Colorful Copenhagen

 (A multi-part recap of my recent Scandinavia trip.)

After my first night out in Copenhagen, I was ready for bed.  However, our tiny hotel room was hot and stuffy.  With no air conditioning, Kim and I were forced to open the windows.  Our room overlooked a busy street, which was unfortunately home to a rowdy Irish pub.  Extremely loud bar patrons kept me awake for much longer than I wanted.

Morning rush hour in Copenhagen

The lack of sleep had me dragging a bit the next day.  But first thing our tour had scheduled a morning guided walk through Copenhagen.  Exercise always perks me up!

The beginning of our walking tour

Our group gathered in a plaza next door to the hotel and were introduced to our local guide Sofie.  Since we were right across the street from the Nyhavn district, she first pointed out the colorful buildings adjacent to the Nyhavn Canal.  It being an old sailor's area, Sofie explained that buildings had historically been painted in bright hues to help the sailors identify their homes after returning from sea. 

Colorful buildings peek out from the arches

Sofie then guided our group past a few old buildings before emerging at a business district.  She pointed out a stately brick structure with two seated statues in front.  This was the Royal Danish Theatre.  Built in 1748, this building was now used mostly for ballet performances.

The Royal Danish Theatre

From the Royal Theatre, our group queued up at the corner of two very busy streets, waiting for the signal to cross.  Not only did we have to look out for vehicles, there was also a huge amount of bicycle traffic.  And some of the bikes didn't always stop when they were supposed to!  I noticed that unlike the patient Swedes who never honked their horns, the Danes did so often.  Another difference - Nina pointed out that in Sweden, you never saw anyone jaywalking, while the Danish had no problem crossing against the light.

Getting ready to cross a really wide, busy street

After dodging bikes and vehicles, we crossed safely (with the walk signal) and meandered past a retail district.  One of my tour-mates, motioning towards a store display window, remarked that "sale" seemed to be the same word in every language.

Church of the Holy Spirit

Our group walked up the Strøget pedestrian shopping street and past a large brick church under renovation.  Above the fenced-off areas, I was able to zoom and get some shots of church's beautiful tower, complete with clock and elegant steeple.

Gathered on a plaza with our guide

We followed guide Sofie across a large plaza full of tables and umbrellas, all empty at this early hour.  Later it would be full of happy patrons enjoying lunch.

Canal views

Our group crossed a bridge over one of the many canals cutting through Copenhagen.  I made a quick stop to capture the views on either side.  Very different environments!

Beautiful, tree-lined canal

The next stop was a large brick courtyard in front of Christiansborg Palace.  Once the former residence of Danish kings, this building now housed the Danish parliament.

Christiansborg Palace

It was an impressive structure, made of brown brick with a steeple towering above.  Sofie explained that the Christiansborg Palace was built upon the ruins of another 12th century castle.  This building is considered the birthplace of Copenhagen.

Christiansborg Palace

A large green copper statue of a man astride a horse sat in front of the building's courtyard.  This was a statue of King Frederik VII, who was crowned in 1848.  Not long after his coronation, Frederik signed Denmark's first constitution on June 5, 1849.  Every year June 5th is now celebrated as Constitution Day in Denmark.  (Which coincidentally was the very next day!)

Frederik VII statue

We then followed Sofie around to the building's backside which was even prettier.  A grand stone staircase led visitors to the beautiful doorway.  Large pots full of colorful flowers decorated the area next to the stairs.  Two bright red Danish flags added a nice pop of color to the building's facade.

The Danish Parliament Building

I couldn't help but notice the large number of racks outside the building, all packed with bikes.  Sofie explained that in Copenhagen it's cheaper to get around on bicycles than driving a car.  The city's pancake-flat terrain makes it easy to bike commute.

The bike parking area was full

In front of the Parliament building Sofie took the opportunity to explain to our group a bit about the Danish government.  Like Sweden, the Danes also pay high taxes, but receive many benefits for their money.  Healthcare, education (through college), childcare, unemployment benefits, and services for senior citizens are just some of the ways Denmark takes care of its people.

An impressive building!

While Sofie was talking I was busy with my camera capturing some details of the Parliament building's exterior.  I especially liked the figures carved into the stone columns.  This one looks like he has a headache!

This figure looks like he has a headache

With her Danish government talk now finished, Sofie led us through a grand archway into a beautifully landscaped garden area.

View through one of the arches

This park-like setting was the Royal Library Garden, a delightfully tranquil spot hidden between the Christiansborg Palace and Royal Library building.

Royal Library Garden

There was a large lawn area, beautiful flowering bushes, tall trees, and a large pond and fountain.  The pond even had a tiny house in the water, which I'm told was for the local ducks to seek refuge.

Royal Library Garden

A nearby weathered copper statue honored Danish philosopher Søren Aabye Kierkegaard.

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard statue

The garden was such a beautiful place, I was zipping around like a crazy woman trying to capture it all.  When the group started walking towards the next sight on our tour, I was bringing up the rear, running to keep up.  I snapped this photo and later realized Nina (our Rick Steves guide) was looking back to make sure I didn't get left behind.

Nina looking back to make sure I'm coming

The building directly behind the Royal Library Gardens was apparently the old library, now used as an archive building.  Sofie was now taking us to the new Royal Library.

Through another arched doorway

The current Royal Library building was a sleek, modern-looking structure with a black glass facade.  Sofie told us it's nickname was the "Black Diamond."  (You'll see a photo later in this post.)  We had time to go inside, use the facilities, and get a snack from the coffee shop.

The "other" Little Mermaid sculpture

After the break, we gathered back outside the Royal Library on a plaza overlooking one of the canals.  Sofie pointed out a Little Mermaid sculpture prominently located in the plaza's center.  No, it wasn't "the" Little Mermaid statue - that famous work of art resided on a rock in the main harbor.  Apparently there are many other Little Mermaid statues scattered around Copenhagen.  Who knew?

This bridge swiveled to let boats pass

While the group was admiring the Little Mermaid, we noticed two nearby bridges moving to allow a boat to pass through.  One was a traditional drawbridge, while the other had its center section swivel horizontally to create a clear channel.  I'd never before watched a bridge move in that manner!

Not far away was a traditional drawbridge

As our group continued on towards the next attraction, we crossed a bridge spanning a side canal.  About that time a canal boat tour headed towards us, and I snapped a quick image before it slid underneath.

Wave to the tour boat!

Near the Royal Library was another interesting building that housed the Danish Architecture Center.  Sofie led us inside and had us stand around a large map on the ground floor.  This was no ordinary map - it contained a detailed aerial view of Copenhagen.  Sofie identified many points of interest, but since I'd only arrived here yesterday afternoon, none of them made a lot of sense yet.  Too bad I wasn't able to come back after spending a couple of days in the city, it would've been neat to locate every place I visited.

Huge map of Copenhagen on the floor of the Danish Architecture Center

We then took a quick rest break on some colorful seats just outside the Architecture Center.

Rest break outside the Architecture Center

Our tour now winding down, we meandered down several streets past many colorful buildings.  One had a few bicycles parked outside.

Typical street scene

As we walked, I peeped down some of the adjacent alleyways.  There was always a surprise - usually some older-looking, brightly-hued buildings.  This alley looked quite tranquil.

Such bright, colorful buildings

One canal had several large boats anchored to the seawall.

Lots of boats tied up in this canal

Lots of interesting buildings on this street

As our group passed by a canal, we watched a tour boat emerge from under a bridge into the next waterway.  But the boat now needed to navigate an extremely tight corner.  Could it make the turn?  I had to stay and find out.

Will this boat make the turn?

Well, of course it did.  I'm sure the boat driver made this maneuver several times a day.  But it was still entertaining to watch.

Oh yeah, no problem!

The final stop on our morning walking tour was at a narrow street in the Old Town area of Copenhagen.  It was lined with more gaily colored buildings.  Many of the ground floors held fancy restaurants, while it appeared the upper floors were all apartments.  

Our tour ended on "Toilet Street"

Sofie said this particular street was named Hyskenstræde, which translated roughly to "Toilet Street."  Apparently in the olden days public toilets were placed on piles over the water at the street's far end.  That's where everyone went to "do their business."

Debbie is happy to be here

This street was now such a beautiful, desirable neighborhood, it was hard to imagine a bunch of smelly toilets dominating the landscape.  

Lots of colorful buildings

At Toilet Street, we bid Sofie farewell.  Our group now had the entire afternoon free to explore more of Copenhagen.

One of many bike tours

First item of business for my friends and I - Debbie collects Starbucks mugs, and she wanted to stop by one of their shops and get a Copenhagen one.

The Starbucks got Kim's name wrong!

Thanks to Google maps, locating a Starbucks was easy-peasy.  While we were there, of course my friends and I had to get a fancy coffee.  You know how the Starbucks baristas always ask for your name to put on the cup when you order?  We all had a good laugh when Kim's cup came back with "Ken" written on the side.  (Kim must not be a common name in Denmark.)

Restaurant on this boat

After a little bit of shopping along the Strøget, Kim, Debbie, Alicia and myself were getting mighty hungry.  Nina had mentioned a restaurant near the hotel that served great seafood, and specialized in something she called "fish balls."  Tee-hee, the entree name made us all giggle and piqued our curiosity.  So my friends and I set out on a quest to find this "fish ball" eatery.

Why not eat on a boat?

Following Nina's directions, my friends and I traveled the required number of blocks.  But looking down the street it was supposedly located, we didn't see anything resembling a restaurant.  A large canal butted up to the properties on the street's opposite side.  There were two boats tied up at the seawall.  One was a large, blue beauty that had tables and chairs on the top deck.  Turned out that boat was the "fish ball" restaurant we were trying to find.

Fabulous harbor views

A restaurant on a real, floating boat!  That was a first for me.  My friends and I ordered at the lower level and then chose a table on the upper deck.  And we discovered the restaurant called the entree we sought fish "cakes," not balls.  But we liked our nickname better so we kept using it anyway.

Enjoying pretty drinks

While waiting for our "fish balls" we all enjoyed some adult beverages and took in some spectacular views of the adjacent canal.  The weather was warm and sunny - perfect for outdoor dining on the deck of a boat.

Lotti helping me with my beer

When our food arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to see in addition to the "fish balls," my meal included rye bread and a nice salad.  And yes, the "fish balls" were delicious!  Kudos to Nina for the restaurant recommendation.

Our fish "balls" were delicious

What a great lunch spot!

From our table was a great vantage of the drawbridge we'd seen earlier - the one that swiveled horizontally instead of raising vertically.  I later found out this bridge is called the "Kissing Bridge" due to its unique design.  When the two sections that move apart to allow boat traffic to pass come back together, the way these spans meet in the middle is described as resembling a "kiss."

"Kissing Bridge"

Seeing all the canal boats ferrying tourists around Copenhagen's waterways looked like a great way to see the city.  So Kim booked us all a boat tour for that afternoon.

Now that's a tiny tour boat!

There was a bit of concern that between lunch and the time spent walking to the boat dock, we wouldn't make our scheduled tour.  But everything fell into place perfectly - our lunch was delivered quickly, we had ample time to eat, and thanks to Google maps, we were able to find our dock with plenty of time to spare.

We had a much larger boat for our tour

Our boat was a long, low vessel that seated quite a few people.  I was happy it didn't have a roof overhead, since I wanted to take lots of photos.  However, by the time we boarded, it was pretty full, and there wasn't an open row for us all to be seated together.  So we sat in twos in adjacent rows next to the center aisle.  I was kind of bummed to be in the boat's center.  It would be hard to take photos over all the people on either side of me.

The gang all in a row

Then someone (I think it might've been Debbie) noticed a group vacating an entire row and exiting the boat.  We all quickly slid over to claim that row before another group did.  Yahoo - all together now!  And I had a seat on the side of the boat, perfect for unobstructed photography!

Going under one of many low bridges

Not soon after our boat slowly pulled away from the seawall where it had been tied.  Two men were running the show, one drove the boat while the other provided verbal commentary about the sights.  And boy was the man on the microphone funny!  I think he missed his calling as a comedian.  The guy spoke great English and kept us chuckling throughout the tour.

There's the boat where we had our lunch!

The boat motored out into the main canal, the same one we'd just sat beside during lunch.  As a matter of fact, my friends and I recognized the blue boat restaurant where we'd enjoyed the "fish balls."

 

Getting ready to go under the Kissing Bridge

The next attraction on our tour was passing under the Kissing Bridge.  Because our boat had a low profile, no bridge lift (or swivel) was necessary.  I did enjoy seeing this bridge from water level.

Cool old buildings

We passed by several older buildings that had been restored into apartments.  They all looked extremely well-kept and I'm sure charged higher than average rents for their prime waterfront locations.

Another canal boat - one of many!

There were so many boats out in the canal - lots of low-profile vessels like ours.  Apparently boat tours were big business here.

This looked like a great restaurant

Not only housing, I also saw many waterside restaurants, complete with outside decks for dining and watching the canal traffic.  Pointing out a popular bakery, our boat guide said that their baked goods were so delicious, they caused people to move to Copenhagen immediately.

Lots of people had boats tied up outside their homes

In some of the wealthier residential areas, people had personal watercraft tied up adjacent to their homes.  Kind of like parking spaces on the street, but this street was a bit wet!

Very interesting apartment building

From canal level, this apartment building kind of looked like it was floating on the water.

These old barracks have been turned into recreation centers

Our boat floated by a row of old barrack buildings that our guide said had been renovated into spaces for recreation activities.  I noticed a couple of boats tied up outside.

Copenhagen skyline

Former Royal Navy Base

The canal widened out considerably as we continued the cruise.  It now looked more like a large lake or sea inlet.  I'm not sure if the boat went all the way into the strait of the Bering Sea between Copenhagen and Malmö, Sweden but I think we were close.

Our boat driver

It was out here that our tour guide started hyping us up for the next sight.  What exactly were we about to see that required such fanfare?  Well, it was the Little Mermaid statue - the one that's on every tourist brochure about Copenhagen.

The Little Mermaid statue draws quite a crowd

We floated by the famous statue, perched on a rock in the harbor.  And it was surrounded by people!  A line of tour buses was parked along the adjacent street.  The huge crowd was unbelievable.  This was a much better way to see the Little Mermaid than fighting the masses on shore.

Old naval ship

The Little Mermaid statue was our tour's turn-around point.  From there, we motored back towards Copenhagen.  I got to see some of the same sights a second time around - which was okay with me.

Power plant rising above the homes

There were a couple of old Navy ships anchored in the harbor.  A large power plant rose above some adjacent buildings.  With an art deco-type exterior I'd have to say it was the best looking power plant I've ever seen.

Opera Building front

Our boat floated by the Copenhagen Opera Building, which was quite stunning.  It had a very unique roofline.

Copenhagen Opera Building

Although Copenhagen in general was a very neat, clean town, I still noticed a bit of graffiti on some of the waterfront buildings.  I guess there are punks with spray paint everywhere.

Even Copenhagen has graffiti

Exiting the main canal, our boat wandered down a smaller waterway lined with more expensive-looking apartment buildings.  This must've been the high rent district, as there were wall to wall large sailboats tied up on both sides of the canal.

Sailing through a residential area

Some of the buildings were so colorful!  Actually a lot of the structures around town were painted some type of bright, cheerful hue.  That's what I really liked about Copenhagen.

More cheerful buildings

The residential side channel soon connected with another main canal.  Our boat crossed under a very unique pedestrian bridge.  It was supported by cables attached to several posts that looked like tall sailboat masts.  It was very cool!

Loved this bridge with the masts

Back in the main canal again, we passed by the Royal Library, aka the "Black Diamond" building.

Royal Library Building

And then through one more minor side channel that would lead us back to our docking area.

More cityscape

This side channel had many intricately carved old stone bridges that our boat had to duck under.  You certainly didn't want to stand up when the boat went through any of these openings.  It was definitely low clearance!

Lots of bridges to go under

Our boat then popped out of the last bridge opening, into the tight turn we'd watched another boat navigate that very morning.  And yes, our driver expertly guided his vessel around this constricted area, no problem.

Will our boat make the tight turn?

No problem!

Time to head for the dock!  The tour had been fantastic - we'd seen so many sights around Copenhagen, our guide was entertaining, and the weather couldn't have been better.  As a matter of fact, we were all feeling quite hot after sitting in a boat on the water for an hour.  But no complaints - it was certainly better than rain!

Back on land again

My first full day in Copenhagen had been action packed.  And it wasn't over yet.  That evening our guide Nina had arranged for an optional visit to Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen's famous amusement park.  But since this story has already run super long, I'll continue the recap in my next post.  Something to look forward to!  :)