Category Archives: Denmark

Our first morning aboard ship came after a rather fitful night for me – although Frank slept like a baby.  We awoke just before 8 and were already docked in Copenhagen.  We showered and headed to the buffet for breakfast.  A thousand choices and just as many people. I’m generally not a fan of buffets so we might decide to do room service breakfast since we have a lovely little deck to eat on and watch the world go by.

We were docked at the northern cruise terminal which is quite a ways from town so we boarded a bus which dropped us off in front of what Google maps said was the Danish central bank – Hi Ole! – and then we were off to explore.  It’s funny that yesterday we had 5 hours to “kill” which seemed like a lifetime and today we had the same 5 hours to “do” Copenhagen which would not be nearly enough.  The sun was brilliant and warm and we left the umbrella behind and began to explore.

We started at the Christianborg Palace which houses the Danish Parliament, Supreme Court and Royal reception rooms.  It was build on the site of Absalon’s castle – a bishop who built lived there in the 12th century.  We prowled through the ruins under the current palace which they had discovered when building the current (3rd!) version of the place at the beginning of the 20th century.  We learned about how Absalon’s castle was leveled in the 14th century and Copenhagen Castle arose on the site.  It stood and was built upon for about 400 years when it was torn down to make way for the first Christianborg Palace in 1731.  It stood for about 60 years when a fire broke out and it was burned to the ground in 1794.  After about 30 years, the second Christianborg Palace was built with more fireguards than the first palace.  It stood for about 60 years before… it burnt to the ground.  (Reading the placards in the palace was like a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail: “Everyone said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built in all the same, just to show them. It sank into the swamp. So I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So I built a third. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp.”)

The third and still standing Palace was completed just after the turn of the century and is quite impressive.  We wandered through the Royal reception rooms – where there are paintings that were saved from the second fire that still show some of the effects.  We also wandered through the kitchen where the largest banquet in Denmark was held in 1937 for the king’s silver jubilee.  I don’t know that I’ve ever seen so much copper cookware in one place!

Then it was time to move on so we wandered through the city to the famous Nygard area where we sat in the sunshine and watched thousands of tourists wander past as we ate lunch.  How does one choose among all the various restaurants?  Find the one that says “we can help with allergens” in English at the bottom of the menu.  Bingo!  I didn’t need my “Gluten Free Danish” card and enjoyed a lovely quinoa salad (tomatoes, avocado, pumpkin seeds…. yummy!) and Frank had what seems to be the Danish national dish:  smørrebrød – open faced sandwiches.  His had beef and horseradish, shrimp and potatoes, and tomatoes cheese and basil.

Now fortified and rested, we walked along the waterfront to visit Copenhagen’s most famous resident:  the little mermaid.  I remember seeing the statue when I was here about 30 years ago but I don’t remember the crowds and food trucks.  She’s still haunting but the busloads of people trying to get close to her was just too much.  So we wandered away to find St. Albans – the only Anglican church in all of Denmark.  If I had known it was there, we would have gone to service at 10:30.  Grrrr…. It is an adorable little church where I lit a candle for my mom as I have done in a church in every city I’ve visited for the last 9 years.

Outside the church is the Gefion fountain, billed as Copenhagen’s Trevi fountain. Next door is Kastellet, one of the best preserved star fortresses in Northern Europe. We wandered all around the ramparts which afforded great views of the harbor and the city around us. But the skies were starting to darken and our time in the city was drawing to a close so back the the bus for us. Just in time too as rain drops started hitting the windshild as the bus headed back through town. A glass of wine and some snacks on the deck was just what the doctor ordered after a long day of walking.

Speaking of which, I forgot to note our steps yesterday. This is the first trip using my Apple watch rather than my fitbit so the comparisons might not be completely comparable but yesterday we managed 19, 396 and today we racked up 18,788

A small plate of antipasti and a glass of rose on the deck and we watched the ship pull away from the Danish coast.  Off to dinner and tonight’s show – Italian opera. Then the continual battle with the satellite wifi which has been behaving very badly which is why there are so few photos per post.