Copenhagen and Stockholm

Before setting off to Russia we made two short side trips to visit Copenhagen, Denmark and Stockholm, Sweden. Copenhagen was only about a four-hour train ride from Monsteras, Sweden. We wanted to say hello to Hans Christian Anderson’s ‘Little Mermaid’.  So, with Tomas’s recommendation of drinking the Danish Tuborg Beer and eating the polse (red hotdog), we crossed the longest bridge connecting Denmark and Sweden. After promptly consuming two beers and four hotdogs (mostly by me) as soon as we arrived, the next two days were spent touring the city by both a hop-on and hop-off bus, as well as a boat tour thru the canals.

We also spent the last three nights, before leaving for Russia, in the city of Stockholm. Both Copenhagen and Stockholm seemed to have similar landscapes; being located around islands, there was water everywhere (rivers, canals, oceans, etc.). Since we had enjoyed both the land and water tours in Copenhagen, we tried that in Stockholm but the scenery was much the same.

- Copenhagen, Denmark

This is Trivoli, behind the building was the largest amusement park in Europe. It was only 3 minutes, by walking distance, from our hotel in Copenhagen.

Town Hall is the most centrally located building – with the famous shopping street called Stroget leading off from its square. Having thoroughly worn out our walking shoes, we did some shoe shopping there.

This was a government building with the statue of the city founder.

One of the many canals in Copenhagen – now, it’s filled with restaurants, hotels, & condos, but a while ago, they said it used to be the red light district, popular with sailors.

We said hello to the ‘Little Mermaid’ but it wasn’t as impressive as the tale itself. In fact, the original story does not have the Hollywood’s version with its happy ending.

There are three identical buildings (only two can be seen in the photo) in this plaza and they are occupied by the current King of Denmark. They were originally owned by three rich merchants but when the old palace burnt down, the King took over the buildings and he decided to stay put ever since.

The newest landmark in Copenhagen – The Opera House. It was not as unique as the Sydney Harbor Opera House, but the building looked impressive and modern. It is built across the water from the King’s palace.

One of the houses is where Hans Christian Anderson (he lived in several residences around the canal) used to live.

The canals were narrow and windy; going thru high rent residential and business streets. The boat had to go through a three point turn once to get thru.

- Stockholm, Sweden

Behind the statue is the Opera House of Stockholm.

The Grand Hotel is where the Nobel award recipients stay.

The city of Stockholm consists of 14 islands.

The city hall is where the Nobel prize award ceremony is held every year in December.

This is the harbor where our boat tour started.

Although very large with 800 rooms making it the largest palace in Europe, this King’s palace in Stockholm looked very ordinary and rather boxy from the outside.