We arrived in Copenhagen (or as Annalina thought, “Coke in Heaven”) too early for check-in at our hotel. They were very accommodating and let us leave our baggage so we made the drop then turned right around and headed towards the city’s center. We picked the first open restaurant we saw and sat outside along Nyhavn’s waterfront.
The weather forecast called for mostly rain the entire weekend, but we didn’t let that stop us. We just enjoyed the scenic view as we game planned what we could see on our first day in the pockets of sunshine we could get.
Rosenborg Castle was first and it was a pleasant surprise. It seemed like miles of gardens enclosed the castle. Strolling amongst the trees cut to a perfect square and down the long walkways made us feel like we were royalty. A play area in the King’s Garden ensured it was worthwhile for “Princess” Annalina.
Next up was the Round Tower. It was built by Christian IV of Denmark as an astronomical observatory. As I’ve mentioned before, there is a tall structure in just about every European city where you can get a breathtaking view of the skyline. The Round Tower is the ideal place for this in Copenhagen, especially since the admission is very cheap, costing only about $3.75 per person. The corkscrew walk to the top made it feel like there was no end but when we finally got there, the view did not disappoint.
Tivoli Gardens was our main plan for day two. Annalina is such a trooper whenever we travel so we love adding whatever kid-friendly venues we can. Tivoli Gardens is an amusement park right in the heart of downtown Denmark, literally right across the street from City Hall. From the outside it looks like any other building you pass on the cobbled streets but walking through the gates feels like an escape to a different world. Tivoli was built in 1843 and is the second-oldest operating amusement park in the world. Want some more Tivoli trivia? Walt Disney himself came to Tivoli several times and the park itself inspired many of his ideas for his famous namesake theme parks throughout the world.
Entrance to the Tivoli is quite affordable with tickets only costing $30 per adult and $15 per child. However, the cost of rides is additional. You have the option of paying for each ride individually or purchasing an unlimited pass. Even if rides aren’t your thing, the gardens and walk around the park alone is more than worth the price of admission.
Before heading back to the hotel for the evening, we of course had to mark traditional Danish food and beer off our list. We chose PUK, an 18th-century basement venue. We tried, and enjoyed, a traditional dish known as smørrebrød, a “butter and bread” open faced sandwich. It is usually topped with cold cuts, pieces of meats or fish and cheese or spreads. We were not feeling courageous enough to try the popular choice of pickled herring and opted instead for a roast beef with egg. Having tried different varieties throughout our trip, the one I most favored was the flæskestag topping. A crispy cracking pork rind that reminded me of a Filipino favorite, chicharron.
We had been fortunate to beat the forecast of bad weather all weekend but our third and final day in Denmark was going to be a bit gloomy. Rather than chance getting stormed on, and since we marked the majority of things we wanted to do off our list, we opted for an indoor playground. What a find! We couldn’t believe this place was completely free. Consisting of three levels, KU.BE is honestly probably one of the best indoor playgrounds we’ve ever seen. One very cool challenge for kids is to discover all three levels was to climb their way to the top without using stairs.
The sun decided to shine a bit in the afternoon so we made our way back to the city center one last time to walk around like locals. We stumbled across an outdoor market with an outdoor play area and Strøget, one of the longest car-free shopping streets in Europe.
We had another early flight back to Berlin the following morning so our last stop for dinner was at Sundby Sejl along the Amager Beach Park (yes, beach!) by our hotel. We wanted to try more Danish meals like Pariserbøf, a pan fried beef patty served with traditional sides. Onions, pickled beets, horseradish, capers and danish pickles but with minus the raw egg yolk on top. Sitting by the water reminded us of Florida for bit and it was such a perfect way to end our little getaway.
Love the read, as usual, Lals!! That food looks amazing! Thanks for sharing pictures as well!