Day 4: Art Treasures and Candy Floss

Copenhagen is beautiful. Everywhere you look the old meets the new in Danish architecture and design.  I love how canals wind through the city while canal boats ply the water passing under low bridges.

Just a short stroll from our hotel, down cobblestone streets,  is Rosenborg Castle. It's situated in a beautiful park setting with gardens and footpaths.  Inside we saw elegantly decorated rooms with all sorts of antiquities ranging from pipes and ceiling wax stamps to Flora Danica Porcelain. Flora Danica Is decorated with mushrooms, herbs, and flowers, all painted to scale.



On the grounds of the castle are the traditional soldiers seen at old world castles, but outside the main entrance of Rosenborg were soldiers dressed in modern military outfits holding intimidating weapons. It was clear these soldiers meant business and I soon found out why. In the treasury are royal crowns and jewelry set with diamonds, pearls, emeralds, and amber.  They were exquisite.



After lunch while walking through the pedestrian zone we saw a crowd gathered around two street entertainers. One was holding a pole while the other appeared to be levitating. No one could figure it out and it was fun to watch people walk by and do a double take.



Not far from the main shopping area is NY Carlsberg Glyptotek. Thanks to the generosity of the Carlsberg family (Carlsberg Brewery), a staggering collection of art ranging from ancient Egyptian to paintings by Monet, Gaugin, and even Van Gogh are on display in a building that is a work of art too. In the center is a sunny winter atrium with tall palm trees, statues, and fish pools. The museum is a place of complete calmness only interrupted in one room by the screams from a roller coaster tearing past the window at Tivoli.

No visit to Copenhagen is complete without a visit to Tivoli. It's Europe's oldest amusement park. Although there are roller coasters and other thrill rides, much of the park has retained  rides which are probably over 75 years old and are very popular.There are old wooden boats, bumper cars, and little trains. We played an old fashion wooden horse racing game. Treats sold included old fashion licorice sticks and candy floss.



Before leaving the park we had coffee in an outdoor garden overlooking fountains and a stage where  big band music played while people danced. The lights of the park which twinkled in the night sky looked beautiful. Just beyond the park's entrance I could see the tall hotel where my parents stayed on their first trip to Europe in 1963. Looking out their window, I am sure they could have seen this very spot in the park. It seemed like a perfect ending to our first trip to Copenhagen.