Enjoy a fairly incomprehensible, but still beautiful, tour
of the canals of Copenhagen with us! We saw a lot of fascinating sites from the
water, including the Little Mermaid (inspired by the Hans Christan Andersen
story), the Royal Library of Copenhagen, the Royal Playhouse, the Copenhagen
Opera House, the Naval Base, a castle, the Nicholas Tower, and more. Watch out
for the low bridges so you don't get decapitated!
It was a pleasant way to spend a sunny fall afternoon.
... orOur First Experience
Being Led Around by the Nose
During our extensive travels, we’ve always been completely
in charge of own travel itinerary, a process that involves extensive planning
and research, and can be frankly exhausting. For our first big trip post-COVID,
we decided to give ourselves a break from logistics and try an organized tour. We
looked over the endless options, our budget in mind, and chose Scandinavia, a
region neither of us had ever visited. So in September 2022 we embarked on a three-week
clockwise tour around Scandinavia, from Copenhagen to Helsinki, that incorporated
buses, ferries, and fjords. All we had to do was pack, then hand our luggage to
the bus driver.
We booked this tour through Tour Radar, which offers a huge
selection of multi-day travel experiences for all budgets. Their tour operators
take care of everything from logistics to meals to experiences to friendly
guides. The operator of our Scandinavian tour was Europamundo. We’ll do a whole
blog later about the tour experience. It was a bit of a whirlwind, so don’t
expect a lot of details in these videos!
Our tour of Scandinavia kicked off with a walking tour of
Copenhagen, followed by a bus ride to Odense, hometown of writer Hans Christian
Andersen.
Join us as we visit the famous Little Mermaid statue in
Copenhagen (the book was written by Andersen, author of many beloved fairy
tales), the Denmark Royal Palace, the romantic Copenhagen Town Hall, Andersen’s
childhood home, and the Odense Cathedral. We ended the first day with a cozy
outdoor dinner beside a scenic canal in the vibrant city of Aarhus, one of the
oldest cities in Denmark.
Speaking of Andersen, you can do a whole vacation that
centers around this beloved author, who in addition to The Little Mermaid wrote
The Ugly Duckling, The Snow Queen, and many others. (Link below.)
ITINERARY
This is what the TourRadar itinerary listed for the day:
Day 1.
Jueves, 22 De Septiembre De 2022
COPENHAGUE , ODENSE, AARHUS Distance: 315 km Scenery: Pleasant hills in southern Denmark.
At 08:00 h. we start out on a comprehensive tour of the Danish
capital; the largest of the Scandinavian cities is a city of contrasts: its
popular “Tivoli”; Christianborg Palace; the terraces of Nyhavn, and the
mermaid… The visit ends at about 10:30 h. 11:30 h.- Copenhagen –Departure-. We will travel to the Jutland
Peninsula, passing through pretty landscapes with hills and crossing the 20
km long bridge that connect Jutland to the island on which Copenhagen
stands. 14.00 h.- Odense- Arrival. Free time to explore and have lunch in
this pleasent city where you can visit its gothic cathedral and the house
of Andersen. 16.00 h.- Odense. Departure. 18.15 h.- Aarhus –Arrival-. Free time. We recommend a visit to this
pretty city, the Danish city with the second highest population.
A daylong stroll around this pleasant
city offered up some delightful discoveries, as we visited the Royal Copenhagen
China store (it’s beautiful and expensive) and did some watch shopping. Our
jaws dropped at the incredible bicycle culture – I wish they saved this much
gas by using their legs in American cities!
The National Museum of Denmark was
stunning. In the Kongens Have Garden, we found the Punch and Judy Marionette
Theater and a statue of Hans Christian Andersen, Copenhagen’s most famous
resident. And, of course, the obligatory European Castle!
We launched our first big trip (sort of) post-pandemic with a three-week tour of Scandinavia in fall 2023. We delighted in flying again; even the airport lounge was a novelty after lockdown.
We arrived a couple of days before the tour started to enjoy some time in the Danish capital of Copenhagen. Danes rank among the world's happiest people, and in Copenhagen, it was easy to see why. The lively city combines royal history, modern architecture and loads of culture with a mouthwatering restaurant scene. And bikes! So many bikes!
It was a little chilly in September, so far north. We were still wearing masks and not eating indoors for fear of getting COVID, so we did a lot of exploring on foot outdoors on our first day. We sought out outdoor dining experiences and were happily rewarded when we discovered a district of canal-side restaurants with warming fires, blankets, and Irish coffee - such a cozy way to enjoy a meal. But the best part of Day 1 was the disco taxi back to the hotel!
