Exploring Copenhagen

Once again we had a bit of a slow start to the day. We had no specific agenda, but decided to just wander around the city and see where we ended up. We made our way towards the city centre, which is only a couple of blocks away, and found ourselves in Kongens Nytorv (the King’s New Square). We wandered about taking some photos of the old Opera House and the beautiful dahlias in the garden in the middle when I heard some drumming and flute music playing. Soon an Army Marching Band appeared, which drew a big crowd. This was the procession leading to the changing of the guard. It occurs each day when they march from Rosenborg Castle at 11.30 am to reach Amalienborg Palace - where King Fred and Queen Mary hang out - at midday for the changing of the guard ceremony.

After the band had marched on, we made our way towards Nyhavn (New Harbour) a small harbour with lovely colourful buildings lining the sunny side. Hans Christian Andersen used to live in one of the houses. His dream was to become a ballet dancer, but apparently he was too clumsy and became a successful children’s book author instead. We planned to take a cruise around the canals but first we needed some lunch. I took Ian to a favourite cafe that Brigitte and I discovered when we visited 2 years ago. So, we made our way to Segall’s which was only a few blocks away.

We were early enough to snag a table inside and I was pleased to see that Sebastian the owner was still running the place. I had a Roastbeef Smørrebrød (open faced sandwich) and Ian had homemade tomato soup with cheesy toast. I had a glass of red wine, which we shared. For dessert, we had a piece of spicy pumpkin cake and a piece of chocolate cake with a coffee. The food was as good as I remembered, and the service excellent.

After lunch, we made our way back to Nyhavn to purchase tickets on the canal tour. We had to line up and wait for the boat to return and, while we were waiting, met a lovely young Canadian couple and their two young girls. It was nice talking to them about travel and the challenges of travelling with two young ones. They were chuffed that we recognised their accent as Canadian and not American. When it was time to board we helped them, as mum carried the 9 month old, dad had to carry the pram and so we helped their 4 year old, Jordan, down the narrow stairs and onto the boat. We nabbed some seats up front and outside as we were appropriately dressed and wanted unfettered views. They opted for inside, so we said our goodbyes.Read more