Denmark – Silver & Blonde

We decided to visit Rosenborg Castle on the second day of our trip to Copenhagen. We booked tickets the same morning via the official website. The castle staff are very strict and won’t let you enter even a minute early. The castle and its surroundings are so beautiful. A little like at Buckingham Palace, soldiers march up and down outside and woe betide anyone who gets in their way. One member of the castle staff screamed to a toddler to get out of their way, it was a little harsh but the little boy’s dad didn’t seem too perturbed. Inside there is so much to see including portraits of various members of Danish royalty, many of whom were a bit… strange looking. There’s a whole room dedicated to glass wear but it would have been helpful to have an audio guide so we could know exactly what we were looking at. The Renaissance castle is home to the Danish crown jewels which we didn’t see because my daughter needed the loo, which is outside, and we could not get back in. It was a hot day and, to be honest we had had enough of the stuffiness. The castle is located in perhaps the most beautiful spot in Copenhagen, next to the Kings Gardens where you can go for a stroll afterwards. The cover image of this post is the view from the castle windows.

A sign for the Kings Gardens, A soldier outside Rosenborg Castle, The Glass Cabinet, Rosenborg Castle

The following morning my dad called to say that Mum had been taken ill and that the GP had called an ambulance. I spent several hours worrying but my brother and his wife live in the same town as the hospital and they were able to go and help. Fortunately Mum wasn’t admitted and is now recovering from an infection. As you can imagine, it did rather blight the day but, after I knew that Mum was going to be alright and I didn’t need to fly home, we went to Tivoli Gardens. This is the theme park that inspired Disney World and the second oldest theme park in the world, opening in 1843. It is a must if you are visiting the city with young people. There are more than thirty rides which I am sure my daughter would have loved had she been with friends but we paid around £20 each for entrance to the park, not including the rides. We then paid an additional £12 to go into the aquarium . There are numerous food stands, cafes and bars dotted around and plenty of places to sit and relax. The atmosphere is just lovely and the gardens are very pretty.

Photos from Tivoli Gardens, the aquarium, me trying not to worry about my mum, the gardens

On our final full day we visited the Botanical Gardens and the Natural History Museum . There was an icy wind and it was drizzling so we didn’t stay in the gardens for long. They are free to enter but you do need to pay to go into the Palm House. There is a very charming old building in the gardens which houses the Pioneer Centre for Artificial Intelligence research, an odd stetting for something so futuristic. The centre is not open to the public. The museum was well worth a visit. There is currently a wildlife photography exhibition showing which we really enjoyed. There is a whole room of fossils, stuffed animals, tusks and shells that visitors can touch and there was a children’s workshop taking place. It did make me sad to see the stuffed tiger, polar bear and other creatures but they have all been long-deceased. The museum staff were all very friendly and enthusiastic. Afterwards we went to the farmer’s market opposite our hotel for the most delicious (and pricey) sandwiches. We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant, again the meal wasn’t fantastic.

Our flight wasn’t until 9.30pm on Friday so we went into town to have pastries and coffee for breakfast at a bakery called BUKA. Afterwards we returned to Nyhavn Harbour and took another boat trip but, like most things in life, it wasn’t as enjoyable the second time. Then we headed into town for a look around the shops, a light lunch and an ice-cream. We finished our trip back at the King’s Gardens where my daughter fell asleep on a park bench, a few passers-by gave me very disapproving looks. Then back to our hotel who had arranged our taxi to the airport. Our flight was delayed by an hour or so and we were very pleased to be home when we let ourself in at 1am.

We loved Copenhagen, I had no idea there was so much to do and see. At no point was I worried about pickpockets or phone snatchers and the city is so clean. If you are thinking of taking a solo trip it feels like a very safe destination. Highly recommended!

Thank you for reading,

Samantha

Breakfast at BUKKA bakery

My daughter has been working very long hours at her work placement, and I have not taken any time off since Christmas so we decided to take a five day break, just the two of us. We chose Copenhagen because it supposedly wouldn’t be too hot and there is so much to do and see. I booked through Expedia, we flew out with Norwegian Air, back with Easyjet. There were lots of hotels to choose from and I selected the Ibsens Hotel based on the wonderful reviews and the fact that it is very centrally located. The location was indeed fantastic, within walking distance of almost everywhere you would want to visit, but I wouldn’t stay here again. The rooms are a little basic, a little like a slightly posher Premier Inn or Travel Lodge and the bed linen was very scratchy. Also we had no choice but to open the windows because the room was unbearably hot but then there was noise outside until 2am and some unidentifiable machinery started up every morning at 6.30am. We didn’t have one decent nights sleep for the entire stay. The staff were very helpful though and the room was clean. I did appreciate that they have a luggage room so, after you have checked out, you can lock your cases away and utilise the time before your journey home begins. You can have breakfast at the hotel at the cost of around £25 each but we preferred to eat somewhere different every day. A taxi to the airport cost about £40.

We averaged 24,000 steps every day we were in Copenhagen. Many of the locals use bicycles to get around and crossing the numerous busy roads can feel a little dicey as not everyone stops when they should and you do need to take care not to accidently step into the cycle lane. I saw lots of cyclists scrolling thought their phones while speeding along.

We arrived in the city at around 12pm and, after checking in, we went straight out for lunch at a quirky bookshop/restaurant called Paludan. The food in Copenhagen is extremely expensive, even a simple sandwich picked up at a farmers market will set you back around £15. At Paludan we both had chicken and some vegetables. We then went further into the town and had a look around. If you enjoy shopping, there is everything in Copenhagen from H&M to Hermes. My daughter spotted a couple of shops made famous by Tik Tok and I ended up making a totally unnecessary purchase at Anna August who sell cotton tote bags with snarky phrases or images printed on. I had checked the weather before leaving England and was expecting it to be much cooler but the city was sweltering. I was very pleased to have a sunhat. There are many benches so you can sit and enjoy an ice cream or just people watch. There are also lots of spotlessly clean public loos which are free to use.

Tote bags in Anna August, Reffen Street food market, The famous statue of The Little Mermaid

The next day we visited the famous Nyhavn Harbour which is simply stunning. We had a breakfast of yoghurt, fruit and coffee at a cafe on the side of the harbour known as “The Sunny Side”. The houses are all painted different colours so that drunken sailors could easily find their way home. Hans Christian Anderson lived in one of the houses and apparently wrote The Ugly Duckling after his failed attempt to become a ballet dancer. These nuggets I found out when we took a fabulous hour-long river trip costing only £7 each, probably my favourite part of our stay. After our boat trip we attempted to catch a bus to Reffen, a famous street food market. We weren’t very well prepared for this. We tried to use Apple Pay and then tapped our debit cards onto the scanner while the bus driver and other passengers sat there with a look of contempt. Unhelpfully, there is no information at all on the bus about how you are supposed to pay but my daughter asked another passenger, an American tourist, who said it’s via an app. As there was no signal our attempts to download said app were futile and we ended up unintentionally fare-dodging which was a little stressful but we were more successful on the return journey. If you intend to use public transport then download the DOT and Rejseplanen Apps before you travel. You can buy just about any type of food at Reffen but we had hotdogs which were delicious followed by ice cream. There is a lively atmosphere and, like the rest of Copenhagen, it feels very safe.

After Reffen we went to see an interactive exhibition entitled The Viking Sourceress at The National Museum. There was so much to see here but my feet had had enough for one afternoon so we plodded back to the hotel before going out for dinner at Europa where we waited about an hour for our food which, when it arrived, was dreadful. Then back to the hotel for another noisy, sleepless night.

Thank you for reading,

Samantha