hippletwist

I will be travelling to Denmark in Jan. for a work trip. There will be a group of about 6-8 of us. We will begin in Copenhagen & head home from Copenhagen. We will have 4 days of play and need some suggestions on where to go. I've not been to Europe, so I am clueless! We are willing to fly or go by train. Any suggestions?

hippletwist

I forgot to add that this is a bit of a rowdy crowd, so a party atmosphere would not be unwelcome. Beautiful sights, some history, local flair would also be welcome. Some have said that Copenhagen is wonderful enough to stay there for the 4 days.

nytraveler

Well - unless you're really interested in cross-country skiing or skating your outdoor activities are kind of limited. And although Scandinavia has a reputation for permissiveness - it's a sort of staid sexiness - the cities are not major party all night towns like Madrid - or the French/Italian Riviera/islands in season.


I would stay in Copenhagen - you'll find a reasonable amount of nightlife - and lots to do during the day if anyone is awake.

hippletwist

Thanks for the suggestions. This group will be just as happy in a pub, having a couple of beers, as they would be in the red light district. ;-)

Annam

You could fly to London if you want to spend an evening in a pub. There are low-fare carriers who fly from country to country in Europe for very reasonable rates, if you don't mind limits on luggage and first-come-first-served cattle stampedes at the boarding gate.

ira

Hi H,

From Copenhagen, you might want to take a daytrip to Roskilde for the Viking Shio Museum and the Cathedral and another to Hillerød for the Frederiksborg Castle.

http://wictor.dk/wictor/frederiksborg/frbSlot.html

Ozarksbill

Haven't a clue about Copenhagen in January, but no doubt you'll find drinking places along Nyhavn and also some shopping along the Stroget.
Suppose that the Nyhavn strip along the canal will be lively anytime of year.

For an adventure you could see Christiana which is a commune-like enclave where they used to sell drugs.
For a more staid experience of course how about a trip up to Kronberg Castle used as Elsinore by Shakespeare. I wonder if Tivoli Gardens and National Museum are open.

You know, there is a very nice popular overnight ferry with lavish smorgasbord over to Oslo.

ozarksbill
[email protected]

hippletwist

Thanks so much for the ideas. The ferry to Oslo sounds great. Grab a hotel, spend the night, next day, then come back. Funnnn!

BillynBettyJones

The ferrys in downtown Copyhagen an Oshlo both goes at 5 o clock and arrive about 9 the next morning. We found on our first trip to the Scandinavio back in 2001 that was plenty of time in Oshlo because you spend the night with the ferrys each time then get off and see everthing like the Viglands statues park and Achy Brigg and Achyhouse fort. 9-5 is plenty we thought an got back in time to hop the ferry for a ride back to Copyhagen. Butt 4 days is good just for Copyhagen too. Our newphew is a studnt there an says he and is friends are out a lot. You can do the brewry tour an zoo an tivily if its open. They closed down the hippy town called Christindiana or some things. The Lucyanna art museum an the national gallery an the resistence museum, the little mermaid (she is little!!) the round tower and stroket street and the glyptech museum. there is a lot to do their. Own of our best inner nets sits is ww://woco.dk that has really good infomation about Copyhagen. Licky till which means good luck!!

BillynBettyJones

Oh i forgot the castle in Copyhagen that has the crown jewels. They are really big!! An to get around you can buy a strip card, it is alot cheaper.

Ozarksbill

Yes, overnight to Oslo with a wonderful smorgasbord and see Vigelund Park along with the Akerhus castle. BTW, coming into Oslo you will enjoy seeing some neat fjords, too.

No, Christiana is still open according to a friend just there. An interesting stroll. Yes, changing of the guard at the Palace.

ozarksbill
[email protected]

Nikki

Tivoli closes for the winter but opens for a few weeks around Christmas. I don't know what dates it closes, but for a January trip you should check before you go.

Wilbur

We were in Copenhagen for 7 days last July and drove around the rest of Denmark for another 5. It is a very small country so you can see a lot. We then took the overnight ferry from Hirtshal, Denmark to Bergen, Norway and did a variation of the "Norway in a Nutshell" tour. We had good weather both trips on the ferry, but were told by locals that in the winter the sea can be very rough. So if you can afford it, you might want to fly to Norway if you choose to go there. ( You can do the Nutshell tour in 24 hours but we took 4 days, staying 2 days on the fjords. If you like unbelievable scenery, the combination or trains and boats on the Nutshell tour is great.) From Oslo we took the overnight ferry back to Copenhagen. We liked Bergen and the Fjords better than Oslo.

You could easily spend 4 days in Copenhagen. People are very friendly and social. My 21 year old daughter had spent the previous 8 months living in Copenhagen, so we had some advantages in knowing where to go. For gathering places the shopping district, Stoget is fun. In July, there were thousands of people out, lots of music and street entertainment. Nyhavn harbor would also be a fun place to socilize.

I know in January the weather is damp- maybe in the 30-40's, plus it will be dark much of the time- it is only light from about 9 AM -4PM. For tourist type things really liked Rosenborg Slot ( the parks around the castle were also a big gathering place), the Resistance Museum, Amalienborg, and the Carlsberg Brewery. Be sure to ride some of the city bicycles-- they are all over. Just put your money in and the bikes unlock. You get your money back when you put it back in another lock spot. Everyone rides bikes, all year long in Copenhagen.

I don't know how 'rowdy" you are but I did walk by the Erotica Museum. I don't know anything about it.

You could stay in Copenhagen and do day trips. It's about a 1 hour ride to Helsingor, cute little town with Kronborg Slot ( Hamlet's Castle) and then just a 20 minute ferry ride over to Helsinborg, Swedon. Lots of nice cafe's and shopping.

We rented a car from EuroCar when we left Copenhagen for Fyn, driving was no problem at all. We liked Egeskov Slot, built in the middle of a lake and LOVED Aero Island.

I don't know, I think I would stay in Copenhagen for 2-3 days and then fly or ferry to Oslo and do the "Norway in a Nutshell" . We did the express ferry from Bergen on the Sognefjorden fjord,to the Flam railroad and then the train from Myrdal to Oslo. The whole arrangement of ferrys and trains go both ways so you can start in Oslo

We really used our Foror's Scandinavia book -- in fact it's now in pieces!

Wilbur

Thought about what I wrote last night about Norway. You won't be able to do the Norway in a Nutshell trip in 24 hours because of the darkness, it will be too dark to see all the scenery. It really never got dark when we were there in July, just kind of turns dusk around midnight then. I'm also not sure if the Flam railroad runs all winter. Maybe someone else knows about Norway in winter.

Snoopy

Tivoli and Bakken will be closed . . . Most everything else will be open, though perhaps with somewhat limited hours. There will be plenty of bars and pubs in the inner city, there are a couple on Gray Friar's Square (Grabrador Torv, or some such) and several just off the Stroget which ought to please anyone with a bent towards "rowdy". I can't see getting on a plane and flying to London to go to a pub, sorry Annan, that just sounds crazy even to me (known on this forum to suggest such flights of fancy).

Also "rowdy" and the Viking Museum in Roskilde just don't sound right. With all due respect, I nearly died of boredom in the Viking Museum. I went with someone who wanted to read everything on every wall. My stay without him would have been about 10 minutes, tops.

Uh, yes, they still sell dope in Christiania (although I kinda like Betty and Barney's spelling - Christ Indiana) but the city has been threatening to close it down for years. There's not much to see there, really, just people buying, selling and smoking dope. I think people who enjoy that sort of thing and post on this forum suggest that its an interesting place to see . . . no it isn't . . . unless you want to buy dope.

Kronborg Castle is great, even in winter. Perhaps better in winter, dark and brooding. Personally, I liked Malmo (across the ferry from Copenhagen) better than Helsingborg (across the ferry from Helsingor).

The atmosphere is cigarette smoke, but I think the best beer I ever drank was at 90 Gammel Kongevej at a place called Vin Stue. If you are not a smoker, this is NOT the place to go between 5 and 7 pm on a week day.

There's an outdoor ice skating rink at the north end of Nyhavn which, unless you are an NHL player, is a really dangerous thing to do because the ice is usually pretty hacked up and the blades on the rental skates are not sharp and I was never able to walk around Nyhaven (winter or summer) without having at least several beers.

Rosenberg Castle is OK, though at one time they charged an extra entry fee for the privilege of taking pictures. It's kinda dark in there, so I'd try to go on a sunny day . . . which are few and far between in January.

Some cities are meant for winter, Oslo and Stockholm and Helsinki and Copenhagen in my view are such cities. The inhabitants are used to cold weather and, unlike my fellow Texans here in Dallas, don't hibernate at the first sign of rain, sleet or snow.

Last, with only 4 days to play, and I'm sure against the grain of most people on this forum, I'd rent a car. Parking's not as bad as New York or Mexico City . . . and it's far easier to go to Kronborg Castle, or Fredriksberg Castle (one of Europe's finest) or Fredensborg Castle (the castle isn't usually open, but the grounds are interesting), or Roskilde, or Esrum Kloster, or Gilleleje, or Mon, or any other place within 60 miles of Copenhagen.

Have fun.