A Very Personal Tour of Copenhagen

June 19, 2013 The First Day of a New Cruise (posted July 11)

Our friend Jannik met us at the gate to the pier at 9:30 am this overcast Wednesday morning.  Jannik took us on a leisurely walk from the ship along the shore and past the nearby "Little Mermaid" statue.  There I took pictures of Japanese tourists taking pictures of the small statue.  There must have been ten tour busses lined up nearby.  Next to the statue were two souvenir tents full of women selling miniature statues, postcards,
t-shirts, mugs and other silly items.  For some reason this monument to the Hans Christian Andersen character is the most popular spot for foreign tourists in Copenhagen.  Souvenir sellers, at least, are making a nice profit from it.

From there we walked along a quay past the Maersk shipping lines headquarters, and past a small museum Michael had visited years before.  This museum, with no signs on or above the door, houses replicas of great works of statuary art.  A full size copy of Michelangelo's David stood outside.  Other statues and busts were in each window.  Michael told me when he had been there years ago it was open only one day per week. He had been lucky to be there on a day it was open to the public.  Michael had had no idea how to find it again.  Now he was delighted our walk went past this odd attraction even though the museum was not open.

Jannik's real destination, although I suspect he knew Michael's interest in the museum, was the Amalienborg Palace, the official winter residence of Denmark's royal family.  We had come upon two elaborate little pavilions on the quay and I asked their purpose.  Jannik pointed to a yacht anchored in the harbor and said the pavilions were where the royal family waited for a boat to take them to or from the royal yacht.  He had taken us to the harborside entrance to the palace complex.  The Amalienborg Palace is really four identical rococo palaces surrounding an octagonal palace square.  A sudden rain shower occurred as we entered and watched a small group of soldiers march by to relieve a guard at the entrance to crown prince's palace.  The rain ended by the time the brief ceremony was done and we continued on through the main entrance to view the Marble Church further down the block.  This church isn't really marble but is a small replica of St. Peter's basilica In Rome.  A block away, we saw the gold leafed onion domes of the Russian Church.

We followed a route that led to Nyhavn, the old port of Copenhagen filled with colorful old houses that appear on many postcards of the city.  Nyhavn was just around a corner from the Royal Theater.  Michael wanted to see the Old Stock Exchange and Jannik chose a path that took us through the Storget (supposedly the world's first pedestrian only shopping streets) and a detour to cross a canal that had an underwater sculpture. He had taken us to a street that gave us a great view of the Old Stock Exchange.  The three hundred year old building has a spire of three, twisted dragon's tails representing Norway, Sweden and Denmark.   The three countries were all under Danish rule when the exchange was built.  Norway and Sweden have not yet forgotten nor forgiven that history even though their royal families are all interrelated..

Our walking tour took us twice to the Town Hall Square: once to each side.  There is a large construction project in center of the square.  Jannik told us that Copenhagen, like Amsterdam, is building a new underground subway line.  Construction will tear up this popular tourist area for several years yet.  We eventually worked our way through the construction to the central railway station.  The three of us took a local train to the contemporary Louisiana art museum half an hour ride north of Copenhagen.

I was somewhat surprised, though by now I probably should not have been, that Jannik had a membership and was able to get Michael and me in at a reduced fee.  The museum had a great food service.   We were able to have a very nice lunch, take a quick walk through the museum and view the sculpture garden before we needed to head back to the Silver Cloud.

Jannik, Michael and I walked three or four miles and saw perhaps a third of the wonderful sights to see in Copenhagen.  I certainly haven't described all the ones we saw.  If it weren't for the short rests on the train rides, I would have been totally exhausted.  Copenhagen is most certainly a city worth multiple visits.  It was exceptional to have someone who lives there show its highlights to us.  We had such a good time.  I did not even mind walking back to the Silver Cloud in a drizzle that had held off until late afternoon.