Tag: Tivoli Gardens (page 1 of 1)

Tivoli at Christmas

This is not the first time we have visited Tivoli at Christmas. It is always on our list of “To-Do’s”, when we go to Denmark.

Already a magical wonderland to begin with, Tivoli transforms into an enchanting fairytale world during Christmas. The smell of hot apple cider and Æbleskiver, permeate the air. Stalls selling hot dogs and Christmas roast pork sandwiches are dotted along the paths as well as cabins selling Christmas goodies.

This year we visited the Honningkageslottet (Honey Cake Castle). Here you could not only “watch” the elves make the honey cakes, which is made using the honey harvested from Tivoli’s bees, but you could also buy a honey cake to decorate yourself. We bought one to eat and one to decorate. The smell of honey, spices and chocolate infusing the air was intoxicating.

Whatever season we visit this fairytale land in, I am always amazed at the gardens and hanging baskets. I know they work tirelessly to keep it looking so magical. The planning that goes into the design layout is months and months of work. It is a feast for the eyes.

Tivoli will pick over a thousand trees for Christmas. All of them will be adorned with lights in the forest, before they are cut down; so they are ready to be placed amongst the gardens upon their arrival. The smell of all that fresh greenery walking around that Christmas tree farm, well it would just be Heaven!

Copenhagen: Places

Giraffes at Tivoli

Giraffes at Tivoli

This is my last Copenhagen post for this visit. We explored two new spots this time and some old haunts as well. The Arken Museum for Modern Art and Frederiksborg Castle have been on our list for awhile. We had beautiful sunny days on both occasions so the walk around the lake and on the beach in both instances were breathtaking.

A visit to Copenhagen never seems to be complete unless we stroll around Tivoli’s beautiful gardens. The night we were there we hit the dance floor and took a spin along with the Big Band that was playing. They were fantastic! Afterwards we stayed to watch the fireworks and stayed cozy under the heaters, while sitting on sheepskin rugs and drinking hot chocolate. It was a perfect evening.

Oh Copenhagen, as always, I can’t wait to return!

 

Arken Museum, Homage to the Hunters from Mande, Abdoulaye Donate

Arken Museum, Homage to the Hunters from Mande, Abdoulaye Donate

Arken Museum, Lady with Anemone, Gerda Wegener

Arken Museum, Lady with Anemone, Gerda Wegener

Arken Museum, Circle of Animals, Ai WeiWei

Arken Museum, Circle of Animals, Ai WeiWei

Arken Museum, National Career Lamp, Olafur Eliasson

Arken Museum, National Career Lamp, Olafur Eliasson

A stroll on the beach outside of the Arken Museum

A stroll on the beach outside of the Arken Museum

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Frederiksborg Castle

Frederiksborg Castle, Fountain

Frederiksborg Castle, Fountain

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Frederiksborg Castle, Ballroom

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Frederiksborg Castle, Zodiac Globe

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Frederiksborg Castle, Door entryway

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Eating candy and watching the sunset

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Watching the sailboats in the Sound

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A full moon

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Lights at the Tivoli Candy Store

Copenhagen: Tivoli

Jennifer Michie Tivoli 1

Our latest Copenhagen adventure was filled with long walks, delicious food, art and of course a trip to Tivoli. Everywhere we went, candles were lit and pumpkins glowed; it was so cozy. The weather was frosty, the air was brisk – it truly felt like fall.

Once again, we were awed by the magic of the park. It was entirely decked out for Halloween. Hay bales and pumpkins were everywhere! Rides had even been transformed for the festive season and each of the many restaurants were in on the act with their own ghostly decorations.

Jennifer Michie Tivoli 2

Little Halloween huts were dotted around, selling Halloween goodies; delicious food, hot chocolate and freshly fried doughnuts. I treated Mr. Michie to a hot dog (his favourite) and he bought me an adorable black satin witch’s hat to wear for Halloween.

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Normally, we just stroll through the grounds and don’t go on the rides, but this time we bought tickets at a kiosk and went on the ‘Flying Trunk‘ ride, which is based around a collection of Hans Christian Andersen’s stories. It was adorable! This was my one blurry snap of The Little Mermaid:

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As the sun went down and day turned to night, the lights slowly came on and scarecrow pumpkins glowed everywhere. Tivoli is such a magical place!

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Mr. Michie and I headed back to our apartment filled with the spirit of Halloween.

Christmas in Denmark

Jennifer Michie Copenhagen 1

It’s only February, I’m not too late to share this post with you, right? Well, I hope not, life is just whizzing by me at the moment and I have yet to manage to get this post finished and out. So, I’m crossing it off of my To-Do list and sharing my love of Copenhagen with you, because after recent events, Copenhagen needs all the love we can give it.

I’m sure you guessed from some of my previous photographs over the month of December and my opening statement, that we in fact, spent Christmas in Copenhagen.It was BEAUTIFUL! It snowed on Christmas day and little bits here and there after that. It was frosty, there were paper stars lit and hanging in everyone’s windows, Christmas trees twinkling in front of apartment buildings and shops. It was magical.

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We walked and walked and walked and discovered and explored some areas we had not been to previously. We visited Tivoli and their magical Alpine Christmas market. It was even more dazzling as it had snowed the day before and fresh snow blanketed everything in sight. All of the Christmas Market shops were set up in little chalets and on the back of them a bird house was attached with silhouettes of birds and hearts and stars. These “bird houses” were the boxes that housed the smoke machine that would send smoke plumming out of the chimneys on the little shingled roofs like a real house. It was very cozy, indeed!

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There were Christmas trees lit around the Alpine Christmas village. The lights twinkling out from the snow laden branches. We stopped at Andersons to taste the famous pork sandwich that they only serve during this festive season and of course we picked up some mandelhorns for dessert! We saw the water and light show in the lake, scored to The Nutcracker and picked up a few surprises for family and friends.

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When we felt too cold we would grab a hot chocolate or find a coal pit they had set out in various places of the park to stand with others and warm our hands. We finished our evening with a strawberry jam and sugar crepe from a charming little stall and sat in a sleigh to eat it, very romantic! Oh, these are the things that dreams are made of!

We visited the Louisiana Museum again and I got to walk in The Riverbed! I made it! It was also a red letter day because I finally got to see a Louise Bourgeois spider in person, it has become a running joke with us, as every time I have had the opportunity to see one in person we have missed it for one reason or another.

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I love museums but I do have a few favorites and the Louisiana is in the top 10! Of course looking at all this gorgeous artwork builds up an appetite and we needed to stop for a snack! I chose this amazing looking apple roulade. Needless to say, I ate every single bite!

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The Louisiana at night:

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We made a few more discoveries this time, playing get lost and winding through beautiful neighborhoods and shopping districts. We feasted on delicious food and went to Emmery’s for hot coffee and fresh chocolate cinnamon buns for breakfast. We watched the snow softly fall while we sat bundled up on the couches, with the view of the river stretched out before our floor to ceiling windows. The riverboats going by were strewn with lights and one of the water buses even had a little tree perched on the back of the boat.

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I think that Denmark is a land of dreams. It is a place I could quite happily pick up and move to without a second thought. As soon as I leave, I long to return. Hopefully it won’t be too long as I hear those streets calling my name.

This was our view as we were packing up to leave:

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Of course when checking out, you have to write your name on the wall:

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Somehow a stowaway managed to get into our luggage. We found this little nisse bundled up in our bed!

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Copenhagen: Part 1

Jennifer Michie Copenhagen

Oh, Copenhagen! Where do I begin? You are a magical city that completely enthralled and enchanted me. It is simply a beautiful city. The architecture was quite a heady mix of old versus a clean minimalist cosmopolitan appearance. Both worked in tandem with each other to create a unique city.

We like to be adventurers when we travel so after landing in Copenhagen airport, we got our luggage, bought tickets and headed to the train station underneath the airport. We made our way to Islands Brygge and headed for our hotel. It was gorgeous. It was a ginormous loft apartment/hotel that we just fell in love with. Floor to ceiling windows that slid or opened like a door. It allowed us to let in so much fresh air and we could sit on the couch and just look out over the water. Bliss!

We got settled, ran to the grocery store attached to our building, it was called Irma’s and was completely adorable. We ate some lunch and then headed into the city. Now our apartment was located about a 15/20 min walk outside of the city center, which suited us just fine.

Jennifer Michie Copenhagen Stores

The adorable Irma’s sign and a delicious cinnamon roll from Emmery’s

We had a lovely stroll along the water and over the bridge. The bikes! Oh, the bikes! I don’t bike in London, it is just too congested, but here, I would bike. I loved the many bikes that had a beautiful wooden cart on the front to put your children, your groceries or your dog. Or, in some cases, all three! I couldn’t get over the fact how bikes were just lined up along walls, with only a small lock secured around the spokes. In England, bikes are locked by the wheels and then locked to a rack and a million other things to make sure they are secured. Here, no one seemed to worry, there was such a lovely element of trust.

Jennifer Michie H.C. Andersen

Jennifer Michie Dome

Our first stop was to the Glyptoteket. We should have known we were going to have museum issues from this point forward, all we could do was laugh. They apparently have an excellent collection of French Impressionist art, but unfortunately floor two was closed, so we didn’t get to see any of it. However, they have a stunning conservatory and as we strolled around we were regaled by a live production of a group singing excerpts from Wagner’s Operas. The Egyptian Hall more than made up for anything we missed. Part of it was designed to make you feel as if you were descending in to a tomb.

Jennifer Michie Andersens Bakery

Next we headed to the Tivoli Gardens, which is the world’s second oldest amusement park. It was adorable! Walt Disney visited there when he was building Disneyworld, and you could see a few things that inspired him. We went to Andersen’s Bakery famous for their hot dogs, they were delicious! We split one as I really more interested in dessert. I got a mandelhorn, which was a crispy almond trumpet filled with an orange chocolate cream, I didn’t think Mr. Michie would be interested. I was wrong! I had to fight him for it, but I managed to steal a few bites!

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We strolled around the park some more just taking everything in and finally headed home. It a magical place. There are updated rides, but there still remains a sweetness to the place. I loved a lot of their light fixtures. At night the entire park is light up, it was enchanting.

Day two began somewhat early, we had already scoped out the bakery attached to the hotel the day before called Emmery’s and had picked up some treats, so breakfast started with their coffee and the most divine cinnamon rolls smothered in chocolate that I have ever eaten. The pastry was more of a puff pastry consistency, the inside was filled with butter, cinnamon, sugar and nuts that that made there way down to the bottom and had caramalized and turned crunchy in the pan and the the tops were smothered in chocolate and fresh chopped hazelnuts were sprinkled over the top. What a way to start the day!

Jennifer Michie Nyhaven 2014

After we finished getting ready we headed down to the boat dock. Here we picked up a boat bus that took us to Nyhaven. It is a picturesque little section of Copenhagen on the canal. The buildings are so colorful and cheery. Hans Christian Andersen used to live here, in three different homes along the canal. We walked and took pictures and ate lunch by the water.

There is such a different pace of life here. I love it! Things get done, but you aren’t rushed. Most cafés and restaurants who had outdoor seating had a stack of blankets set out so you wouldn’t get too chilly. That made me very happy and as it was a cool day, my blanket kept me toasty all through lunch!

Jennifer Michie National Museum 1Jennifer Michie National Museum 2

Next we headed to the National Gallery of Denmark. It was a really interesting place. Again, they had areas shut down as they were under construction, so we didn’t get to see everything, but what we did see we just loved!

Jennifer Michie Bear Crossing

There were signs everywhere to point out roads for pedestrians and roads for bikes. I liked that this path also included a place for bears to stroll.

Jennifer Michie Pizza

We stopped at a little pizza joint for dinner that we noticed everyone at the night before. It was great and so fresh! After dinner we strolled home along the water and then headed up to the apartment. It was nice having a little haven to return to the evenings. Where we could stretch out on the sofas and watch tv or read or just listen to music and watch the boats go by.

I have more to share, next up Sweden! So, stay tuned, I’ll be right back!

Jennifer Michie Dog at Irma's