So whenever anyone comes to visit, we have to show them Copenhagen, Denmark. It’s the closest really big city we have and it’s fun with a group. We invited some of Daniel’s friends to join us.
We got off at the wrong stop, which turned out to be a good thing, because we were able to walk a short distance to see the famous Little Mermaid statue. Based on the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen, the small and unimposing statue is a Copenhagen icon and has been a major tourist attraction since 1913. The statue was commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen, son of the founder of Carlsberg, who had been fascinated by a ballet about the fairytale in Copenhagen’s Royal Theatre and asked the ballerina, Ellen Price, to model for the statue. The sculptor Edvard Eriksen created the bronze statue, which was unveiled on August 23, 1913. The statue’s head was modeled after Price, but as the ballerina did not agree to model in the nude, the sculptor’s wife, Eline Eriksen, was used for the body.
After seeing The Little Mermaid, we headed over for a real Danish lunch at Kanal Cafeen for some smörebörd which can only be described as open faced sandwiches.
We took on some sightseeing and shopping in the city while the boys planted themselves at a pub. But first, we showed my sister the famous Nyhavn. Nyhavn, New Harbor, is a 17th-century waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Stretching from Kongens Nytorv to the harbor front just south of the Royal Playhouse, it is lined by brightly colored 17th and early 18th century townhouses and bars, cafes and restaurants. Serving as a “heritage harbor”, the canal has many historical wooden ships. Nyhavn was constructed by King Christian V from 1670 to 1673, dug by Swedish war prisoners from the Dano-Swedish War 1658–1660. It is a gateway from the sea to the old inner city at Kongens Nytorv (King’s Square), where ships handled cargo and fishermens’ catch. It was notorious for beer, sailors, and prostitution. Danish author Hans Christian Andersen lived at Nyhavn for some 18 years.
Next, we headed to Ruby, which was voted one of the top 100 bars in the world to visit. This glam cocktail bar is housed in a beautiful old apartment building. The unmarked door makes it hard to find but it’s well worth the effort. The bartenders really knows what they are doing. You give them an idea of the type of drinks you like and they can whip up something delicious. It is a must see in Copenhagen. I suggest you make reservations ahead of time because it only holds 80 guests at any given time. We were seated outside on a rather cold day, otherwise the decor inside is beautiful.
After our cocktails we headed over to Tivoli Gardens (AKA Tivoli). Tivoli is a famous amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen. The park opened on August 15, 1843 and is the second oldest amusement park in the world after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampenborg. During the holidays it is decorated with the Christmas theme, here you can drink the traditional holiday drink, Glögg and walk around to the different holiday vendors.
We decided to have dinner inside Tivoli, which was a smart choice, we dined at Madklubben’s restaurant Grill Royal Tivoli. The menu is unique in that the only offering is a 2 course menu, you start with a salad and then have a choice of a burger or roast. We ordered the roast which was absolutely mouthwatering. The meat was so tender, juicy, well seasoned and perfectly cooked to a nice medium. What was more impressive is that you can have as much of the meat as you want, they will simply bring out another roast, we devoured 2 of them. I had 4 servings of meat, which is a lot even for me, but it was too delicious to pass on. Unfortunately, the restaurant will be closing this year so I’m glad we got to try it before it goes away.
