The next step on our inital journey through Scandinavia was to Copenhagen where we would spend Christmas and Boxing Day (or as its called here in Denmark, Second Christmas).
Copenhagen welcomed us with some pretty mid weather... a constant cold, misting rain, completly overcast. But its a very pretty city, which we spent a lot of time exploring.
As has become our custom, shortly after arriving and dropping our bags off at the apartment (which happened to be on the top level of a building with no lifts... so dad was super impressed in having to carry the luggage up one by one. The apartment, Aperon, included a nice hidden courtyard, and laundry in the basement (which was fun having to go up and down between the top level and the basement via the stairs to do the loads of washing!)...
Once we started exploring the town, we quickly realised just how many places were closed (basically everything except the worst of the tourist places), and it turns out thsat its basically legislated that most things are closed on Christmas Day and Second Christmas Day (the two days we had planned in Copenhagen).
The girls happily showing off their christmas sweaters which was a last minute score in Stockholm and just in time for Christmas.
Not surprisingly, there were a lot of tourists wondering the streest like us, looking for anything which might be open beyond 7-Eleven (which we did end up visiting a few times this trip).
One of the foods on 'the list' for Copenhagen was hot dogs, but alas the 'one' to visit was closed for the week - but we managed to find a stall in Nyhav... which was great but somehow ended up leaving Hanna and I with hallucinations at night!
Copenhagen at night - just showing off.
Christmas morning and we awoke to explore again to try and find something to do during the day... Apparently the traditions at this time of year for the Danish is to spend time with the family, and then enjoy long walks... So we did just that.
We started with the obligatory danish pastries...
And then went for a long walk, exploring Rosenborg Castle and its grounds, Nyboder - with rows of identical houses, Kastellet and visited The Little Mermaid.
And then continiung our Ferry trend, we caught the canal bus back down into the centre of town.
Given it was Christmas, and nothing was open, we visited one of the few supermarkets which were actually open, bought some supplies for a dinner in the apartment... Not quite the glamerous european Christmas we were expecting - but lesson in planning learnt.
Keira prepared ravioli for herself and Claire, whilst mum & dad enjoyed some Knækbrød, Salmon and Mackeral with pickles and had our own little feast.
In the evening, we spent some time at Tivoli, one of the world's oldest theme parks, which was decorated in full Christmas spirit.
We lined up for an hour for the haunted house (and 4 minutes later was a little annoyed that we had.
We then tried a couple of other rides before losing patience and going home to rest.
For Second Christmas Day we spent the morning just expoloring the local areas, as Mum had thought ahead and pre-booked a lunch at Vækst, a michelin-starred experience, which given our hopes for amazing food in Copenhagen, was one of our last hopes.
What followed was an amazing lunch (which was not to the kids liking - so we ended up having to eat two portions each and go slightly into a coma at the end).
Once we were able to walk again, we headed over to Freetown Christiania, the largest hippie commune in Europe, and an interesting experience. The community started in the 70's by squatting in an unused military facility, establishing an anarchist community. The place has strong vibes of a post-apocolyptic world (think Zombieland & Babylon)...
And then, to top the culinary adventure of Copenhagen, Claire finished the evening with Burger King!
In wrap up, it looked like Copenhagen would be a beautiful city to explore, perhaps in Spring or Autumn, and during a week when something is open!
Next stop, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
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