We had another walking tour lined up for the morning as our introduction to the city. This 2.5 hour tour was informative, entertaining and a lot of fun (thanks to our guide Jarod). It mostly covered the old part of town. After the tour, we had a quick bite to eat (Danish Hot Dogs from a street vendor -yum), then we set out on our own to see some of the sites the tour guide had recommended. First up was the Little Mermaid (of course), and then off to the Torvehallerne Market. This trek took us through several different neighbourhoods in Copenhagen. Then we hiked back to the hotel through the pedestrian shopping streets for a quick rest up before heading out to the Tivoli Gardens. The whole gang was going to get together for dinner at Tivoli, and to see the park. Tivoli was celebrating it's 175th Anniversary, so we enjoyed the special parade, but we just couldn't stay up 'till 10:45pm to see the "Tivoli Illuminations" light show. Altogether a fun day with lots of walking getting to know Copenhagen a little better.
Our walking tour started in the Town Square.
These little critters (whatever they are) adorned the Town Hall.
The statue of Hans Christian Anderson looks over to Tivoli Gardens across the street.
A statue of horn blowing Vikings in the Town Square. (There's a story here...but frankly, I don't remember.)
Just outside of the town square.
The streets of old town Copenhagen with colourful, unadorned buildings.
The statue of Bishop Absalon, a significant figure in Copenhagen's history.
A major canal running through the city, with a lot of construction on either side for the new Metro line that will expand the current system.
The 150 year old department store Magasin Du Nord. This was in our neighbourhood, and where we went (to the food hall) for our lunch on the first day.
The Amalienborg Palace grounds, the winter home of the Royal Family. They were in residence this day - the flags were raised. (And we were almost run over by one of the "Royal Autos".)
Statues outside of the Danish West Indian Warehouse, "The building is now an exhibition space, and houses the 2,000 plaster casts that make up the Royal Cast Collection". A replica of the statue of Michelangelo's David on the left, and the (very) newly installed "I Am Queen Mary" on the right "to memorialize Denmark’s colonial impact in the Caribbean and those who fought against it".
A statue of Neptune. He seems to be looking out to the sea, asking "Just where is that statue of the Little Mermaid?" We were asking the same question.
And...there it is. The famous statue of The Little Mermaid, based on the Hans Christian Anderson's story of the same name.
A close-up of the statue. (Hard to get without a whole lot of people taking selfies in front of it.) It was low tide at this time, so the statue rose above the water.
One of the several pedestrian shopping streets on our way back to the hotel.
Another charming pedestrian shopping street.
Not exactly the entrance to Tivoli Gardens. Probably an administration building.
Inside Tivoli Gardens, the refurbished Nimb Palace. Once the main restaurant, now a luxury hotel with several restaurants.
One of the beautiful flower pots, as befits a "garden".
The main rollercoaster. Oriental themes were part of the original design, and remain to this day.
Part of the special 175th Anniversary parade.
More of the anniversary parade. "Yes Mom, I've got a job for the summer...I'm a Chef. Kind of. Well...I'm more of a table than a chef, but still, people smile and clap as I pass by." Guess that's still better than "Yeah...I'm a fork."
"It's a Small World after all"...and here is an ode to Walt Disney to prove it. Seems Disney got the inspiration for Disneyland after visiting Tivoli Gardens.
The pirate ship is actually a restaurant.
It was getting late (the days were VERY long, with sunset happening around 10:00pm), so we made our way out of the park.
Our last view of the legendary Tivoli Gardens. Glad we had the chance to visit this iconic amusement park.
Back in our "hood" the sun was starting to go down, and we were feeling very satisfied by our full day in Copenhagen.
NEXT: (Day 3) Copenhagen, Denmark - Day 3
PREV: (Day 1) Copenhagen, Denmark - Day 1
Baltic Cruise - May-June 2018