Wonderful Copenhagen

In front of Rosenborg Slot, where the crown jewels are kept
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My trip began with my first experience on the European railroads. I took the intercity train from Aarhus to Copenhagen Friday afternoon and met my friend Keely at the train station. We met up with two other girls from OSU and started walking around Copenhagen. They took me to Rosenborg Slot where the crown jewels and other royal family valuables are kept. Rosenborg was located within the King's Garden, a gorgeous walking garden lined with trees. Around the building was a moat that contained large fish that are supposed to be the descendants of the personal fishing supply of a previous Danish King. From Rosenborg we walked around the city seeing different buildings and museums. Unfortunately, many of them had already closed for the day.

cute little blue building
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Our next stop was the Citadel, a large star-shaped fortress with water surrounding it. There are now walking/running paths around the edge filled with dogs, their owners, and lots of runners. There we saw a huge old fashioned windmill and were able to walk to the water front and see the little mermaid statue. In the park was an old church that I fell in love with. It had been raining for most of the day and so, as it began to clear up in the evening and the sun was setting, the church, all nestled in the hill, gleamed from the reflecting sun. Along the waterfront we were able to see the tops of many buildings. The detail on these buildings struck me the most. Many of the lamp posts were decorated with dragons and several buildings had crowns or balls decorating the roof. The architecture of Copenhagen is simply amazing. I could take pictures of buildings for hours. Whether, it's the simple tudor style brightly painted or large stone buildings with carvings and other ornamental decorations, I find it fascinating.

The Windmil by the Citadel
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Next, we stopped by Amalienborg, the Royal Family's residence. It contains four modest palaces surrounding a large courtyard. The flag was flying, so the queen was home. We stopped by the next morning, Saturday morning, to see the changing of the guard. While not as spectacular as we were hoping for, the uniforms of the guards were very interesting. Their large black hats are made of real bear skin!

Friday night we went in search of this Italian restaurant the girls had raved about. Apparently the pasta is to die for. But when we got to the restaurant they weren't serving pasta that night. Not, in the mood for pizza we went in search of other cheap but delicious food. We settled on a Mediterranean buffet at Riz Raz. This was the best buffet I have eaten so far. I had falafel for the first time and enjoyed a delicious cabbage/citrus/raisin salad, pita bread and hummus plus many other vegetarian dishes.

the old and new of Copenhagen
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Saturday I borrowed a bike from one of the boys in Keely's dorm and we spent the day riding around Copenhagen. After seeing the changing of the guard we stopped at Nyhavn. It is a part of the city that has many restaurants and cafes lining the canal where sailboats dock. All of the buildings are painted a different bright color and the street bustles with people. It was a gorgeous day but frightfully windy. But the Danes, amazingly acclimated to 30+ mph constant wind, were all outside eating under large umbrellas with blankets on their laps and heaters keeping the cold at bay. We found some ice cream and warmed up by sitting on the water's edge in the sun.

The little Mermaid
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Our next stop was to Christiania, "a beguiling sprawl of twisting paths lined with mural-bedecked houses, laid-back cafes and bars and quirky shops." It was originally founded in 1971 when a group of homeless people created a colony among unused military barracks. Maybe we were in the "bad" part of Christiania, but we experienced none of this laid-back beguile. While the walls were filled with murals (or graffiti...we couldn't really distinguish between the two), we were too scared to take pictures. The smell of pot filled the air and we found it growing in several planters in front of run-down houses. We had entered from the back of Christiania and so we never made it far enough to the main entrance where we could have found a brochure giving a tour of what to find in the "Free City." Having had enough of the place Katie called "the definition of sketch," we left to finish the day at Tivoli, the oldest amusement park.

the beautiful little church
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Tivoli opened in 1843, inspired by the "romantic pleasure gardens" of Europe. Georg Carstensen, Tivoli's Founder, had seen the English tradition of naturalistic design rather than strong, geometric lines in his European travels and applied to King Christian VIII for permission to establish and run his park. The park contained a bazaar for trading Danish and foreign products, a concert pavilion, a theater, fireworks, swings, merry-go-rounds, slides, games, billiards, restaurants, coffee houses, smoking salons, and patisseries. Today it contains numerous restaurants and cafes, approximately 25 rides for kids and adults, lots of carnival-type games, a gambling hall, and several performance stages. There is a lake in the middle of the park with walking paths and gardens surrounding the whole area. As the city has grown around Tivoli, it is located in the heart of the Copenhagen directly across from the main train station. We rode many rides, warmed up in a cute little cafe, and took in the lights and sounds of one of the most beloved landmarks of the city. The favorite ride of all of us was the "Star Flyer". It is a carousel/swing that rises 80 meters (approx 25 feet) in the air. Here is the best view of Copenhagen. You are above the tops of almost all the buildings and can see for miles.

dragon atop the lamp post
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That night we ventured back to the Italian restaurant for another attempt at pasta. Once again, we were let down. They were not serving pasta due to machine difficulties, so we settled for pizza. It was good, but nothing can compare to American Dream in Corvallis. We finished the night at Tivoli, riding the star flyer, walking around and taking in all the lights, and riding our favorite rides one more time.

I rode the train back to Aarhus Sunday afternoon with a wonderful impression of Copenhagen. I would love to go back and spend more time seeing the historic sites of the city. It seems to have much more Danish history than Aarhus. It was unfortunate that I was unable to go inside many museums and castles, but I hope next time to learn more of Denmark's history. It is a gorgeous, old city with a great mix of old and new.