My Top Five of Denmark

I thought I would continue what I had started with the  “My five favourite things in Norway!” article with Denmark, so here we go! (Check out Sweden and Finland too!)

Frederiksborg Castle

Frederiksborg Slot was built by King Christian IV in the early part of the 17th century. It was a bit of a train ride north of Copenhagen, but situated in a lovely little city of Hillerød it was well worth the trip! We loved the lived-in (and spooky) feeling of the rooms. It was easy to imagine the royal family gazing out the windows at the lake or beautiful gardens. There were walking paths out behind the castle leading to the well-manicured palace gardens (we had a lovely lunch) as well as rougher trails leading into the spooky forest (with a witch’s house! Or at least, we imagined it was 🙂 check it out). We could have spent all day wandering the palace and the grounds, well-worth the admission!

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek was recommended to us by a friend and was my favourite art museum we saw in Copenhagen. The layouts felt far more dynamic and interesting (though I couldn’t put my finger on why exactly) than most art museums I have been in. The rooms were also beautifully designed, with bright wall colours and vaulted ceilings. There was also a lovely courtyard in the centre of the museum, letting you sit in the sunlight while you took everything in. I love sculpture, so I thought this was a great morning.

Canal Tour in Copenhagen

So with our Copenhagen Card we could take advantage of a canal tour, and we couldn’t resist! A canal tour, how European, how romantic! We went with Canal Tours Copenhagen departing from Gammel Strand, a square close to Christiansborg Palace. We were lucky because that morning was bright and sunny. Right next to the dock we departed from was this eerie underwater sculpture about a Danish folk story titled Agnete and the Merman.  The tour supplied ear pieces to fill you in about the history of the areas we were passing through, including about The Little Mermaid!

Tivoli Gardens

I had been looking forward to the Tivoli Gardens ever since we arrived in Denmark. A bit on the expensive side, but I think it was worth it. If you are going to visit I would recommend buying tickets ahead of time online. It was a bit of a surprise for Nathanael and I to find out that some of the packages that were available online weren’t available at the gate. I also think Christmas was the perfect time to visit! In addition to all the rides, games, and booths that are there year-round, there were also brilliantly lit Christmas displays all over the park. Walking through the little shops and down the cute promenades it was easy to see why people would come to the park just for a walk and not even bother with the rides.

Christiania

Everyone was urging us to check out the infamous Freetown Christiania. While we weren’t really that interested in the “shopping,” it was a lot of fun to wander around some of the other areas. Homes in every shape and size you could dream of tumbled over each other in the main area and along the shoreline. Beautiful, and sometimes political,  murals decorated the sides of buildings. Sculptures popped up at random. Surrounding the community was a raised ridge from the top of which you could watch all the comings and goings of this hippie paradise.