We had 48 hours in Copenhagen

We had 48 hours to get over jet lag and see Copenhagen

The first thing we did is buy a Copenhagen City Pass at the airport. One price covers admission to all the places we wanted to see and more.

We used the City Pass to take the train from the airport into the centre of Copenhagen.

Here is a link to the City Pass:

https://www.copenhagencitypass.com/en/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt-KQ-aTi4wIVBVYMCh05NQjjEAAYASAAEgLHLvD_BwE

Take a walk on Strøget, one of the oldest and longest pedestrian streets in the world

We get over jet lag by walking … a lot. Strøget was the perfect destination for us.

Our first stop was a Danish pastry shop … a perfect way to start our walking tour.

We visited lots of shops on Strøget, including Lego’s flagship store, highlighted in last week’s post on Everything Danish.

Creating a pedestrian mall in 1962 was very controversial. It shifted the emphasis in the city to pedestrians and bicycles at the expense of cars. Other major cities around the world have since followed Copenhagen’s example and have pedestrianized public spaces.

Nyhavn is our next destination

We walked from Strøget to Nyhavn in about 20 minutes.

The canal in Nyhavn is lined with bars and restaurants. This is one of the most photographed spots in Copenhagen.

An urban beach is our next destination

We walked to the end of the canal at Nyhavn and continued on a pedestrian bridge to the other side of the harbour.

Copenhagen has one of the cleanest harbours in the world.

There is no sand at this urban beach. You cannot walk gently into the water. Your only options are dive or jump.

Would you take the plunge?

This swimmer watched his friend dive … and decided to jump

We took a boat cruise through the canals

We leafed through the City Pass and found a ticket for a boat cruise. This is a great way to see Copenhagen.

Denmark is one of the happiest countries in the world. The bars and restaurants along the canals were filled with locals, enjoying a warm summer evening.

The Danish Museum of Art & Design is our next destination

Since Denmark is known for its modern design, I was looking forward to this visit. But I was disappointed. There was just too much information on Bauhaus … too many words on the walls. TMI. It was all too serious for me. I felt like getting out a black pen and redacting those lengthy educational descriptions of Bauhaus and leaving only this:

Bauhaus designs useful, durable, economical and beautiful everyday objects

This manhole cover is an Escher-like tessellation of elephants

This manhole cover is just outside the Design Museum.

I am careful when I walk in unfamiliar environments. I don’t want to trip and fall while gawking at the sites. Sometimes I find little surprises, like this interesting manhole cover.

Rosenborg Castle is our next destination

Norman sent me into fits of laughter when we saw this room. He wondered if all those pipes brought joy to the King of Denmark.

Wouldn’t you just want to Marie Kondo that desk? Sweep everything off and save the one pipe that brought you joy.

This room is not an example of Danish Modern Design

There is too much porcelain in Rosenborg Castle

I was ready to give up on Rosenborg Castle … until we stumbled upon the Crown Jewels.

The Crown Jewels in Rosenborg Castle are stunning

The vault for the Crown Jewels is open to the public. It was not crowded.

The His and Her Crowns are in the centre of the vault

There are steps next to the Crowns so that you can view the crowns from all angles. Photos are permitted.

Usually when I take a photo through glass, I press my camera right up to the glass in order to reduce glare … but I did not want to set off any alarms!

These diamonds are big and they are real

Rubies and pearls look good together

Emeralds give any outfit a nice hit of colour

There are so many more Crown Jewels … trays of rings … chains and medallions. There are gem-encrusted swords, gold coins, even a set of Colt revolvers, a gift from President Abraham Lincoln in 1861.

Our next destination is the Copenhagen Botanical Garden

There are 13,000 species in the Botanical Garden.

The Palm House is the most famous of the 27 greenhouses in the Garden. The spiral staircase leads to a walkway around the top of the greenhouse. Crystal Palace in London is the inspiration for the Palm House.

The glass in the cactus garden was removed to allow this cactus to flower

Fashioned by Nature is a stunning special exhibit

This special fashion exhibit is housed in the Botanical Garden. It took us a while to find the building and we had only 20 minutes to see the exhibit before closing time.This exhibit definitely deserved more time.

This is the first stunning and shocking display in the exhibit

This is a closeup of the leopard dress

Alexander McQueen’s World of Water dress is a digital print of amphibious skins

Fashion’s processes and insatiable demand for raw materials come at considerable environmental cost, contributing to air and water pollution and the loss of flora and fauna across the globe.

 

Spanning 400 years, Fashioned from Nature shows the ways in which today’s fashion designers are rising to the challenge to create a vibrant but more responsible fashion system that respects, protects and celebrate the natural world.

Our next destination is Illum, a department store on Strøget

The top floor in Illum has an outdoor terrace and many bars and restaurants.

This is one of the themed restaurants in Illum

We dined on tapas at Tivoli Food Hall

This is asparagus season in Copenhagen

Our next destination is Christiansborg Palace

After seeing too many dark and over-stuffed rooms in Rosenborg Palace, I was reluctant to venture into Christiansborg Palace.

I was very pleasantly surprised to find the rooms bright, airy and colourful.

This is the Royal Reception Room.

This is the Green Room in Christiansborg Castle

The dining room in Christiansborg Palace is used for State Dinners

This is the Throne Room in Christiansborg Palace

We had to wear plastic booties … such a dignified look for a royal palace. The booties are necessary to preserve the lovely wooden floors in the Palace

The Tapestry Room is a highlight of Christiansborg Palace

The themed tapestries cover all the walls in this vast room. They describe the past, present and future of Denmark

Sometimes, no destination leads you to something sweet

Our final destination … Tivoli

Tivoli is a garden and amusement park. It is the second oldest amusement park in the world.

Walt Disney visited Tivoli several times. He was fascinated by the atmosphere and wanted to replicate the mood at Disneyland.

And that is the end of our 48 hours in Copenhagen

We walked over 50,000 steps in 48 hours.

You can see more photos of our 48 hour trip on the earlier post: