Copenhagen - Is this doable?

[LindaAndBillTravel]

We are doing the 10:00 AM Segway tour in Copenhagen. The tour ends at Langelinie pier at 12:30 PM. Will we have time to do both Rosenburg Castle and the Danish Resistance Museum afterwards (we have to be back onboard at 4:30 PM)? How much time should be allocated for each? If we can only do one, which one? Is it correct that both are within walking distance of the ship?

 

Thanks in advance!

[alexandra cruiser]

castle,,maybe you could stop,,and pick up another tour???just a thought,,would also take taxi to castle,,since good 4 mile walk,,on winding streets....esp if time short,,only about $20....didnt see the other one,,but Rosenburg,,great and park next to it beautiful...should have enough time,,,for one...if they leave at 430,,,should be back 1 hr.prior,,,unless already checked in...we dropped off luggage,,,had taxi wait,,then take us to town,,we did HOHO bus and canal tour....but segway looked like fun....:)

[Danish viking]

I´m sorry to correct you Alexandra but if you walked 4 miles to get to Rosenborg the streets was indeed very very winding.

 

The distance is 2,5 kilometers if you take a detour around the resistance museum and it take aprox 15 minutes to from from Langelinie to Resistance museum and again around 15 minutes to get to Rosenborg.

 

 

http://map.krak.dk/m/aFOdp

 

The resistance museum is called Frihedsmuseet and is located in the bottom of the star/turtle shaped fortress called Kastellet and there is free entrance at the museum.

[LindaAndBillTravel]

Thanks for the info on distance, Danish viking. Do you know how much time we should allow to see each?

[Danish viking]

The resistance museum is a little bit small so 30 minutes max but you can easily use 2 hours at Rosenborg if you see it all (castle, crown jewels, baracks and park)

 

You can see the park on the way to and from the castle to safe some time.

[CintiPam]

Just back from our Baltic cruise, and three days pre-cruise in Copenhagen. If you could only do one, I suggest the very historic and lovely Rosenborg Castle over the Resistance Museum. Central Copenhagen is very small and easily walkable, or use the excellent bus system.

[Coolcruise02]

Just back from our Baltic cruise, and three days pre-cruise in Copenhagen. If you could only do one, I suggest the very historic and lovely Rosenborg Castle over the Resistance Museum. Central Copenhagen is very small and easily walkable, or use the excellent bus system.

 

Did you write a review? I would love to hear about your pre-cruise in Copenhagen! :)

[CintiPam]

Did you write a review? I would love to hear about your pre-cruise in Copenhagen! :)

 

I did write a review, but only of the new Oceania Marina due to many requests and a lot of interest regarding this first Oceania newbuild, but I did not review any of the ports. Here's the link:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=85957.

 

We spent three days in Copenhagen pre-cruise at The Square, where we were given the high-floor on the quiet sidestreet room we requested, plus an upgrade. Fabulous location, great concierge service plus a superb breakfast provided on the top floor.

 

Our first afternoon was spent at the Rosenborg Palace and its lovely gardens, where I enjoyed my first granola bar of our trip (Mr. Military History does not like to spend time on lunch while in sightseeing frenzy so I always have a couple with me). After, we did some Rick Steves' guidebook walking tour highlights back down the Stroget to our hotel.

 

The next full day we peeked at the open parts of City Hall and then spent an enormous amount of time at the (free) National Museum, especially the prehistoric sections through Viking periods, an exceptional collection beautifully displayed. We exited just in time to take the English-language tour of the reception rooms at the nearby Christiansborg Palace, followed by a stroll to Nyhavn for ice cream at the famous waffle-cone place I remembered from my previous visit with my sister.

 

We then took the last Netto canal boat cruise of the day after 5:30 PM, which included an unscheduled stop near The Little Mermaid and Amelianborg Palace due to some on board who had overimbibed who simply had to find some facilities pronto!:) We then returned from Nyhavn down the Stroget to our hotel to freshen up for our previously-reserved dinner at Cafe Ultimo in Tivoli and enjoyable visit there at night with the marvelous illuminations. Teitur and Melissa Horn were the folk-type performers at the summer Friday night concert that evening.

 

Our final day we strolled up the Stroget to the Our Neue Lady Church to enjoy the Thorvaldsen sculptures, then visited the Nys Glypotek art museum for several hours, where I gaped endlessly at its two stunning vanGogh's (a favorite painter of mine). Back to the hotel to collect our luggage and board the fabulous Marina to spend 10 days in the alternate universe of cruising luxury.

 

I had spent a few days in Copenhagen with my sister four years ago so I did not return to the excellent Danish Resistance Museum, which I do recommend to you highly.

[TLCOhio]

We spent three days in Copenhagen pre-cruise at The Square, where we were given the high-floor on the quiet sidestreet room we requested, plus an upgrade. Fabulous location, great concierge service plus a superb breakfast provided on the top floor. Our first afternoon was spent at the Rosenborg Palace and its lovely gardens, where I enjoyed my first granola bar of our trip (Mr. Military History does not like to spend time on lunch while in sightseeing frenzy so I always have a couple with me). After, we did some Rick Steves' guidebook walking tour highlights back down the Stroget to our hotel.

 

Glad that things went well on your cruise. Your new ship sounded nice from your detailed review. Happy that things worked well at The Square in Copenhagen. You won't be mad at me for suggesting that hotel and great location. What's your next "adventure"?

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Recently back from a June 7-19 Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 29,246 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[CintiPam]

Glad that things went well on your cruise. Your new ship sounded nice from your detailed review. Happy that things worked well at The Square in Copenhagen. You won't be mad at me for suggesting that hotel and great location. What's your next "adventure"?

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Indeed, thanks once again to Terry for suggesting The Square; we were very pleased. MY next adventure is China (Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai), Taipei and Hong Kong with 15 fellow art docents and our Curator of Asian Art (who is from Taiwan) in mid-October for two weeks.

 

Gerry, still working full time, so only one big trip per year, really would like next to visit Eastern Europe, minimially Krakow, Prague, Budapest, but our son's wedding is early next June, so we are not sure about when next year. We actually are considering a bus tour with friends (Odyssey Travel) rather than our usual Rick Steves' buses and trains. Four years of cruising has spoiled me!:)

 

Where are you off to next?

[Joy2Day]

Another pre-cruise Copenhagen mini-review (may be the start of a larger review?)

 

Getting to the HotelWe arrived in Copenhagen on July 16, took the train from the airport to the central station. I purchased my klippekort (10 ride ticket) from a machine using my ATM card (since it had a pin). A very helpful transit employee explained recommended I purchase the 10-trip 3-zone card. Since my husband and I were traveling, I could clip the card twice to cover both of us. To clip (validate the card), I placed it in the yellow machine on the platform at train, Metro and S-tog stations.

 

We got off the train and made our way to the Imperial Hotel. This was a Saturday afternoon and the sidewalks were quite busy, especially around the train station. Plus we had to dodge bicycles, but we made it.

 

A very pleasant surprise was the hotel location -- across the street from the Vesterport S-tog station.

 

We had booked a superior double room at the Imperial. We'd made the reservations several months ago. About a month before we traveled, we checked their online site and found a prepaid rate that saved us about 20% on the hotel room. The hotel only has 3 small elevators ... but we only found them crowded once when a bus tour was checking in.

 

Our hotel rate included a breakfast buffet of cold cuts, cheeses, breads, cereals, dried fruits, Nutella, scrambled eggs, bacon, fried potatoes, and soft-boiled eggs. Beverages included coffee, juices, milk, and hot water for tea or cocoa.

 

Day One: Open-Air Museum

Our 1st day plans were to go to the Open Air Museum. We took the B train to Sorgenfri. While the bus/train schedules are well-coordinated, we lolly-gagged too much getting up to the bus stop, so we missed the 191 bus to the museum. So we walked about .75 mile to the museum.

 

Just as we arrived, the rain started. Throughout the morning, it continued on and off (but mostly 'on'). We walked around, ending up at the Brede Works museum. From there, we were able to catch a local train (the validate machine is on the train for the local trains) back to the S-tog and back into Copenhagen.

[Joy2Day]

Copenhagen/Baltics Cruise, Part 2 (pre-cruise stay in Copenhagen)

 

Day 2: Fredericksborg Slot

 

We were off fairly early to get to Fredericksborg in time to enjoy the gardens before the 10 am opening. We took the S-tog to Hillerod. (Normally, it is the 'E' line, but this year you take the 'B' line due to track work.) From there, we took bus 301 to the castle. There were a lot of early-birds and everyone was jockeying for their pictures. We got much better pictures after the castle opened.

 

We wandered up and around the gardens ... until 10:30 or so. By then, the initial rush had cleared. After paying our admission, I stashed my backpack in a locker. Every museum has lockers available to stash larger purses and bags. 10 DKK or 20 DKK coins are normally required, and they are returned when open the locker back up.

 

Fredericksborg is a museum that showcases decorating styles and trends through-out the history of the Danish monarchy. As you move through the castle, the timeframe gets more modern.

 

The 3rd floor is a display of paintings mostly. Some are portraits of prominant Danes from the last 100 years. Others are Danish art from the same time period. Once the guard realized we were Americans, he took great pleasure in showing us a painting given to the museum as a personal gift from a former US Ambassador to Denmark. The painting honored modern Danish soldiers, and this guard wanted to be sure that we knew that he appreciated this ambassador's gift.

 

After completing our tour of the slot, we had some lunch in town, then made our way back to the train station. At this point, we decided not to go to the Kronborg castle, so we headed back to Copenhagen.

 

We decided to head for Nyhavn. At the Norreport station, we changed to the Metro to the Kongens Nytorv stop. Then we walked over to Nyhavn for dessert and Irish Coffee. We decided that the breeze was too strong for a canal tour, so we wandered around down Nyhavn until we found ourselves turned around and lost. Once we found the front entrance to Maison du Nord, we finally realized that we were back where we started.

 

From there, we wandered down Stroget, had dinner, and bought some Tshirts. It was looking cloudy, then the wind picked up and the rain started ..... and my umbrella was done for!!!! It was a short-lived storm ... and the sun was out by the time we got back to our hotel.

 

Day 3: Bakken

 

We chose to go to Bakken instead of Tivoli simply because the World Congress of Santas was meeting at Bakken while we were there. Since Bakken opens at noon, we had a late breakfast before heading out.

 

For Bakken, we took the S_tog 'C' line to Klampenborg. Across from the train station, there is a parking lot where people queue for carriage rides to the park. We waited for a while before deciding to walk.

 

Bakken has free admission, and you are free to bring food and drinks into the park. Inside the park, there are picnic grounds, plus Bakken is part of Dyerhavsbakken (Deer Park Hill), so there is a lot of green space around. Each train would bring families with strollers and picnic baskets heading off to the amusement park for the day. The walk to the amusement park is down a tree-lined path. The park itself has many of the same ris I expect to see in a county fair carnival.

 

At first, we didn't see any Santas because they were all in Copenhagen for a parade. As we were eating a late lunch, the Santas returned and we had great seats for the Santa parade. Then we found the Santas congregated at an outdoor ampitheater waiting for a program. There were elves hosting 'Toss Santa's Bag' for kids, Mrs. Claus's dispensing rice pudding and crafts, elves doing face painting, and Santa Claus's posing for photos.

 

There was also a booth where you could buy Christmas Cards to benefit Denmark's Christmas Seal charitable program. We could purchase the cards, write them, address them, then take them to the portable post office set up for the event. The postal clerk sold us the correct stamps and took our cards after she hand-cancelled them with a special World Congress of Santas 2011 stamp.

 

We left the park and took a carriage ride tour of the park on the way back to the train station. From there, we walked down to the beach to enjoy the view before catching our train back to Copenhagen.

 

Day 4 -- Viking Ship Museum

On Wednesday, we headed off to Roskilde to the Viking Ship Museum. The S-togs don't go out to Roskilde, so we took the S-tog from Vesterport to the central station, then got an intercity train to Roskilde, then a city bus out to the museum. Once there, we booked a boat trip with our admission. The island had interesting displays about the history of ship building, types of woods and trees, etc.... At 11 am, we met for our boat trip in a Nordic style ship. This was a participatory trip -- the rowing and sailing was done by us. It was a great adventure!

 

After the boat trip, we headed right over to the Viking Ship Hall to catch a guided tour of the hall. By around 2 pm, we were headed back to the train. The bus wasn't due for a while, so we decided to walk ... and walked right into an 'end of season' sidewalk sale in downtown Roskilde.

 

That evening, we went out to Restaurant Gronnegade for a nice meal. The hotel staff had recommended this restaurant and made the reservations for us. This is a small, intimate restaurant near Kongens Nytorv.

 

Day 5 -- Little Mermaid and Danish Resistance Museum

 

We continued our early-bird ways by getting up early to pack up for the cruise, then headed out for the Little Mermaid. Back on the S-Tog to the Usterport station. We followed the signs to the Little Mermaid ... and found a WWI memorial along the way. After viewing the Little Mermaid, we wandered through the park to the Danish Resistance Museum. Since we were early, we had the opportunity to find a Danish coffee shop to enjoy coffee and a Danish. We toured the museum, made our way back to the Usterport station.

 

At this point, timing becomes crucial. On the transportion system, each validation is good for 1 hour (for 2-zone clips). If we can get from Usterport to the hotel, get the luggage, check out of the hotel, take an S-tog back to Usterport and catch the 26 bus within 1 hour, we only need to use 2 clips on our card ... and we can save the other clips for our post-cruise stay. Unbelievably, we did all that in 36 minutes!!!!

 

And then we waited to board our ship ......

[TLCOhio]

Indeed, thanks once again to Terry for suggesting The Square; we were very pleased. MY next adventure is China (Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai), Taipei and Hong Kong with 15 fellow art docents and our Curator of Asian Art (who is from Taiwan) in mid-October for two weeks. Gerry, still working full time, so only one big trip per year, really would like next to visit Eastern Europe, minimially Krakow, Prague, Budapest, but our son's wedding is early next June, so we are not sure about when next year. We actually are considering a bus tour with friends (Odyssey Travel) rather than our usual Rick Steves' buses and trains. Four years of cruising has spoiled me!:) Where are you off to next?

 

WOW! Your China trip sounds exciting. No major, upcoming trips planned. Just family trips. New grandson in Charlottesville, Va. and wife's brother/family in Kansas for Thanksgiving. Have been to Prague and Budapest. Both are super wonderful. Have you been to nearby Vienna? Great options there in eastern Europe. Have you been up to Columbus lately?

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Recently back from a June 7-19 Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 29,498 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[Danish viking]

That is a nice review and i hope that you liked "my" city.

[Coolcruise02]

Thanks everyone for the reviews and all the helpful info! :)

[CintiPam]

WOW! Your China trip sounds exciting. No major, upcoming trips planned. Just family trips. New grandson in Charlottesville, Va. and wife's brother/family in Kansas for Thanksgiving. Have been to Prague and Budapest. Both are super wonderful. Have you been to nearby Vienna? Great options there in eastern Europe. Have you been up to Columbus lately?

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

We were in Vienna more than thirty years ago (pre-children) and then took the train to Italy, but if we do a bus tour, we will be revisiting there, which is fine.

 

Our son moves back from Columbus to NYC at the end of this month, so no immediate trips back to Columbus planned right now. However, his new NYC apartment has two bedrooms, so I plan to be visiting NYC a lot more often now!

[CintiPam]

Joy2Day,

 

I really enjoyed your mini-review. You really fit a lot of variety into your stay in Copenhagen and commented on several places not often mentioned on this board. (I admit I never heard of Bakken.)

 

BTW, I love your posting name.:)

 

Pam