Copenhagen

Last week we headed to Copenhagen for the weekend.  We had such a great time and packed in as much as we could in the three days that we were there. Copenhagen is relatively small and it is easy to get around. The airport was about 30 minutes from the place we were staying, and about 20 minuets from downtown Copenhagen. 

 As soon as we got off the train there was a charming little coffee shop. Little shops like these were everywhere. I guess things like this are the advantages you get when you live in a really old city. 

 We started off our holiday by doing some window shopping. We stopped by Illums Bolighus which was amazing. We wanted to buy almost everything. Across the square was Hay House. Again we loved pretty much everything. 

Here is the view looking out the window at Hay House. 

And here are some colorful pillows on display at Hay House. I told Ben I wanted a bookshelf full of colorful pillows, so maybe one day :)

Next we headed to a shop called Kortkartelle. They exclusively sold country, city, and neighborhood prints. 

Just around the corner was The Round Tower. A 17th century astronomical observatory. Cool!

After a long afternoon of walking around we headed back to the airbnb flat we were staying in. The following pictures are of the flat which was full of Scandinavian design.

  

The next morning we headed to the botanical gardens. Below is the palm house. The room was massive. You could walk up a spiral staircase and walk around the tree tops. It was also very humid and Ben and I had to wait for several minuets before our classes stopped fogging up. 

After the Botanical Gardens, we started walking over to a palace that houses the Danish crown jewels.  On our way to the palace we came across another astronomical observatory. This one had a statue of Tyco Brahe in from of it. 

Then onto the royal palace. The gardens were really pretty, even though they were still in winter mode. I bet in the spring and summer they are absolutely stunning. 

Here is me in front of the palace. Again so much copper! This palace also has a mote. Neat! 

And our view of the gardens as we are leaving the royal palace grounds. The grass was full of white and purple crocuses. Spring is so close.

We were getting pretty hungry so we headed to Torvehallerne for some open faced sandwiches and danish hotdogs. Yeah, everything was delicious and we really liked this market. Torvehallerne has lots of stalls with every type of food you could imagine. It has fun just walking around and looking at all the delicious food and treats. 

After lunch we headed to Den Blå Planet Aquarium. Ben and I LOVE aquariums and zoo's so when we hear that one is particularly good we like to go.  Den Blå Planet is located right on the water and we passed this boat on our way to the entrance.  

Here is a the aquarium. The building was really interesting. It spirals our in several directions with each spiral housing a separate exhibit in the aquarium. As for inside the aquarium, it was REALLY dark which was excellent for viewing the fish and sharks, but terrible for photos. They also had otters! Our favorite exhibit was on the creatures that lived in the deep water lakes of Africa. 

On our last day we packed in as much as we could before we had to head to the airport. We headed to Kastellet which is a 17th century military fortress. There were lots of amazing monuments, memorials, statues, and churches. Below is a memorial for the solders who fell in WWII. 

This next memorial was stunning. It is a peace memorial featuring an angel holding a laurel wreath. This was my favorite memorial by far, and again, it is cast in copper :) 

And of course we had to see The Little Mermaid (Den lille havfrue) based on the Hans Christen Anderson fairy tale. It was fun to see, but I actually enjoyed a lot of the other statues quite a bit more.

The Gefion Fountain was absolutely epic. This was Ben's favorite statue. It is the largest monument in Copenhagen and depicts the norse god Gefion plowing the sea with four oxen. Sadly the fountain part was not running when we were there, but it was still epic.  

From here we headed over to Nyhavn. On the way we passed this beautiful Church. 

We also passed this statue of the King Christian X of Denmark.

We also saw some soldiers with sabers walking in formation down the street. 

And finally we made it to Nyhavn. It was a beautiful street filled with colorful houses, cafes, shops, and lots and lots of boats. 

Danish people love their flag. We saw the flat everywhere. Here is a flag outside one of the shops on Nyhavn street. 

After walking around the iconic street we headed over to the Cathedral of Copenhagen to see the Christus statue. 

I love the statue of the angel that is directly in front of the Christus. Her shell hold holy water as well. 

This church was stunning. Along either side of the cathedral were the twelve apostles. The bright white ceiling really put the emphasis on the statues in the church.  

Before we headed to the airport we stopped for some treats to tide us over. The kanelsnegl with coco was so delicious. 

And that was our trip! We definitely want to go back. We absolutely loved the city and want to explore more of it than we were able to. I think next time we go we will go when weather is warmer and we can enjoy all the outdoor parks that Copenhagen has to offer.