Tivoli Gardens

City Hall (Radhuset) inner courtyard

National Art Gallery in Ostre Anleag

We woke to a bright, clear morning and so decided to spend as much of the day as we could visiting outdoor sights around the central district. We first headed east and then north on HC Anderson Blvd between Tivoli and the Radhuset. Even though it was Saturday morning, the gates at the Radhuset were open, so we ducked inside to see what was hidden in the courtyard. We found ourselves in a lovely little garden along with a small group celebrating the recent nuptials of two newlyweds. I was somewhat surprised to find a pair of tall and spindly fig trees in the shade of the southern wall, but of course it was just a reminder that the winter cold doesn't get too deep in this city.

We continued along Anderson Blvd from the Radhuset until we reached Orstedsparken, the first in a string of parks and gardens encircling the city center. The park wasn't too crowded and the walk along the curving lake was very relaxing although Gi got pretty irritated with a fellow down next to the shoreline who took an unusually long time to relieve himself in a not too discrete manner. (We've seen quite a bit of such behavior on this trip so far, but can't really decide whether it's more than usual. Maybe a sign of the times given global economics?)

Meat counter at Torvehallerne

Fish counter at Torvehallerne

Exiting the park on the northeast end, we skirted a small plaza and found ourselves in the Torvehallerne, a lovely covered market filled with purveyors of all manner of upscale food and drink.  It was such a lovely little place we eventually circled back in the early afternoon to grab a light lunch -- beer for me and a sandwich of grilled chicken breast on curry-flavored bread for Gi. This would definitely be a place we would frequent if we lived in the city.

Bikes at Osterport Station

Bike racks at Narreport Station

Fortifications at Kastellet

Little Mermaid

Gefion Fountain

Continuing northeast from Torvehallerne, we came to the Botanical Garden (Suprise!), but the surprise was on us as the garden was closed for two weeks due to renovations. Arghhh...

St. Alban's (Anglican)

Metalworkers

So we continued walking in the general direction of the Kastellet fortifications, entering the Ostre Anlaeg park where the National Gallery is located. We gave a brief thought about going in, but the day was so nice outside and we were concerned that the next day might not be so nice. So we continued on, strolling alongside the string of small lakes, eventually exiting across from the Osterport station. We had been dodging bicycles everywhere we went so far in Copenhagen, and the love the Danes have for bicycles in this city (and perhaps elsewhere in the country?) was manifest in the sea of bikes parked outside the station. I hadn't seen such an accumulation of bicycles -- old, new, fancy, plain and decrepit -- since Gi and I walked along the Riviera San Nicolo on the Lido in Venice many years ago. Of course, as on the Lido and most other islands, the flat terrain of Copenhagen is perfect for cycling as a primary form of transport for most residents.

The Marble Church from Amalienborg Palace

The Kastellet made a beautiful destination for our walk as the raised earthworks provided an open view of the harbor and seaside portions of the city away from the city center. I did have a  chuckle reading a marker that noted the fort was built primarily out of concerns for attacks from Sweden but, in fact, the only defensive effort ever mounted from the fort was against the English.

Most of the foot traffic here came in the form of cruise tourists as docks for cruise ships were just a bit beyond the Kastellet. The real draw for many, though, is the Little Mermaid statue, which has become such an iconic symbol of Copenhagen. There must have been 200-300 tourists mobbed around the statue, snapping pictures like a horde of paparazzi. You half expect the mermaid to dive off into the harbor in disgust with just a flick of her tail. For a statue who's had her head cut off and has been blown off the rock with explosives she's amazingly patient!

Turning to head back toward the city center we passed Gefion Fountain, a gift from the Carlsberg Brewery on its 50th anniversary. The fountain, which is monumental and quite striking, evidently symbolizes a Nordic creation story concerning Zealand, the island on which Copenhagen is built. Nearby the fountain is beautiful St. Alban's Anglican church, which frankly looks a little out of place against the backdrop of Copenhagen's other architectural styles.

Guards at Amalienborg Palace

Nuhavn canal

Rosenborg Castle

In the Rosenborg Palace Gardens

Hans Christian Anderson

Tivoli Gardens

We continued on along Ameliegade toward Amelienborg Palace, where Gi decided to sit down to catch her breath despite having read the warnings in the guide books against this. Sure enough, one of the guards shushed her to keep moving. I kind of wonder whether she did it just to see if they would actually notice her.

Nimb Hotel

Sculpture in the Nimb courtyard

Pantomime Theater

Star Flyer ride

Straight ahead was the Nyhavn Canal, a stretch of preserved and brightly painted wharf buildings housing restaurants, bars and galleries. Wall to wall humanity made us claustrophic, and we only stayed long enough to snap a couple of pictures before heading north to the gardens around Rosenborg Palace in hopes of finding some open space free of crowds. If was definitely less crowded that Nyhavn, but strangely enough the quietest corner was occupied by a thoughtful HC Anderson.

Naturally enough, our stay at the Tivoli Hotel came with a pair of passes for Tivoli Garden, not exactly the sort of place Gi and I would seek out on our own, but given the weather it seemed like a nice place to end our day. We spent a couple of hours wandering around, looking at sights like the 14-room Nimb hotel (where cheap rooms go for $1200/night) and all the while listening to an ongoing backdrop of kids and adults screaming as they were lifted on high and then plunged back to earth or held suspended upside down. Clouds moved in with a brisk breeze and things really began to get chilly about the same time a crowd started gathering at the main amphitheater, which had been set up with a large screen television to show an early round UEFA futbol match between Denmark and the Netherlands. (At the time, the final score -- 1-0 in favor of Denmark -- seemed an upset, but both did pretty poorly in the rest of the tournament, so perhaps it wasn't such an upset after all.)

Floating bar and rides

Irises

We ate dinner at Færgekroen Bryghus in Tivoli before heading back to the hotel. I'm not sure what kind of mileage we put on, but my feet were killing me by the time we got back to the hotel. (Serves me right for wearing thin-soled flip-flops the whole day.)

Ducks

Futbol -- Denmark vs Holland

Big audience

Denmark wins 1-0 !!!