A great way to see a city in a shorter amount of time is to take a walking tour, and since Britton worked for the first two days we were in Copenhagen, we needed a solid crash course so that I didn’t have to reapeat too much! We took advantage of a free tour to see the highlights, led by Martin at Sandeman's. (Sandeman's runs tours in several European cities, and we always enjoy them! But remember, the “free” tours are actually tip-based tours, so plan to pay about 10 £/$/€ per person.)
Our walk took us past all the highlights: city hall, the big plaza with the metro construction, Nyhavn, the waterfront, and ended at the Royal palaces of Amalienborg (finally learned what that is!) for the changing of the guard. We covered a lot of kilometers in just a few hours!
After that we wandered the grounds of Kastellet so Britton could see it, and said hello to the Little Mermaid again. As she and I are practically besties at this point, I amused myself by watching the most immodest of swans who was flashing the crowds near the statues. Bird's gotta eat and all, but it was downright scandalous!
Scandalous Swan! |
Next off to Original Coffee for a warm-up. The day was bright and sunny but so windy! I think my face was wind burned by the end of the day, as well as a bit pink what with the sunshine for two days. We were happy to have a warm seat (and a free bathroom) to thaw before heading back into the cold.
(I'm starting to think I know why our plane tickets were so cheap...!)
Our evening activities took us to find ØL, aka BEER! We first found Dialegd, situated in Vesterbro just west of Copenhagen’s Central district. There were lots of interesting flavors to try — all sourced from a local brewery — and we hunkered down at a tiny corner table to talk about life and penguins and how to fix the world's problems. As our ideas were beer-fueled, I’m sure they were excellent, but have since become a bit fuzzy around the edges.
Across the street we found Mikkeller's øl & brød — a name synonymous with craft beer in Copenhagen. Based on how packed the pub was on a Friday night, I'd say word has gotten around. Lucky for us, we were offered a table by a departing couple — otherwise we would have stood for a good long while waiting for something to free up because our scoped seats at the bar had been sniped and I didn’t want to get all grumpy American on someone’s ass. So again found ourselves at a tiny corner table, just for two. The beer was well worth its reputation — I drank a chocolate stout with a lot of flavor, very smooth, but so sweet and thick that I was glad to only have ordered a half-pint.
Finally we made our way back to the flat, satisfied and educated in the ways of Øl and Copenhagen, and quite sleepy!