Copenhagen (Part 1)

J and I had an amazing trip to Copenhagen, Denmark. Two of our good friends got married! We were so fortunate we were able to attend the wedding!

We went out a few days before the ceremony, so we could explore Copenhagen a little on our own. After we checked into our hotel, we set out walking to familiarize ourselves with the city. It was love at first sight, we really loved this city right away!

Here I am in the main square in Copenhagen in front of the beautiful city hall. The city has many, many nice squares.

The wonderful fairy-tale author, Hans Christian Andersen, spent most of his adult life in Copenhagen. There are statues of him all over the city. Apparently, Mr. Andersen loves being photographed, just as he did while he was alive!

It's like J has settled in on HC Andersen's lap to listen to a good story!

On our walk, we wandered across another square where this band was playing.

We decided to sit down in this square and enjoy a Danish beer while we did a little people watching and relaxing.

Another beautiful square we came across on our walk around the center.

We made our way to Nyhavn which means New Harbor. This used to be a seedy harbor where sailors would come to drink and find company... Today is a lively area lined with cafes and restaurants. It was fun area!
After a wonderful dinner (on yet another square) we walked back to our hotel along the pedestrian only street, Strøget. We came across this cute little Troll which brought back all kind of memories from my trip to Norway in college. Beth and I took our picture with every troll we saw - we had a lot of troll pictures.

The next morning, J and I woke up early to set out to see the city by bike. Copenhagen is a very bike-friendly city. Everyone bikes, everywhere, all year round. It is really awesome. We had an awesome bike tour! We went all over the city and saw so much!

We made many stops along the way to learn about the city, history, government, people, etc. It was a very informative and interesting tour.

This was one of the stops along the tour next to the Christiansborg Castle.

Our tour went on busy city streets, back-roads, squares and parks. It was really beautiful to see the variation in the city. Here we are along the ramparts.

All throughout town there were these statues featuring people in different balancing positions. Our Saviors Church is in the background. There is a unique spiral staircase winding up the outside of the church, I am sure it would have been an cool view, but I was not nearly brave enough to try!

In Amalienborg Square. This is where the queen and her two sons and their families currently live. The royal family does not have any political power, but the queen is loved by the Danish people. We were impressed when we learned that she can speak 11 languages fluently and has 3 university degrees!
After our tour, we had our first taste of the famous Danish hotdog! There are hotdog stands set up all over the city, on every major square and intersection. My hotdog was amazing!!

Description of my Danish Hotdog:

The hot dog sausage is steamed and the bread is warmed in either an oven or toaster. Ketchup, mustard and remoulade sauce is followed by a sprinkling of raw and toasted onion, and a layer of pickled cucumber. This style is known as "ristet pølse."

I had mine without mustard or raw onion. I was in love!

Description of J's hotdog:

There is also a hot dog known as a "French Hot Dog" similar to the French variant. Bread, similar to baguettes are impaled to leave room for the sausage, ketchup, mustard, remoulade or "French dressing" is put in the cavity, and the sausage is then put in.

We then set out to the Carlsberg brewery. After-all, it is, "Probably the best beer in town."

We took a wrong turn and ended up walking around nearly the entire grounds of the brewery. It was a long walk, but pretty cool to see the ornate buildings.
The brewery had a nice museum telling the history of Carlsberg and the old precess of making beer. It was pretty interesting!

The real "Little Mermaid" was away in China on display. It is the first time that she has left Copenhagen, so sadly we weren't able to see this landmark. However, in the brewery there is a miniature replica of the statue, so at least we got to see that!

After the museum, we were rewarded with beer! We each got to try try two kinds of beer brewed at Carlsberg.

After the brewery we found our way back the the hotel to freshen up for supper. Then we set out to meet some friends. We had to cross this bridge along the way, so beautiful!

That evening we met Majka and some of her other Italian friends that were in town for the wedding. We ate at a great little Italian restaurant and had such a fun evening. My favorite part was that among the seven of us, the conversation would switch between english, italian, danish and german. I could understand *almost* half, but I definitely enjoyed the multi-cultural evening!