Waking up in Copenhagen feels dream-like. I love waking up in new cities, that slow realization that you are not in your own bed, you are not home or even in your own country. You are on an adventure and you have a whole day of fun new things to explore. This day was not just any day, it was our second day of our grand European Trip and it was Robert's 28th birthday! We woke up a little later then anticipated. We only had until 2:00 pm left for our 24 hour Copenhagen card, so we felt a little rush to get everything done before our time ran out. We got ready and hopped on our bikes, which we rented for a second day.
Our first stop for the day was Rosenborg Castle, a royal residence in Denmark since the 1600s. We parked our bikes and started to roam around the gorgeous, manicured gardens. We later found out that the gardens at Rosenborg Castle are the oldest and most visited park in Copenhagen, and we could see why.
We went up to the castle and decided we wanted to take the tour. We were once again excited to use our Copenhagen card and get in for "free".
Once inside the castle we realized the tour was self guided. We were given booklets upon entering that described the rooms we were in, their importance and what artwork and artifacts were there. This type of tour depends entirely on your degree of interest in reading more about each part of the castle. Being a self guided tour we happily took the castle at our own speed, lingering in rooms we liked and moving faster past things that did not interest us as much.
Throughout the castle there were tons of portraits, statues, furniture, fancy china and other things that the royal family treasured. But the Piece de resistance was found in the basement of the castle. The crown jewels and other very elegant and expensive jewelry were nestled downstairs in the cool basement. Underground it was cool and peaceful and the perfect place to imagine yourself draped in jewelry and a crown to top off the look.
After our trip "back in time" we realized we barely had enough time to make it to our second stop of the day. We had two places we wanted to go and use our Copenhagen Card, Rosenborg Castle and then Carlsberg Brewery. It was already almost 2 and we realized we would probably be paying for the brewery tour. So we rode our bikes back past Tivoli Gardens and out of the city center to Carlsberg Brewery. We entered through the iconic elephant gates and grabbed a quick photo (or 7 haha).
Who doesn't love some big 'ol elephants? After realizing where to go for the tour we knew we were too late to still use our 24 hour card, it was already almost 4, but we decided to give it a try anyway, just in case. The birthday boy confidently gave the woman the card and she barely looked at it and gave us two tickets for the tour! This one really was free, we were ecstatic. If you have the Copenhagen Card and you are a little over your time I might recommend seeing if they check or if they are strict with it. We had a feeling that people in Copenhagen are happy when people support their city by buying the card and they are not too strict with the times. Besides, the worst thing that will happen is, you will have to pay, which you were planning on doing anyway.
The self guided tour included two free drinks each, we could choose beer or a soft drink. So we went straight to the bar, sat in the courtyard and ordered two beers. We relaxed at picnic tables with birds chirping around the courtyard and just "drank" in the picturesque setting. Now anyone who knows me knows that beer is not my favorite thing, and anyone who knows Rob knows that he is quite a big fan of beer. So it took some convincing for me to give the beer a try. I am proud to say that I was able to finish one of the beers but Rob had to "take one for the team" and drink the other three, haha.
After our first round we decided to check out the museum and the self guided tour. Inside the old 1800's brewery there was information about the history of the brewery. Some information about the progression of their recipe, how they make the beer, some old advertisements associated with Carlsberg and other facts about the beer and the brewery. For me the tour was interesting enough, the fact that it was free for us made a huge difference, and I liked the fact that it again was self guided because there were a number of things that I was happy to just skim past. We made a quick visit to the horse that live there as well.
After the tour we went back to the courtyard and Rob had the other two free beers (one for me and one for him).
A happy birthday boy.
After the brewery we had some lunch at Torvehallerne Market. This is a local market that serves everything from flowers, to fruit, to raw meat, cheese, bread and cooked meals. It has a large sitting area where you can eat, drink and relax in the shade. In my research I found more then one example of people saying this was a great place to grab some lunch. One thing that was highly recommended was the duck (canard) sandwiches at a place called Ma Poule. Ok now technically it's not a Copenhagen specialty. Its actually a french food stand but trust me it's worth it. We wandered around taking in the sights and smells of the market. The aroma of fresh cut flowers and sweet berries filled the air.
We stopped and picked a few sweet treats, admired some locally grown treasures and set our eyes on the prize. We ordered two duck sandwiches, found a spot at a picnic table nearby and melted into the rich meat and soft and crunchy french bread. There was no talking for about 3 solid minutes because we were both just enjoying every bite. After minutes of only crunching Rob said, between bites "Oh yea, that's the good stuff" and we both laughed in agreement.
Once we gained our speech back we decided to get back on our bikes and head to Christiansborg Palace, the parliament building with an incredible view over the city. We heard it was free to go up in the tower for the view but we were skeptical. When we arrived there was a very short line and no place to purchase tickets. As we waited on the line we realized the rumors were true, it was free to go high above the city. An elevator takes you most of the way up and it is only a short walk up to get to the tower platform. Once you are there you can not believe your eyes, and can not believe that they wouldn't charge for this.
After spending probably too long soaking in this view we went back down to the ground level. We wandered around the impressive building a little more.
Then we got back on our bikes with the intent of heading back to our hostel for a little break. Turns out our bikes had other plans for us and they took us to a gorgeous square instead. When we heard the music and saw the perfect scene we knew we had to park our bikes and spend a little time there.
While walking through this square I think it started to hit us that we were in Europe, and would be for the next few months! As silly as it may sound it wasn't clicking completely, and maybe still isn't, but moments like this help move the process along. We came upon a hot dog stand and a fountain that were just too tempting to pass up. So we grabbed a snack/dinner and stole a seat in the sunshine on the side of the fountain.
Once we finished our snack and enjoyed the atmosphere of the square to it's fullest we got back to our bikes and went back to our hostel to relax and freshen up before the night. Since it was Rob's birthday, and our last night in Denmark, we decided to make one last stop to Nyhavn because we loved it so much. It was around 10 when we went out again. Now the beauty of Rob's birthday, and the fact that we were in Copenhagen for this special day is that it is the summer solstice, June 21st, aka the longest day of the year. Now the longest day of the year in New Jersey means the sun is out until about 8:30 pm, but this far north the sun stayed out until after 10 pm. We still had light in the sky after 11 pm which was a real treat. We went to Nyhavn with the sun sinking low in the sky. We walked around, got some ice cream and then sat at a restaurant by the water and had some drinks. It was the perfect end to a lovely day celebrating my best friend in one of the prettiest cities in the world.
We were completely blown away by Copenhagen. As I said I had been here before and I had really liked it but it was infinitely better then I remembered. Rob had relatively low expectations for our first stop and he was very pleasantly surprised. Click here to watch a video Rob made all about Copenhagen. I can not wait to see what the rest of this journey brings for us.
