Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen…well for the most part!

The penultimate stop on our tour was a day in Copenhagen and of course a must see was that famous statue of the ‘The Little Mermaid’ sat on her rock overlooking the harbour.  Well little she is being much smaller than one expects…..

 

 

 

So small that with the throng of tourists about her she is difficult to see…but we managed it…

Our boat had arrived early so we managed to get to Amalienborg Castle (the Royal Palace and Residence) before the crowds…

It is a majestic location with obligatory statue and a view to the Cathedral…

Being a tad critical I have to say that the Royal Guards were just a little sloppy, but I did find out later that they were conscripts…so perhaps wished to be somewhere else.  and may be I would be with folk pointing cameras at me all day!….

From there we headed off to Rosenberg Palace, the centre of Danish Government.  One shot does not do justice to its imposing size, traditional may be but still very grand and of course a marked contrast to all the gold and glitter of St. Petersburg….

Does it seem familiar to you…well walk through to the courtyard and you see a very familiar door and also an imposing colonnade…..

 

Let me give you a clue.  Borgan who gripped us with the thrilling TV series, Birgitte Nyborg strode along this colonnade when she need to have those ‘confidential’ power talks with her colleagues.

Copenhagen is also the place for bikes, lots of them with ore parking spaces allocated to these two wheels than for cars (well it seemed that way)…

Copenhagen is also noted for its design sense and style and the new Opera House certainly does justice to that skill and also to its waterside location…

Not that the many older buildings arround the waterfront have been neglected, far from it.  This is the old Salt Warehouse now a smart Boutique style hotel.  very much retaining its original exterior but much enhanced inside…and guess what it is called ‘Salt’….

We were very lucky, as or boat was not a big cruise liner we were allowed to moor right in the centre of Copenhagen, in fact at the Royal Quay so we felt somewhat honoured.  It also allowed us to make the very most of our limited time to explore the old harbours and quay side.

The hot spot for locals and tourists alike is Nyhaven and it is easy to see why.  Old traders houses and warehouses, now bars, restaurants and night clubs now line the dock side. 

It is I think best described as a series of canals which now support a constant stream of enormous barges taking folk on trips arround old Copenhagen……But perhaps these images will help tell the story better than words.

Danes also have old customs.  Here lovers (usually when they get married) fix a padlock to this bridge.  Then to mark their undying love throw the key into the canal!

 

As mentioned we arrived early so these lovely fountains were deserted of people…

But the day got hotter as did ‘passions’ and then the fountains were very necessary to cool that ardour…

Perhaps this young farther was reflecting on a past times and opportunities….

Meantime we were doing what many more Copenhagen’s were doing…sitting on the pier outside the theatre complex and enjoying a cold drink…. but most importantly watching the world and its peoples go by!

All to soon it was time to be off and say goodbye Copenhagen and thank you for a great day.

P.S.

I feel I have to mention the dirt. Now Copenhagen on the surface looks clean and smart.  Certainly its architecture both old and new does it great credit….but we have been to East Germany, Finland Russia and Estonia so far on this tour…no where had piles of rubbish as Copenhagen had on its streets…don’t believe me then look no further…what a great shame…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.P.S.

Finally on a more humorous note I trust.  We found this statue of David on the quay….well I am not bragging BUT!

 

27th JULY

© David Oakes 2013