Copenhagen, Denmark…Day 2

Our 2nd full day in Copenhagen was spent walking, touring the city on a "panoramic" bus tour, eating, relaxing, and enjoying the cool breezes that were abundantly blowing in this seaport city. 

Our "Panoramic Bus Tour" took us to many places around Copenhagen that we probably wouldn't have normally seen on foot. 

We saw picturesque buildings….

 ….interesting streets and fountains….

 ….and dozens of modern windmills in the distance.

Once again we saw the Little Mermaid statue and actually got quite close to her. 

The day before….this little statue celebrated her 100th birthday!

We enjoyed the top level of the open air bus….it gave us great views around the city.

For the most part, we enjoy the bus tours, but sometimes I wish we could pause just a little longer in order to explore, snap a better picture or to take in a wonderful scene.

Copenhagen's City Hall  (Radhus)….this is a beautiful  building we passed almost daily. 

Nyhavn means New Harbor in Danish, and is the name for a tourist and entertainment area on the waterfront.

Above we are looking across Nyhavn to the non-sunny side.

Nyhavn to the left….

….and Nyhavn to the right.

The promenade was packed with people walking, sitting and eating.

It was very relaxing on the "Sunny Side" of the boardwalk. 

Lunch time….

….eating outside once again….

My lunch was a grilled chicken salad.  Mark's was a Danish stew (we don't recall precisely), that had a "sunny side up" egg on top of roasted potatoes and diced meat.  He found it interesting to eat something different but thought the dish was quite mediocre….at best.

After lunch we went on a scavenger hunt, looking for a certain statue….Kristina. 

 Our bus tour guide was not familiar with this statue, but when I showed him the picture on my ipad he was familiar with the buildings in the background. He gave us a few suggestions of where we might find the apartments behind the statute. 

While searching for Kristina we found The Little Mermaid's Ugly Little Sister….

….a modernistic version of the classic Little Mermaid statue.  It was no doubt sculpted by someone with a sense of humor to accompany artistic ability.

Back on the search for the Kristina statue, we felt like detectives as we scoured our maps and studied pictures for clues to its location. 

Mark finally spotted the Kristina statue, about 200 yards away, across a water inlet.  Getting to the statue required walking down and around a couple of wharfs.  Mark didn't want to walk over to her because he was tired and his feet hurt….but I was determined to get a closer look, so I went on my own.  

This statue represents a 16-year-old Danish emigrant who left her homeland along with her family and many other Danish people to come to America. 

In 1849, Denmark became the first country in Europe to give religious freedom to its people. The Danish members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints first emigrated to America in 1852.

Kristina and her family traveled by sailing ship for 52 days. On this journey 12 people died, including her only brother. 

On a plaque near this statue is the inscription, "The Kristina sculpture is an expression of the deep feelings that rest with these emigrants who are always torn between the past and the future. Kristina represents the approximately 20,000 Danish Latter-day Saints who emigrated to America."

I am so glad I came over to view this statue close-up.  She is not located in a prominent place….but in a quiet area.  She overlooks the water, sculpted to look as if facing into the wind that is blowing her hair and dress behind her.  She is simple, lovely, and inspiring! 

Returning to Nyhavn….we went to one of Copenhagen's little treasures….an ice cream bakery….or was it a bakery with ice cream?

No matter….Vaffelbageren was fantastic!

Freshly baked waffle cones are made each morning….

….and the smell of the cones is quite alluring around Nyhavn.

Guess which of the cones below is mine, and which is Mark's….
…. mine is the small mint cone and Mark's is the (much) larger cone with vanilla and berry ice cream, topped with whipped cream….no calorie counting here!

Enjoying our sweet treats….ice cream in Denmark!

After a little more walking around….

….Mark decided that since we'd already had dessert, he needed a real dinner.  I on the other hand was not hungry.

Still not counting calories, and throwing caution to the wind…. 

….Mark thought that it would be fun to get a gourmet hot dog from a street vendor.

While Mark munched, we sat on a promenade bench overlooking the water. 

For my part, I was happy to sit on the boardwalk bench and….

….take pictures of Mark….

….in various stages and poses while eating his street dog!

In the evening, we walked over to the main train station in Copenhagen.

We purchased tickets for Monday (2 days away) for a trip north to the cities of Hillerod and Elsinore….we were going to see some famous Danish castles!

The train station was huge and bustling, yet quite easy to get around and understand. We were grateful for the English speaking attendants at the information booth. 

A beautiful and relaxing summer day in Copenhagen….

….and especially walking around Nyhavn….

….was a great way to spend our 2nd day in Denmark.