My Denmark Adventure 2014

Updated: Sep 21, 2023

Denmark is one of those cities that you do not know a lot much as is not a big European country but then you live in Europe and you find out all the amazing things that are there including a Royal family and of course the Vikings are Danish.

Denmark is officially known as Kingdom of Denmark and is a Nordic country in Northern Europe but the southernmost of the Scandinavian countries. Denmark consists of a peninsula and an archipelago of 443 named islands. The islands are flat, arable land and sandy coasts at low elevation. Denmark is part of the European Single Market and you may need a Schengen visa, just check if your passport requires a visa, however, UK citizens does not require a visa.

Copenhagen is the capital and most famous city of Denmark. Copenhagen is situated on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand and has a bridge to cross the sea in order to reach Malmö Sweden. Copenhagen originally was a Viking fishing village around 10th century but in 17th century consolidates is position as a regional centre.

As part of my research, I check out all the most seen places of the city and its surroundings. This particular trip was designed to visit Copenhagen and some tourist attractions nearby. The currency for Denmark is the Danish krone and it is recommended to exchange at the airport just after landing, as who has time to search for it. My adventure started on Thursday 11th December 2014.

On Day 1, we left home around 5pm as our flights was at 8.30pm. We took a direct flight from Gatwick and arrived to Copenhagen airport around 11.55pm. The time difference is one hour more than London. Since we arrived very late, we decided to have dinner at the airport as we decided to stay close to the airport for one night in order to recover for the next day arrangement.

On Day 2 and after having a nice breakfast, we needed to pick up the car. My parents were travelling with us in this trip, so we left them in this hotel with all the things in order for them to check out and for us to go and collect the car. We walked towards the train station to take the train in order to pick up the car.

After a nice train trip, we collected the car and then we returned to the hotel to pick my parents and all our things around 2pm. After collecting everyone, we decided to go to our next hotel because this one had better facilities and was inside a shopping mall. We decided that before continuing our trip, we should have lunch in order to enjoy the next stop as we will have a very late dinner.

After a nice lunch, we made our way to Frederikssund in order for us to visit the Viking Village. After parking the car, we entered the Viking Village around 2.47pm.

The Viking World is located in Kalvøvej around 45km Northwest of Copenhagen. The idea of the village started after a successful Viking Game in 1952 and then in 1993 the Viking activities expanded in order to build a historically correctly reconstructed settlement in order to learn the Vikings myths and lifestyle which is largely know around the world. The Viking World is an open-air museum with no entrance fee and consists a Viking settlement, an amazing new runestone and a unique Viking market.

After enjoying the village and taking lots of photographs, we decided to search a local seafood and fish restaurant near the village and we had dinner around 8pm.

After dinner, we made our way back to the hotel with a stop in the mall in order to buy snacks and some drinks. Finally, we arrived to our hotel around midnight in order to plan the next day and rest.

On Day 3 and after having a nice breakfast, we left the hotel around 12pm as it takes a lot to get ready. We made our way to Kronborg Castle and we arrived around 2pm. After parking the car, we made our way to the castle as it is a very long walk and since it is next to the sea, I was able to create amazing photographs.

The Kronborg Castle is located in Helsingør around 47km North of Copenhagen. This palace is the one depicted by Shakespeare in his play Hamlet. The castle is located on the extreme northeaster tip of the island of Zealand facing the Swedish province of Scania. Therefore, there is a nice view of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea as in this point is where they meet. The castle was added to the UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites in 2000.

The castle was built by Danish King Eric of Pomerania in 1400s as a medieval fortress. After the fire of 1629, the interiors were reconstructed in a baroque style. Between 1730 and 1990s, the castle was used as a prison and was under military administration. In 1923, the Royal Danish Army left the castle and in 1938, the castle was completely renovated in order to be opened to the public.

After enjoying an amazing visit, we decided to enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate as the wind was very cold and we were struggling specially my mother, however, the hot chocolate was amazing. After resting a little and getting warm, we decided to have lunch on our way to the Fredensborg Castle around 3pm.

After lunch, we arrive at Fredensborg Castle around 4.44pm. Fredensborg Castle is one of the Royal Residence. The palace is closed to the public however, the gardens are open all year round with the area close to the palace only open in July.

The Fredensborg Castle is located in Fredensborg around 37km Northeast of Copenhagen. This palace is the spring and autumn residence of the Danish Royal family and it is the most used by them. The palace was completed in 1753 and was designed by architects Johan Cornelius Krieger, Lauritz de Thurah and Nicolai Eigtved with a Dutch baroque, baroque and rococo style.

The garden consists of around 70 sculptures of Norwegian and Faroese farmers and fisherman all carved by JG Grund. The palace gardens are one of the largest historical gardens of Denmark depicting a baroque style designed by Krieger.

After walking the amazing garden, we left the site around 5.16pm and made our way back to the hotel. We decided to have dinner at the mall and then enjoying some shopping. After a long and cold day, we made our way to the hotel in order to plan for the next day and have a recovering rest.

On Day 4 and after having breakfast, we were ready to leave around 12pm. We decided to focus on Copenhagen in order to have a walking tour of the city centre so we left the car at the hotel. We started our tour at Hard Rock Café as this is an essential stop in all my city tours as I collect HRC pins.

We arrived to Hard Rock Café around 1pm and decided that our next stop would be the Tivoli Gardens at Vesterbrogade. The Tivoli Gardens is the third-oldest operating amusement park and pleasure garden in the world. The Park was founded by Georg Carstensen and opened on 15th August 1843 with the authorisation of King Christian VIII. The main entrance is located at Vesterbrogade and was opened in 1890 as part of a bigger façade. The Park has an exotic oriental style in all their amusement rides and has various venues for performing arts as part of the cultural scene of Copenhagen.

After the Tivoli Gardens, our next stop was Copenhagen City Hall. The City Hall is the headquarters of the municipal council and the house of the Lord major of the Copenhagen Municipality. The building was completed on 12th September 1905 and was designed by architect Martin Nyrop in a National Romantic style. The façade is very distinctive as it is very richly ornamented, a gilded statue of Absalon and a tall clock tower with a height of 105.6m.

After City Hall, our next stop was the Christiansborg Palace. The Christiansborg Palace houses the Danish Parliament, the Danish Prime Minister’s office, the Supreme Court of Denmark and the Danish monarch. The main palace was completed in 1928 and was designed by architect Elias David Häusser, Christian Frederick Hanse, and Thorvald Jørgensen in a baroque, neoclassicism and neo-baroque style. Three styles are due to two fires: the main palace has a neo-baroque style dating from 1928, the chapel has a neoclassical style dating from 1826, and the showgrounds had a baroque style dating from 1746. Currently, some parts are open to the public with guided tours and a substantial fee.

After Christiansborg Palace, we were hungry as it was around 5pm and we decided to stopped for lunch. We made our way to the Royal Library for a light lunch. The Royal Library is the main library of the University of Copenhagen and was established in 1648. The black diamond building is located next to the harbour and was designed by Danish architect Schmidt Hammer Lassen.

After lunch, we made our way to Gammel Strand Station in order to take the train back to the hotel. We picked this station as it was a long walk from the library and gave us the opportunity to enjoy Copenhagen at night and also to find some amazing Christmas Markets.

On our way to the Christmas market, we decided to shop for souvenirs and stop on the Round Tower. The Round Tower was built as an astronomical observatory with an equestrian staircase and a height of 34.8m to the top platform. The tower was completed in 1642 and designed by architect Hans van Steenwinckel the Younger in a Dutch baroque style. Currently, the tower serves as an observation tower for views of Copenhagen, a public astronomical observatory and a historical monument.

After an amazing walked and window shopped at the Christmas market, we arrived to the train station and took a driverless underground train to the hotel. we decided to have a light dinner at the hotel as it was already 10pm. After dinner, we planned for the next and retired to our rooms around midnight.

On Day 5 and after having a nice breakfast, we left the hotel around 11am. We decided to visit the tourist attractions of Copenhagen which are far away of the city centre.

After finding parking, our first stop was Kastellet. Kastellet is one of the best-preserved fortresses in Northern Europe. The fortress has a form of a pentagon with bastion in the corners and was completed on 30th October 1664. Currently, the fortress houses some military activities, a public park and a historic site.

After walking around Kastellel, we decided around 2pm to made our way to the famous Little Mermaid of Copenhagen. The Little Mermaid statue was based on the 1837 Little Mermaid fairy tale book by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The statue was commissioned by Carl Jacobsen in 1909, was designed by Edvard Eriksen and was built on bronze with a height of 1.25m and weight of 175kg. Currently, the statue is considered an icon depicting the city.

After visiting the Little Mermaid, we went to pick up the car and made our way to our next stop which was the Amalienborg Palace. The Amalienborg Palace is the home of the Danish Royal family in Copenhagen. The palace was completed in 1760 and was designed by architect Nicolai Eigtved in a rococo style. The palace consists of four identical exteriors mansions with different interiors.

After visiting Amalienborg Palace and because we had a secured parking space, we decided to walk towards our next stop which was the Frederiks Kirke. The Frederiks Kirke is known as the marble church but it is constructed with limestone. The church’s construction started in 1749 by architect Nicolai Eigtved but due to budget problems it remained in ruins for 150 years. The last architect was Ferdinand Meldahi and completed the church in 1894 in a rococo style.

After entering Frederiks Kirke, we decided that it was time for lunch as it was after 5pm. While having lunch, I saw that we were in a nice tourist place with many souvenir shops. After lunch, we decided to go souvenir shopping as this was our last full day in Copenhagen.

After an extensive shopping experience, we decided to return towards the hotel in order to find a traditional restaurant around the hotel. After dinner, we made our way to the hotel in order to get ready for the next day as we were returning London.

On Day 6 and after having a nice breakfast, we got ready and checked out at 11am. We decided to leave the hotel and made our way to the airport as we needed to return the car on time and checked in to our flight.

After checking in, we decided to have a nice lunch in one of the nice restaurants of the airport. Our flight left at 4pm to London Gatwick and on arrival we went to pick out our car. After an uneventful short trip, we returned to London and arrived in time to have dinner at home.

Copenhagen trip was an unexpected trip as I was planning to go a different location and it just happened. However, even last minute is one of those places that you did not know what to expect as it is not very popular when travelling Europe but once you are there you can appreciate this as a hidden jewel.

The Danish Royal Family had some amazing locations where they have their residence. Although, we were not able to enter any of the palaces, the trip to the locations were amazing as we were able to enjoy a lot of amazing view and the colours in order to take some out of the way photographs. I my opinion, the best place of my tour was the Viking Village as this is an authentic recreation of the lifestyle. I was surprise as to how things were made during this period and how their boat constructions allowed them to reach the coasts of England. Although the Danish Royal family have nice residence, I would always recommend visiting Copenhagen no without visiting the Viking Village.