Archives for October 2010

“…I’m afraid of heights!”

Later that day I continued my walk about Copenhagen. It was a very long walk to find Amalienborg, the winter residence of the Danish royal family.

The palace just happened to be located near this beautiful church I was admiring.

More walking around town led me past a canal… full of swimmers! There was some sort of race taking place.

After a bit of searching, I found Christianborg Palace, the seat of Danish parliament.

Underneath the palace is the site of castle ruins dating back to 1167 AD. While the Danes were building the current palace (a few burned down over the years), the ruins were discovered in the early 1900s. It was decided to preserve the ruins and allow visitors to see the stones.

Returning to my hostel I met, Tarek, an American living in London who was visiting Copenhagen for the weekend. We decided to go check out Christiania. We didn’t quite make it to Christiania… but we did end up climbing this:

See the brown part at the top? That’s where you start climbing outside with only a measly handrail to save you.

At this point I thought “maaaaaybe I should tell him I’m scared of heights…” As soon as I blurted out my secret, Tarek shared that he’s actually scared of heights too! What a pair. I went up as high as I could before it felt too crowded, then descended to wait on a bench. I had a little chuckle over the Mexican women who came down after me triumphantly declaring, “VIVE MEXICO!”

After happening upon a street festival and eating the best pea soup of my life, we found a Greek restaurant so we could eat a little more. Having filled our bellies we sought adventure at Tivoli Gardens.

Tivoli is an amusement park in central Copenhagen that opened in 1843. Inside, Tivoli is filled with rides, restaurants, theaters, a garden, and much more. Despite being an exciting place, you feel the charm of 19th century Copenhagen.

In keeping with our fear of heights… we decided to ride the scariest ride possible, Himmelskibet.

After you’ve checked all of your personal belongings into a locker, you sit in a swing that is hoisted high above the park. While you spin around you can see amazing views of the park and Copenhagen at night.

(you can’t see the swings, but they’re there quite high up)

I was nervous in the fun and exciting way… until Tarek pointed out that the chains we were attached too looked like something he’d walk his dog on. In other words, not thick. Luckily we were soon lowered down.

That was enough excitement for one night.

xo, jill

But that’s just what I did.

On my travels this summer I brought my very favorite pair of shoes. My K-Mart $6 shoes that go everywhere with me and always feel nice and comfy. In Copenhagen my K-Mart shoes found their match: cobblestones. These shoes were not made for walking over cobblestones and unfortunately for my feet, walk over cobblestones is exactly what I did. All day long.

I started bright and early my first morning in town. My aim was Rosenborg Slot but I found myself at the entrance to a botanical garden, Botanisk Have. I wandered around just long enough to find some pretty scenes.

Rosenborg Slot was easy to find from the garden. Rosenborg Slot is a renaisance castle built in 1606. Once a royal residence, now the castle is a museum that showcases the belongings of royalty and the Crown Jewels. Each room is set up as the royal family may have used it.

After leaving the castle, I ventured over to Rundetarn, a round tower. It was built as an astronomical observatory in the 17th century. The method of reaching the top was a pleasant surprise to me. No stairs! Instead, visitors make 7 and a half turns up a ramp before climbing the last few feet. At the top is a lovely view of all of Copenhagen’s red roofs.

After a full morning, I relaxed in a park for some novelty snacking… but more on that later.

xo, jill