Denmark, Copenhagen
This is horrible... I have gotten the bug of tardiness somewhere in me. I made the trip in May and how long have I delayed this post? Bloody 4 months! If I don't do it now, this trip probably would no longer be in my memory. Just like the Korea one...
After the conference trip in Stockholm, I flew into Copenhagen late afternoon and spent the weekend there. It was quite uneventful. I was lugging my cousin's floor ball stick and my luggage. My accomodation was at least 15 minutes walk from Central Station. The city was boring and there are sleazy people around and it had to pour on my last day when I planned to see the Little Mermaid. So, I didn't get to see Little Mermaid. Well, good in a way... So I won't be disappointed by her minute size (she is only 1.3m). Just like the Mona Lisa. I went to the Louvre twice, I did not see Mona Lisa. I refused to. I'll let her be the majestic and enigmatic lady in the potrait that I imagined her to be.
My accomodation is in Vesterbro, the hip district, lots of quirky shops selling one-off clothing items. Very expensive, I mean the clothes. I don't have any picture of my accomodation, shame. It was a homestay! Before I left Singapore, I was frantically searching for accomodations in Copenhagen, and because it was bank holiday weekend in UK, the affordable accomodations are all fully booked. Bummer. So I did my power search on the internet and found this place on Visit Copenhagen website. It was a really nice and compact unit in a resident block, with 2 rooms and I am the only one during that weekend! So I had the whole house for myself! :) The landlord lives just by the fringe of the city and she is a fantastic person to talk to. We spent almost an hour talking about what to see and do, she told me that weekend is the perfect time to visit Copenhagen because that Friday was the wedding of Prince Joachim and his second wife (his first was that Eurasian Hong Kong girl) and Sunday was the Crown Prince's birthday, where little girls will dress as princesses and wave Danish flags outside his palace. She gave me an abundance of maps and books, stock up of drinks in the kitchen. So cool! Anyhow, I was too tired to go out at night, so I lazed around watching tv before going to bed. And along the upper street is the red light district with sleazy people, I don't want to risk being caught walking alone there at night. It was pretty scary, my first impression of Copenhagen.
Day 1
My first picture of Copenhagen, haha!
Copenhagen City Hall. There was a wedding happening there in the morning so I "busybodied" a bit before carrying on my business.
Strøget, the shopping street with high street shops at the beginning and all the luxury shops and department stores further down. Like my landlord says, she usually does her fantic shopping the moment she stepped foot into this street and once she finished spending her money, it's just nice for window shopping further down the street since she can't afford it anyway!
A weekend bazzar at Kongens Nytorv (King's New Square), at the end of Strøget. This is where a mad freak ran out from somewhere and dropped some funny packet that exploded and it landed BESIDE me... KNN.
Thank goodness not tear gas or anything fatal!
The most popular canal in Copenhagen, Nyhavn (New Harbor). Hans Christian Anderson lived in one or two of the houses along this canal.
Picturesque!
I have a thing for boat tours. So far, the ones I have gone on are very interesting (except for the one in Amsterdam, it really bored the hell out of me. I don't want to see only bridges). This is the Operaen.
This is a resident building! I want to live in there!
An old navy ship. I think used in WWII.
OK, I forgotten the name of this place. But it is an island off Copenhagen and thanks to my father's Canon Ixus 7 with the powerful digital zoon + anti-shake function, I got this mighty clear picture. Else, this island is really far away and looks really small from my boat.
The famous Little Mermaid and her fans.
The two white pavilions are the holding areas for the monarchy when they are waiting for their boat.
I thought I was in Florence...
Looks like Florence eh?
Vor Frelsers Kirke, Church of our Saviour. Visitors can go up the spire of the church, I heard it's more than 400 steps to the top.
Canoeing along the river.
The Black Diamond is the Royal Danish Library.
Børsen, The Stock Exchange. The spire is shaped as the tails of four dragons twined together, hence the name "dragonspire".
Returning to Nyhavn.
It was so sunny it wasn't like spring at all. Everyone was getting their bit of the sun by doing everything along the canal.
It was a nice walk to Amalienborg Palace, the winter home of the Danish Royal Family. It has a circular middle yard with four palaces surrounding it. The Queen and Princes live in different palaces.
Part of the square.
Looks like the British guards. I checked, this picture was taking in Copenhagen. I didn't mix up.
Frederiks Kirke, Frederik's Church which is aligned on the axis of Amalienborg and Operaen.
I made my way slowly back to Strøget, hoping to visit the Theatre Museum in Christiansborg but couldn't find it.
This group of buskers were brilliant. They make really great easy listening music. I saw a similar goup in Chinatown 2 months back, outside People's Park complex on two occasions.
Some antique market along the backlanes.
These look very tudor style.
Compound of Christiansborg. Was formally the palace complex, currently the place where executive, legislation and judicial powers are excercised.
Back to Rådhuspladsen (City Hall Square) in the afternoon, there were people offering free stress consultation;
They measure using this... I'm wondering how they did it, put those under the arm pits?
Day 2
I took the bus to Rosenborg Castle and alighted at the wrong stop so I had to walk back to the castle. Prior to that, I took the wrong direction. Sigh...
A building I past. There are a few museums nearby as well. And thank goodness the weather was fine so it was a nice walk.
Lovely daisies under the sunlight.
Rosenborg Castle, this is where the Crown Jewels are housed.
Guards.
They allow photography inside the castle! I was elated! Paid for the photography licence and went in snapping away. There is a couple who did not pay for the licence and still taking pictures using their camera phone with the "cache" sound at it's highest volume, it annoyed the hell out of me.
Intricate ceiling.
Oriental tiles and the toilet!
Woven textiles. I enjoy looking at textiles.
I can sleep on those cushioned rests.
The throne room with 3 lions.
Porcelain collection.
Throne room again.
Glass collection.
Looking into the garden.
Gift from Abraham Lincoln.
Ivory collection.
THE CROWNS!!! I am surprise they allow photography of the Crown Jewels as well, flash included. Stcokholm, UK etc. don't allow it at all.
They must be very heavy.
Pearls. I love pearls. :)
The Royal Danish Theatre.
Gorgeous dome ceiling.
Went to the National Museum of Denmark, entrance is free! I love free museums!
This is one of the best museums I have seen, nicely curated into different stages of significant development, like stone age, vikings, etc. There is also an area specially for children where they can play dress-ups in different eras like vikings, post-war and so on. Very experiential, which is important for young children because they learn more by experiencing it.
A mock-up post-war classroom.
Intriguing musical instruments.
Gold-ware.
Calendars.
This is the most accurate clock in the world according to the explanation.
I like this, it's very interesting.
Doll houses. At this time, my camera's battery went flat and I don't have an extra battery so I went to have dinner and back to my room for an early night. I thought I want to go to Tivoli but I was skint so I dropped the idea... Now I'm wondering whether have I miss much for not going to Tivoli and see the aquarium. I have a thing for aquariums too, although fishes frighten me.
Day 3
Horrible, horrible. It rained the whole day and it was freezing cold. Brrr....
An empty City Hall Square, for once!
Another look at Vor Frelsers Kirke. I was so ready to climb the spire and it rained. Anyway, I think the church is undergoing some construction so I couldn't find the entrance.
This secluded area is just by the fringe of Christiania, a freetown. It as semi-legal status, which means drugs are allow within this area.
The stones were placed there to prevent cars from entering because no cars are allow.
Right. It was raining, it was early, it was quiet so I didn't care to go in alone. Anyway, no photography is allow in there. They will beat you up I heard. So I stood outside, peeped in and went off towards Holmen.
Holmen, that's where the Operaen is.. Well, closed... But at least I get to hide under the roof of the Operaen from the rain.
The axis from Operaen. The square is Amalienborg Palace's square and then Frederiks Kirke.
Took the bus back to Amalienborg Palace where the Crown Prince will come out to do his birthday wave at the balcony.
But no Crown Prince leh.
Poor little, wet, girls.
An empty Nyhavn.
I actually tried walking to see if I can withstand the rain and cold to see the Little Mermaid. I couldn't. So I spent the whole afternoon in Moccasins shopping centre, ate expensive but great, warm cheese croissants and do random shopping.
I deicided, I don't want to go back to prepare for my flight so early in the afternoon (my flight was late at night) so I went to the Kobenhavns Bymuseet (City Museum), which is a 10 minute walk from my accomodation so I don't have to rush back.
This lovely hall...
I love these old stuffs.
Yap, that was all I did in Copenhagen. And honestly, it is a pretty boring place. Perhaps, because place that are more interesting are out of the city. Perhaps, because I didn't see enough.
So, I flew from Copenhagen to Stockholm and done my kick ass transit. I shall end with a very rare picture of an empty Stockholm Arlanda airport.
I actually laughed at people's sleeping postures.
After the conference trip in Stockholm, I flew into Copenhagen late afternoon and spent the weekend there. It was quite uneventful. I was lugging my cousin's floor ball stick and my luggage. My accomodation was at least 15 minutes walk from Central Station. The city was boring and there are sleazy people around and it had to pour on my last day when I planned to see the Little Mermaid. So, I didn't get to see Little Mermaid. Well, good in a way... So I won't be disappointed by her minute size (she is only 1.3m). Just like the Mona Lisa. I went to the Louvre twice, I did not see Mona Lisa. I refused to. I'll let her be the majestic and enigmatic lady in the potrait that I imagined her to be.
My accomodation is in Vesterbro, the hip district, lots of quirky shops selling one-off clothing items. Very expensive, I mean the clothes. I don't have any picture of my accomodation, shame. It was a homestay! Before I left Singapore, I was frantically searching for accomodations in Copenhagen, and because it was bank holiday weekend in UK, the affordable accomodations are all fully booked. Bummer. So I did my power search on the internet and found this place on Visit Copenhagen website. It was a really nice and compact unit in a resident block, with 2 rooms and I am the only one during that weekend! So I had the whole house for myself! :) The landlord lives just by the fringe of the city and she is a fantastic person to talk to. We spent almost an hour talking about what to see and do, she told me that weekend is the perfect time to visit Copenhagen because that Friday was the wedding of Prince Joachim and his second wife (his first was that Eurasian Hong Kong girl) and Sunday was the Crown Prince's birthday, where little girls will dress as princesses and wave Danish flags outside his palace. She gave me an abundance of maps and books, stock up of drinks in the kitchen. So cool! Anyhow, I was too tired to go out at night, so I lazed around watching tv before going to bed. And along the upper street is the red light district with sleazy people, I don't want to risk being caught walking alone there at night. It was pretty scary, my first impression of Copenhagen.
Day 1
My first picture of Copenhagen, haha!
Copenhagen City Hall. There was a wedding happening there in the morning so I "busybodied" a bit before carrying on my business.
Strøget, the shopping street with high street shops at the beginning and all the luxury shops and department stores further down. Like my landlord says, she usually does her fantic shopping the moment she stepped foot into this street and once she finished spending her money, it's just nice for window shopping further down the street since she can't afford it anyway!
A weekend bazzar at Kongens Nytorv (King's New Square), at the end of Strøget. This is where a mad freak ran out from somewhere and dropped some funny packet that exploded and it landed BESIDE me... KNN.
Thank goodness not tear gas or anything fatal!
The most popular canal in Copenhagen, Nyhavn (New Harbor). Hans Christian Anderson lived in one or two of the houses along this canal.
Picturesque!
I have a thing for boat tours. So far, the ones I have gone on are very interesting (except for the one in Amsterdam, it really bored the hell out of me. I don't want to see only bridges). This is the Operaen.
This is a resident building! I want to live in there!
An old navy ship. I think used in WWII.
OK, I forgotten the name of this place. But it is an island off Copenhagen and thanks to my father's Canon Ixus 7 with the powerful digital zoon + anti-shake function, I got this mighty clear picture. Else, this island is really far away and looks really small from my boat.
The famous Little Mermaid and her fans.
The two white pavilions are the holding areas for the monarchy when they are waiting for their boat.
I thought I was in Florence...
Looks like Florence eh?
Vor Frelsers Kirke, Church of our Saviour. Visitors can go up the spire of the church, I heard it's more than 400 steps to the top.
Canoeing along the river.
The Black Diamond is the Royal Danish Library.
Børsen, The Stock Exchange. The spire is shaped as the tails of four dragons twined together, hence the name "dragonspire".
Returning to Nyhavn.
It was so sunny it wasn't like spring at all. Everyone was getting their bit of the sun by doing everything along the canal.
It was a nice walk to Amalienborg Palace, the winter home of the Danish Royal Family. It has a circular middle yard with four palaces surrounding it. The Queen and Princes live in different palaces.
Part of the square.
Looks like the British guards. I checked, this picture was taking in Copenhagen. I didn't mix up.
Frederiks Kirke, Frederik's Church which is aligned on the axis of Amalienborg and Operaen.
I made my way slowly back to Strøget, hoping to visit the Theatre Museum in Christiansborg but couldn't find it.
This group of buskers were brilliant. They make really great easy listening music. I saw a similar goup in Chinatown 2 months back, outside People's Park complex on two occasions.
Some antique market along the backlanes.
These look very tudor style.
Compound of Christiansborg. Was formally the palace complex, currently the place where executive, legislation and judicial powers are excercised.
Back to Rådhuspladsen (City Hall Square) in the afternoon, there were people offering free stress consultation;
They measure using this... I'm wondering how they did it, put those under the arm pits?
Day 2
I took the bus to Rosenborg Castle and alighted at the wrong stop so I had to walk back to the castle. Prior to that, I took the wrong direction. Sigh...
A building I past. There are a few museums nearby as well. And thank goodness the weather was fine so it was a nice walk.
Lovely daisies under the sunlight.
Rosenborg Castle, this is where the Crown Jewels are housed.
Guards.
They allow photography inside the castle! I was elated! Paid for the photography licence and went in snapping away. There is a couple who did not pay for the licence and still taking pictures using their camera phone with the "cache" sound at it's highest volume, it annoyed the hell out of me.
Intricate ceiling.
Oriental tiles and the toilet!
Woven textiles. I enjoy looking at textiles.
I can sleep on those cushioned rests.
The throne room with 3 lions.
Porcelain collection.
Throne room again.
Glass collection.
Looking into the garden.
Gift from Abraham Lincoln.
Ivory collection.
THE CROWNS!!! I am surprise they allow photography of the Crown Jewels as well, flash included. Stcokholm, UK etc. don't allow it at all.
They must be very heavy.
Pearls. I love pearls. :)
The Royal Danish Theatre.
Gorgeous dome ceiling.
Went to the National Museum of Denmark, entrance is free! I love free museums!
This is one of the best museums I have seen, nicely curated into different stages of significant development, like stone age, vikings, etc. There is also an area specially for children where they can play dress-ups in different eras like vikings, post-war and so on. Very experiential, which is important for young children because they learn more by experiencing it.
A mock-up post-war classroom.
Intriguing musical instruments.
Gold-ware.
Calendars.
This is the most accurate clock in the world according to the explanation.
I like this, it's very interesting.
Doll houses. At this time, my camera's battery went flat and I don't have an extra battery so I went to have dinner and back to my room for an early night. I thought I want to go to Tivoli but I was skint so I dropped the idea... Now I'm wondering whether have I miss much for not going to Tivoli and see the aquarium. I have a thing for aquariums too, although fishes frighten me.
Day 3
Horrible, horrible. It rained the whole day and it was freezing cold. Brrr....
An empty City Hall Square, for once!
Another look at Vor Frelsers Kirke. I was so ready to climb the spire and it rained. Anyway, I think the church is undergoing some construction so I couldn't find the entrance.
This secluded area is just by the fringe of Christiania, a freetown. It as semi-legal status, which means drugs are allow within this area.
The stones were placed there to prevent cars from entering because no cars are allow.
Right. It was raining, it was early, it was quiet so I didn't care to go in alone. Anyway, no photography is allow in there. They will beat you up I heard. So I stood outside, peeped in and went off towards Holmen.
Holmen, that's where the Operaen is.. Well, closed... But at least I get to hide under the roof of the Operaen from the rain.
The axis from Operaen. The square is Amalienborg Palace's square and then Frederiks Kirke.
Took the bus back to Amalienborg Palace where the Crown Prince will come out to do his birthday wave at the balcony.
But no Crown Prince leh.
Poor little, wet, girls.
An empty Nyhavn.
I actually tried walking to see if I can withstand the rain and cold to see the Little Mermaid. I couldn't. So I spent the whole afternoon in Moccasins shopping centre, ate expensive but great, warm cheese croissants and do random shopping.
I deicided, I don't want to go back to prepare for my flight so early in the afternoon (my flight was late at night) so I went to the Kobenhavns Bymuseet (City Museum), which is a 10 minute walk from my accomodation so I don't have to rush back.
This lovely hall...
I love these old stuffs.
Yap, that was all I did in Copenhagen. And honestly, it is a pretty boring place. Perhaps, because place that are more interesting are out of the city. Perhaps, because I didn't see enough.
So, I flew from Copenhagen to Stockholm and done my kick ass transit. I shall end with a very rare picture of an empty Stockholm Arlanda airport.
I actually laughed at people's sleeping postures.