Wednesday 13 May 2015

Coping in Copenhagen

I took a little trip with my sister to Copenhagen. We flew direct from London Gatwick quite reasonably with Easyjet. We then took the metro into the city center, which was quick and cheap.

Our hotel of choice was a little treat The Admiral Hotel. We booked in on a room only basis to make everything a little more affordable. The location of this four star hotel is amazing and is within walking distance to the bars and restaurants of Nyhavn, which is also where the boat tours start from. You can also walk to the Amalienborg Palace and we took a walking trip back from Tivoli, which was quite a distance but not unmanageable. I cannot comment on food or drink as we didn't try any here.

The rooms (ours was 410), however, were great. We had a twin and had the most comfy bed, pillow and duvet I have ever experienced. It was so comfy I asked the hotel if I could buy a set from them and they kindly put me in touch with the manufacturer. The hotel has free wifi and TV with English channels. The rooms are small but more than adequate for two people. We had a lovely view over the water with a large window that opened fully to allow in the fresh air. The rooms also have wooden beams running throughout so feels authentic and quite different from anywhere else I have stayed before.

On our first day we chose to take the boat tour from Nyhavn around the canals. The tour provides a great view of The Little Mermaid and also the world's number one restaurant Noma. After the boat we took a little wander around the area and helped ourselves to some waffles before jumping on the sightseeing bus. This was a great way to see the city but also learn a little more from the commentary.

After our first day gaining a taster of what Copenhagen has to offer we decided to dine at MASH, which was a great modern steakhouse. The cocktails here are delicious and quirky and the food was very good indeed. This restaurant is expensive but almost all food and drink in Copenhagen is expensive. A morning croissant and bottle of water from a bakery was £8. If you appreciate steak and cocktails I would recommend dining here.

On day two we started with the changing of the guard at the Amalienborg Palace, which was quite good to watch. We then chose to head to Christiania where we spent quite a bit of time wandering and getting to grips with the free town! You cannot really explain the place, you must go and see for yourself. You are very safe there and seeing all the graffiti and usually illegal substances for sale is such an eye opener. Our afternoon and evening was spent at the must visit Tivoli Garden.

Tivoli was apparently the inspiration for Walt Disney's Disneyland. It's a really lovely place with manicured gardens, delightful restaurants and obviously hilariously fun rides. I would opt for a multi-ride ticket if you plan to try the rides on offer as paying individually will add up very quickly. There are rides to suit every taste and every age so you really can have hours of fun here. The restaurants also get packed by dinner time so do bear this in mind for when you plan to eat. I was full on sweets and bad things but my sister fancied a meal so she went for some ribs in one of the little cafes. Tivoli is open well into the night and is so, so pretty when it's all lit up so do try and stay for a little nighttime cavorting as well.

After a lie in to recover from all the previous nights fun we headed out for some more cultural activities. First stop was the beautiful Church of Our Saviour with it's fantastic views over the city. Next up was a bus ride out to the Rosenborg Castle, which is beautiful. We also had a little cheeky sunbathe in the very well maintained gardens so we could rest our feet before hiking back into the center for a climb up the windy Rundetaarn, which has unspoilt views of Copenhagen. Our final stop was Stroget as we had to see the longest pedestrian street in the world! There are hundreds of shops, eateries and loads of street entertainment so it's well worth a little wander up this never ending road!









All in all we loved Copenhagen. The city is clean, the people are friendly, the food is both different and delicious, our accommodation was spot on and it was cheap to get here. However, do be warned, once in the city it is expensive and we did feel a little broken financially by home time so just make sure you budget wisely and enjoy your holiday without leaving in debt.

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