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Christmassy Weekend in Copenhagen

Posted in Explore by
Christmas Weekend Copenhagen

Last weekend we visited one of the most Christmassy cities in the world, Copenhagen! We had a wonderful time, and packed a lot into our short break! Have a read of what we got up to below

Day One

Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen

We arrived in Copenhagen at lunchtime, and after checking into our hotel we headed out for a wander around the city.  We had a look around Amalienborg Palace, the winter residence of the Danish Queen.   We then wandered down Nyhavn, the very picturesque harbour area and stopped for a Julebryg (Danish Christmas beer) and a Gløgg in one of the Christmas markets. In the evening we explored Tivoli Gardens for more festiveness. Tivoli is the oldest theme park in the world, located in the city centre, it’s transformed into a Christmas wonderland for the duration of December.

Day Two

Christmas Market in Malmö

On day two we got the train across the Øresund to spend the day in Malmö in Sweden.  Malmö is the third largest city in Sweden but is considered part of the Copenhagen metropolitan area. Skåne, the southernmost county in Sweden, was actually under Danish control until 1658. As a side note, it is Skåne that gives its name to the whole of Scandinavia. As we spent the day in Sweden we had meatballs for lunch, we think it is the law.

In the evening we headed back to Copenhagen to explore Vesterbro, the former working-class district that is now a fashionable area to go out in the evening. There are lots of great bars and restaurants, we chose a cosy looking basement bar that had good beer and burgers.

Day Three

Kronborg castle in Helsingør

Today we’ve got the train up to the north of Zealand to Kronborg castle in Helsingør.

Famous for being where Shakespeare’s Hamlet is set, Kronborg is a gorgeous renaissance castle overlooking Øresund straights to Sweden, just 2.5 miles across the water. It is a fascinating place to visit, and today the castle had a Christmas market on to add to its charm.

Helsingør is a wonderful and jolly little town. It was busy today with Christmas shoppers enjoying their community. There were carol singers, a marching band and all sorts of shops and market stalls doing a roaring trade. 

Copenhagen Christmas Market

In the afternoon we headed back into the city to do a bit more exploring. We went to Torvehallerne, a food market with lots of exciting offerings from around the world. We then climbed the Rundetaarn, a 17th-century observatory with great views over the city.

This evening we had a couple of mugs of gløgg with friends that live in the city before having dinner of Danish roast pork followed by æbleskiver, a sort of spherical pancake eaten at Christmas.

Day Four

We decided to take things easy today after cramming so much into the last few days. This morning we went on a canal boat tour around the harbour, things like this might be very touristy but they are popular for a reason! We managed to get some great shots of Nyhavn, one of the most picturesque bits of the city!

We then went and had a look around the royal reception rooms at Christiansborg Palace. The palace is not actually The Queen’s residence but is instead the home to the Danish parliament. The royal reception rooms are however where The Queen undertakes most of her duties as the constitutional monarch. 

After a spot of lunch, we did some Christmas shopping in the upmarket department stores, and had a look round the gorgeous Christmas decoration in the Royal Copenhagen shop. In the evening we headed back to Tivoli gardens for more Gløgg, julebryg and æbleskiver! We really got into the Danish Christmas traditions!

Day Five

Copenhagen Weekend

Bye bye, Copenhagen, this was our second visit to the city and again we are struck by just how livable the city is. It is beautiful and charming, it is fashionable but not aloof. It is a big enough city without being overwhelming.

The city also really comes into its own at Christmas time. Decorations are everywhere, Lights are put up in every window and candles and lanterns are so prevalent it’s surprising there aren’t more fires! The Christmas markets may not be as old as their Germanic counterparts but they are still fun to walk around with a mug of Gløgg. Tivoli gardens really sparkle with its Christmas decorations and make us feel just like big kids. The city, in general, is completely in the Christmas spirit, and who can blame them!

To those that haven’t been we cannot recommend Copenhagen at Christmas time enough! We’ll be back, we are sure of that.

Find out more about Christmas in Copenhagen at Visit Copenhagen

Christmas Weekend Copenhagen

10th December 2016
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Top Five | Start of Advent

Posted in Top Five by
Top Five

It has been another busy weekend for us as we prepare for a weekend break and start to think about how we will be decorating the cottage for Christmas.  Let’s look at out Top Five and what has kept up going this week.

One

toy advent set

Sunday just gone was the first Advent in Christmas.  Being dutiful God-Parents to our Godson Dexter we gave him a toy Nativity set to start the Advent celebrations. We have yet to find a Nativity set that we agree on, but are hopeful we will find one soon.

Two

Christmas Movies

We have a tradition of watching Christmas movies through December to get us in the mood for Christmas.  We started with the 1942 classic “Holiday Inn”.  We will spend the rest of the month trying to make sure we fit all the movies in before our final movie, a Muppets Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve.

Three

Ikea Candles

We made a little trip to Ikea on Sunday to pick some items to make our Christmas gifts.  As it is either illegal or impossible to leave Ikea without buying candles we left the store with a large number of them.  We will be using them throughout Christmas as they help make the cottage cosy.

Four

Advent Calendars

We like a good advent calendar and this year we have decided to go for a traditional one, ie without chocolate in it, and found this vintage looking one in John Lewis.  Don’t worry, we will still have a chocolate one and will be including the cat and dog as they will also be getting special pet friendly ones too.

Five

Off to Copenhagen

We are off to Copenhagen on Thursday for a short weekend, start of Christmas break.  This is the second time we are going and are looking forward to the fairy tale feel in the city.  It is also predicted to snow, which is equally as exciting.

28th November 2016
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Planning our trip to Copenhagen

Posted in Explore by
Copenhagen Planning

We are very excited, we have just booked for a long weekend in Copenhagen for the beginning of December.  This will be Calum’s second visit to the city, and Rich’s third. We pondered heading to another European city but after going through all the pros and cons of elsewhere we kept on coming back to Copenhagen. We loved it last time we went together and are looking forward to getting to know the city even better.

What to do?

We are visiting on the first weekend of December and are planning on doing our Christmas shopping in the City. Aside from that we have come up with some suggestions on what to do:

  • Wander around Tivoli Gardens to see the Christmas lights
  • Climb Rundetaarn for views of the city
  • Visit Amalienborg to learn about the Royal Family
  • Cross the Øresund Bridge to visit Malmö

Suggestions welcome!

What else do you think we should we do? Do you know of any great bars, pubs or restaurants that we should visit? And what should we eat and drink? Are there any must-see museums or attractions? We’d love to hear your suggestions, so let us know in the comments or drop us a message on any of our social media channels.  We look forward to hearing from you!

 

Copenhagen Planning

21st September 2016
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