Day 12 – Thursday 11th
September 2014 – Copenhagen, Denmark
Awake as the
ship was making her approach to the quayside in Copenhagen at Langeline Pier on
another warm sunny day.
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| Queen Victoria |
Breakfast in
the Britannia Restaurant of eggs benedict, and all set up for a day ashore in
the Danish capital. I was looking
forward to this one, as I must have been in Copenhagen about fifty times during
my sea-going days.
We used to come in and take bunkers (load fuel oil) but in
the time allowed, I never made it ashore.
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A short walk
from the ship is one of the city’s most famous landmarks, the statue of Hans
Christian Andersen’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ which sits on a rock in the
Copenhagen harbour at Langeline.
The statue
was commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen, son of the founder of Carlsberg,
after he had been fascinated by a ballet about the fairy tale. The number of tour buses here signifies its
popularity and I was amazed, at how close you could get to the statue, with no
visible security.
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| Town Hall Square |
A stroll
back to the cruise terminal quay and boarded the No.26 bus to Radhuspladsen
(Town Hall Square)
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| Tivoli |
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| Tivoli |
Tivoli
Gardens, these world-famous gardens, which opened in 1843 is situated between
the Town Hall Square and the Central Rail Station.
The gardens
have a large variety of entertaining distractions with an amusement park which
has something for all ages. Some of the
rides were hair-raising; this did not seem to bother of the kids, who were all
having a great time.
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| Moray Eel |
Into the
aquarium and just in time for feeding in the large tank, this was magical to
watch, though it did not manage to incite the moray eel out of his hide-away.
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| Palace |
A wonderful
two and half hours were spent in Tivoli and time to move on, with a walk along
to the island on which Christainsborg Palace stands, where Bishop Absalon built
his castle and founded Copenhagen in 1167. The magnificent Royal Reception
Rooms richly decorated with art, chandeliers, gold and marble are still used by
the Queen for state dinners, banquets and receptions.
 |
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| Nyhavn |
Further on
and you come to Nyhavn, originally a busy commercial port.
Hans
Christian Andersen used to live in no.20 and this is where he wrote some of his
famous fairy-tales. Today the old port
is dominated by classy restaurants and beautiful wooden boats.
Found our
way back to the bus route and returned to the ship on the No.26 bus. All on board for 16.30 and the ship left
after an adventurous day ashore at 17.45.
Dinner
consisted of soup, rib-eye steak, followed by coconut cake, delightful
once more.
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| Ice Dragon |
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| Choc Chefs |
Tonight, went
into the Lido Restaurant where the executive chef and his ingenious culinary
team prepared their famed ‘Chocolate & Ice Buffet’
.
You can only
admire the fantastic ice carvings and sugar sculptures, if you are inclined and
a choc-o-holic, indulge in the mouth-watering chocolate desserts.
Spoke with
Bobby, the person who was responsible and maker of the ice-carvings, a
fascinating insight into his creations.
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| Nitish,, Jasmine, Svetlana |
Also at this
extravaganza was our Sommelier, Nitish, his wife Svetlana and daughter
Jasmine. It was wonderful to see them
there, I had no idea the wine waiter had his family on holiday with him.
I got to thank Svetlana personally for the
information she had found out about my Grandfather. It was another of the many unexpected
surprises, I was having on this cruise.
Finished the
day in the Commodore Club, it had been grand at last, to see the centre of
Copenhagen, the icing on the cake, meeting Svetlana.
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