WanderLex

Category: Copenhagen

  • Rosenborg Castle and the Treasury

    Rosenborg Castle and the Treasury

    Thorvaldsens Plads Antique Market is one interesting flea market right next to Thorvaldsens Museum and Christianborg Palace. It’s a nice place to mingle with the locals while browsing through the displaying items. There’s vintage-looking stuff like paintings, porcelain, toys and some unique pieces for treasure hunters. The nearby Christiansborg Palace is a large government complex that houses the Prime Minister office, Supreme Court of Denmark and Danish Parliament. Best of all, the palace’s tower is free of charge to visit. But the long queue made me skip it altogether.

    Stall at Thorvaldsens Plads Antique Market

    Canal next to Thorvaldsens Plads Antique Market

    Statue at Christianborg Palace

    Climbing the Round Tower

    The Round Tower (Rundetarn) is a functional astronomical observatory situated at a busy street. We are not here for stargazing and surely not during daytime. But for the observation deck with an overview of the city. Interestingly, the majority of the ascend to the deck is via a spiral walkway until the stairs nearing to the top. How cool is that?

    Round Tower at a busy street

    Spiral walkway of Round Tower

    Rosenborg Castle and the Treasury

    Rosenborg Castle was built by King Christian IV as his summer home. It remained a royal residence until King Frederick IV moved to Frederiksberg Castle. It eventually became a state property and opened its doors to the public. I wanted to visit Rosenborg Castle mainly because of the famous King’s Garden and having the chance to treasure gawk at the Treasury filled with priceless jewels and crowns.

    Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen

    Guards at Rosenborg Castle

    There’s a total of 24 rooms on three floors and the most well-known one is none other than the Knight’s Hall, where the coronation chairs are on display.

    Room of Rosenborg Castle

    Room of Rosenborg Castle

    Antique clock at Rosenborg Castle

    Room of Rosenborg Castle

    The Knights Hall of Rosenborg Castle

    Coronation chair at Rosenborg

    Coronation chairs at Rosenborg

    The Treasury (Skatkammer) of Rosenborg Castle at the basement is home to amazing historical objects belonging to the Danish Monarchy. The priceless royal collection consists of solid gold items, golden-embroidered saddles, highly decorated swords and many blink-blink pieces of jewellery. They are all beautifully displayed which makes it even more impressive.

    Royal collection at Treasury of Rosenborg

    Royal collection at Treasury of Rosenborg

    Royal collection at Treasury of Rosenborg

    Royal collection at Treasury of Rosenborg

    There are several crowns on display and the highlight is none other than King Christian IV’s magnificent crown. The solid gold crown decorated with all those precious stones is simply a joy to look at. Or should I say gawk?

    Christian IV crown at Rosenborg

    Crowns at Treasury of Rosenborg

    King’s Garden of Rosenborg

    King’s Garden is Denmark’s oldest Royal garden and a popular spot where the locals hang out. This green oasis had once provided flowers, fruits, and vegetables for the Royal family. The park is meticulously tended and the lawns are perfect for picnics. My utmost respect to the people who upkeep this garden! It’s a pity that we did not get to see the roses in full bloom though. Nevertheless, it’s a great place stroll along the charming tree-lined avenues or just to chillax.

    Queen Caroline Amalie Statue at Rosenborg

    Statue at Rosenborg

    King Garden at Rosenborg

    Beautiful Tree at Rosenborg Garden

    Chillax at Rosenborg Garden

    One local recommended Hereford Village for its meat buffet at reasonable pricing. There’s a nice selection of starters and meats though the taste is not the best.

    Hereford Village in Copenhagen

    And I spotted the Danish Royal Life Guard guarding the entrance of Copenhagen’s Lego Store LOL.

    Danish Royal Life Guard Lego

    Copenhagen is indeed a very charming city with eye-catching buildings and plenty of green spaces. Our stay is way too short to uncover much about this happy city and I would love to be back here again!

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  • Copenhagen and the Little Mermaid

    Copenhagen and the Little Mermaid

    Copenhagen, the capital city of Denmark, is my next Scandinavian destinations after visited both Finland and Norway. We boarded an early flight on SAS from Oslo and landed at Copenhagen Airport aka CPH. Thereafter, it’s an easy train ride from the airport’s Terminal 3 to Copenhagen Central Station. CPH is located at around 8 km from the city center, and hence the ride took less than 15 minutes. Right outside the Central Station is the great-looking Tivoli Gardens. But I suppose the amusement park cannot be the reason for Copenhagen to be consistently voted as one of the happiest places in the world. What’s the secret of keeping the Danes happy? Or is it because of Carlsberg? It certainly tastes better here…LOL!

    Copenhagen Airport CPH

    Tivoli-Gardens-Entrance

    Given my limited time here, perhaps it’s better to see what the air of happiness can do for me as a tourist. The first place to go is the City Hall Square (Rådhuspladsen) where the Copenhagen City Hall (Københavns Rådhus) is situated. It’s an office building for the Municipal Council and Mayor of the Danish capital. The building is such a joy to look at, especially when the late afternoon sun gives it a nice glow.

    City Hall Square Copenhagen

    Bull and Dragon fountain Copenhagen

    Nearing to City Hall Square is Frederiksberggade street where the lively pedestrian strip “Stroget” begins. The popular shopping district consists of connecting streets from Nygade, Vimmelskaftet, Amagertorv, Østergade to Kongens Nytorv (New King’s Square). Strøget is lined with cafes, restaurants and all kinds of shops that cater to different need or budget. If that’s not enough, there are more options that stretch from Købmagergade all the way to Kultorvet. That’s a lot to see and shop if you ask me.

    Frederiksberggade street Copenhagen

    Caritas Fountain at Gammeltorv Square

    Nygade street Copenhagen

    Amagertorv street Copenhagen

    Stork Fountain at Amagertorv square

    Nyhavn

    The colourful Nyhavn (New Harbour) is minutes’ away from Kongens Nytorv. These well-preserved waterfront buildings set aside the canal are so picturesque! It’s a nice experience to be wandering around the harbour area to have a closer look at the buildings. It would be great to sip or munch comfortably while taking in the view. But I suppose everybody thinks likewise since most restaurants and cafes here are filled to the brim.

    Memorial Anchor at Nyhavn

    Canal tour at Nyhavn

    Iconic Nyhavn in Copenhagen

    Iconic Nyhavn of Copenhagen

    Reflections of Nyhavn Copenhagen

    It’s perhaps better to grab some quick bites from the hot dog stands instead of waiting forever for somebody to leave. Even finding a space at the dock to hang around is equally challenging. That’s how popular Nyhavn is!

    Crowded dock area of Nyhavn

    Nyhavn is equally charming during the night and a lesser crowd. Nice!

    Nyhavn Copenhagen in the night.jpg

    Nyhavn Copenhagen at night

    Vaffelbageren

    Vaffelbageren or ‘Waffle Baker’ is a small ice cream shop well known for its home-made ice cream and crispy waffle cones. The popular shop is tucked at one corner building of Nyhavn which is easy to spot. It does attract a crowd consisting of locals and tourists but thankfully, the queue moves rather quickly. The ice creams here are rich in flavour and we super-like the waffles too. And we were back here a couple of times to try out the different flavours. Its prices aren’t the cheapest around but I would not mind coming back here again!

    Vaffelbageren at Nyhavn Copenhagen

    Vaffelbageren ice cream Copenhagen

    Ice cream at Vaffelbageren Copenhagen

    The Little Mermaid

    It’s quite a walk from Nyhavn to where the Little Mermaid is situated. But there are quite a lot to see along the way so it’s not that bad I suppose. Amalienborg Palace is one of them and this is the home of the Danish Royal Family. The four identical buildings of Amalienborg Palace form an octagonally shaped courtyard with its centerpiece being the statue of King Frederick V on horseback.

    Palace Square at Amalienborg

    Statue of King Frederick V at Amalienborg

    Amalienborg palace of Copenhagen

    Royal Guards of Amalienborg palace

    The waterfront promenade along Larsens Plads and Langelinie provided some nice views of the harbour. There’s even the replica of David statue in front of a building.

    Cyclist at Larsens Plads Copenhagen

    David statue at Copenhagen

    Ferry Terminal at Larsens Plads Copenhagen

    Royal pavilions at Nordre Toldbod

    Iver Huitfeldt Memorial at Copenhagen

    Finally, it’s now time to meet the Little Mermaid (Den Lille Havfrue). I would think that besides Nyhavn, this bronze statue must be the most photographed place in Copenhagen.

    Little Mermaid of Copenhagen

    Crowds around the Little Mermaid of Copenhagen

    Thereafter, we had a splendid dinner at Madklubben while resting our tired feet. The food served here is absolutely delicious though it’s difficult to catch the attention of the busy waiting staff.

    Dinner at Madklubben Copenhagen

    STAY: First Hotel Excelsior Copenhagen [CLOSED]

    I have chosen this hotel mainly because it is near to the Central Train Station. However, the room was quite small and the décor looked tired. It’s unlikely that I will return here again.

    Room of First Hotel Excelsior Copenhagen

    Room interior of First Hotel Excelsior Copenhagen

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