Copenhagen

if you don't want to fly, the available routes to Copenhagenen have become more limited as, one by one, ferry services have disappeared. Rosyth to Zeebrugge was the route chosen for this trip - no longer an option.

This itinerary allows time for some sight seeing in Brussels..

... to absorb a little Belgian culture...

... and an early dinner in the Grand Place...

...before the overnight train to Hamburg.

After a brief stop in Hamburg..(for more of Hamburg click here)

...the train to Copenhagen is transported by ferry from Puttgarden...

... across the strait to Rodby, our first view of Denmark and the line to Copenhagen leading off into the distance..

Our base in Copenhagen in Frederiksberg.

Exploring a pleasant park near our flat.

Formerly the estate belonging to this house

 Starting near the railway station, a trail of yellow footprints have been painted to guide visitors around the city. This trail took us past the Town Hall.

Just a bloke on a horse to us...but the lecturer says that it is Fredrick V11.

A pleasant square near the City Hall.

Amalienborg Courtyard with the Royal Palace in the background. Frederik V presides on his horse, while a school party learn some history. Behind is Frederiks Kirke, known as the Marble Church and a very beautiful building.

At the Royal Palace. I am sure I once had a set of these...

The city is attractively laced with canals. Here the spire of Nikolaj Church towers over the scene.

Three views of the attractive 17th century Nyhavn.

After a morning of canal side ambling, a nice place for lunch presents itself.

...before more of the same...

 

This is the Commanders House in the barracks in Kastellet - an impressive and well preserved  star shaped fortress.

Every visitor to Copenhagen ends up here eventually, whether following yellow footprints or not...

... including Chinese tourists...

I cannot imagine why anyone would want to do this! This is one of the attractions in the Tivoli Gardens.

The very essence of Denmark...probably...

Roskilde with its impressive Viking Museum is well worth an excursion from Copenhagen.

The museum constructs longships using contemporary tools and then lets the visitors try them out.

Roskilde also has a lovely brick cathedral where Danish royals are interred.

Back in Copenhagen, some of the churches look very English. This is St Albans.

Others less so... This is the Church of our Saviour with a vertiginous external staircase to the top of the spire.

This quirky statue on Gamel Strand is of a Skoverser Woman - an adjective I am not familiar with.

Copenhagen has extended its reach by the connection to Sweden over the magnificent Oresund Bridge, which has created a new economic zone with people travelling by road and rail each way to work every day. As followers of Scandi-noire crime thrillers will know, the bridge has also led to increased Dano-Swedish police cooperation.

Copenhagen is a great city and Denmark itself, though not spectacularly beautiful like, say, Norway, has a subdued calm beauty of its own. Its biggest attraction however lies in the nature of its society and the warm, friendly character of the Danish people.