Wonderful Wonderful Copenhagen

 

So why is it so wonderful? I was excited to travel there and find out. We arrived in the afternoon and unfortunately it was raining, but being Northern Irish girls we decided to not let this ruin our three day trip. I navigated our way to our apartment where we left our bags and set off into the centre.

 

 

Strøget, the pedestrian shopping street running through the city centre, seemed like a good place to start. We strolled along the wet cobblestone streets as locals and tourists tangled together leisurely window shopping and musicians busked while the smell of roasted almond stalls dotted the winding paths from the shops to the main square.

 Amongst the many shops we found Copenhagen’s iconic Round Tower which is unique in European architecture because of its spiraling walkway. Without and elevator or stairs the only option is to walk up the 209m long spiral ramp which winds its way around the hollow core of the tower over seven times. I’m not going to lie, I was ready to give up about two spirals in and because of the steepness and circular route you are dizzy and breathless by the top.

 

Unfortunately because of the rain and overcast it was hard to see out over the city, but this tower provides a 360 degree view around Copenhagen.

 

The next day we gave into the tourist trap and joined a Hop-on Hop-off tour bus (which amazingly had free wifi). This was good because it gave us an opportunity to see all the main attractions of the city without getting soaked in the never ending rain.

 

Nyhavn was our first ‘hop-off’ on our tour. This canal lined with Balamory look alike buildings on either side is one of the most renowned areas in Copenhagen.

 

As we walked along the canal which is now partly reserved for museum ships, we saw many beautiful boats, lots of local cafes and shops and we even stood outside Hans Christian Andersen’s (the famous Danish writer) house.

 

 After stopping for some lunch we walked along the harbor and saw the National Opera House which is thought to be among the most modern opera houses in the world.

 

 

We continued walking (in the rain I might add) towards Amalienborg, the palace in which the Danish royal family live during the winter months.

 

Walking into the middle the octagon courtyard, the palace is made up of four identical impressive looking buildings, each guarded by the Royal Life Guards day and night.

 

We didn’t stay long because it started to rain heavier and we were hoping to make it to the Little Mermaid before we got completely soaked.

The Little Mermaid statue is based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale 'The Little Mermaid' and although it is unimposing and not very big the statue has become an iconic symbol for Copenhagen.