Copenhagen - Day 2

Today was our first full day in the city. We’d had a restless night partly thanks to the clock tower situated at the front of our hotel. It chimed every 15 minutes until midnight! It was still dark when we awoke but we enjoyed our breakfast downstairs in the “Brasserie on the Square”. The restaurant windows ran along the front of the square and we could see that although overcast there was no rain. Instead of the usual croissant, I convinced James to try a Danish pastry (when in Denmark..!). He picked off and ate all the icing, then the custard and finally the pastry. He was well pleased with a bowl of fruit salad and yoghurt also.

We sent some time in the square at the front of the hotel, Radhuspadsen. James was excited to see the huge Christmas tree which the previous night had been blowing about rather dangerously! However, all the decorations were still intact and he ran round and round.

The beauty of this location is that Copenhagen’s main pedestrianised shopping street, Stroget, begins here. We were captivated by the amount of shops and fabulous decorations hanging overhead and in every window lining the street. We soon came across Georg Jensen and Royal Copenhagen stores, each with a dedicated Christmas store! I was so excited! The window displays alone were just amazing to look at. James stood still for a good 5 minutes in front of Santa making last minute presents for good boys and girls!

We happily shopped and had great difficulty choosing just a few things to bring home. Georg Jensen and the department store Illums, in particular, were almost like art galleries, filled with amazing designs and works of art. Not the ideal place for an active 3 year old!

At the end of Stroget is Kongens Nytorv, King’s New Square. I was really thrilled to see a circular ice-rink in the middle! I couldn’t believe how good some of the little Danish children were on the ice! Was I going to be shown up by midgets..?! James thought some of them falling over was really funny! I was scared.

We walked around the rink to the other side of the square to Nyhavn. This is the picture postcard image you see of Copenhagen. Lovely, bright coloured buildings front onto a canal that was once full of incoming boats and sailors. The fishing boats are still there and in use but the sailors and their dubious habits have gone. There was a Christmas market along one side of the canal.

We ate lunch in a small park with a playground just beyond Nyhavn. Funny how your priorities change when you have children! A statue of Hans Christian Andersen stood at one end. James had a good run around and we took the opportunity to take a toilet stop at a rather nice hotel opposite. He howled the place down when he cracked his head on the toilet bowl. Don’t ask!

A little further on was Amalienborg Palace, home to the Danish Royal Family since 1794. It was here that we got our first view of the Danish guards. I explained to James that they were guarding the Queen of Denmark, just as our guards in Windsor guard the Queen of England! We also figured that they are allowed to stand with their arms crossed as it’s really, really cold!

We came across Marmorkirken, the marble church just up from Amalienborg. I’ve since read that its dome is one of the largest in Europe, but the circular building itself is actually not so big. Inside was ornately decorated with beautiful Danish sculpture and paintings. There was an atmosphere of sanctuary, peace and calm in there (James was outside with Martin!)

Further still (well we did expect to do a fair bit of walking!) we crossed through Kastellet (barracks), past a really gorgeous windmill, and followed the signs to The Little Mermaid. She is just lovely and although sitting on a rock on the side of the port of Copenhagen she is not lonely and isolated like I imagined she’d be. I loved that even with busloads of tourists clambering out to her rock to get the ‘best’ photo, her wistful gaze never wavered from searching the sea beyond for her lost Prince. Such a sad little story. I was sad to leave her.

Heading back into the city centre it was now dusk. We didn’t mind as that meant more glittering photo opportunities!

Although it was now raining a bit we really wanted to go to the Tivoli. First stop was a mulled wine stall and oh, it was fantastic! Really, really good. Poor James couldn’t have any to warm him up but we did give him the fat raisins from the bottom of our cups! His reaction? “Mmmmm!!!!”

The crowds were huge and navigating the stroller through them was difficult, but there were so many families we just had to take our time and go with the flow. There was so much to look at that walking so slowly was a blessing! It was truly magical and European and sooo Christmassy! We could smell roasting nuts and hot dogs (Denmark’s national fast-food!) and wine and waffles. We soon got hungry so stopped for a bite. James and Martin had hot dogs and that kept them quiet for a bit!

James was desperate to go on rides, having caught the bug at the fireworks in Windsor back in October. We let him ride on a white horse on the carousel and he was overjoyed! We all went on the famous Ferris wheel and the view from the top was breathtaking. Then James was still asking nicely so he and I went on the boats on the lake. He thought it great fun to hit the icebergs and other boats.

We had a great time but were very tired and reluctantly left Tivoli at about 9pm.

Photos are here. There is a video of our day here and of Tivoli at night here.