Old City Copenhagen Tour (Sun., Aug 13)

Today was our walking tour of the old city section of Copenhagen and it couldn't have been a nicer day. We had mostly sunshine and around 70 degrees. Photo at the right is Kongens Nytorv (King's New Square). It was Sunday so there was a flea market and a beach volleyball game going on. Of course, the weather here is very changeable so it's still necessary to dress in layers and be ready for anything.

The tour started at the statue of Bishop Absalon. Absalon was granted lands by the crown and founded what eventually became modern-day Copenhagen in the middle of the 12th century. The statue faces Christiansborg Palace, which is today the home of the Danish Parliament, and its location is considered the center of the old city.

A lot of the tour was focused on King Christian IV who ruled both Norway and Denmark from 1588 until his death in 1648. He was the longest serving ruler of any of the Scandinavian countries, but he is also known for many other things. He founded several cities (see the statue of his glove when he founded Oslo in my first post), fought many wars, was a womanizer (twenty plus children), a great drinker and he took Denmark to its peak of power (during the Thirty Years War) and then left them almost broke when he died. In fact, it was so bad that they couldn't find the Danish crown for the coronation of the next king because he had sold it. He also built the famous Round Tower (see photo at the right) and Rosenborg Palace. The Round Tower is an observational tower, but he built it without steps so that he could ride his horse to the top, so it is a bit unusual.

The tour ended at the Torvehallerne which is a big food hall and marketplace. It not only sells produce, but it also has many shops which sell all kinds of food products and other goods. It also has a considerable number of restaurants where you can sit down for a quick meal.

One thing I wanted to try here in Copenhagen was the Danish hot dog so here is a photo of mine at the right. According to the tour guide, hot dogs were the most popular fast-food item in Denmark until they were invaded by McDonalds, Burger King and all the rest. The Danish grilled hot dog (really more of a sausage) is topped with a creamy remoulade sauce, fresh pickled cucumbers and crispy fried shallots. It is definitely an unusual combination that I thought was pretty good, but it is impossible to eat without spilling a lot of it so I'm not sure it really works as "fast-food."