We thought it would be a good idea to disembark with the last group of people, but it was a madhouse in the terminal. It took a little under an hour to get a taxi and the line was crazy.  The women in front of us were acting as the line police, which I loved.  We got in the taxi and it turned out to be the same electric car I have at home. The driver was very proud of it.  He said it never needs any work done.  We arrived at the hotel around 10:45.  We checked in, dropped off our luggage, and walked to the metro (which was less than a block away). 

We started by walking around the waterfront.  The houses are colorful and there are a ton of people.  I felt like we were in NYC.  I was not a fan of the crowds.  

Our first real stop was the Amalienborg Palace, which is the residence for the royal family. There are a ton of different buildings and royal guards dressed up with the bushy hats. You can only go into one of buildings. It cost 120 kroner to enter, but you could get a combo ticket for the Rosenberg Castle as well.  That cost 200.  We saved about 50 kroner getting that combo ticket.  

You buy the ticket in the basement and then head up to the first floor.  They have recreated rooms to look like they did when certain kings and queens inhabited the palace.  I have to admit that I was very tired this day.  I read everything about each room, but the kings names were either Frederick or Christian.  There were ten Christians and nine Federick kings! They mostly talked about Federick VII and IX and Christian IX and X. 

It was interesting because a lot of the children of these monarchs were kings and queens of other countries.  For this reason, they had a good relationship with those countries, especially Russia.  There were several photographs with Russian czars and gifts from Russian monarchs.  I was especially impressed that the recreated rooms had so many family photographs and mementos.

The queen’s drawing room was huge and had several different areas dedicated to different past times. She like to paint (two of her flower paintings were on the walls). I loved her chaise lounge, which was a favorite place for her to relax.

One of the offices had a lot of military regalia and it was because that particular king had a strong military background and supported the military during his reign.  

The next floor had a beautiful library, great hall, and dining area.  

After the palace, we headed over to check out Federick’s Church (I’m guessing it was named after one of the nine kings).  It had an amazing dome and when you entered there was a sign warning you about pick pockets!

We stopped at a bakery to grab a sandwich for me and a baked good for my husband.  He stopped at a place called the Gasoline Grill (which was actually a real gas station as well) to get a burger.  The line was quite long.  He was not terribly impressed. We walked over to the castle through the park.  Everyone was out on the grass on blankets, sunning themselves, reading books, and chatting with friends.  

You have to have a specific time to enter Rosenborg Castle and they are quite strict about it.  I had time to visit the restroom while my husband stood in line.  They did not let us inside until exactly 2:30.  The castle was amazing.  I loved every ridiculously elaborate room! 

I tried to take pictures of the most interesting things in each room.  The first room was Christian IV’s winter room.  I loved how the paintings were like wall paper in this room.  Next door was his writing room.  His desk was amazing. 

I don’t have a picture of his bedroom, probably because it was dark all that was in  there was a display case of his bloodied clothes from battle. However, I did get a picture of his bathroom (there were three in the castle) because I thought the tiles were awesome.   I have a picture of the garden room because the striped wallpaper and screen.  In the dark room there are wax figures depicting Federick III, Queen Sophie Amalie, and their son, Prince George. (Sorry the picture is a bit blurry, I was trying to take it before someone walked in front of me.) It was kind of creepy, honestly. 

The marble room was next, then Christian V’s chamber with the incredible fireplace. I also thought this other piece of furniture was really cool. 

We then went upstairs to what they call the first floor. In the room you enter from the staircase, called The Rose, there is this amazing walnut cupboard which has a mechanical orchestra inside that still works. I’m not sure which room is the red walled room, I think it’s the Princess’ lacquered chamber with Chinese lacquer all decoration. I thought the wood floor was really well done. I am unsure about the room with all the tapestries, but I think that it may be Federick V’s Cabinet.  I think that room is really well done with all the white furniture. 

The second floor has the great hall with only three small rooms off of it.  The porcelain cabinet was closed to the public, but the glass cabinet and the regalia room was open.  The great hall has the three silver lions that have guarded the thrones since 1670. The thrones themselves are made of narwhal tusk and silver. Federick IV visited Venice in 1709 and the city gave him a collection of glass, you can see the display of it in the glass cabinet. This picture is the same arrangement of glass that was done in 1714. 

After getting dizzy coming down the winding stairs, we had to go outside to get into the basement.  There are two levels to the basement. It was then I realized why there were two men patrolling the area with machine guns.  We were going down to check out the Crown Jewels and other treasures of the royal family.  There was one room filled with beautiful carvings from ivory, a room with weapons, one with wine (from the 1600s!), one with riding gear and glass items, and one with astronomy equipment.  In the lower level you could find the Crown Jewels including the crowns. I only took a picture of the emeralds (because I liked them the best), but there are also pearls, rubies, and diamonds. 

When we finished visiting the castle, we took the metro over to Christianhaven.  The metro was fairly easy to navigate using our google maps and the tickets lasted for over an hour, so we could make a stop and get right back on to return to the hotel. Christianhaven is a place that my husband was interested in seeing because it was featured on one of this favorite shows, Trailer Park Boys.  The area used to be a military barracks that was abandoned.  A group of people took it over (I guess in a manner of squatting) and they created this whole area in which they govern themselves.  For example, marijuana is illegal in Denmark, but people sell it and smoke it openly in Christianhaven.  I would not suggest going here by yourself, especially if you are a women.  We entered this one area and I saw no women at all and the men there were gathered in groups and gave me an uncomfortable feeling.  As we left, more people came through including women, but it just didn’t feel quite safe to me as a female.  There was a market in another area and a skateboarding ramp area that all seemed fine, but that one area was sketchy.  

We saw a lot in Copenhagen for just one day, I think.  I was the most impressed with Rosenborg Castle and would definitely recommend going there. The city itself seemed very busy.  Perhaps because it was a Friday? I’m not sure.  It is a beautiful city.