By Emily Reisch and Jon Minor

The journey from Århus to Copenhagen started with the same small problems travelers seem to experience everywhere they go. This time, we almost missed the bus (literally) because we couldn’t find the station.

Copenhagen is the home of Hans Christian Andersen and visitors are reminded of this everywhere. Near the harbor there’s a statue of Den Lille Havfrue, a tribute to his story “The Little Mermaid.” The tiny statue is probably the biggest tourist attraction in Denmark. We took photos of the crowds of pushing tourists trying to get a photo with the statue.

Nyhavn is a canal originally built in 1673 to enable merchant ships to reach the center of town. The tall, flat houses are brightly painted in blue, yellow, green and red. Hans Christian Andersen lived in three different houses here.

We sampled traditional Danish cuisine at a sidewalk café. Emily had stjerneskud, which is fried fish and steamed fish on toast topped with prawns. Jon had hakkebøf -- minced beef with soft onions, potatoes and gravy. It was delicious!

On a canal tour, we were impressed with the guide’s linguistic ability. She gave the tour in English, Danish, German and Dutch.
Floating through the canals was a great way to see and learn more about different areas of the city. Many old warehouses along the water have been renovated into very expensive waterfront apartments.

Windows seem to define many buildings in Copenhagen. The ex-warehouses have many perfect rows of white-framed windows. The headquarters of the world’s largest shipping company are in a modern white building with blue tinted windows. They shine and slightly change color as you look at them. It’s known as “the building with blue eyes.”

The colorful buildings of Nyhavn have very large, rectangular four-paned windows that cover the majority of the wall. The Royal Library has a new extension that’s almost all glass. It’s called “den Sorte Diamant”, or “the Black Diamond”, because of its black mirror finish.

We often wonder just how old people think we are, since Jon is mistaken for Emily’s father occasionally. When we were buying bus tickets, the cashier asked Jon, ”How old is she?” Her jaw dropped when Jon replied, ”Twenty-three.” Children 12 and under ride the bus for free.

One of the most interesting places to visit is Christiania. In 1971, a group of hippies took over an area that the military had just left. They proclaimed it a free state. Christiania was allowed to continue as a social experiment in communal living.

Christiania has no laws, but three bans. No hard drugs, no weapons and no violence. It has a very artistic atmosphere, with very colorful buildings painted with graffiti-like murals. We decided that it was fun to visit, but a little too run-down for our living preference.

We got a birds-eye view of the city from an old church tower. The foundation of Vor Frelsers Kirke was laid in 1682. The main feature of this church is the spire. We climbed 400 steps to the top of the 300-foot tower. Narrow, worn wooden steps wind around inside the tower until the spire. The spire’s 150 steps spiral around the outside, narrowing until they end at the top.

The climb was dizzying. Watching our feet climb the narrowing steps while looking out over the city made us nervous, even though we aren’t afraid of heights. Looking down upon the city with the wind blowing made us realize us just how high up and exposed we were.

We also visited a few of Copenhagen’s many castles. Amalienborg Palace is the Copenhagen residence of the royal family of Denmark. It is accented by the massive Gefion Fountain in nearby Amaliehaven. Rosenborg Slot houses the crown jewels and is surrounded by the beautiful Kongens Have gardens. Although dampened by rain, we still walked the moat of the 17th century star-shaped citadel, Kastellet.

Aside the rich cultural history of Copenhagen, its city parks and botanical gardens were a pleasant escape from the busy city.

Our next article will give you a taste of the home of peppermint candy.