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Isabel’s July Trip to Copenhagen and Stockholm, with photos

Isabel’s July Trip to Copenhagen and Stockholm, with photos

Old Aug 28th, 2006, 06:53 AM
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Isabel’s July Trip to Copenhagen and Stockholm, with photos

I've been back for a month now but had to get the photos done and Portugal reprot done first. But finially have time to post a little about my Scandinavian experience. After spending 12 days in Portugal with my husband, he flew home and I flew from Lisbon to Copenhagen. Spent 4 days in Copenhagen, 2 in Stockholm, then 2 more back in Copenhagen.

I flew Sterling Air (booked months in advance from the US, €183 one way). Flight was OK but very tiny seats, and they don’t even give you water without charging. Then it took 1˝ hr to get the luggage (5kg weight limit for cabin bags so had to check). Train station is in the airport and it’s a quick 12 minute trip to central station in Copenhagen (54DK/$9 roundtrip ticket). I flew FlyNordic.com to and from Stockholm, also booked in advance from the US, $144 roundtrip. To get into Stockholm from the Airport is a convenient bus, takes about 45 minutes, $24 roundtrip ticket).

The CabInn is one of a chain of about 5 hotels in Denmark with the motto “Sleep Cheap in Luxury”. Well not exactly cheap or luxurious, but about as cheap as you can get in Copenhagen ($100 for a single) and not bad. The hotel is a 10 minute walk from the train station and just a block from the back of Tivoli and from the Glyptotek Museum and has 325 rooms. The standard room can sleep one, two or three people. For one it was great, plenty of room to spread out, spotlessly clean, nice bathroom. The second person would have to either sleep on the pull out bed (under the main bed) which rolled out easily and was comfortable but when the bed was pulled out there was very little floor space left (although very easy to roll it back in for daytime). There was also a bunk bed – quite high up so nice for the person in the main bed but there was no way I’d ever sleep up there - too high and too narrow. That’s the only other drawback – the beds are only 30inches wide. So – great for one, fine for two, would be really crowded for three. There was free internet access on two computers in the lobby, TV, a lift and a good breakfast – but at almost $10 a person I only ate there once, definitely not worth it. There was no AC but even though the daytime temps were in the upper 80s, it cooled off nicely at night and I had no problem sleeping. I think it’s a much nicer location than the other side of the train station where most of the other budget hotels are located, and given the high prices of everything in CPH I would definitely stay there again.

In Stockholm I stayed at the Adlon Hotel, booked through a booking site it was only $84 a night including probably the best hotel breakfast I’ve ever had. The hotels in Stockholm have summer specials of about half their normal price so I found it much more affordable than Copenhagen. The hotel is about a two minute walk from the train/bus stations and the street is pretty boring (Burger King, 7-11) but not seedy and two blocks in is the main pedestrian shopping street which is the nicest way to get to the old town, the harbor, etc. The hotel is quite nice, extremely clean, free internet access in the lobby, TV, lift, and the breakfast – incredible. They had at least four kinds of meats and five kinds of cheese (including things like Brie), cereals (including hot and cold), eggs, breads, toasts, cakes, pastries, fresh fruit (pineapple, watermelon, oranges, etc), juices, coffee, teas, hot choc.
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Old Aug 28th, 2006, 06:58 AM
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Oh - the photos (which are better than the report) are at www.pbase.com/annforcier There are seperate galleries for Stockholm and Copenhagen.

I absolutely LOVED Stockholm. It has beautiful architecture and an incredibly picturesque old town, everything is surrounded by water – you just go from one island to the next crossing pretty bridges. Everywhere you walk is another great vista of the last island you were on just 10 minutes before. The water separating the islands is not canals, it’s wider than that, but not so wide that you don’t get great views of the next island over, and still an intimate feel, everything is close together. You really get the seafaring – historical and current – feel of the city. Stockholm is small enough to get a good sense of the main areas in just a couple of days, but it has the energy of an important city. Maybe it was expectations – for some reason I wasn’t expecting to be so enamored with it, or maybe it was the weather (sunny and high 70s), the fact that it was light out till 11pm, but everything looked so clean and cool. I’m not sure I’d like Stockholm as much in a cold rain, or snowy winter day, but in July it was heaven.
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Old Aug 28th, 2006, 07:07 AM
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Isabel coule you please clarify your statement about the hand luggage restrictions?

I am planning to fly next year on Sterling and according to their website the weight limit is TEN Kgs not FIVE as you have stated.

I'd appreciate your comments as that will help me plan accordingly.

Thanks very much.
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Old Aug 28th, 2006, 07:14 AM
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Lovely photos of Scandanavia. I especially enjoyed the ones of Nyhavn, Denmark. You've traveled to quite a few destinations in Europe. Which two or three are your favorites?

WT
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Old Aug 28th, 2006, 07:17 AM
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I was in Stockholm right after New Years and I loved it even in the winter. There was a lot of snow on the ground, all the Christmas decorations were still up, and it was very festive looking. We did have gray skies almost all the time, but people everywhere were all out and about, and I really enjoyed it. I'm sure in the summer it is just gorgous.
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Old Aug 28th, 2006, 07:27 AM
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Just saw your picture of Tomptar & Troll!!! I got three Tomptees there. What a fun little store that was. We stayed in Nyhavn in Copenhagen..so pretty in the summer..the colors of the buildings really stand out. When I was there all the boats were covered in snow. All your pictures are wonderful.
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Old Aug 28th, 2006, 12:34 PM
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Duckey - sorry, maybe it was 10kg - but I know my 20inch suitcase weighted 20 pounds when I started my trip, and I sent home some dirty clothes with my husband when we left Portugal, along with everything I bought there, so my bag should have weighted less than 20 pounds (which is only 9kg isn't it?) and they said it was too heavy.

WT - I'm not sure I could pick only 2 or 3 favorite places. I am totally in love with London and Paris, which I have visited numerous times, and I love all of Italy. So they are my top picks. Except for London and Paris, I generally prefer southern Europe to Northern, although I really loved Stockholm, and Prague, oh and Switzerland. As I said, hard to choose.

crefloors - I did see some photos of Stockholm with snow and it certainly looked pretty atmoshperic then too. I'll just have to go back in the witner and see how I like it. And yes, the troll stores were great. I didn't get one at Tomptar & Troll but I did get a couple, not to mention several wooden horses. I have a troll collection (Norwegian mostly, althogh I've never been to Norway) and I've had two Swedish horses my whole life that my Swedish grandmother left me, and have wanted to get some more to keep them company for a long time, so shopping for trolls and horses was a major goal.
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Old Aug 28th, 2006, 03:25 PM
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Beautiful photos - thank you. I preferred Stockholm to Copenhagen.
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Old Aug 28th, 2006, 03:52 PM
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Isabel--

Thanks for your reply. I know it's hard to choose. There is a reason why I asked. I'm trying to decide where I will go next July. I had thought south of France; now I'm leaning toward Switzerland or even Venice/CT. I went all over Europe at age 17; Since then I've been to England, and last summer I went to France and Italy, but not to Venice. It's so hard to decide.
Thanks for the feedback...

WT
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Old Aug 29th, 2006, 04:55 AM
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WT - I usually decide where to go by looking at photos - in books at the book store, on line, etc. When I see places that "grab" me, I note the name of the towns, etc, then research where they are, what's near them, etc. That's how I get started anyway, and I usually have so many destinations "waiting in the wings" that I'm dying to go to. Good luck, as far as I'm concerned, pretty much anywhere in Europe is wonderful.

OK - here's more of the report...

I also liked Copenhagen, although for some reason not as much as Stockholm. There is some very nice architecture, tall church and palace steeples dot the city. There is the kilometer long pedestrian shopping street, Stroget, plus several nice squares and fountains, plenty of “quaint” side streets with colorful buildings, and what is probably one of the top ten most picturesque spots in all of Europe – Nyhavn, the former seamen's quarter that has been gentrified into an upmarket area of expensive restaurants in colorful buildings along a canal full of old boats. But for some reason Copenhagen didn’t “do it” for me the way Stockholm (and Lisbon) did. I’m really glad I went but while I’d certainly go back if I had the opportunity, I don’t have the burning desire to return right away (like I do every time I leave France, Italy, or England – and now Portugal). I didn’t feel the desire to stay longer, to just “be” there like I do in many European cities. It was too big to be an intimate little place, but didn’t really have the energy of larger cities. Some people probably would like that, it certainly had a rather laid back feeling. But it was also very crowded in the touristy areas. I think perhaps this is due to the several enormous cruise ships that dock there and release thousands of day trippers into the city every day in summer. Apparently CPH has been actively recruiting the cruise ship trade and maybe it’s gotten out of hand. Probably does pump lots of money into the city though. But there was quite a bit of trash in the streets and lots of pubic drinking (not just in cafes). Maybe it was my expectations were too high and it just didn’t live up, because I certainly don’t want to make it sound like I didn’t like Copenhagen, I’m just trying to give it an honest appraisal.

Other thoughts – I expected much more of a seafaring presence. There are only a few canals and the harbor area is quite industrial, not terribly picturesque (except for Nyhavn, which I suppose is sooooo picturesque it makes up for the rest). This was the opposite of the feeling I got in Stockholm. Also, the cost of things was a bit of a shock, even knowing it would be expensive., so that made it difficult to enjoy shopping and eating. Coming from incredibly economical Portugal probably didn’t help. Some comparisons – a plum in Lisbon was 9 cents, in Copenhagen it was 94 cents (US equivalents), bottled water in Portugal was usually less than $1, in Denmark close to $3. For less than $10 in Portugal you could get a meal of something like quiche and fresh fruit or grilled salmon and salad, coffee and delicious cake with wait service at a sit down table. For the same price in Copenhagen you got a hot dog and a coke and ate it on a bench in a square.

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Old Aug 29th, 2006, 06:08 AM
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Hi I,

Terrific picture galleries.

Thanks for sharing.

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Old Aug 29th, 2006, 09:08 AM
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Hi Ira - glad you like the photos. Did you see my photo of the smørrebrød? I thought of you whenever I had it (which was a few times). The wienerbrød was definity better though.

Trip report continues...

Days 1, 2, and 3 (Friday (didn’t get there till around 5pm), Sat, Sun) – I mostly just walked all over the whole city (central area anyway) several times. I did go to the Glyptotek Museum Sunday morning (free on Sundays) which is a lovely small museum. Beautiful building with very nicely displayed collection. There are straightforward but informative descriptions of things in both Danish an English which was really nice. I also climbed the Round Tower for a high up view of Copenhagen – it was interesting in that it’s a wide ramp rather than stairs. I saw all three “palaces” Christiansborg Palace, Amalienborg Palace, and Rosenborg Slot but didn’t go inside any of them. I also, of course, went to see the Little Mermaid. She’s nice enough, but the experience was one of those travel moments that make you question why some people travel and certainly make you glad you aren’t on a tour. There were probably a hundred people standing on the rocks and trying to (and succeeding) in climbing all over her to get their photos taken with her, even sticking their children on her. They were so obnoxious I almost wished someone would fall into the water (it was shallow, they would have been ok). I had to wait about a half hour to find a split second when no one had their grimy hands all over her to get a shot of just her. I went back a couple of days later and it was the same experience. One guy I talked to said it was like that every day.



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Old Aug 29th, 2006, 01:42 PM
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Isabel--Thanks for your comments. I have quite a few travel books/travel videos, plus I read this board, which just adds to my confusion. But you are right. I'll go to the place that speaks to me the loudest. At the moment it is Murren, Switzerland.

BTW, Canon will be out with a new digital rebel in Nov. The XTi. Looks great.
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Old Aug 29th, 2006, 02:06 PM
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Hi Isabel, I've been looking forward to your report. Of course it must have been nice to be in a place where the temperature was in the 70s coming from Lisbon in July; I like your strategy of going to a southern destination and then a northern one.

But about that pubic drinking...
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Old Aug 29th, 2006, 02:30 PM
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The public drinking is very common in Copenhagen. My neice was in school there all last year and that was one of the things she mentioned. She said it's primarily the younger crowd out partying, they are seldom dangerous...in fact Denmark has an extremely low crime rate..but they are just loud and obnoxious. I did see a lot of drinking on New Years Eve..one would expect I guess, and the next morning the square was littered with "dead" bottles of booze. We walked through there before they had a chance to clean it up. There was a bottle of Kahlua that caught my eye. I was thinking I would NOT want to be the soul that had consumed that entire bottle and then of course it brought back some painful memories. LOL
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Old Aug 30th, 2006, 04:59 AM
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I had heard about the public drinking (probably here at Fodors) but I guess I thought it was being exaggerated. Not that I ever felt unsafe or anything, it's just too bad to see all those empty bottles all over every morning.

Day 4, Monday – I took the train to Helsingør to see Kronborg Slot, aka Elsinor Castle, aka Hamlet’s Castle. It’s a UNESCO world heritage site but as castles go was not my favorite. Nice enough setting on the water, but the earthen ramparts kind of keep you from getting a really good view, and the castle itself is more massive than pretty. I did go into the “casements” which are underground tunnels and dungeons. Talk about spooky. The fact that it was a dark cloudy morning, and that I got there when it opened and so was the only one down there at the time didn’t help (or actually did help – to make it even more spooky). The town of Helsingør was worth an hour or so to stroll around. Then I took the train to Hillerød to see Frederiksborg Slot. Much prettier. This is my idea of a castle – lots of interesting angles, towers, fountains, pretty setting on a little lake, nice moat. Taking trains in Denmark was very easy, each ride was less than an hour (CPH to Helsingor to Hillerod back to CPH). Both castles are walking distance from the train stations, though while Kronborg is obvious (visible when you exit the station), Frederiksborg was more like a 20 minute walk and it was not immediately clear which way to go, but I went in the direction of what looked like the main part of town and pretty soon there were signs to it.

That late afternoon/evening I went to Tivoli – I mean, it’s kind of “required” if you go to Copenhagen in the summer that you go to Tivoli. Since I was staying right near it, I had walked around the perimeter a few times and though it was much smaller than I expected. But once you get inside it feels quite large, I even got a little lost a few times. They make the most of the space. It’s an “old fashioned” amusement park. There are a few new rides, tame by US amusement park standards, lots of little kid stuff, plenty of eateries, several performance venues with small and medium sized bands/orchestras . There are some flowers and fountains, but those are just backdrops, it’s not a floral garden. It’s an amusement park albeit a pretty one. It’s definitely best after dark. Very exorbitantly lit. They have a brief fireworks display around midnight which I could see from my hotel room.
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Old Aug 30th, 2006, 07:51 AM
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Hmm, I was commenting on the freudian slip, not the cultural phenomenon. I promise to stop attempting humor. My husband is obviously right about me.

Crefloors, it was my daughter who spent a summer in the same program your niece was in for the year.

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Old Aug 30th, 2006, 08:48 AM
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isabel,

We are off to Copenhagen , Stockholm, St Petersburg and Moscow next Aug.

We are looking at the Hotel Front in Copenhagen ( used to be the Sophia Amalie, now a hip hotel called the Front) and Hotel Rival in Stockholm. you didn't happen to pass by either of them?

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Old Aug 30th, 2006, 01:16 PM
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tripgirl - no sorry, can't recall either of those hotels.

Day 5 Tuesday – My flight to Stockholm wasn’t until 6:30pm so I spent the day wandering around Copenhagen again. I left the majority of my luggage in the locked storage room ($4) at the CabInn. The flight was only about an hour but with the getting to/from the airports, waiting, etc it essentially took from 4pm till 9pm. It was still quite bright out when I got to the hotel in Stockholm. In fact there was a bit of light still visible at close to midnight, and then it starts getting light around 3am.

Day 6 – Spent the whole day wandering around Stockholm – started with the Stadshuset, Stockholm’s city hall, then did a walking tour I put together from several sources. Gamla Stan, the old town was of course the highlight. One of the most picturesque, atmospheric places I’ve been. You really feel like you’ve been transported back several hundred years. And it’s just so pretty. Another highlight was the next island over, Skeppsholmen, and the adjacent Kastellholmen, two of the most charming, but least visited, islands in Stockholm. Both are traffic free (so no tour buses/groups). The Skeppsholmen is lined with boats of every kind, it’s the “Stockholm Ship Association”. I am not entirely sure what this group is, but there are fishing boats, cargo ships, tugboats, lightships, etc from many countries and there are signs (in Swedish and English) in front of each telling it’s name, age, what is was used for, etc. Very interesting. This island is also where I had lunch at a cute little café on the water. I had a herring and potato open faced sandwich, elderflower juice and almond pie. The sun was warm, the breeze was cool, the sounds were water lapping the dock and seagulls singling. One of those “this is why I travel” moments. Heaven. I had another one of those moments a few hours later when I was standing on Gamla Stan watching the sunset over the water and the other islands and hot air balloons were launching and sailing up and away in the golden sunset. Wow, was it beautiful.

Day 7 – I had until 2pm when I’d need to leave for the airport. I headed over to Djurgården and the Vasa Museum. Another highlight. The Vasa is a warship built in 1628, the largest ship at the time, that sank only minutes after it was launched, right in Stockholm harbor, in front of thousands of spectators including the king. It remained there for over 300 years and only recently has been raised and renovated and is now the centerpiece of the museum. The ship is awesome, the museum very well done with videos of the raising of the ship, history of Stockholm’s seafaring past, etc. The rest of the day I spent walking along the harbor, and then through the “center” of Stockholm, past the few "skyscrapers". At one point on the main street a huge parade of soldiers on horseback came through. I also checked out the Stockholm shopping scene. Certainly more expensive than say Portugal, but everything was on sale and so somewhat affordable.
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Old Sep 2nd, 2006, 09:37 PM
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I took another look at your Stockholm photos. They are quite amazing. Beautiful architecture!
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