Too Good to Miss
Before
heading out sightseeing in Copenhagen, we decided to take the canal
tours as many travel sites and friends advised it. We went on a
Saturday morning and the Kongens Nytorv was bustling with tourists
and locals. The flea market with its kitschy and colorful bric-a-bracs
added spice to the festive-like atmosphere.
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| Kongens Nytorv |
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| Tribal Musicians |
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| Flea Market |
We
walked through Stroget for the canal tours. Again there was a huge
tourist energy in the Stroget — the toy train, the street musicians
and the vendors made the scene complete. Once we reached Gammel
Strand, there was a boat half-filled. Excited, we bought the tickets
from DFDS canal tours and boarded the boat. We got the outer
seats to have a better view.
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| Toy Train |
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| One of the Boats |
A
young college student was our guide. She was shifting between Danish
and English for the explanations. She was very fast and her
transition from Danish to English was indistinct, only after a good
few sentences, we could identify the english explanation.
The
tour started with the Christiansborg Palace, the seat of the Danish
Parliament. It houses the Office of the Prime Minister and the
Supreme Court. It is also notable for the Royal Church, the reception
rooms and the royal stables.
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| Christiansborg Castle |
The
next was Børsen or the
Stock Exchange. Built between 1619 and 1640, it is the oldest stock
exchange in Denmark. The four dragon tails spiraling to form the top
is impressive. We quickly crossed the National Bank, the central bank
of Denmark established in 1818.
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| The Stock Exchange |
The
weather was rapidly changing from sunny to cool to windy and
ultimately to a light drizzle. Our coats and cardigans were on and
off per minute basis. We enjoyed cruising through the waterfront
cafes, hanging cafes and the house boats.
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| Hanging Cafe |
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| Waterfront Cafe |
Although
we did not go into the new harbor or Nyhavn, our guide explained its history. The Royal Playhouse was a beautiful building. There were lots of people dining in the outdoor area.
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| Nyhavn |
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| The Royal Playhouse |
The
Copenhagen Opera House was an exquisite building that will make you
gasp at its sheer beauty. It is one of the modern and very
expensively built Opera houses in the world. It was donated to the
Danish government by the A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller
Foundation.
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| The Opera House |
We
crossed the exorbitantly priced waterfront apartments and stylish
yachts and boats.
Nyholm
is a military area where we could see lot of activities with ships
and missiles. There were also the HDMS Peder Skram (F352), which
serves as a ship museum and the Danish Central Guard, a guardhouse
designed in 1744.
The
iconic Little Mermaid was visible to us from the backside. As we were in
the boat, we could not spot its front side. It was surprisingly small
for its famousness. Crowds flocked the statue from the land. We noted
to visit it once from the land.
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| The Little Mermaid |
The
massive dome of the Frederick's church posed for a striking view
along with Amaliehaven and
the palace from our boat. Amaliehaven or the Amalie Garden is a small
park located near the Amalienborg Palace.
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| Amaliehaven with the Palaces and the Dome of Frederick's church |
The
Vor Frelsers Kirke or the Church of Our Saviour, famous for its
spiraling staircase looked truly royal with its dark walls emblazoned
with golden railings and top. It is a baroque church and was
inaugurated in 1695; the famous spiral stairs were added in 1752. The
church is also noted for its largest carillon.
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| Church of Our Saviour |
The
Den Sorte Diamant or the Black Diamond is rightly named for its
windows shone like million diamonds in the afternoon sun. It is the
Royal Library and includes frescos of Per Kirkeby, the National
Museum of Photography and a small cartoon museum.
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| Royal Library |
The
next was the National Museum aka Nationalmuseet. It is the largest
museum of cultural history covering from Ice Age to Vikings to middle
ages. Noted as a must-visit for us.
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| National Museum |
We
were back to Gammel Strand, the boat was strolling slowly, we could
see people enjoying the waters from the square.
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| Another View of Christiansborg Palace |
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| Gammel Strand |
The
ride was relaxing and informative. The guide could have been a little
slower. Must do in Copenhagen to get to know the city in a nutshell.
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