Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen's seaport is right downtown so we opted to tour the city on our own.  We took the train one stop from the port and then walked the rest. 

Copenhagen has several famous landmarks.  Probably the most famous, though, is The Little Mermaid statue - a tribute to Danish fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen. The Little Mermaid has been sitting on the edge of Copenhagen's harbor since 1913, and draws millions of visitors a year. Unfortunately for us, Copenhagen's iconic Little Mermaid left Denmark for the first time in its nearly 100-year history when it was sent to China to be exhibited at the World Exhibition in Shanghai.  She's scheduled to come back in October 2010...

While we missed out on seeing a statue, we did manage to secure ourselves a pretty unique opportunity to tour the inside of another one of Copenhagen's famous landmarks: the Amalienborg Palaces - which are normally closed to the publicThe Amalienborg complex consists of four rococo palaces from 1750-1758 and is the prime residence of the Danish Royal family.  In the spring of 2004, the Danish Parliament’s Finance Committee approved the commencement of the interior and exterior refurbishment of Frederik VIII’s Palace (part of Amalienborg) to prepare it as a residence for Their Royal Highnesses the Crown Prince and Crown Princess and later on as a Royal Palace. The palace is open to the public until 8 August 2010, after which the Crown Prince and Crown Princess will take up residence shortly afterwards.

Its an amazing palace full of magnificent modern artwork and the grandest architecture. Unfortunately, photographs were not allowed inside, so we can only share views of the outside.  To see the inside for yourselves, you'll have to hop over to Copenhagen sometime before August!

Between two of the palaces you can see the Copenhagen Opera House:

Christiansborg Palace: home to the Danish Parliament... with ample bicycle parking 'round back.

I really liked this family bike (below).  We saw them all over the city, sometimes with more than one little tot tucked away inside!  Seems easier to drive than a bike trailer.  The all-weather cover is a nice touch too.

One of Copenhagen's most famous districts is Nyhavn - a picturesque row of colourful houses along the main canal.  Plenty of fishing boats, tea rooms, and quaint little shops to explore in this area.

Grandma & Grandpa Tolley with the girls at the Nyhavn WWII memorial anchor:

Of course we had to taste the local bakery items - some berry tarts, marzipan tortas and sweet pancakes.

Lego world headquarters are in Denmark.

Tivoli Gardens is a famous amusement park in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on August 15, 1843 and is the second oldest amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampenborg.  Supposedly, Walt Disney once visited here and gained inspiration for his own amusement park.

Tivoli is currently the most visited theme park in Scandinavia (according to our pocket travel guide).

  Pretty walk through the city via the Hans Christian Andersen Boulevard.

The Vor Frue Kirke is the National Cathedral of Denmark and also the home of the original Christus statue.  A copy of this sculpture is located at the Visitor's Center at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah.

This is probably the only cathedral we've ever seen that depicts the resurrected Christ at the altar instead of a Crucifix.  The text at the bottom of the Christus (in gold lettering) - Kommer Til Mig - translates to "Come Unto Me." The Danish language is very similar to Swedish so Grandpa Tolley was able to translate for us.

Matt recounted the story from Richard Neitzel Holzapfel's LDS general conference talk regarding this statue of Peter:

“The Incomparable Blessings of the Priesthood"

While attending an area conference in 1976, President Spencer W. Kimball visited the Vor Frue Kirke cathedral in Copenhagen, Denmark, where statues of the Christus and of the Twelve Apostles by Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen are prominently displayed. Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wrote of that occasion:

“I stood with President Kimball [and others] before the statue of Peter. In his hand, depicted in marble, is a set of heavy keys. President Kimball pointed to them and explained what they symbolized. Then, in an act I shall never forget, he turned to [the Copenhagen stake president] and with unaccustomed sternness pointed his finger at him and said with firm, impressive words, ‘I want you to tell every Lutheran in Denmark that they do not hold the keys! I hold the keys! We hold the real keys and we use them every day.’ ”
President Kimball solemnly and boldly testified that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the priesthood and that God’s children throughout the world can be blessed through this priesthood."

"This is my beloved Son, Hear Him."