May 2014       Itinerary Link

Hard rain. That was our introduction to Copenhagen. I remember this very clearly even though it was over 4 years ago. We paid almost 40 euros(now it’s even more than that) to drive on Oresund Bridge from Malmo, Sweden, to Copenhagen to witness the supposedly one of the most magical, sweeping views from any bridge around the world. It rained so hard that we barely saw the railings of the bridge, and we just hoped that the 8km would end soon.

And, in this rain, we had to wait in the car for our Airbnb host to show up. He was 1.5 hours late. The first and the biggest challenge in a house sharing experience tends to be getting the key, and this was a perfect example of it.

Luckily, the rain let up enough in time for returning the rental car and we could walk around a little. Our Airbnb apartment was in Norreboro,  an area a bit northwest of the center, but it was quite easy to get around using the public transportation. We each bought a 48 hour City Pass and got a good use out of it. This pass is worthwhile if you plan to use it more than 3 times/day. We were quite interested in using bikes, but the weather was not cooperating. Copenhagen was one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world with well-marked bike lanes all over the city. Over 70% of the citizens commute on bikes daily, we were told.

We found a decent restaurant in our neighborhood for dinner, and we went to bed early. It had been a long day!

The city center is not all that big and easily walkable. We took the bus to Amalienborg Palace, took a look, then checked out the Frederik’s Church(Marble Church) nearby. Then we took a tram to Copenhagen Citadel and walked to see the most famous attraction in the city: the Little Mermaid!

We had lunch in Nyhavn(New Harbour) area. “New” here meant it was built between 1670-1673. We had a light rain all morning off and on, but the sky cleared up by the time we arrived in this area. A leisurely walk was called for! There were plenty of churches nearby, and we went into a couple of them.

The Little Mermaid was, actually, really little. At 1.25 meters(4.1 feet), it certainly was shorter than me although its weight of 175kg(385 lbs) was way heavier than me. It’s been there since 1913, so it is older than me! I did not know, though, it was commissioned by the Carlsberg brewery founder. and a littler version of it sits at the Brewery.

Frederik’s Church

We spent the afternoon at the Tivoli Gardens, the mother of all the amusement parks, in operation since 1843(second oldest: the oldest is in Denmark also). We paid 120 DKK($18) to get into the park but did not get on any of the rides which cost extra. It was like walking into an old movie set, and beautifully decorated rides were fun to look at. We liked the fact that it was not overwhelming or too noisy or scary, and a slow walk was enjoyable. We had a decent but not too expensive dinner at Groften Restaurant inside the park.

We went to the open air museum north of the city. We were debating whether to visit the Hamlet’s Castle or this place, but we had seen enough castles by the time we got to Copenhagen. We took the S-train line E to Sorgenfri, which was easy. Then we were not too sure which way to walk since our smartphone was not working well. We kept asking whenever we ran into a person(not many of them around), and, good 20-25 minutes later, we found it.

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It was quite huge at 86 acres, and our feet got tired after a while. We were glad we went there, but we were exhausted.  There was not much else in and around the park area, and we were forced to eat at the museum restaurant, which was ok but not cheap.

When we got back into the city, we got off the train at Norreport and visited the astronomical observatory Round Tower. The view from the top was fantastic as expected. The streets around there had street musicians and lots of shops. We took a break at a cafe.

Next morning we flew out of Copenhagen Airport. With 3 of us traveling together, a cab ride was not too unreasonable(250 DKK or about $38) to the airport.

Copenhagen in 2017: link

 

May 2014

 

Canterbury has been a tourist attraction since the 12th century.  In fact, The Canterbury Tales, written in the 14th century, were exchanged among a group of tourists on their way to Canterbury.

The story goes that King Henry II grew angry with his old friend, Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, over Becket’s refusal to defer to the king’s wishes in matters Becket saw as the province on the Church.  In his anger, Henry was heard to remark, “Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest.”  Four of his knights overheard the remark, traveled to Canterbury, and murdered Becket inside the cathedral.

According to the story, Henry was aghast, traveled to Canterbury in sackcloth and walked down the main aisle of the cathedral on his knees in penance.

Becket was quickly canonized and miracles were reported through his intercession.  Soon Canterbury began attracting pilgrims from all over England.

The main attraction in Canterbury is, of course, the cathedral.  Like most medieval cathedrals it is awe inspiring.  A plaque commemorates the site of Becket’s murder.

We took the train(under 20 pounds r/t) from Dover to Canterbury, which took only about 30 minutes. From the train station to the cathedral and the center of town is an easy 15-20 walk.

The center of town had a well-developed shopping and dining scene. We had a lunch at a pub in one of the alleys and used Wifi.

Official tourist information: click

May 2014

Dover(population: around 30,000) was a cruise stop for us. The ever famous White Cliffs of Dover was a sight to behold as the ship pulled into the port. We took the shuttle(5 pounds) to the city center from the cruise port, and the central area seemed small enough and walkable.

We spent most of our time visiting Canterbury, but, after returning from there, we walked around the city. There really was not all that much to see or do, though. We could have visited the Castle, but we were happy just taking pictures from afar.

more info: click