After our semester was over and before I flew home, Shannon,
two of her teammates and I went to Copenhagen for the Tivoli Christmas market.
In December there is very little sunlight, we only had around 5 hours of
“daylight” a day, but it was mostly grey and rainy so it didn’t really make a
difference! We arrived Saturday evening and went to dinner. Sunday was jam
packed with touring.
We started off at Lagkagehuset, a well-known bakery for
breakfast. We had danishes and “snail” pastries. After we climbed Rundetårn,
known as the round tower. The tower was built in the 17th
century under Christian IV as an astronomical observatory. Instead of stairs we
circled up to the top on a sloped ramp. Copenhagen is known as the City of
Spires, due to the relatively flat skyline with few towers and spires piercing
the horizon, which could be seen from the top of the tower.
As we made our way throughout the city we walked down Østergade the main shopping street. In one of the squares off the street we found a small Christmas Market, which reminded me a lot of the typical German and Austrian Markets. We then made our way to Nyhavn, a 17th century waterfront and canal that is dotted with many colorful bars and cafes. This strip is probably one of the most photographed sections of Copenhagen and even in the rain it was beautiful.
It was finally time for the Tivoli Christmas market! Located in the Tivoli Gardens, it is one of the most famous Christmas Markets in Europe. We wanted to go in the late afternoon/early evening to see the Market lit up. The Market was so large and unlike other Christmas Markets that I have been to! Over 50 stands were in the shape of mini houses and they sold a wide array of food including pastries, Glühwein, crepes and waffles. We found one stand that sold pulled pork and Danish Meatball sandwiches that were delicious. After eating we began to walk taking in the sites. As it got darker and the lights came on, it became even prettier. This year’s main theme was Russian Christmas and in the center of the Tivoli Square was a Russian village and St Basil’s Cathedral. The rest of the Market had the Nordic Theme, so thousands of bells, ornaments and lights hung from the pine trees and houses twinkling at night providing the perfect Christmas atmosphere!
Sunday morning we went in a totally different direction and headed to Freetown Christiania, a self proclaimed autonomous neighborhood in Copenhagen. Freetown started in 1971, when locals began to take over the Military barracks. The Christiania Law of 1989 governs the area and their nine main laws include no hard drugs, no guns or bulletproof vests, no fighting, no gangs and no private cars. It is definitely not somewhere that I would picture myself going because it cannot be further from my likes and my style, and the four of us couldn’t have looked more out of place, but it was interesting to see. After we headed for lunch we walked around a little more and caught our plane back to Milan.
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| View from the Tower |
As we made our way throughout the city we walked down Østergade the main shopping street. In one of the squares off the street we found a small Christmas Market, which reminded me a lot of the typical German and Austrian Markets. We then made our way to Nyhavn, a 17th century waterfront and canal that is dotted with many colorful bars and cafes. This strip is probably one of the most photographed sections of Copenhagen and even in the rain it was beautiful.
It was finally time for the Tivoli Christmas market! Located in the Tivoli Gardens, it is one of the most famous Christmas Markets in Europe. We wanted to go in the late afternoon/early evening to see the Market lit up. The Market was so large and unlike other Christmas Markets that I have been to! Over 50 stands were in the shape of mini houses and they sold a wide array of food including pastries, Glühwein, crepes and waffles. We found one stand that sold pulled pork and Danish Meatball sandwiches that were delicious. After eating we began to walk taking in the sites. As it got darker and the lights came on, it became even prettier. This year’s main theme was Russian Christmas and in the center of the Tivoli Square was a Russian village and St Basil’s Cathedral. The rest of the Market had the Nordic Theme, so thousands of bells, ornaments and lights hung from the pine trees and houses twinkling at night providing the perfect Christmas atmosphere!
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| Shannon and I at Tivoli |
Sunday morning we went in a totally different direction and headed to Freetown Christiania, a self proclaimed autonomous neighborhood in Copenhagen. Freetown started in 1971, when locals began to take over the Military barracks. The Christiania Law of 1989 governs the area and their nine main laws include no hard drugs, no guns or bulletproof vests, no fighting, no gangs and no private cars. It is definitely not somewhere that I would picture myself going because it cannot be further from my likes and my style, and the four of us couldn’t have looked more out of place, but it was interesting to see. After we headed for lunch we walked around a little more and caught our plane back to Milan.
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| Bikes in Christiania. The bike on the left is the Christiania Bike |
Copenhagen was a beautiful city and the people were so friendly and helpful. It was a great place to go for a quick weekend trip and with all the Christmas markets and Christmas themed decorations it really got me in the holiday spirit! Throughout the city there were Christmas decorations everywhere, including hundreds of red hearts. We asked a girl why there were so many hearts and she replied “It’s Christmas!” and when we asked why the hearts she replied that Christmas is love. I think that pretty much sums up the Christmas Season perfectly!
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| Heart Tree at Tivoli |
