DAY 14 - Another day in paradise. Sort of.

I got up early today, but didn't leave for a while. I didn't see much point, especially since the first place I was planning on going to didn't open until 11am - very late. My feet were starting to improve after a quiet night.

Breakfast was Burger King. Shame they don't do breakfast things. The top floor of the place gave me a nice view on Rådhuspladsen.







Thanks, cameraphone, for focussing on the glass, not City Hall...








The statue on Rådhuspladsen. Not quite sure what's happening...








This was the first place on the menu: Ny-Carlsberg Glyptotek. Don't think the name is connected with the beer. It's a museum.







There's a small selection of paintings and a very large selection of sculptures, and I prefer seeing sculptures in museums as they're three-dimensional.






There's a little roof terrace with a nice view of nearby Tivoli. I spent a long time in the museum, if you like sculptures then get down there.






Something strange is on the riverside... it's something to do with the gay stuff.







This is the view over the river, next to...








...this thing. It's the library, a very cool-looking building. I didn't bother going inside, though - well, it's a library, how interesting can it be?






I took a ride on the river 'bus' - it's a boat, obviously - and took another pic of the library.







And I decided it was a chance to see the Opera House, too. Shame the pics suck because of the dirty windows.







See?








After landfall and a quick bus ride, I grabbed a Carlsberg and decided to check out Christiania. I'd heard they'd declared independence, but I had no idea what to expect.






If Disneyland is The Happiest Place on Earth, meet Christiania, the hippiest place on Earth. It's a total mess. Signs everywhere insisted I didn't take photos (presumably because of the open, and illegal, selling of weed), but I grabbed a couple before I saw them. It's a fascinating place to walk around. It's like what a country would look like if it were run by students. Chaos.



There's nothing on the telly, mate... he's not listening. The place attracts people related to other independence movements such as Tibet. The smell of weed is noticeably. It's a crazy place.






You really do have to come here if you visit Copenhagen: it's like stepping into another world, let alone another city. I had some nice ice cream, though. For somewhere with a supposedly communal feel, the people seemed a lot more wary of 'outsiders' than I thought would be the case. Having now read about it on Wikipedia, I'm not very surprised.



Anyway, time to move on. For some reason I thought climbing Our Savior's Church would be a good idea. What do you think? Sigh. Here we go...









Woah, long way up.








Charming view, but...








...it gets higher!








I don't have something to hang onto with my phone, so I'm glad I didn't drop it.







If you look carefully, you can see Christiania in the centre. Hah, they can't stop that photo.







Whew, back on terra firma. Time for the Metro.








Certainly not as far underground as in Kyiv (but then, where is?) and it's a bit louder than Stockholm's. Other than that, meh.







Time to pay a visit to Rosenborg Castle. This bit is military, apparently, so no go.







The same can't be said about the Castle Gardens, of course. Lovely day for a lie down. Not for me, of course.







Getting closer to the castle.











You can't see, but that guy's got a big bloody gun. Wonder what I'd have to do for him to use it?







You're allowed non-flash photos inside. There's a first.








Thrones!








Two thrones!








Lovely.








The arse end.








I walked past the National Gallery to go here, The Hirschsprung Collection, because it closed much earlier. Small, but charming.







The park behind the National Gallery was nice too.








Of course I went back to the Gallery, I wouldn't miss it. After all, my Copenhagen Card needs putting to good... what? Free Admission? Bugger!






Let's just say it has a lot of pictures.








"Oh no, not the bees! Not the bees!! Aaaagh!! They're in my eyes! My eyes!! AAGGHH!!" Sorry.










Agh! This guy gave me a fright when I turned the corner.











Um... yeah. Well, modern art and all that.











"MC Jesus in the house! Make some noise!"








I like this. It can apply to everyone, though it was in a section about Danish national identity.










A huge museum, well worth a look. Anyway, I walked to the train station, via a park. This was stuck in the middle of the park, in a place not so easily accessible. So I took a pic.









What... the hell?








Train back to town... and I needed food. Fortunately, my patience paid off as I eventually found a wonderful place called Brewpub. They brew their own beer (good beer, too, which a British ale drinker can appreciate) and I got a good deal on a HUGE burger meal with my pint of ale.




I say 'a good deal', 150kr is around £18, but for Copenhagen, one of the most expensive (if not the most) places in Europe, it's good value. Besides, you just can't buy this kind of relaxation, after a hard day's travelling.





Time for one more attraction: Hans Christian Andersen. Woo!








It's obviously aimed at kids, but because it was kind of late I took my time and really enjoyed it.







You can stand and watch as some of his better-known tales are played out before your eyes (those buttons start it in a choice of languages).






I really liked watching and listening to these stories, but they never have happy endings: this girl, for example freezes to death. Lovely.






Thumbelina!








Er... it's the Emperor's New Clothes, actually.








And this effect is very cool! In real life, anyway, my camera can't do it justice.










She don't want the prince, so he pretends to be a poor guy with really cool gifts. When she realises it's the prince, she wants him. So he says "screw you, whore!" and buggers off. Another happy ending.





And that's a wrap. I could very well go out tonight, but I probably won't. I have a bit of time tomorrow before my plane, so might do a few things on what would otherwise just be a travel day, since I've only had two full days, unlike Oslo, where I had a little longer. The weather's quite nice, actually. Maybe I should go out...