Copenhagen

St. Nikolaj

Leaving Amsterdam, Copenhagen was the next stop on the Great European Tour.  As with Amsterdam, Copenhagen is a port city and has a network of canals, so we used the same strategy and took a canal and harbor cruise to start our exploration. Copenhagen is known as the "city of spires", and we got good views of them from the cruise boat.  Copenhagen may not have more spires than other cities, but the ones it has are very unusual.  Seeing an often repeated architectural theme, we think it could also be called the "city of spirals."

(left) the Borsen, or Old Stock Exchange; (right) Church of Our Saviour.

The Borsen spire is quite fantastical, starting with four dragons at the base whose tails intertwine and spiral upward.  The spiral of the Church of Our Saviour is a stairway that leads up to a crows-nest observation platform.  Urban legend has it that the architect of the steeple committed suicide by leaping from the top after the king complained that the spiral wound the wrong way.  As with many such legends, this one has been debunked by records of the architect's life, which went on well beyond the completion of the spire.

Cruising the harbor, you see reminders of Denmark's nautical past, as well as examples of the modern present, such as the Copenhagen Opera House.

Without question, the biggest tourist attraction in Copenhagen is the statue of the Little Mermaid.  We made no plans to go see it, but our cruise boat came in close to it, so here is a picture of her from an angle you never see in the tourist brocures.  I have circled the statue since it is so hard to see among the tourists;-)

We stayed near the Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest amusement/theme parks in the world, with one of the oldest roller coasters still operating, as well as many other modern thrill rides.  Of more interest to us, it is home to some of the best restaurants in Copenhagen.  It is not a good idea to mix eating and roller coasting, so we did not ride, just ate there.

We made a point to go see Rosenborg Castle, the residence of Danish kings and queens in the 17th and 18th centuries.  

It is small as castles go, and contains some incredible ornate furniture.  The basement houses the Crown Jewels of Denmark and the Crowns themselves, from back in the days when monarchs were absolute rulers.  The item that really caught my fancy, however, was upstairs.  It is the queen's throne. The round pieces in it are made of narwhal tusks, which have (can you guess?) spiral ridges.

There are beautiful gardens all around Rosenborg Castle.  Carmen of course took lots of photos of flowers, and we will only show this one because it is so unusual.  Does anyone know what it is?

Denmark has been famous for amber going back to prehistoric times, and Copenhagen is home to the Amber Museum.  Here are just two of the incredible things made from amber:

In the center of Copenhagen is a round tower, the Rundestaarn, that boasts being the oldest functioning observatory in Europe.  Built in 1642, the original astronomers needed a way to haul telescopes and other equipment to the top, so it was built with a ramp for horses that ...*spirals* upward.  Visitors, including your two intrepid bloggers, still go up this way--on foot that is, there is no pony ride to the top.  It is one of the best views in Copenhagen.

After three days in Copenhagen, it was time for something completely different, and so we headed off to the next stop on the Tour:  Switzerland!