Not long after I got back from home my Dad came to visit me in Lund. The nearest airport is Copenhagen (about a 40 minute train ride away), so I met him at the airport and we headed in to the city to make the most of the day. I made the mistake of not making a plan of action before leaving so we wandered aimlessly for most of the day looking at the stunning architecture and admiring the canals. We didn't do everything I would have liked so I will definitely be heading back to Denmark soon to see what else the city has to offer.
Unfortunately Tivoli Gardens was closed until the summer period, I have heard it is a must see in Copenhagen so it is definitely on the list of places to visit when I go back. The old gateway to the Gardens was pretty impressive though.
The cafes all had delicious looking open sandwiches and smorgasbords in all the windows. I had eaten an overpriced hotdog at the airport when I was waiting for dad to arrive so I didn't get to try one, dammit. We did stop for coffee at a little cafe in the harbour later and dad tried a trio of herring, so we didn't miss out on the food completely.
Copenhagen was a really quirky place (like most of Scandinavia) and they had these table football stands just on the side of the street.
For a capital city, I was struck by how quiet Copenhagen was. You could wander easily through the streets without having to fight through commuters and tourists. Like in Lund, a lot of people seem to commute by bike, it was a refreshing change from all the traffic and noise of UK cities.
My favourite area (and the top tourist trap) was the colourful harbour of Nyhavn, the 17th century waterfront and entertainment district of Copenhagen. It is lined with brightly painted townhouses, cafes and bars. It also serves as a heritage harbour and houses many wooden ships.
From Nyhavn we hopped on a boat tour and wound our way through the canals until we reached another of Copenhagen's famous landmarks…
The little mermaid!!
Based on the story by Hans Christian Andersen, the small statue has become a city icon and a major tourist attraction since 1913. For all the hype that surrounds it the statue itself if quite small and unassuming. It is always surrounded by hordes of tourists so you need to be quick with your camera to get a person free snap. It also backs on to a rather industrial area of the city, not quite as photogenic as they make it seem in the guide books!
We finished off by wandering past the towering town hall. It was a lovely day in Copenhagen but there is definitely a lot more I wan to go back and explore.
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