If you want to do your decent share of sightseeing you need to go into Copenhagen downtown. The metro station you want to get off is "Kongens Nytorv", being one of only two metro stations in the actual city. As much as I loved everything else, the public transport system is not very good, they do not have a lot of stations, and the maior tourist sights are not well or not at all connected. Like a Finnish friend of mine said, "Well, guess why they all ride their bikes??" So if you travel to Copenhagen just reckon with a lot of walking (and a lot of looking for directions and signs that are not there). The good news: They build a metro station at the Townhall at the moment, to connect this area to the public transport system.
When we got off one of the first things we saw was a flower market. We had minus degrees and it was a lovely sight! Nowhere in the more Southern countries I have seen anything like that in the Winter months....
On Gammel Strand (yes, this is its real name) you find one of two Cannel Tour stations (the other one is at Nyhavn, check www.canaltours.dk, you can easily book online, which is what we did). I always find roundtrips very useful to give you a first orientation in a city and also a first look at it. In Copenhagen of course you get the hop-on-hop-off-busses as well, but if there are waterways I always prefer those.
From Gammel Strand station you have a view on the island of Slotsholmen, most prominently on this picture you find the Stock exchange which is most famous for its Dragon Steeple, representing four dragons, their tails intwining and forming it. It is actually just next to Christiansborg Slot, where you can find the Houses of Parliament. In Summer time the boats go almost nonstop from this station, in Winter there are about 5 tours a day, and you will find a marker here telling you when the next boat is going, which is about each 1.15 hrs. But with such a fine view waiting is easy - and we only had to wait for half an hour or so. (You do not find the times in the internet, so don´t bother.)
The boats are fabulous! They are extremely flat because they have to be able to pass underneath
the sometimes extremely low and narrow bridges. The guide on board will tell you like a zillion times to be extremely cautious and watch your head - in Summer time, when the boats are open, I am sure this is absolutely necessary! Even now I saw people hopping up and down outside and almost missing the low bridges coming up. But it is not the guide´s fault, she really tries to keep you alive!
The boat takes you on a tour of the most important parts of Copenhagen. Like for example Nyhavn - "Newhaun" as it is actually pronounced - a dead end with historical boats anchoring, in Winter time they have a Christmas market there and in Summer many restaurants attract lots of customers.
They also take you out into the Harbour area, where part of it is military area and therefore closed to public. (The Cormoran did not seem to bother though.) The Denish people claim that their Navy is the oldest in the world.
This is the Danish Opera House. It is located opposite Amalienborg Slot (which is where Queen Margarethe is residing, but I will show Amalienborg to you some other time) on the island of Holmen. Building it was extremely expensive, but, I don´t know.... for me an opera house as to be old-fashioned, not stylish..... But this is just personal taste!
On this tour you also get to see the Little Mermaid looking out into the harbour, but you see her only from the back, so I will also tell you more about here some other time. Instead I want to show you how narrow and low the bridges are when they take you back into the city, this time into the Christianshavn area.
And as you can see the weather had improved dramatically! So when we got off at Gammel Strand again we could explore the Christmas market there.
Here you are extremely close to the Stroget, the main shopping street of Copenhagen, it is a pedestrian zone, so walking is very comfortable, and the shops (e.g. the Illum) you find there are really nice. The Stroget takes you down to the Townhall and the Tivoli, which is exactly why we followed it.
Don´t ask me what these poor people did here, just clad in colours instead of a warm coat. They did some movie shooting there and I dare say that the Denish film is just as akward as the Austrian one....
Behind the Townhall you will find the H.C. Andersen Boulevard (yip! yip! yip!), and after crossing it you are at the Tivoli! It is Copenhagen´s amusement park with the same rustic flair as for example Coney Island, and each year before Christmas they set up their famous Christas market there. For us a new experience, because the roller coasters and caroussels are still working, but you also find litte booths for Christmas shopping, Christmas gloegg.... We paid 200 crowns just to get in (just to get in, mind!), so food and if you want to go on any of the rides is extra) but believe me it is worth it. Just remember to go there by night, and you will be overwhelmed. It is just sparkles and lights and wonders.....
I leave you here now with a few images of the Christmas market at Tivoli by night, it is phantastic. See you really soon and enjoy!
8 comments:
ich kanns nur immer wieder sagen: NEIDIIIIIISCH ;) nein echt schön!
Die Lichter am Tivoli waren ganz besonders schön - so weihnachtlich haben wir es in diesem Jahr bei uns noch nicht gehabt, vor allem weil ich immer megabeschäftigt war, und außerdem hat es an diesem Abend auch noch geschneit!!! Nicht neidisch werden - selber hinfahren! Aber halt, vielleicht doch nicht so rasch: Erst brauchen ganz viele Tiere deine Hilfe!!!
Lovely photos of the Weihnachtsmarkt in the Tivoli Gardens. Really pretty. Great blog, Silvia xx
Lala Haitch
Thanks Larissa! We were surprised to find something so christmassy here - I always thought the best Xmas market in the world outside the townhall in Vienna! *gg* But as I said in the blog, the feeling is different, with all the roller coasters aso around. XXX
Wow, toll! Ich sehe schon, ich muss dringend meine persönliche geographische Reiseausdehnung noch um ca. 4 Breitengrade nach Norden verbessern! :-)
Und was die "typisch dänischen" Filmdreharbeiten betrifft, abgemixt mit meiner letztmaligen Überlegung zu möglicherweise missverständlichen Formulierungen über Mittelerde... Watson, wir haben wohl einen der beiden Blauen Zauberer wiedergefunden! :D
Die "Nordländer" sind wirklich empfehlenswert! Das Wetter ist gar nicht so schlecht wie man glaubt, und was die Freundlichkeit der Leute betrifft, ist man ebenso angenehm überrascht. Wobei die Dänen an Freundlichkeit wirklich alles und jeden schlagen!- Ah, sehr interessant, das erklärt die eigenartigen Dreharbeiten. In Wirklichkeit war es Peter Jackson, der einen Außendreh mit dem roten, grünen, blauen und gelben Zauberer durchführen wollte. Da sie alle aber keine Mäntel hatten, liefen sie ihm davon, weil es dann doch zu kalt war. So treffen wir im Film nur Radagast und Gandalf. Schade irgendwie.... : ))
Schööön...
Die Schiffe haben mich an Amsterdam erinnert, dort gibt es genauso niedrige und enge Brücken und die Schiffe schauen exakt gleich aus :-)
Ich finde auch, dass Stadtrundfahrten gleich am Anfang am Besten sind, um sich einen Überblick zu verschaffen.
Der Tivoli sieht einfach toll aus. Ist das sowas wie bei uns der Prater? LG Tamara
Der Tivoli ist unserem Prater prinzipiell sehr ähnlich, aber er ist wirklich mitten im Zentrum und auch viel kleiner, man kann ganz um ihn herumgehen (was wir auch getan haben, weil wir den Haupteingang gesucht haben, es war nämlich nur dieser offen, und das ganze Gelände ist von einem hohen Zaun umgeben). Diese Kombination mit Lichtern und dem Weihnachtsmarkt (im Oktober gibt es auch einen Halloweenmarkt) erinnert wieder etwas mehr an unseren Christkindlmarkt am Rathausplatz, aber da fehlen dann wieder die Hochschaubahnen, etc. Es ist wirklich ein ganz spezielles Flair, das man sich nicht entgehen lassen sollte!
LieGrü, Silvia
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