We only have two days here and we chose to explore the city via the Hop-on Hop-off bus tour. It was partially successful although we had prepared ourselves somewhat less than we usually do in a foreign city. The bus stops were not always easy to locate if you changed tack somewhere along the route and also some of the buses had various things go wrong with their mechanisms and we had to change buses once. The ear phones often did not work either which was constantly irritating. We also did a lot more walking than our tired bodies, after 20 hours of air travel, would tolerate. But in spite of these negative comments, all in all, we enjoyed what we saw.
The Central Railway Station where we arrived from the airport.
A building on the other side of the road from the railway station with wonderful reflection of buildings opposite.
Located on the Copenhagen harbour front, Blox is a kind of hub built on the site of a former brewery near the Danish Parliament. It aims to promote sustainable urban development.
It is a jungle of glassy cubes of varying shapes and sizes seemingly stacked upon one another. We did not explore it but we plan to return tomorrow and visit the Danish Architecture Centre which is housed in Blox and the DAC Cafe with three rooftop terraces which supposedly have splendid views of the city.
This inconspicuous door leads into the Danish Jewish Museum.
The inside of the building is a stark contrast to the insignificant exterior. The museum's interior is very modern and stylish and it was designed by the well-known American architect Daniel Libeskind who had designed both the memorial for the World Trade Centre in New York and the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Libeskind based this design on the Jewish concept of Mitzvah "the good deed" as a symbol of the rescue of the Danish Jews in October 1943 and of their peaceful co-existence with the rest of the population in Denmark. The four Hebrew letters in the word Mitzvah make up the basic plan of the museum and the visitors walk within the letters.
The changing of the guards at Amelienborg Castle, home to Queen Margrethe II, which takes place every day at 12:00 noon. The new guard march through the city centre from the barracks on Gothergade at 11:30am. This is a very popular spectacle with the tourists.
Frederick's Church, otherwise known as the Marble Church, a neoclassical jewel with an incredible green copper dome.
Looming across the harbour is the most controversial of the city's 21st century icons. Costing about $US 500 million, the Copenhagen Opera House was designed in so called "neo-futuristic" fashion by the late Danish architect Henning Larsen, who trained with Jorn Utzon. It was panned by critics when it opened in 2004. Some dismissed it as a spaceship or the grille of a vintage Pontiac car. It is reputed to be mesmerising after dark, illuminated with colour that reflects off the water.
The Little Mermaid, a bronze statue immortalising one of fairy tale characters of Hans Christian Andersen. Almost everyone who comes to view it wonders what the fuss is about when they see its modest size. But once again a popular tourist attraction. The Little Mermaid has been decapitated various times, an arm cut off and painted red a few times also. Always lovingly restored.
One of Copenhagen's canals, reminiscent of the canals in The Netherlands, as are the many bicycles everywhere. There are relatively few cars for a large city as Denmark is proud of its carbon reduction scheme. It plans for Copenhagen to be the first carbon neutral city by 2025.
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