Pops' Travel Guide, Copenhagen

After visiting the relatives in Holeby we had time to see Copenhagen and to see my cousin David and his girlfriend Stine. In all of Europe, Copenhagen is one of my favorite cities. For one thing, there is a lot of water from the canals and lakes and the sea. Also, there is a lot of history with castles and palaces, museums, government buildings and churches. When the weather is nice I like to grab a beer and a hot dog from one of the hot dog wagons and relax. There are plenty of places to do that. The Danes appreciate the weather when the sun is out and enjoying the outdoors is a must.

On this day we went on a walking tour of the city. Starting from our hotel near Tivoli we headed toward Nyhavn, the royal palace and then along the waterfront to one of my favorite fountains of a Norse God on a chariot in water (The Gefion Fountain).

David wanted to meet at a restaurant called Almanak "The Standard" for lunch which is in the former Custom House. The Almanak is owned by the same owner of Noma which is ranked as the #1 restaurant in the world. The Almanak is noted for it's open faced Danish sandwiches and sits along the waterfront. We sat outside and enjoyed two open faced sandwiches each with beer. We were also able to catch up with David on what's been going on in his life. After lunch we headed over to Christiania, also know as Freetown, an old army base taken over by hippies and has it's own society and legalized marijuana. Then later the Our Savior Church which has a steeple with stairs on the outside of the steeple and a great view of the city. Later we went to Davids condo which is fairly new with a view of the water and Copenhagen. We picked up Stine and headed to a restaurant (Cocks and Cows) that specializes in hamburgers. I think the owner wanted it to be Americanized so the menu had some interesting items. One of note was a hamburger with salsa, guacamole, jalapeno peppers and cheddar cheese called "The Illegal". When we pointed out that we didn't think we could get away with calling a burger with Mexican ingredients "The Illegal" in the states David had no idea what the name meant. After we explained it to him he got a good laugh. They also had "The Governator" and "The Juicy Lucy" as well as steaks, chicken and ribs. Their link is below if you want to check it out on your next trip.

We then went to a nice bar in a converted apartment not far from the restaurant. After having drinks for about an hour David and Stine left for home and we left in search of another bar. Tuesday nights are slow in Copenhagen but we found an Irish Pub called "The Dubliner" along the walking street and settled in there. After more Guinness and the fact that the bar closed on us we left for the hotel. I have always felt safe walking in Copenhagen, even late at night. It was after 2am, the streets were fairly empty, but it was a good walk.

Here are some URL's of places we went to:

The Standard

Cocks and Cows

Best Bars in Copenhagen

One more partial day in Copenhagen and then we leave for Prague.