Welcome to the Special Bucket List Travel Series of Dr. Mary Travelbest Guide.
Patti Christensen from San Diego talks about one of her favorite travel destinations, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Copenhagen, like much of Denmark is a city on the water. One of the first things you want to do when you go to Copenhagen is go on one of the sightseeing Canal boat tours with a live guide. You hop on this great open-air boat and slowly experience various city views. Copenhagen combines brand new shiny buildings and historic buildings going back centuries. The boat trip past the multicolored buildings is fantastic, with photo-worthy sites all along the route. And as long as you’re in that area, you might join the locals in a dip in the swimming beaches in the harbor. I found the water extremely cold, but the docks and the beaches were full of sun-worshiping people enjoying themselves.
There are also so many wonderful and free museums and historic sites to see. Among my favorites is Rosenborg Castle, where you can see the Danish Crown jewels. There are also several other palaces and historic sites. At Amalienborg Palace in downtown Copenhagen, you can watch the changing of the guards every day at noon. It's very similar to that in London but with fewer crowds.
Another must-see in Copenhagen is Tivoli Gardens. This was the world’s original amusement park; they say that Walt Disney got some inspiration from Tivoli Gardens. It combines beautiful flowers and landscaping, kids see buildings and children shows, and wonderful restaurants. Throughout the summer, great concerts are going on. One must make a trip to Tivoli Garden and eat some beautiful food.
One of the things you’ll notice in Denmark is everybody rides bikes. if you get a chance, rent a bike and tool around. The city is very flat and very breakable. You’ll see whole families riding bikes, kids riding bikes to school, and adults using bikes to commute. You have to ride a bike in Copenhagen.
There are many places that have great street food, especially at the Reffen Copenhagen Street Food market. This is the largest street food market in all of the Nordic regions. It includes reasonably priced food from around the world. Copenhagen is definitely a melting pot. The most famous sausage eaten in Denmark is a medisterpolse, spicy and delicious.
One more thing that you could really enjoy if you happen to be in Copenhagen in July is the Copenhagen jazz festival. The Danes love their jazz, which goes back to the 1930s and 40s when American jazz artists traveled extensively in Europe. The jazz festival, started in 1979, is a month-long festival at small venues, large concert halls and churches, and really big outdoor stages. Many of the events are free and the music is fantastic.
And of course you have to go and at least have a glimpse of the little mermaids statue. This comes from Hans Christian Anderson’s fairytale about a mermaid. When you see the little mermaid, you might be surprised at its size. My local cousin said, “Nobody ever called the big mermaid”. But getting your picture taken by the statue is one of the experiences you should have at least once.
Thank you, Patti Christensen for that great episode.
If you like this, listen to three more episodes from the Bucket List Series Podcast of Dr. Mary Travelbest's Guide. This is a Step 5 trip (5 Steps to Solo Travel).
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