Copenhagen, Denmark

After 4 nights in Wonderful Copenhagen, we prepare to head to the Rhine Valley. Let’s wrap up the highlights of this small part of Scandinavia.

Copenhagen Green Space

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Copenhagen is quite a frantic city, with tourist traps, hordes of bicycles, and locals and tourists alike partying deep into the morning. The plentiful green space in the heart of the city provides a tranquil balance - both a chance to relax, and a safe place for the kids to run around like crazy without the risk of colliding into an angry local (a daily occurrence on the narrow footpaths of the city).

Amaliehaven is a small park wedged in the waterfront and Amalien Palace (home of King Frederik X and Tassie Queen Mary)

The 10-hectare botanic gardens contains Denmark’s largest collection of plants, including this magnificent example of Allium schoenoprasum, sometimes known as “chives”

Tivoli Gardens

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Another charming escape from the madness right in the heart of the city. Come on a Friday night for a free concert (“Fredagsrock”). Still to come this year - TLC, Rick Astley and Flo Rida, along with a host of popular local artists.

The only issue with Tivoli Gardens was the argument over whether 7 hours was enough or could we stay until 10pm when the rides close.

The Rutschebanen is one of the world’s oldest rollercoasters and meets the exacting standards of the American Coaster Enthusiasts society, most of which revolve around a complete lack of safety equipment or comfort.

Scandinavian Cuisine

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Don’t get me wrong - the local smørrebrød med æg og rejer (an open-faced egg and shrimp rye sandwich) is quite delicious. As are the other main local specialities - kipper smørrebrød, herring smørrebrød and roast beef smørrebrød. But they haven’t really nailed the variety component that most famous national palates serve up.

Oh ok, the hot dogs are pretty good too.

But the most memorable meals we ate were at very nice Cantonese restaurant in Malmö, followed by Mr Pho and Mr Ramen in Copenhagen.

Beer-off: Denmark vs Sweden

Beers in Denmark consisted of the standard Carlsberg or Tuborg lagers, plus a handful of middle-of-the-road not-quite-craft pale ales. Not bad, but nothing memorable.

Maybe it was the local knowledge, but in Sweden we were able to enjoy a variety of beers, from thirst quenching lagers through to a rather nice black IPA and an interesting peach sour.

Winner: 🇸🇪🇸🇪 SWEDEN 🇸🇪🇸🇪

Family Catch-ups

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Of course, no wrap-up could be complete without some kind of reunion story. From the airport, a 20 minute train ride takes you to the quaint town of Malmö (home of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024). Cobbled streets, a somewhat medieval taste to the architecture and an almost complete lack of cars make Malmö feel like a real fantasy village, straight out of a Robin Hobb novel.

Jake soaks up the atmosphere in the town square

A colourful street in Malmö

But of course, we weren’t here to explore the architecture. This was a highly-anticipated reunion with my cousin Scott, who moved to London for a year and ended up relocating to Sweden. Apparently the three weeks of Swedish summer more than make up for the long cold winters. And luckily we came at the right time of year!

Miles with a strong finish pipped Scott by one shot for the victory

A delicious Cantonese lunch was followed by a wander through town, before a leisurely afternoon at the aptly named Folkets Park.

But all good things must come to an end, and we hauled our two tired children back across the Øresund to Copenhagen, for a surprisingly pleasant Sunday night’s rest.

After an arduous 37 hour+ journey, we finally arrived at our accommodation in Copenhagen and promptly crashed out after a quick dinner at Mr Pho.

Our first morning was spent exploring the city around the Nyhavn area.

Nyhavn itself is a big tourist trap, but definitely reminds me of the colourful waterfront areas you find in other famous places such as Balmain East.

Amongst the classic Danish cuisines, there is none more famous than a hot dog in a bun, served from a suspiciously temporary pop up cart by the sea.

A quick walk through the King’s Park took us to Østre Anlæg, a quite little strip of greenery that is home to a family of Mute Swans, the national bird of Denmark.

Of course, no visit to Copenhagen could be complete without a visit to the Little Mermaid, although I don’t think our children have received a thorough education in the works of Hans Christian Andersen.

Our route back to Nyhavn led through the working military fortress alongside the harbour. Much restraint was required to follow the only rule: “don’t touch the cannons”.

Back in the middle of town, we caught up with one of Sonia’s former colleagues who gave us a quick tour of the palace and surroundings, before we headed onwards towards Tivoli Gardens…

We went to Tivoli Gardens and on a scale of 1 to 10 of how fun it is, it’s an 11. My favourite ride is called Aquila, which is a star constellation, where you get spun upside down and round and round. We also went on THE WORLD’S OLDEST ROLLERCOASTER, built in 1914, it’s 100 years older than me!

Here’s a tier list of the top 10 best rides (in my opinion):

1. Aquila
2. The Roller Coaster
3. Tik Tak
4. The Monsoon
5. The Star Flyer
6. The Milky Way Express
7. The Mine
8. The Swing Carousel
9. The Astronomer
10. The Temple Tower

Tivoli was really fun and I recommend it to anyone who is trying to decide what to do in Copenhagen.

Thanks for reading \(*_*)/

We went to Tivoli Gardens and we went on the oldest roller coaster in the world. And it is 100 years older than Jake and it goes through a mountain.

My favourite ride was a really fun roller coaster called Milkyway Express. I liked it because it went really fast - it went about 50km/h and it went sideways. But the best part was at the end of a lap it went about 60km/h.

I also went to the King’s palace to see the royal guards.