Europe - 1998 -- Copenhagen, Denmark

It is now time to depart Sweden and head to Copenhagen – the last stop before returning to the United States.

Copenhagen has become the largest city in Scandanavia, home of 1-1/2 million people. It is the seat of the oldest kingdom in the world. It still retains some of the characteristics of a village. It is almost as if the city was designed for pedestrians, as reflected by its Stroget (strolling street), the longest and oldest walking street in Europe.

They stayed at the Scandic Hotel-Copenhagen, which was in the same chain of hotels where they stayed in Stockholm. 

Bev treated everyone to dinner at the Hard Rock Café that evening. The restaurant area was not crowded; however, the large back room was filled with patrons watching the finals for the World Cup. The café was located at the entrance to Tivoli Gardens.   
Tivoli Gardens spelled backwards says “I lov it.” Opened since 1843, this 20-acre garden and amusement park in the center of Copenhagen has been a resounding success, with its thousands of flowers, merry-go-round of tiny Viking ships, its games of chance and skill, and its Ferris Wheel of hot-air-balloons and cabin seats (used in one of the James Bond movies).

An Arabian-style fantasy palace, with towers and arches, houses more than two dozen restaurants in all price ranges, from a lakeside inn to a beer garden. Take a walk around the edge of the tiny lake with its ducks, swans, and boats. Hans Christian Lumbye was Tivoli’s first conductor (1843-72). His compositions “Champagne Galop” and “Britta Polka” are inextricably bound up with the old garden.

The oldest building in Tivoli, the Chinese-style Pantomine Theater, with its peacock curtain, stages pantomines in the evening. The beautiful protected Pantomine Theater is built in Chinese style, and the performance every night at 19:45 hours is of Italian origin. Here the naïve, white-painted clown Pierrot with the big red mouth performs every night with the same characters, Harlequin and Columbine. 

The next morning the group was scheduled to take a tour of Copenhagen. The tour was to meet at Radhuspladsen (Town Hall Square). This is in the center of Copenhagen. On the square is a statue of two lur horn players that have stood here since 1914, and according to tradition, they will sound a note if a virgin should walk by. Across the square is the weather tower. Emblems depicting the season (i.e., bicycles for sunshine) will appear as the weather barometer. On the corner is a bronze statue of HC Andersen, which stands near a boulevard bearing his name. 

The ‘Grand Tour of Copenhagen’ was a 2-1/2 hour tour through the heart of Copenhagen. After following along some of the canals, the tour passed the Borsen (Stock Exchange). This is the oldest bourse building still in use; being in built during the reign of Christian IV in 1619-23. 

Most of the houses in Nyhavn were built more than 300 years ago. In the old days, this was a colorful sailor’s quarter, but it now forms a charming promenade along the canal lined with attractive old houses and small restaurants. Hans Christian Andersen lived in Nyhavn for much of his life.

The tour continued past Christiansborg Palace. This is located on “Castle Island” where Denmark has been ruled for more than 500 years. The Palace is now where the Danish Parliament sits. It also houses the Royal Reception chambers. Opposite the entrance of the Parliament is the entrance to the attractive gardens of the Royal Library, and next to it the old Court Theater, one of the oldest of its kind in the world. 
Next was Kongens Nytorv; which is Copenhagen’s largest square. There is an equestrian statue of King Christian IV in the center. The statue is bronze replica of a 1688 sculpture. Located in Kongens Nytorv, is the Det Kongelige Theater (Royal Theater); built in 1872-74. Home of the famous Royal Danish Ballet. The old part of the theater was built about 1870 in the “Opera” style of the time and was extended in 1930 with the tower-like structure that straddles Tordenskjoldsgade. The two statues in front are: OehlenschlNger (author of a number of tragedies) and Holberg (author of comical and satirical plays). 


Next stop was Amalienborg Palace. These four 18th-century French-style rococo mansions – opening onto one of the most attractive squares in Europe – have been the home of the Danish Royal family since 1794. The changing of the guard occurs at noon when the royal family is in residence. A swallowtail flag at mast signifies that the queen is in Copenhagen. 

Amalie Garden was built in 1983 and lies along the harbour as neighbor to Amalienborg Palace and the Marble Church. The design was done by Jean Delogne, who made lavish use of Danish granite along with limestone imported from France. The bronze pillars around the fountain are the work of Arnaldo Pomodoro, an Italian sculpture. 


On the way to see the Little Mermaid, the tour passed by the Gefron Fountain. This was sculpted by Anders Bundagaard. Gefron, a Scandanavian mythological goddess, plowed Zealand away from Sweden by turning her sons into oxen. 

The Little Mermaid is the one statue everyone wants to see. And, this tour group was no exception. The statue is the life-style bronze of Den lille Havfrue, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, one of the world’s most famous fairy tales. The statue, unveiled in 1913, was sculptured by Edward Eriksen. The model for the statue was Ellen Price, a prima ballerina. It rests on rocks right off the shore. The mermaid has been attacked more than once, losing an arm in one misadventure, decapitated in another.

Resembling a huge organ, Grundtvig Church, built from 1921 to 1940, was designed by Jensen Klint, who died before it was completed. About 6 million yellow bricks were used for its construction. Each brick had to match perfectly; if not, it was used to build the houses surrounding the church. The interior is 250 feet wide and 115 feet high. 

Last on the tour was Rosenborg Castle. Founded by Christian IV in the 17th century, this red-brick Renaissance-style castle houses everything from narwhal-tusked and ivory coronation chairs to Fredrik VII’s baby shoes – all from the Danish Royal family.

The final day in Copenhagen, the group had a day scheduled to see Kronborg Castle in Elsinore. They ventured to the railway station where they caught a train car to Elsinore.

Helsingor (Elsinore) is visited chiefly for “Hamlet’s Castle.” Aside from its literary associations, the town has a certain charm: a quiet market square, medieval lanes, and old half-timbered and brick buildings. In 1429, King Erik of Pomerania ruled that ships passing Helsingor had to pay sound dues. The town quickly developed into the focal point for international shipping. King Erik also built the Castle of Krogen, later rebuilt by Christian IV as the Castle of Kronborg.

There is no evidence that Shakespeare ever saw this sandstone-and-copper Dutch Renaissance-style castle, full of intriguing secret passages and casemates, but he made it famous in Hamlet. The beauty of Kronborg is underlined by its position and relation to Elsinor and the Sound, both dominated by the Castle and its surrounding ramparts.

The castle was restored in 1629 by Christian IV after it was gutted by fire. During its history, it has been looted, bombarded, occupied by Swedes, and used as a barracks.

Today the entrance is via a wooden bridge and through the Morkeport (Dark Gate), the portal which has hardly undergone any changes since it was erected in 1576.

Don’t miss the starkly furnished Great Hall (the largest in northern Europe), the church with its original oak furnishings, and the royal chambers. Its bleak and austere atmosphere adds to its drama. Kronborg also contains a collection of wool and silk tapestries, great old oaken chests, and cupboards.
The west wing of the Castle is to the south dominated by the Big Square Tower, without a spire since the fire in 1629, and the King’s Tower to the north.

The Church is accessible where you have a fine view of its well-restored interior from the time of Fredrik II.

From the large courtyard you may enjoy the rich interplay of colours and material provided by the grey sandstone and the green copper roofing. The big windows with sandstone casements and placed regularly above each other, and the many towers and entrances seem to invite you to explore the Castle.

The greater part of the Castle is open to the public, given the opportunity to see the Royal Apartments in he north wing and - through the Queen’s long gallery in the east wing - to enter the Great Hall (or Knights’ Hall), one of the oldest rooms from Danish Renaissance and one of the largest halls in Europe. Then through the chambers and Royal Rooms in the west wing. 

On the ride back from Elsinor, an announcement was made in Dutch. At the next stop most of the passengers departed the train. After starting again, Bev and the others noticed that there were only 4 other passengers in our car besides us. They found someone who spoke English and she went into the next car to see what was happening.

          It appeared that they were having electrical problems on the tracks close to the main station and the switches were not operating properly. The announcement had advised passengers to seek alternate routes.
After being stalled in one of the railway tunnels, the train moved forward and they reached their destination. Luckily they were through sightseeing and the massage therapist back at the hotel was understanding when Althea was late for her appointment.

The following day, everyone was packed and ready to head back to the United States. They caught this first flight at Copenhagen Airport, which took them to Chicago. From Chicago, they caught a flight to Denver. With all the train stations, airports, cruise terminal, and bus station, their luggage stayed with them throughout the trip. However, when they arrived in Denver, it appears that after they had passed customs in Chicago, the luggage was delayed in getting on the airplane. United airlines needed to deliver the luggage to its final destination at each of their homes; which included bringing Bev’s to Fort Collins. All in all, they were lucky that that was the only difficulty they had throughout the trip.