Day 1 – Saturday (04/16/2016)

Our RyanAir flight left Dublin at 11:45am and arrived in the Danish capital Copenhagen at 2:55pm (the time zone there is 1 hour ahead of Dublin). We paid only 109 euros round trip for the 2 of us, but we bought the tickets more than 1 month in advance.

We got off at Terminal 2 and withdrew Danish kroner (DKK) from an ATM that was right there – Celo read somewhere that the exchange rate was good (approximately 1 euro – 7 kroner). We walked to Terminal 3, where the airport train station is, and bought tickets to the city’s central station from the red DSB machines (72 kroner for the 2 of us – approximately 10 euros). The machines are super intuitive (you can do everything in English) and some accept cash/coins and give change too. Oh, and interesting information: Copenhagen airport has already won several votes for the best airport in the world. It really is TOP!

Our train left on time, but if you miss yours, don't despair: there's one every 20 minutes and the journey to the city center is very short (I don't think it takes more than 20 minutes). The train, as expected, is very comfortable and clean, and the views are very beautiful too.

We arrived at the city's central station (Copenhagen H) and I already liked what I saw. What a beautiful and functional station 🙂

Our hostel

We just had to leave the station, walk 2 minutes down the street and we were already at our hostel, the Copenhagen Backpackers Hostel. We decided to stay in a hostel because the prices in hotels were above our budget (80 euros) and most of the rooms had shared bathrooms. If you're going to share a bathroom, it's better to save money and share a room too, right? I managed to convince Celo! We ended up paying 187 euros for 3 nights for the 2 of us, and we stayed in a room with 4 other people. It's not the best of all worlds, but it was enough to survive, especially because the hostel is very tidy and even has a cabin on the bed for more privacy. One of the best hostels I've ever stayed in. 🙂

We left our backpacks at lockers inside the room (we took our padlocks) and went out for a walk.

Exploring Copenhagen

This was the route we took that day (if you want more details, keep reading…):

We ate a typical Danish hot dog very close to our hostel and the station for 25 DKK (3 euros, approx.). Huge sausage, some toppings and a small bun. Very tasty… oh, this was the cheapest price we found in the city!

We crossed the central station and came face to face with the Tivoli, which is the second oldest park in the world. Of course, we really wanted to go in, but we followed our trip plan and left the visit to the park for the 3rd day (just keep reading to find out more).

We continued to the square where the city hall is located (Copenhagen Radhus), but we just took a picture from the outside and continued on. (I think there is tour inside)

Then we entered the Stroget, which is the longest pedestrian street in the world and the city's most popular shopping center. The street is full of interesting shops, but of course the one that caught our attention the most was the one at LEGO,  which is simply amazing! If you are a toy lover like us, come in. It's free and you will be amazed by the new creations. You will want to buy everything!!!

We tried to get into the Church of the Holy Spirit (Helligaandskirken), which is on this street, but unfortunately it was already closed. We continued to Round Tower (Rundetaarn), which is the oldest European observatory still in operation (since 1642). We paid 50 Danish kroner (approx. 7 euros) to go up there to enjoy the view of the city, which is beautiful! It’s worth the physical exercise…

We continue to the Rosenborg Slot, but because of the time (I think it was around 7pm), I couldn't do it tour through the castle and visit the Danish crown jewels. We just stayed in the park, strolling leisurely and admiring the castle, which is lovely!

We passed through the city's main square, the King's Day, but since it was under construction, I didn't think it was anything special. I made sure to go in Hotel D'Angleterre, which is the most chic hotel in the city, but I confess that the lobby left something to be desired. In addition to the hotel, you will find in this square the Royal Danish Theatre and the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, And to our delight, a McDonald's! Normally we like to try out restaurants in the cities we visit, but since we read that Danish cuisine is nothing special and costs an arm and a leg, we took the opportunity to satisfy our longing for McDonald's. 🙂

Nyhavn

We then walked to the Nyhavn, which is the port with the colorful little houses that most people have probably seen around when they read something about Denmark. We could have sat in one of the many cozy bars, but we decided to do as the locals do and bought beers and snacks in a nearby market and sat on a bench on the ground. It was cold, but we managed to cope well... Everything to feel like a local, right?

We went to the Royal Danish Playhouse to see the view and it's worth it! It must be really cool to take a boat trip around the region on a hot day...if we ever go back in the summer, we will definitely do it.

After a long walk, we walked slowly back through the charming streets of the city to the bar recommended by our hostel, the Tap House. The bar is completely minimalist in decor, but what it lacks in ambiance it makes up for in amount of chopps available: there are more than 60!!! Imagine Celo's excitement... we left there straight to the hostel and had a snack with some things we bought on the way.

Day 2 – Sunday (17/04/2016)

We had breakfast at the hostel (55 kroner – 8 euros per person) and took the day to visit the castles outside Copenhagen! I read on several blogs that the two main ones are Frederiksborg Slot (the largest castle in the country) and the Kronborg Slot (Hamlet), but since they are far apart, the ideal is to set aside a day for each one. Since we didn't have two days to visit both castles, we decided to do everything in one day and although it was rushed, it was worth it!

We bought a ticket at the central train station that gave us 24 hours of train travel through various areas for 260 Danish kroner (approx. 35 euros) for the two of us. We had spoken to a gentleman from the DSB train company beforehand to understand the best (cheapest) strategy and this was his tip. He even gave us the tip of Fredensborg Castle, which is between the two castles and is a delight. It is considered the Versailles of the Danes.

This is the map with the 3 castles above and Copenhagen:

Frederiksborg Slot

We took the train to the city of Hillerod, which is the city where the Frederiksborg Slot. Since this was the castle we most wanted to visit, we went there first to make sure we did it right away. The city is lovely and the walk around the lake around the castle is a great experience. must see! You can already fall in love with the castle and get excited about it. tour which is to come (150 crowns -20 euros approx, for the 2 of us).

We were lucky enough to catch one tour guided tour in English right when we arrived and I thought it was great, because we knew almost nothing about the history of Denmark. The guide explained several details in perfect English (I recommend it tour guided!!) and one fact that struck me is that a fire in the 18th century left the castle practically in ruins. “But why didn’t they use the water from the lake to put out the fire?”, I thought. Answer: it was winter and the lake was frozen! Oh, how sad…

After the fire, only 3 rooms were rebuilt identical to the originals (I won't say which ones), but the others are also interesting, because they are well decorated. Great Hall It is definitely the most beautiful room, but the chapel It's also awesome! Some photos:

We strolled through the castle gardens, which are located behind it, and then finished walking around the lake to return to the train station. We bought a snack at the 7-11 convenience store (which is the most common in Denmark) and had a snack on the train that took us to the city of Fredensborg.

Fredensborg Castle

We walked about 15 minutes to the Fredensborg Castle, we took some pictures of the front with the soldiers and went into the park to visit the gardens. We ended up walking around the entire castle, which took a while, but it was worth it to see the back of it. Look how beautiful it is:

We left the castle and went to the train station, but only there did we realize that the train would arrive in 40 minutes. We were careless and didn't check the time beforehand, so here's a tip. The train arrived on time and we headed to the city of Helsingor, where is the Kronborg Slot. 

Kronborg Slot

We walked for about 20 minutes along the city's waterfront until we reached the castle, the first version of which was built in 1420. This is the castle where the play Hamlet is set and is therefore one of the country's main attractions. As we arrived at the end of the day, we weren't able to visit it, but the outside alone is worth the visit (I think).

We walked back to the train station, bought some snacks and beers at 7-11 (again!) and returned to the hostel exhausted.

Day 3 – Monday (18/04/2016)

Today is amusement park day, baby!!! 🙂

We had breakfast at the hostel and since the park only opened at 11am, we decided to walk around the city a bit before going in. This was the route we took until around 1pm:

The Little Mermaid Statue

We took advantage of the fact that the train ticket purchased the day before was still valid and took the train to the station. Osterport. We went down there far away because we wanted to see the Castle (one of the best preserved star-shaped fortresses in Europe) and of course, visit the famous statue of Little Mermaid. I'm in love with the Disney cartoon and only now did I discover that it is based on a short story by the Danish writer. Hans Christian Andersen. There was no way you could go to Copenhagen and not visit the statue, right?

Marmorkirken

Then we went to the Marmorkirken, a church with a huge dome, beautiful inside and out.

The Changing of the Guard at Amalienborg Slot

As she stands in front of the Amalienborg Slot, the home of the Danish royal family, and it was already close to noon, we waited a bit to see the changing of the guard, highly recommended by several blogs and guides. Many tourists gathered to see the ceremony and it was quite interesting, because the soldiers passed in front of us, without any fences to separate them. You can see all the details of each one…

After the changing of the guard, we tried to enter the Christiansborg Slot, but it was closed (it doesn't open on Mondays).

Tivoli Park

We ended up going there the next day (I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!!!) and went straight to the Tivoli Park, the second oldest park in the world.

We bought a ticket that gave us unlimited access to the rides for Celo (320 DKK – 43 euros approx) and just the entrance to the park for me (100 DKK – 13 euros), since I was dizzy for days after we went there. Disneyland Paris. There is no way to enter the park without paying this basic entrance fee! If you want more details on prices, see this link.

We arrived around 1pm and the park was pretty empty, but that might have been because it was a Monday. Celo managed to go on all the rides considered thrilling without having to wait in line and he thought the best ones were Vertigo and the The Daemon. I ended up going to them several times while I was strolling through the park's shops and gardens. Tivoli is very well maintained and is very cute with its retro decor. The staff are friendly, there is good signage everywhere and there really are several options of rides for all ages.

We read that we had to stay until the park closed to see the light, fire and smoke show (around 11pm), so we ended up staying inside for MANY HOURS… almost 10. Since it was relatively empty, I think (I don’t think so, I’m sure!) that 10 hours was too long inside the park. Celo had already repeated several rides and we were running out of things to do, so we sat down at some bars and restaurants to warm up, but the bad thing is that the prices are quite expensive. All to wait for the light, fire and smoke show, which in my humble opinion was not worth it.

While waiting for the park's final show, we had dinner at the restaurant WAGAMAMA, which is located within the Tivoli grounds, but can also be accessed from outside. The food is good, but expensive for what it is. We even compared it to Wagamama here in Dublin – my dish in Denmark cost 16 euros, while in Dublin it costs less than 13. Nothing crazy, but it’s a Yakisoba, right?

Day 4 – Tuesday (19/04/2016)

We did checkout at the hostel, but we left our backpacks there to pick up after the morning tour. Our flight was at 3:20 pm and we wanted to sightsee until about 1 pm, so this was the route for the day:

The main objective was to know Christiania, the free city within Copenhagen, but we managed to fit the Christiansborg Slot, which in my opinion was the best thing of the day!

On the way to Christiania, we passed a building known as Black Diamond, which is an extension of Royal Danish Library. It has very interesting modern architecture and there is no charge to enter, so off we went. We were impressed by the organization and beauty of the place…I don’t even need to mention the beauty of the people, right? What a country with beautiful people!!!! 🙂

After a good walk, we finally arrived at Christiania.

Christiania

This place, for those who don't know, was created by some hippies and homeless people in the 70s. They invaded an abandoned military area and decided that they would create a free, anarchist and non-capitalist society there (see more details here in this link). Despite reading on several blogs that the place is a must see, I honestly don't see any reason for that. I found the place dirty and chaotic, I had the feeling that I was being watched all the time, I saw people buying drugs (marijuana and hashish are allowed), the houses are run down, anyway... the atmosphere is heavy, you know? I didn't feel safe and I definitely wouldn't go back there during the day and especially at night. It's up to you... Oh, important tips: in certain areas you can't take photos and you can't run! They leave signs on display and I don't think it's a good idea to disobey.

Christiansborg Slot

We left there relieved (at least I was, Celo was fine) and went to Christiansborg Slot. We paid 150 DKK per person (approx. 20 euros) and visited several beautiful rooms in the palace, which are used by the Danish royal family. The room that caught our attention the most was the Great Hall, but each one has a special detail and that's why I highly recommend a visit!

To finish the tour, we went up the palace tower by elevator. (free tour) and we loved the view of the city! A good way to say goodbye to Copenhagen.

We went back to the hostel to get our backpacks and went straight to the train station, where we bought our tickets and took the train to the airport.

This was our tour of Denmark. If you liked it, share it with your friends and leave us a message below!

Tours around Denmark