Day 43 - Thursday, July 25, 2024 - Copenhagen Denmark

By Ellen Outten

 

Copenhagen's famous "The Little Mermaid" 

I left at 9 am and our first stop was at The Little Mermaid.  Everyone stops here!  It's like going to the Grand Canyon if you visit Arizona.




Unveiled on 23 August 1913, The Little Mermaid was a gift from Danish brewer Carl Jacobsen to the City of Copenhagen. The sculpture is made of bronze and granite and sits in the water at Langelinie Pier. 

It was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s famous fairytale about a mermaid who gives up everything to be united with a young, handsome prince on land.

Every morning and evening she swims to the surface from the bottom of the sea and, perched on her rock in the water, she stares longingly towards the shore hoping to catch a glimpse of her beloved prince.

The little mermaid has several times been the victim of vandalism. Twice she has lost her head, once the arm was sawn off, and several times she has had paint poured on her. Thankfully, she is always rescued and restored, so she can stay in her place by the water and bid travellers welcome to Copenhagen harbor.

I took the Panoramic Tour of Copenhagen so I could see more of the city by bus.  Wayne did the walking tour and said his guide was excellent.

My guide, not so good.  I shouldn't be critical since I can only speak one language and she could speak at least two, but she was difficult to understand.  

Does anyone remember Meryl Streep in Out of Africa.  She sounded just like her, but even more difficult to understand.

I did get to see a lot of the city and she pointed out many places to us on the drive.


Denmark has more bicycles than Amsterdam. Iver 50%if the population ride a bike to work. These were all parked at a train station.

A theatre, used to be white with lots of graffiti. When they painted it pink, the graffiti stopped 


Passing over one of the canals
Manmade lake fir city beautification 

Pictures of the Opera House 

Our stops included The Opera House where we looked across the river at Amalienborg Palace.  Wayne's tour took him to the palace which I would have enjoyed.  

We toured a lot more by bus and made a second stop at  Christiansborg Palace.  Walking around the outside of the palace, a working palace and home to their Parliament was interesting along with a walk through the gardens.

Christiansborg Palace and Parliament 


Gardens behind the palace 



We were given free time to explore on our own, but it was primarily a high end shopping area for pedestrians.  

The square at the end of the pedestrian shopping area






The Stork fountain.  I love that everywhere you look there are statutes and sculptures 



Returning  to the ship, I had the rest of the day to relax.  

Tomorrow, Berlin Germany.  Viking has chartered a train just for us as there are approximately 700 passengers going into Berlin.  It's a three hour train ride each way and a 12 hour day overall.  Once I reach Berlin, I'll strike out on my own with a map.  There's so much to see.  More tomorrow night.




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