a half long flight departed and arrived on time, and we touched down in Copenhagen around 11:20am, Saturday local time.
Given that we were really only spending 2 half days in Copenhagen, this getaway was like the holiday equivalent of Diet Coke or Skim Milk.
One of the very first things we noticed was that there are bikes everywhere. They cycle all down the streets and then banks of parked cycles line the footpaths. We dropped our bags off at the Generator Hostel, the London equivalent of which was our home for the first few weeks after our Contiki. Next, we went down to Rådhuspladsen (Town Hall Square) to join a Sandemans free walking tour.
Rådhuspladsen sits opposite Tivoli Gardens, the second oldest amusement park in the world. It is believed that Walt Disney was inspired by Tivoli Gardens to create Disneyland in California.
Along the walking tour, we viewed the court house which sits on the public square Nytorv (New Market), adjoining Gammeltorv (Old Market) which together form a large open square. We learned that through history, there have been 2 fires that ravaged the city and destroyed most of the buildings on both occasions. As a result, many of the buildings throughout Copenhagen are the second or third incarnations of the originals.
We passed the house where the inventor of Carlsberg beer was born, and headed down towards Christiansborg Palace, which contains the Danish Parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Ministry of State. The current Christiansborg Palace is the third on the site due to the other 2 having been destroyed by fire, and was originally the home of the Royal family. One of the oldest churches in the city is the Nikolaj Church and like many churches throughout Copenhagen, no longer functions as a church but is now home to the Copenhagen Contemporary Art Centre and a restaurant.
Along the walking tour, we viewed the court house which sits on the public square Nytorv (New Market), adjoining Gammeltorv (Old Market) which together form a large open square. We learned that through history, there have been 2 fires that ravaged the city and destroyed most of the buildings on both occasions. As a result, many of the buildings throughout Copenhagen are the second or third incarnations of the originals.
We passed the house where the inventor of Carlsberg beer was born, and headed down towards Christiansborg Palace, which contains the Danish Parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Ministry of State. The current Christiansborg Palace is the third on the site due to the other 2 having been destroyed by fire, and was originally the home of the Royal family. One of the oldest churches in the city is the Nikolaj Church and like many churches throughout Copenhagen, no longer functions as a church but is now home to the Copenhagen Contemporary Art Centre and a restaurant.
We passed the grand Magasin du Nord department store, which is linked to the British department store Debenhams, and sits opposite the Royal Danish Theatre and Kongens Nytorv (King's New Square). Unfortunately as is the case with much of Europe, construction has taken over Kongens Nytorv, hiding majority of the square and the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from view.
We stopped for a break at Baresso. Considering that this is merely a Danish coffee chain, the hot chocolates were amazing! Immersed in the cup of hot milk were 3 sticks, each with a solid hunk of milk, dark and white chocolate.
Onwards to Hyhavn (translates to New Harbour), originally a busy commercial port but today many of the colourful old houses have been transformed into bars and restaurants.
Hans Christian Andersen is one of Denmark’s most iconic individuals, having written fairy tales such as Thumbelina, The Princess and the Pea, The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling and The Snow Queen (which inspired Disney’s Frozen). Still standing at number 20 Nyhavn is his former home, a large pink-red building.
We continued around to Amalienborg, a complex of 4 almost identical palaces arranged around an octagonal courtyard. Christian VII’s Palace (Queen’s guest residence), Christian VIII’s Palace (guest residence), Frederik VIII’s Palace (residence of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary) and Christian IX’s Palace (royal couple's official residence) are fine examples of Danish architecture, and act as the winter homes of the Danish royal family, including Australian born Crown Princess Mary.
Designed by the same architect, Nicolai Eigtved, the impressive Marble Church also lies on the Amalienborg axis. Following the commencement of construction in 1749 the architect died in 1754, and the church was not completed for almost 150 years until 1894.
With darkness looming, we returned to the hostel before heading out for dinner. Side note, “traditional” Danish food is not very interesting.
On Sunday morning, we headed into town to scope out a souvenir and explore Strøget, Europe’s longest pedestrian shopping street. We passed the Round Tower, unique in that there are no stairs or elevator inside. Instead, visitors reach the top via a spiralling ramp – unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to go in.
We wandered past Rosenborg Castle, the former home of Scandinavian king Christian IV.
The Little Mermaid statue in honour of Hans Christian Anderson is a bit isolated and in all honesty an underwhelming experience, but hey, she is an icon of Copenhagen nonetheless.
Considering all the criticism we’d heard about Ryanair, our return flight home was also faultless and on time. The same couldn’t be said for the bus transfer we’d booked from Luton airport back into London. Having proceeded through customs and everything else as quickly as we could in order to make the departure time, we stood around outside in the freezing cold waiting for the bus. After a few minutes, a staff member told us that our bus had been cancelled because the driver just decided not to bother today, but we could wait for the next one in half an hour. Helpful.
Given our brief visit, we didn’t get a chance to do everything but at the same time it didn’t feel like we’d wasted our time and missed out on much. We were trying to work out what we could compare Copenhagen to. It’s a bit like a cross between the best parts of Vienna, Austria and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Not hugely touristy, but our adventures have taught us that sometimes that makes the place even more charming.
Highlights:
- Bikes everywhere
- Hans Christian Anderson
- Tivoli Gardens
- Sandemans free walking tour
- Rådhuspladsen (Town Hall Square)
- Nytorv (New Market) and Gammeltorv (Old Market)
- Carlsberg beer
- Christiansborg Palace
- Nikolaj Church
- Magasin du Nord department store
- Hyhavn (New Harbour)
- Amalienborg
- Australian born Crown Princess Mary
- Marble Church
- Strøget, Europe’s pedestrian shopping street
- LEGO
- Round Tower
- Rosenborg Castle
- Natural History Museum
- National Gallery of Denmark
- The Little Mermaid
We stopped for a break at Baresso. Considering that this is merely a Danish coffee chain, the hot chocolates were amazing! Immersed in the cup of hot milk were 3 sticks, each with a solid hunk of milk, dark and white chocolate.
Onwards to Hyhavn (translates to New Harbour), originally a busy commercial port but today many of the colourful old houses have been transformed into bars and restaurants.
Hans Christian Andersen is one of Denmark’s most iconic individuals, having written fairy tales such as Thumbelina, The Princess and the Pea, The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling and The Snow Queen (which inspired Disney’s Frozen). Still standing at number 20 Nyhavn is his former home, a large pink-red building.
We continued around to Amalienborg, a complex of 4 almost identical palaces arranged around an octagonal courtyard. Christian VII’s Palace (Queen’s guest residence), Christian VIII’s Palace (guest residence), Frederik VIII’s Palace (residence of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary) and Christian IX’s Palace (royal couple's official residence) are fine examples of Danish architecture, and act as the winter homes of the Danish royal family, including Australian born Crown Princess Mary.
With darkness looming, we returned to the hostel before heading out for dinner. Side note, “traditional” Danish food is not very interesting.
On Sunday morning, we headed into town to scope out a souvenir and explore Strøget, Europe’s longest pedestrian shopping street. We passed the Round Tower, unique in that there are no stairs or elevator inside. Instead, visitors reach the top via a spiralling ramp – unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to go in.
We wandered past Rosenborg Castle, the former home of Scandinavian king Christian IV.
The Little Mermaid statue in honour of Hans Christian Anderson is a bit isolated and in all honesty an underwhelming experience, but hey, she is an icon of Copenhagen nonetheless.
Considering all the criticism we’d heard about Ryanair, our return flight home was also faultless and on time. The same couldn’t be said for the bus transfer we’d booked from Luton airport back into London. Having proceeded through customs and everything else as quickly as we could in order to make the departure time, we stood around outside in the freezing cold waiting for the bus. After a few minutes, a staff member told us that our bus had been cancelled because the driver just decided not to bother today, but we could wait for the next one in half an hour. Helpful.
Given our brief visit, we didn’t get a chance to do everything but at the same time it didn’t feel like we’d wasted our time and missed out on much. We were trying to work out what we could compare Copenhagen to. It’s a bit like a cross between the best parts of Vienna, Austria and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Not hugely touristy, but our adventures have taught us that sometimes that makes the place even more charming.
Highlights:
- Bikes everywhere
- Hans Christian Anderson
- Tivoli Gardens
- Sandemans free walking tour
- Rådhuspladsen (Town Hall Square)
- Nytorv (New Market) and Gammeltorv (Old Market)
- Carlsberg beer
- Christiansborg Palace
- Nikolaj Church
- Magasin du Nord department store
- Hyhavn (New Harbour)
- Amalienborg
- Australian born Crown Princess Mary
- Marble Church
- Strøget, Europe’s pedestrian shopping street
- LEGO
- Round Tower
- Rosenborg Castle
- Natural History Museum
- National Gallery of Denmark
- The Little Mermaid
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