We have just got back from a weekend away in Copenhagen where, as you can read elsewhere the weather was not as advertised and was perfect. Given the spurious forecast we tried to pack as much as possible into what time we had on the fine Friday. This included the attraction that no doubt springs to mind when one thinks of Copenhagen – the Little Mermaid. Having been this way once before I knew what to expect and was ready to be underwhelmed. It’s not that the statue in itself is unattractive, it’s just that she overlooks what very well could be a power station and, I guess, is just very unassuming. I also suspect that in the UK health and safety would also have something to say about clambering over the rocks to get closer and get a better picture!
Little Mermaid out of the way it was off to sample some of the other charms of Copenhagen. The city itself is tiny compared to the London that I am used to but an impressive proportion of the city seemed to be turned over to some lovely parks and gardens many with some water feature. This made strolling from sight to sight a very pleasurable experience as you felt that you could escape the bustle of the city, such that there was. The botanical gardens were particularly good and like all other open spaces, free.
Like the UK Denmark also has a monarchy so we went to see the changing of the guard which was less of a bun fight than it is in London. It was also much lower key and less controlled given that you could get within inches of the action. Sadly the Queen wasn’t at home so the change over was done without music. I guess that it’s a sign of my age that the soldiers on guard looked like twelve year olds!
And so to Tivoli, which must be one of the only other attractions whose name is known beyond Denmark. It is a traditional theme park more of the travelling fair variety than Alton Towers and was at the other end of the city to the castles and mermaids so a reasonable wander to get to it. You have to pay to go in and peering through the bars of the fence it didn’t seem to offer much up to us that we would make use of or couldn’t get elsewhere. So we moved on.
On the whole we enjoyed Copenhagen. It’s easy to get around on foot. There are lots of green open spaces and some great architecture but it is small so may not keep you fully engaged for two full days.
One final thought. You struggle to buy bacon in the UK that is not Danish and it is a fine product. However, on the evidence of the bacon I had for breakfast in the hotel I can only assume that the best stuff is exported!
Oh and if you don’t get the title reference then see below: