Author: Clint Swift

Tivoli is an amusement park and “pleasure garden” in Copenhagen. The park opened in 1843 and is the second-oldest operating amusement park in the world (the older one is in Denmark, too). Gateway to Tivoli. The park had 4.6 million visitors in a recent year. A small theater ready for its show. Why they call…

Amalienborg is an 18th Century rococo complex of palaces. Denmark’s royal family, one of the world’s oldest monarchies, still resides here. Amalienborg from the canal. The palace square with 1771 statue of King Frederik V on horseback. Denmark is a kingdom, and Amalienborg is the royal family’s residence. At the palace square, you can watch…

Kastellet (Citadel) is one of the best preserved fortresses in Northern Europe. Shaped as a five-pointed star with bastions (projections from a wall that enable defensive fire in multiple directions) at its corners, the citadel was part of a ring of bastioned ramparts that used to encircle Copenhagen. The King’s Gate at the Citadel. The…

Rosenborg is a Renaissance palace, with gardens and museum, in the Danish capital. The palace houses the crown jewels. Just before reaching the palace gate, we peeked into this Smørrebrød (“butter and bread”) restaurant. Google says Smørrebrød is a traditional Scandinavian open-faced sandwich topped with cold cuts, pieces of meat or fish, cheese or spreads…

Kronborg is a castle in Helsingør, north of Copenhagen. It was immortalized as “Elsinore” in William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet.” The castle Kronborg. On the walk through Helsingor to the castle. Tempting but we didn’t stop. The castle begins to come into view. A castle tower with the national flag. From 1574 to 1585, King Frederick…

After a visit to Helsingors, we took the ferry across the strait to Sweden to visit the former royal palace Sofiero, now an extraordinary floral park. On the ferry, leaving Denmark for a brief excursion to Sweden. Neo-Gothic city hall in Helsingborg, Sweden, en route to Sofiero. Flowers start right at the gate at Sofiero.…

A post for photos of Copenhagen that don’t have anywhere else to go. Sometimes these are the most interesting impressions in the post. Copenhagen’s most famous resident: The little mermaid from the Hans Christian Andersen tale. The Little Mermaid is really little. But she’s a big draw, as you can see. What was really astounding…