Copenhagen was the first stop on our winter tour of Scandinavia. We never originally planned on doing a cold weather tour, but we ended up taking the path of least resistance since Tara found it impossible to get away to South Africa for a reasonable airfare, dangerous to go to Jerusalem since there were tanks mobilized in the city and impossible to get a seat on a plane to the Red Sea.
The Tivoli Christmas market was the reason we were here when we were, so we headed there on our first day. The walk from the hotel to the market didn't look long on the map, but it was LONG and COLD. It was made even longer since we had to walk the full length of the market before finding the entrance. The whole market was very cute. Some especially memorable sights included the braziers of burning coals that were set up around the market for people to stand next to for warmth. This was something you'd NEVER see in America - hot, open, flaming coals being used for warmth - because someone would undoubtedly stick their hand in to pick up a flaming coal and then sue the maker of the coal because they got hurt! Another memorable sight was the stand selling hats where personalized hats were being sold. The names on the hats were "Jurg", "Hans", "Ulrich" and such - very Scandinavian sounding names! Tara acquired a few more wooden Christmas tree ornaments just like the ones she'd picked up the last time she was in Copenhagen just before Christmas.
That night, we walked down the main pedestrian shopping street. We ducked into alot of stores since it was cold outside. We both felt that the babies had it made. Every baby was swaddled into a very large pram that was fully decked out for the cold! We went into one furniture store that had exactly the type of furniture that we both like. It was called Royal Shopping and is at Amagertorv 4-10 in Kobenhavn with a phone number of 33 13 71 81. Nearly every piece in the store that we looked at, we liked. We ended up buying two coat hooks and a catalogue from the store. One day, when we are ready to buy good furniture, we'll have to investigate how much it would cost to buy it in Copenhagen and have it shipped to wherever we live! The last store we went into just minutes before it closed was Georg Jensen. Here we bought two golden candle holders for our Christmas tree.
We ate at McDonald's and it was a treat. We still weren't eating British beef due to the mad cow scare, so McDonald's was truly delicious. As we continued to walk along the street, we saw a sign advertising The Exotic Museum and decided to go in. Tara got to look for much longer than she would have liked at all the exhibits because Seth unfortunately had to spend most of his time in the toilet. Just like in Brugge when Seth ate pepper steak, Seth had to make a dash for the toilet after eating his McDonald's cheeseburger. Tara was worried that Seth wasn't going to be able to come out in time for the museum to close. But, finally he emerged and we were nearly the last ones out the door before the museum closed. We wandered a bit more among the shops, keeping our eyes open for emergency toilets along the way in case one was needed. Finally, we headed back to the hotel, stopping along the way at a grocery that sold red candles for our new ornaments.
The next day, we bundled up and headed out to see the Little Mermaid statue. Tara remembered what a long walk it was out to the Little Mermaid, so we took a bus ride. Even the bus ride seemed long. But, at least it was warm! The Little Mermaid is in a very industrial section of town and the wind was really blowing along the water. It was COLD. We saw the mermaid, took a few photos, walked through the park along the water and quickly headed back to the bus stop. While we were on the bus, Tara saw a Cat Shop that she remembered stopping in before and we quickly hopped off the bus in order to go. There were cute things inside and of course we had to buy stuff for both our mothers. We continued walking through the town and were happily surprised to stumble upon a changing of the guards. We also found a cute little Italian restaurant in the basement along the harbor to eat at.
Overall a good, quick trip.
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Tara with Bear outside of a shop |
Tara standing next to the flaming coals in the Christmas market
Seth standing in front of the little mermaid freezing with the smokestacks in the back.
Tara in front of the Cat Shop
When: December, 1996
Tourist Office:
Web Sites:
Airline: SAS
Travel Times London - Copenhagen, 2 hours
Hotel: SAS Radisson
Room Rate of 895 DKKper night
We went to the Blue Elephant Thai Restaurant in the hotel for 395 DKK. (We'd been to the Blue Elephant in London). Total hotel bill of DKK 3,384
