Copenhagen: Sights of the Colourful City

Over one month after the fact, but here nonetheless. With the worst of my exams out of the way I finally have time to catch up on long-passed trips. Here's part two of Copenhagen (part one, here) that features sights of the city - enjoy!

My hostel was located directly off of Nyhavn - arguably the most picturesque area in Copenhagen. If you've seen any pictures of the city, then you've definitely seen Nyhavn. Colourfully separated buildings line the harbour and contribute to the city's classical Scandinavian aesthetic. 

Also, side note, if you're ever in Copenhagen then I highly recommend Bedwood Hostel.

Christiansborg Palace: the seat of the Danish Parliament, the Danish Prime Minister's Office and the Supreme Court of Denmark

A picturesque little side street 

 Helligaandskirken ("Church of the Holy Ghost")

 A peek at Strøget, Copenhagen's main shopping street and one of Europe's longest pedestrian streets

Rundetaarn ("The Round Tower")

Church of Our Lady ("Copenhagen Cathedral") 

Torvehallerne is an indoor market that's open all year round. It's similar to Vancouver's Granville Island Public Market as it features some restaurant-style food spots, bakeries, fresh grocery items, and so on.  According to Visit Copenhagen, "it is not a supermarket – it is a super market". I really enjoyed visiting Torvehallerne because I'm never opposed to more food. 

The best oatmeal I've ever had. Topped with apples, almonds, and caramel sauce. 

 Kongens Have: The Rosenborg Castle Gardens

Rosenborg Castle 

To pass the time between my friends leaving to catch a flight and my flight out a few hours later, I decided to jump solo onto a canal tour. Not going to lie, I was the only person boatin' el solo, but it was well worth it - besides, doing things alone is trendy now, right? #wanderlust #solotravellers

Big cool ship: no other information to accompany this fact 

Marinestation København: you can see the snazzy navy ships on the right half 

Sun's in the way: but this is the area where the royals live. If you squint then you can see tiny little flags flying, which means they're home. 

Just realized that the guy across from me was also alone - props guy (wish you were younger and not balding).

 Christianshavn Canal

Børsen, also known as Børsbygningen: a 17th century stock exchange in the center of Copenhagen 

And that formally concludes both my boat tour and Copenhagen trip in general. After hopping off the boat I went back to my hostel, packed up, then headed for the airport. I'm really happy that I decided to visit Copenhagen. It's very refreshing to visit a "non-European" European city. It was especially nice to visit after allowing some time to pass post-Oslo. Scandinavia is unique and vibrant (physically and energy-wise) - and I definitely plan to be back for more in the future. Thanks for reading!

- Alexandra :)

Copenhagen: Tivoli Gardens & Amusement Park

I arrived in Copenhagen late May 3^rd and left in the afternoon of the 5^th.  To condense these posts, I’m going to share my day at Tivoli in one post and all of my sightseeing pictures and anecdotes in another (even though my sightseeing was sandwiched around the trip to Tivoli). To kick off this Copenhagen stretch of the blog, enjoy looking at/reading about my day at the Tivoli Gardens and Amusement Park.

Holy moly, it’s Tivoli! (All credits to Maddie for the tagline – you happy?) 

 Some giraffe heads casually poking through the mirrors.

The area that the peacocks get to lounge around in all day.

 These peacocks were just chillin’ on the grass, unfenced.

There was also a male peacock, long fanned-out feathers and all, but I didn’t manage to get a picture of him due to the angry flapping and charging and whatnot. I’m a little surprised that they left that guy out in the open…

Another thing I didn’t expect from Tivoli, there were a couple different species of large bird (think chicken and turkey-type) just roaming around on the grass where people were sitting and enjoying ice cream. With the exception of the peacocks, most of the birds were kind of – well – ugly. I’m not too sure what purpose they served.

 I didn’t manage to get a reference picture, but the tops of these tulips were literally the size of my hand.

Now, it may not look like much in the photo, but these swings were insanely high off the ground. Not even the largest roller coaster reached the same height (which happens to be 260ft). The view of Copenhagen from the top was so incredible, but even for someone who likes heights such as myself this ride was pretty scary.

 Ah yes, the very deceiving pirate ship ride for children – it was actually super  aggressive and fast, so I’m not sure who would send their little kid on here.

I was able to snap a picture from the front of this roller coaster before they told me to leave my camera behind.

Not going to lie, we were first in line for this train roller coaster ride and definitely the oldest, but I snagged the front seat like a true robber of child happiness.

The Japanese gardens-themed end of the park

Mountain coaster – we managed to get a really ...interesting (?) photo at the end of this one. Let's just say it wasn't my best angle.

Just so you know, I actually did end up riding this roller coaster – it was the last ride of the day. My first ever “loopy” upside-down roller coaster experience; so I’m really pleased with myself. 

 This cute street in the park had little shops for food and souvenirs as well as those amusement park games where you pay $10 to maybe win a $2 stuffed-animal.

Some amazing fresh and crispy churros with hot caramel sauce *drool*

 This ride was actually the one that got us the most – even including the roller coaster that came after.

 And who can go to an amusement park without riding the ferris wheel?

 View from the top

Goodbye, Tivoli!

Although Tivoli was an expensive experience, it was well worth it. I haven’t been to a good-quality amusement park in a long time, and all of the food, rides, and atmosphere was much needed. I’ve always been a huge fan of fairs and amusement parks, so this was a must-do on my list of Copenhagen activities. No matter what, I would definitely recommend buying a park admission, then maybe going on a few rides (and paying as you go) – but if you are a lover of most rides like me, then opting for the unlimited ride pass is definitely more economical than if you end up paying for each one separately. Also, it’s rumoured that Walt Disney was inspired by Tivoli when his park first opened, so that’s pretty cool.

Well, I hope you enjoyed reliving my day at Tivoli; you can look forward to the rest of my Copenhagen experience, colourful buildings and all, coming soon. Thanks for reading!

- Alexandra