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The King’s Garden, Copenhagen

00 Rosenborg Castle Gardens
The King's Garden -- sometimes known as Rosenborg Castle Gardens -- was designed in the early 1600s, during the reign of popular Danish King Christian IV. It was created as a private garden for King Christian and adjoins Rosenborg Castle. It's the oldest Royal Garden in Denmark and is a popular green space in Copenhagen, with about 2.5 million visitors a year most obviously visiting in the summer. As you might expect, the garden has undergone a number of changes over the years, but its overall design is mostly preserved.  Within the park you'll find a large number of sculptures, including the most famous one of beloved Danish novelist, Hans Christian Andersen.   [caption id="attachment_45129" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Rosenborg Castle Gardens - Hans

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Exploring Christiania, Copenhagen

01 Christiania (9)
I was told by a friend that I absolutely "had" to visit Christiania -- also known as Freetown Christiania -- while in Copenhagen. It's an unusual and somewhat interesting place, but I'd definitely not put it on a 'must see' list for the city. The existence of this community has been quite controversial.  Christiania was began in 1971 when a group of people moved into an abandoned military barracks (covering 7.7 hectacres -- 19 acres).  The place grew into a squatter's village and somewhat of a community.  It especially became known as a place you could buy pot and hash on "Pusher Street" (which was illegal in the rest of Denmark).  Hard drugs are said not to be tolerated, though I

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Nyhavn: The Best of Copenhagen

00 Nyhavn
Copenhagen is nice city, but not one I'd consider among Europe's most beautiful. An exception to this is Nyhavn, one of Copenhagen's neighborhoods, which has undeniable appeal and charm. If there is a more stereotypical Scandanavian neighorhood, I don't know of it. Nyhavn was constructed by popular Danish King Christian V between 1670 to 1675. The harbor was dug by Swedish prisoners of war and provided access from the old inner city at Kongens Nytorv (King's Square) to the sea. [caption id="attachment_44144" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Nyhavn[/caption] Originally Nyhavn was a commercial harbor at which ships from around the world would dock. Most of its colorful buildings were built in the 17th and 18th century, and its docks back then were busy with sailors, fishermen,

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“Pic of the Week”, March 19, 2021: Statue of Hans Christian Andersen, Copenhagen

01 Rathaus and Square. Hans Christian Anderson Square (4)
Hans Christian Andersen is the well know author of many popular fairy tales, like 'The Little Mermaid' and 'The Ugly Duckling'. He was a proud citzen of Denmark, born in Odense but a resident of Copenhagen most of his life. The city has honored its most famous resident with a number of statues and memorials like plaques on homes where he lived. This nice statue is situated beside City Hall on Hans Christian Andersen Blvd, and is very popular with tourists. Hans is holding a book and looking across the road toward Tivoli park. The bronze statue was made by Henry Luckow-Nielsen and installed in 1965. I was interested to learn that H.C. Andersen was a passionate adventurer, making many trips abroad

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“Pic of the Week”, February 12, 2021: Birdhouses of Tivoli

Birdhouses of Tivoli (3)
Spent a pleasant late summer day wandering Tivoli Gardens in downtown Copenhagen.  Within this historic family park we came across this cluster of interesting bird houses. (Click on thumbnails to enlarge, right arrow to advance slideshow) [ngg src="galleries" ids="1043" display="basic_thumbnail"]
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Denmark’s unusual Maritime Museum, Helsingor

00 Maritime Museum
It's a little hard to see Denmark's Maritime Museum until you almost fall into it because it's located entirely below ground level, having been built into an old dry dock.  Because nearby Kronberg Castle is a UNESCO World Heritage site, approval for construction of the museum mandated that it in no way obstruct views of the castle, -- hence this novel approach to its unusual architecture (which has won numerous awards over the past few years).  The Museum opened in 2013, its collection having previously been housed within Kronberg Castle. You descend into the museum, pay a lofty admission (typical it seems of everything in Scandanavia, although admission is included with the cost-effective Copenhagen card), then you

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