Copenhagen

To save money.. we decided to sleep over at Arlanda Airport before our early morning flight to Copenhagen..

Copenhagen.. the Capital of Denmark! I know many of you would have had a bad impression of the city considering what happened to Wei Sing (see previous post).. But trust me.. according to many people.. Scandinavian countries are way way way way safer than places like Spain or Italy.. so it was really a coconut tree in the wind* (explanation at the bottom of the post) kinda situation for her..

Copenhagen is a really beautiful city. I especially love the Nyhaven, and Christiania is also an interesting (but scary) place. BUT..... this place is @%#$# expensive. The most expensive place i've been to.. 20% more more expensive than Helsinki.. Kill people set fire!

Nontheless.. not considering the stolen bag incident.. i felt that we had a pretty good time there =)

The church right in front of our hostel..

Street leading to our hostel

Now we were truly blessed with wonderful weather.. on the way from the hostel to the city centre.. we took our time.. stopped by a lake and a small park.. Having time to enjoy the city at a leisurely pace feels so good. =)

Swans came swimming to us.. thinking we had food

More swans =)

In this random park there were many weird statues.. like 1 of 2 naked guys wrestling

In Copenhagen, Spring has already arrived! We were quite happy to see green..

The Copenhagen City Hall

There were many pigeons in the city square.. not to mention sausage stands =)

*Cut the story short.. Wei Sing's bag got stolen.. blar blar blar.. and we ended up in the railway station after reporting the case*

Outside the Railway Station.. check out the number of bicycles!

The railway station is actually quite old and nice..and very well preserved too

Bob the builder

Hot with the girls!

Copenhagen is a really bike friendly city. With bicycle lanes and separate traffic lights for bikes.. everyone seems to be cycling! Dean would absolutely love being in the city. It took us a while before realising we shouldn't be walking on the bicycle lanes.. and to understand the traffic light system.. but we got it after a while =).. This fella above must have felt fed up with people stealing his bike.. chaining it up on the fence..

Entrance to Christiansborg Castle..

Canals and waterways

Christiansborg Castle

Royal Library and some museum

Inside the Theatre Church (Strangest interior of any church i've seen)

We needed to go to the toilet.. so we went in search for one! Of coz we had to find one that was nice, clean and free.. haha

We chose the nice glassy building next to the water.. =)

Entrance of the Library

Looking across the canal.. Its easy to see how the old quaint buildings have survived amongst the modern ones.. creating interesting contrast and character..

The walk towards Christianshavn was totally enjoyable.. this was what i was talking about.. the Nyhaven.. pretty houses next to the canals.. boats and all.. the life!

The background is so.. postcard =)

I love the way the boats line up

"i want a picture with the pretty houses behind me!"

Tourist tour boat passing by..

I can so imagine relaxing by the water with some coffee..

All the cream and pastel colours

Enjoy the sights of the city!

Christiania.. how do i start? The Freetown of Christiania is basically a partially self governing neighbourhood. We can't take pictures of the insides coz we might get stabbed.. haha.. Kidding la.. but basically.. this place basically accepts anyone who wants to come in.. where the homeless, addicts, the rejects can gather.. After some time.. it has evolved into something totally unique.. cannot find somewhere like tat anywhere else in the world.. To us.. it was quite scary and quite simply plain disturbing..

Look up, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freetown_Christiania, for more details..

Photos stop here.. inside.. picture bonfires, pitt bull terriers and more graffiti

Food was generally expensive.. but we're glad to have had 2 really nice meals.. ChilliMili.. and at Samos. ChilliMili is actually like a salad bar kinda thing.. with huge portions.. and a large variety to choose from.. yummy! Samos is actually a Greek buffet.. not cheap.. but totally worth it.. haha..

Morning hot chocolate and newspapers.. at the hostel..

I'm so glad to have picked up a copy of International Herald Tribune from the plane.. i totally took being able to read English newspapers for granted.. Anyway.. we continued our Copenhagen exploration..

Statue of the warrior Bishop Absalon.. founder of Copenhagen

Inside the City Hall.. we couldn't tour the building as they were closing..

Ice Cream anyone?

I forgot what this ship is called! haha.. anyway its near Amalienborg Castle.. the Royal Family's winter residence..

The Marble Church.. really impressive!

Made with white marble all round.. with a massive dome!

Lots of intricate wall carvings at the altar..

We were following this walking route on our maps.. which led us to the Copenhagen Fortress.. we took a long long walk around it.. getting a nice view in the process..

We finally arrived at our destination.. the must-visit of Copenhagen.. the Little Mermaid! Hans Christian Anderson is from here remember? But we had to wait.. queuing up to have our picture taken haha

Waiting in line..

And there she is! The really little Little Mermaid

The Gefion Fountain.. the largest monument/fountain in Copenhagen.. located at the waterfront

Our 3rd day in Copenhagen was a Sunday.. nothing was open except the Museums!.. So we visited the free one of course.. the National Museum of Denmark.. too many pictures to show..

Danish prehistory.. some weird big cow looking thing!

Some bodies were very well preserved because apparently the ancient people used special burial chambers

These huge stones were erected to mark significant events in history..

The painting looks distorted.. but the image is clear when you look at the reflection on the cylinder!

One of the many hallways

Well preserved chariot.. is has an outer covering of Gold!

Pink warriors

The Princess with her bodyguard (Pukes)

Hans Christian Anderson outside the City Hall

The last day in Copenhagen was spent visiting the Singapore Consulate (again.. see previous post.. Wei Sing's Copenhagen Ordeal).. We returned to Helsinki that evening.. wondering to ourselves.. how much more could we have enjoyed ourselves if the stupid fella didn't take Wei Sing's bag..

Next place i visited... the capital of Estonia.. Tallinn! Look out for future blog entry



* Why did the coconut tree get struck by lightning? Ans: Coz the coconut tree SWAY.. =)