A Breath of Fresh Air
After six months in Copenhagen, we decided that it's time to visit the much talked about Little Mermaid. We have already seen it from the boat during our Canal Tour. That just made me long for the long, bright days of summer...the short winter days are depressing than what we imagined. We hardly noticed the change of seasons in India, it was all the same—hot and sunny ever.
Irrespective of the cold, we started of as early as possible not wanting to lose whatever was left of the short winter day! The first place to visit was the Langeline. This is the surrounding area of the Little Mermaid with many monuments. The huge angel statue welcomed us. It was built in remembrance of the Danish soldiers who lost their lives in World War I. The pier was full of yachts and small boats. Occasionally, we could see tourists cheering from the canal tour boats.
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| The Angel Statue |
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| The Pier |
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| The Boats |
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| The View from the Pier |
The bare trees were dark and dull in the winter sun and attracted only a handful of tourists to the iconic Little Mermaid—the place was abuzz with tourists during summer. The small souvenir shop had small replicas of the Little Mermaid, exorbitantly priced. Otherwise, the snacks and drinks were reasonably priced.
The little mermaid statue was built by the founder of Carlsberg group based on the timeless fairy-tale of Hans Christian Andersen. This is one of the important tourist attractions of Copenhagen. The statue has been vandalized many times and the history can be found here. The statue was surprisingly small for the expectation it created. The look of the statue bought many expressions to the mind—loneliness, expectation and melancholy were the top among them. The temperature was enough to keep our interests in check—we didn't dare to venture into the chilly waters.
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| The Souvenir Shop |
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| The Park |
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| The Little mermaid - From Diff. Angles |
The walk along the park was interesting with swans and magpies strolling around. The park did not have magic of summer but in a way the calmness compensated for the loss. There were many statues in the park, most notably Ivar Huitfeldt Column. This was built in 1886 in memory of Admiral Ivar Huitfeldt and his men who lost their lives in the Great Northern War.
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| Ivar Huidfeldt Column |
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| The Statues |
The Gefion fountain was huge. It was donated by the Carlsberg group on their 50th anniversary to the city of Copenhagen. The fountain represents the Norse goddess, Gefjun controlling four large oxen. This is associated with a folklore regarding the creation of Zealand. The fountains were not running and we were disappointed with that part. The fountain is also a wishing well; we could see many coins inside its waters.
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| The Gefion Fountain |
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| Gefion Fountain and the English Church |
The Churchillparken received its name in 1965 to commemorate Sir Winston Churchill and British alliance during the second world war. There is an English church named St. Alban's Church built between 1885 to 1887. The church's exteriors were impressive but it was closed on the day we visited.
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| Churchillparken |
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| St. Alban's Church |
The experience will be different in summer, but the long walk was refreshing anyway. Even if it was short-lived, the walk lightened our moods.
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