Day Five - Copenhagen
After brunch at 0.12 Coffee & Eatery, we visited the Glyptoteket museum, featuring a wide collection of art and sculpture beautifully displayed. Especially dramatic was a gallery filled with busts displayed on plinths at eye level. More amusing was a board filled with noses from sculptures, and on the front of the display was an advertisement for a cosmetic surgeon.
Only a few blocks away, we walked through the Rådhuspladsen or City Hall Square with bells that ring out throughout much of the day and night, ending at Rug Bakery for a few snacks. (At least half of those pictured were saved for breakfast the next day Don’t judge..)
Tivoli Gardens was my “must see” in Copenhagen and it did not disappoint. Unlike US theme parks relegated to the suburbs with room for huge parking lots, Tivoli is in the center of Copenhagen, across from the central train station and the City Hall Square.
Opened in 1843, Tivoli is the world’s second oldest amusement park currently operating (the oldest is also in Denmark) and reportedly inspired Walt Disney to build his own kingdoms. The gardens are lush and the rides exhilarating. It still boasts a 100+ year old roller coaster with a manual brake man, and others imagine space travel decades before it was a reality. Tivoli unapologetically reflects 19th century Orientalism in some of its stunning architecture. Its restaurants are varied, and include one with three Michelin stars.
Tivoli is quite serious about its rides and there are different rules for each: on some you can wear glasses, in some you can remove them and keep them in zippered pockets, on others you must remove everything from your pockets (they will pat you down!) and leave them in cubbyholes by the entrance/exit. It was surprising.
Anther peculiarity is that the park has no “You Are Here” maps and is quite dark at closing time, so dark that we wandered around for a long while before we could find an exit. Also, GPS and phone service are really poor in parts of the park.