Copenhagen Denmark

Copenhagen City Hall (Danish: Kobenhavns Radhus)

We're off on another cruise! This time we are headed to Scandinavia and Russia. Ports of call include Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tallin, Helsinki, and St. Petersburg. 

Our embarkation city, and also our last port of call, was Copenhagen, Denmark. Generally ranked in the top five of the world's wealthiest cities, and regarded as one of the most environmentally friendly cities in the world, Copenhagen was a great place to visit and explore. 

Our day started with a city tour which included several royal palaces and a stop at "The Little Mermaid", Copenhagen's most famous landmark. This bronze statue, based on Hans Christian Anderson's fairly tale mermaid, is only 1.25 meters (4.1 feet) tall. She has been vandalized a few times and has lost her head a couple of times as well, but at 102 years old she still gazes longingly at the water, searching for her handsome prince. 

The Little Mermaid (Danish: Den lille havfrue)

                       

Christiansborg Palace

Christiansborg Palace contains the Danish Supreme Court, Parliament, and Ministry of State. The royal family of Denmark uses several of the rooms on occasion, including the Great Hall where some very interesting tapestries are displayed. These incredible tapestries depicting 1000 years of Danish history were presented to Queen Margrethe II, upon her 50th birthday.

Rosenborg Castle is an early 17th century castle built by Christian IV. It was originally intended as his summer house and is surrounded by lovely gardens.

Rosenborg Castle

Of course no visit to Copenhagen is complete without a visit to Nyhaven Canal! Originally constructed in 1670 to 73 as a waterway to the sea this area was home to Hans Christian Anderson for many years. As ships became larger, the canal fell into disuse. In the 1970's revitalization began and those 17th century townhouses are now home to loads of bars and restaurants. 

After a nice lunch here along the canal front, we headed back towards our hotel. 

The Church of Our Saviour (Danish: Vor Frelsers Kirke) is a baroque church, most famous of it's helix spire with an external winding staircase. Nope, Scott did not climb this one, but probably only because we were never quite in the right area for him to try it. 
Maybe next time …..  
We were looking for somewhere fun for dinner, and our concierge suggested Tivoli Gardens. Tivoli Gardens opened in 1843 and is the second oldest amusement park in the world. Not at all sure what to expect, we were surprised and enchanted by this beautiful oasis. 

Tivoli Gardens

This interesting dessert is called "Havotorn". Loosely translated, it's sour milk and white chocolate with sea buckthorn, the orange topping. It is kept on dry ice and when poured over the rest results in a cloud of frosty "smoke". Sea buckthorn is an herb used to treat, among other things, digestion. Regardless, it was delicious and a nice way to top off our evening out!