Warm waffles on a cold day, perhaps with a little something sweet… One of the many treats that await as you walk through the historic city center of Copenhagen. I was privileged to be able to spend a recent Saturday exploring this interesting city, and fortunately I had my camera in tow. From my hotel just north of city center, I was able to find plenty of pedestrian friendly walkways, and had a most enjoyable photo walk.
Adjacent to city center and following the waterfront canal towards the east is the Nyhavn district. The area consists of a great row of restaurants and pubs ,located along the northern "sunny side" of the canal. Almost any time of year you can find people sitting outdoors (the restaurants provide heaters and blankets for their patrons in colder weather) enjoying the local seafood fare (typically served as "smørrebrød," or open-faced sandwiches) and, of course, that famous Danish beer.
Nyhavn is also one of the areas from which you can take a boat tour of the city. I opted to pass on the boat tour in favor of continuing my walkabout.
Heading south and west from the city center are several walking streets, pedestrian roadways that are (mostly) off limits to vehicles. Lined with shops and restaurants, this is a great area to spend hours window shopping or just mingling with the crowds. The streets are always filled with people, day or night (up to about 7 or 8pm, when they apparently roll up the sidewalks). Along the way, you’ll find stands and carts set up offering crepes, candy and sweets, including the popular "brandte mandler" (almonds cooked in a sort of wok or pot along with a sweet syrup, and served warm).
Further down the walking street, past many more shops and restaurants, I came eventually to Tivoli Gardens. This combination amusement park and garden is, as I have been told, the second oldest amusement park in the world. Unfortunately for my photo outing, Tivoli was closed for the season (it still being quite chilly in late March in Copenhagen), so I looped back and began heading more north, through the Latin Quarter. and back towards the King’s Gardens, the gardens of Rosenborg Castle. It being that time of year, the King’s gardens weren’t any better off than Tivoli:
North and a little east of these gardens, you come to the open air museum and the Kastellet, a huge pentagonal fortification with walking paths, waterways, fountains, and all manner of interesting old buildings. Given good weather, you could spend hours or even days exploring it all! Along one edge is the Langelinie, or Long Line Pier, where you can find the Little Mermaid, placed in honor of Hans Christian Andersen. Interestingly, the Little Mermaid was on holiday in Shanghai, visiting the World Expo. Here’s a shot from a previous visit, though. She really is quite “little” – the statue is only about 3-4 feet tall:
I hope you’ve enjoyed a little flavor of Copenhagen. There is much to see and much to explore and learn there! I’ll leave you with a few more images (click to enlarge), but if you’d like to see more, please visit my Copenhagen Album on Flickr.
