Tour of Copenhagen – Day 8
iBAGEL BREAKFAST
We spread our tour of Copenhagen out over a couple of days. On our first day, we woke up late and weren’t sure what to do for breakfast or even what we were going to do. We decided to start with the Viking Museum, which required us to go by train to Roskilde. We decided to stop by a shop called iBagel for breakfast.
We ordered five breakfast bagels and five soft drinks. The total cost was 490 DDK. 345 DDK for the bagels and 145 DDK for the Cokes. It worked out to be 76 USD for breakfast. In retrospect, it would have been better to buy water bottles and refill them each day and bring our own food.
VIKING SHIP MUSEUM
Even though this post is called the Tour of Copenhagen, we started our sightseeing in Roskilde, which is outside of Copenhagen. We planned to work our way back to our hotel by day’s end. Our first stop in Roskilde was the Viking Ship Museum. A town that used to be the main port about a 20-minute train ride from Copenhagen. We took the train to Roskilde then walked to the bus terminal a few hundred meters from the train station and took a bus to the museum.
The museum was on the water and had several buildings and also boats in the harbor including several replicas of Viking boats that were found scuttled in the harbor channel around 1,000 AD.
The remains of the original five boats they found were in one of the museum buildings. We attended a guided tour of the ships with a guide that was very animated! After which we walked to the water and viewed the boats.
We then went to the crafts area and watched Kaylee make a boat. Finally, we watched some of the boatmakers work on a board for the side of a Viking ship they were building. They said each board for the side of a ship took about a week to make and that a boat might take 15,000 man hours to complete!
RAGNAROCK MUSEUM
After the Viking Museum, we headed to the Ragnarock Music Museum. The Ragnarock Museum was all about the trends in music and how they affected Denmark. It was really interesting because most of their influences started in the US and England, but their local culture adopted the movements and trends and they had their local artists that provided local talent in their language.
The Ragnarock museum is a very interactive museum in an area called Musicom. There was a lot of construction around the area like they were building up a music venue of some type. The museum building was very interesting, with a large overhang in front.
This music movement in Denmark was especially popular during the 60s hippie movement and anti-government as well as the 80s when break dancing was big and punk rock.
Inside, the museum is full of interactive exhibits, like this huge turntable that you can lay on that really turns. There were lots of examples to listen to as well.
After we finished with the Ragnarock Museum we decided to take our tour back to Copenhagen, so we went to the Nyhavn district and Kings Square for the evening.
NYHAVN
Nyhavn is a district of Copenhagen and is a must see if you decide to tour Copenhagen. They built Nyhavn around a canal that terminates at the Kings Square. It served as the main port area of trade, lined with shops, warehouses, and houses of ill repute. Now it is full of upscale eating and tourist shops.
So after your tour of Copenhagen, go to Nyhavn and grab a table and a beer or glass of wine and watch the crowds.
DINNER
In the evening in Nyhavn, everyone comes out and sits under the huge restaurant umbrellas so it was hard for us to find seats for five in the shade. Still, we managed to find seating and ordered fish and chips and nachos.
CANAL TOUR OF COPENHAGEN
We decided to relax after dinner and take a canal tour of Copenhagen. It started at the end of the Nyhavn docks.
After departure, the cruise went out of the canal and past several beautiful buildings like the Copenhagen Opera House and many others.
After seeing some great architecture we passed the Little Mermaid statue. It was based on the story The Little Mermaid, by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen who is from Denmark. The statue has been here since 1913. Needless to say, it is a Copenhagen icon. Our tour took us full circle back to our starting point.
The canal tour is great if the weather is good and you want to relax and have someone tell you about the sights along the water. Most of the points of interest are buildings of historical or architectural interest. They fashioned the canals after Amsterdam. We certainly enjoyed the ride!
TIVOLI AMUSEMENT PARK
Kirsten and Kaylee really wanted to go to the Tivoli amusement park. Tivoli is in the middle of Copenhagen and is the oldest amusement park in Europe. It is old and quaint, not cheesy. Tivoli is also well maintained and has some new roller coasters and attractions.
While we walked through the park, I found a place playing the World Cup match so Stephen and I decided to watch the game. Stephanie took pictures with the girls and took them to ride a roller coaster.
We headed back to The Steel House after the game to get some sleep.
LESSONS FROM THE DAY
- Eating out is expensive – Even for meals that you would think would be more budget friendly they can add up quickly. Consider buying your food at the grocery store and carry with you. Refill drink bottles to save money as well.
- Start far away when sightseeing, and work back to your hotel – At the end of the day, you will appreciate being close to your room.
- Find activities that allow you to relax and soak up the experience – The canal cruise and eating dinner in Nyhavn were great activities to people watch and just enjoy the scenery.
