Autumn Travels: Copenhagen Part 2

On our third day we decided to venture out of Copenhagen and took the train to Denmark's ancient capital, Roskilde. It was only a 25 minute train journey, and was covered by our Copenhagen Cards. 

The Roskilde Cathedral, or Domkirke, is where many of the kings and queens of Denmark are buried. Unusually the current Queen's tomb has already been constructed, but is covered with a wooden case and will not be unveiled until after her death - at her request it includes a bench around it for people to sit on! The cathedral was built in the 12th and 13th centuries on the site of at least two older churches and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

Only in Denmark would your find a tricycle parked inside a church, being used as a mobility scooter by an elderly gentleman!

After visiting the Domkirke we walked through a park down the the fjord, where there is a Viking Museum. By this time we were getting hungry, and had assumed we would be able to find lunch somewhere near the sea. However the museum restaurant was rather more upmarket than we were looking for, and other places were shut because it was out of season, so we turned round and walked back into the city centre where we found a cafe and had a slightly larger lunch than we intended! 

By mid-afternoon we were back in Copenhagen so we went for a walk around the picturesque Nyhavn, the canals of Christianshavn, and Freetown Christiania - an abandoned military base which was taken over by squatters in the early 1970s and put in place its own rules and regulations (including 'legalising' cannabis, which was sold there openly on the aptly names Pusher Street). These days it is part commune and part flea market. In the evening we went back to the Tivoli Food Hall for something to it. None of us were very hungry after our large lunch!

On our final day our flight home was not until late afternoon, so we had a few hours to explore some more of the city. We caught a train out to the eastern side of the city and went to see the famous Little Mermaid statue. 

To get to the statue we walked through the grounds of the Citadel. Built in the 17th century, it is an odd mix of military base and public park. 

On the way back we went through the barracks and did a complete circuit of the five sided park, which for some odd reason includes a windmill. 

We then walked to the Rosenborg Castle and through the King's Gardens. By that time we only had about 40 minutes left before we needed to head back for lunch at Tivoli and to pick up our bags from our hotel, so we decided on a quick visit to the Botanic Gardens which are on the opposite side of the road to the Castle. 

The park part of the Botanic Gardens is free to enter and was beautifully autumnal. The Copenhagen Cards gave us access to the greenhouses and the palm house, and we just had time for a quick tour before hopping onto a train back to the Central station before our 72 hour cards expired. Even though we packed a lot into our four days, there was still plenty more we could have seen and done. This lovely, friendly, relaxed city is definitely one we hope to return to someday.