Copenhagen day 3

Sunday

15 September 

Day 77

19 to go

We woke in the night to loud bangs, I checked the clock it was 11.35pm and there were fireworks exploding from somewhere near by, probably the city hall square or Tivoli. They were bright and colourful, but were soon finished and we were able to return to sleep. As a result, we slept later than normal. Paul didn’t raise until 8.30am. 

We got into our day and then were out the door, for another day of walking the streets. Our first stop was the Round Tower. This is an interesting building, as it corkscrews to the top for the majority of the ascent. The path was built wide enough, so that the King of the day could reach the top on his horse and cart. We paid the 40DK each and began the walk. It was relatively easy going. When the slope finished, we then had to take stairs. One section had traffic lights, as it was narrow. Once at the top, we had a great 360° view of Copenhagen. It was worth getting to the top and we beat the crowds, who were lined up at the bottom, when we came down. 

Our next destination was the Rosenberg Palace and the Kings Garden. This was more difficult to get to than it should have been as there was a fun run going on and the streets were chockers  with runners. We had to take our chances and cross, dodging them as better we could. Rosenberg is a sprawling estate with the palace and green park. The palace houses the Crown Jewels that you can see if you want to pay to go inside. We weren’t interested in doing this, but enjoyed walking the parkland and moving around the palace boundaries. 

We made our way out of the grounds and on to Fredrik’s Church. The fun run was still going on, but it was now just the stragglers. We stopped in at a supermarket for a morning tea pastry to go. Fredrik’s Church has an enormous green dome set above its marble facade. It sits at the end of one of the entrances to Amalienborg Palace, which is where we were heading for the changing of the guard at midday.  I was also taken by the giant, gold onion domes of the nearby, St Alexander Nevsky church. There were plenty of tourists present in the square. We checked out the palace buildings, then went out to a fountain, to sit and wait out some of the time. Five minutes before noon, we returned, Paul perched himself near a statue and I went off to see what I could glimpse. I was pretty lucky to be behind the crowd as they parted and a small number of guards began to march. There were no musicians, so the royals weren’t in. The guards walked right passed me, with no one in front, though I was soon swarmed. I had to stop and just laugh. It was a sea of people, phones in the air encroaching on the parade. 

I was happy with what I got, so we made for the next stop, St Albans Church and the Gefion Fountain. The fountain represents one of the Norse gods riding a cart pulled by bulls. We passed the edge of Kastellet, continuing to another tourist hotspot, the Little Mermaid statue. This is one of those things you have to see, but once you have, you’re left underwhelmed and know you don’t need to do it again. We were keen to see the Genetically Modified Little Mermaid, a short distance  away and far less populated. This was far more interesting. We could even see the ferry we will take on Tuesday.

With the statues seen, we returned to the Kastellet, crossing the moat and walking through the old buildings and out the other side. We were now hungry, as it was after 1pm. We located a supermarket, bought sandwiches and pasta for dinner and then sat in the park and enjoyed the view and our lunch. 

Happy with our morning of exploration, we made out way back to the hotel, walking down streets we had not traversed before and taking in the colourful architecture. We were finally glad to return to our room for 2.15pm. 

We spent the next couple of hours recuperating from our morning exercise. Paul spoke to Jaden, we are still waiting for baby news. I watched a NBL blitz game, while going through the morning’s photos and then at 4pm, we wandered over to Torvehallerne, a large food court area, to check out what was on offer. We bought an ice cream and a salad to go with our dinner. Then came back to the hotel in time for wine hour. We enjoyed a couple of free glasses, while sitting in the bar area and then we returned to the room, to cook up our pasta dinner and hide away in the room for the remainder of the evening.