Day 5 – Copenhagen, Denmark

The first stop on our 12 day cruise is in Copenhagen, Denmark. Let’s start with a brief Copenhagen history or such. Copenhagen is the capital city of Denmark. The entire country is about the half the size of Maine. Copenhagen means “Merchant City” and is to believe to be founded around 1167 by Bishop Absalon. Local currency in Denmark is the Krone (DKK).

Ok, enough history and general information – if you want more look it up on-line. We decided not to take one of the guided tours from the ship, due to the closeness of most items of interest, so we set off by foot. Walking around Copenhagen was fairly easy, but after awhile the cobblestone streets can wear on you. Copenhagen is a very elegant and clean city. It has a very special blend of old and new architecture. Its people were extremely friendly and helpful. I can see why this is one of the highlight destinations in Europe. Our walking trip took us through the vast shops and café’s to the Amalienborg Palace, home of the Danish Royal family since 1749. Our next main attraction for me anyways, was Tivoli Gardens. Tivoli Gardens is Copenhagen’s famous amusement park in the heart of the city. We were told that Walt Disney visited there before he built Disneyland. I can definitely see some similarities. I wish that I had the courage to try some of their rides; they definitely had some that are not for the weak at heart. The last spot that we planned on visiting was the Little Mermaid Statue, but it was on loan to China.

My overall impressions with Copenhagen are:

• The people are extremely helpful and friendly.
• It is a clean and beautiful city.
• Cost of stuff is a bit higher for everything. When traveling, you expect the costs to be higher than the US, but with Copenhagen expect higher. Cost of living must be extremely high.
• While there my wife and I decided to try one of the local hot dog specials. We saw Anthony Bourdain’s Copenhagen’s special and the hot dog that he ate, so we decided why not. That hot dog got us thinking why not try a hot dog in every county that we attended on this trip. This hot dog is much longer and thinner than our usual American version. We went with the completely covered version – which had bacon, cucumbers, mustard, onions and horseradish. I have to say it was an experience that I enjoyed.
• Denmark was playing their first match of the World Cup that day. The streets and pubs were alive with crazed football fans.

Some odd ball items:

• McDonald’s has free wifi.
• Tivoli Garden’s – you have to purchase a ticket to get into the park and if you want to ride a ride – you must purchase tickets (if you want to do more than one, buy the multi-ride pass).