Copenhagen, Denmark
The first stop on our amazing Norway trip, was actually not Norway at all, but the wonderful country of Denmark. Our cruise ship to Norway was actually leaving from Copenhagen, Denmark and so that is where our journey began.
We were so excited to have an extra country to visit as part of our trip! Especially one as iconic as Denmark. Like many of you, we had seen the stunning pictures of the Copenhagen canals and the many colorful buildings and restaurants that line it. We couldn’t wait to experience it for ourselves!
We landed in Copenhagen right around lunchtime the day before the cruise so we grabbed a bite to eat at the airport and headed to our hotel to drop our luggage off. We were spending the night at the Comfort Hotel which is directly across the street from the airport. I chose that hotel because of it convenient location and proximity to the Metro station. It turned out to be a lovely hotel with clean and modern rooms.
I had booked a few activities ahead of our arrival and our first stop was the iconic canal tour in downtown Copenhagen. There are no words to describe the beauty of this city as seen from the canals. The tour starts in the most photographed part of Copenhagen and it just gets better from there. We passed by many of the famous sites in Copenhagen like The Little Mermaid Statue, Copenhagen Opera House, Amalienborg Palace and Copenhill (a power plant with a ski hill built on top!) just to name a few. One of our favorite parts of the tour, was going under the many bridges in the canal. For some, you even have to duck or your head will touch the bridge! They are very low and it is quite an experience to go under them in a big boat.
It was during this tour that we got our first taste of Scandinavian weather. If you have been there, you know exactly what I am talking about! It can change FAST! One minute it was sunny and warm and the next moment, the sky opened up and it became windy and rainy. Our canal tour guide shared with us a phrase that the locals use “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes”. And he is right! We learned quietly when visiting any of the stunning Scandinavian countries, to layer and always bring an umbrella.
After the canal tour, we walked to Strøget Street, one of Europe’s longest pedestrian streets to do some shopping. Strøget Street, is filled with shops of all kinds and we found some wonderful local stores along the way and also stopped at some familiar places like the Lego Store.
After that, it was time to stop at our final destination of the day, Tivoli Gardens. If you haven’t heard of it before, Tivoli Gardens is the second oldest amusement park in the world and is located in the heart of Denmark. It is so much more than just a place with rides so don’t let the name Amusement Park fool you. It it filled with beautiful gardens and buildings, delicious restaurants, yummy treats, cute shops yes, lots of fun rides. It is truly a place that everyone should experience! We walked around and visited many of the cute shops and ate seafood and burgers at one of the restaurants there. And of course we rode many rides! Our favorite part was that all the rides were in Danish. It was just so neat to experience! Our favorite ride was a little boat ride called Minen (The Mine). It had a waterfall that disappeared right before you went under it. The first time we rode it, we were convinced that we would get drenched but then it disappeared just in the nick of time and we laughed so hard! We went on that several times during our visit.
After Tivoli, it was back to the hotel for us. Jet lag had kicked in and we had to get ready for our cruise the next day. Copenhagen was a truly beautiful and historical city filled with funny, warm and kind people and it made an impression on both my son and I. If you ever have a chance to visit Copenhagen or any other part of beautiful Denmark, GO! You won’t regret it!