Copenhagen:
| Denmark:
|
Some initial observations of Denmark included that Denmark seemed to be a combination between Sweden and Germany. Although, at the same time, it is completely unique. Can you tell that I'm really bad at comparing things??
Christiansborg Palace is HUGE and magnificent. I took the elevator and stairs up to the top of the tower first. If the weather conditions had been better (as it was still snowy and windy at this point), I'm sure the view would have taken away my breath even more than it did.
It's pronounced exactly like my town back home although spelled different (only one letter is different). I laughed as soon as I found out that there was a place called Christianborg Palace and I knew that I immediately had to visit it!
The current Christiansborg Palace is the third Christiansborg Palace to stand in this exact spot. The first Palace was home to the Royal family and burned down one night as the family was eating. Luckily, they were warned and escaped. Three previously mentioned paintings were the only things saved from the fire. The fire was able to spread quickly through the old pipes in the walls. Thereafter, the Royal Family moved to a different palace.
The second Christiansborg Palace was then built on the ruins of the first. Many fire prevention tools and techniques were included in this new palace. The Royal family had plans to move back in, however, this Palace also burned down - the same way the first one did. This fire was noticed much earlier than the first fire and multiple priceless items were rescued including parts of the grand wooden staircase (later used to build the current dining room table above).
Finally, the third Christiansborg Palace was built on the ruins of both the first and the second palaces. It is currently standing today and hopefully it was built with even more protection from fire. Although no Royal family ever moved into the third palace, it is still used today for the parliament, the Prime Minister's office, banquets and Royal gatherings.
I also made a quick visit to the ruins under the current Palace.
The rest of my visit was composed of the following:
We woke up, ate breakfast and headed out to catch the ferry into the heart of the city. Once there, we walked, quite fast, to catch part of the changing of the guard at Rosenborg Castle. At first, we watched through a fence since we didn't know that we could walk a short distance away and watch from above. We soon figured that out.
We proceded to tour the castle. It seems small from the outside, but is quite large inside. It was even complete with a modern bathroom. Or at least modern for when it was built in the early 17th century.
The basement of the castle is currently home to the royal jewels, swords, crowns, and much much more! It was so interesting to see how ridiculously rich they used to be (and I guess still are). Denmark is know for the natural amber they have so many Royal items were made out of or decorated with amber.
Back at Nyhavn, as we were waiting on the tour boat to come back to harbor, we ran into three guys that were taking silly pictures. Frida offered to take a picture of all three of them and after a few takes, they finally got the picture they wanted. Then they offered to take our picture. We ended up with some interesting pictures that included these new guys who turned out to be German.
Our tour of the harbor and canals was very relaxing as we drank delicious caramel lattes and ate paninis. [Side note: it's hard to find a good caramel coffee - or any caramel coffee for that matter - in Germany. Hence why I love visiting Starbucks.]
Finally, we headed to Christiania - a neighborhood/free city inside of Copenhagen. The people that live there have their own rules and laws. It was a different society completely! Frida and I simply walked though to see everything. Unfortunately, I only have a couple pictures from Christiania because pictures are forbidden inside. There are signs everywhere reminding you!
Liebe Grüße aus Bayern,
Lyndee