Tag: stockholm to copenhagen

Copenhagen Bike Tour

Copenhagen Bike Tour

 

Recommendation

The Travelin’ Man’s Overall Recommendation: VERY GOOD*
(surprisingly good, exceeding on some levels)

  • What did I like the most: The tour itself was very thorough and original, did not overlap knowledge from our canal tour or food tour.
  • What is the biggest area for improvement: I didn’t care for the back peddle braking system.

Logistics

This was The Urban Tour  with bicycle tour company Cycling Copenhagen  (http://www.cycling-copenhagen.dk)

They are located at, and the tour started at: Cycling Copenhagen, Westend 4, 1661 København V, Denmark.

It was a 12km (7.5 mi) ride around the northwestern part of Copenhagen proper. The cost was 299 dkk, and it lasted about two and a half hours. There is a guide that leads the tour and stops at key points along the way to give you historical perspective on the area or particular landmarks.

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Our tour guide was Jacob, and he rocked it! He was friendly, energetic, and knowledgeable. Since the weather was a bit dreary, we were given ponchos….”just in case” haha. The owner of the tour company came out to wish us bon voyage, it was a nice touch.

The Bikes

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There were two different types of bikes. The white one in the previous section being displayed by our guide was a pretty standard three speed with front and rear brakes on the left and right handles respectively. Others had one like mine, shown here. Also a three speed, but it had the old timey rear brake system where you  reverse pedal to apply the rear brake, and the front brake was on the left handle. Not a big deal, really, although I prefer the models with both brakes on the handles.

Even though it was an urban tour, I didn’t have to use the bell one time! That never happens in Stockholm!

The Tour

We just love bicycle tours and try to take them when we can, mostly determined by the weather. What better way to experience an area than with the wind whipping through your hair, and with no windshields or obstacles blocking your view…

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You can see the exact route we took above. I tracked us using my Fitbit. While it is advertised as a 12km ride, my Fitbit tracked it closer to 14km (sorry, that last little blip was where I forgot to turn off Fitbit tracking). But this could just as easily be an error in the way Fitbit measures it, for example look at 3rd and 4th kilometer, looks kind of suspicious to me. I would trust the pros, but really, we’re only talking 2k here.

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Anyhow, we went through some really nice areas. Above is the front side of Christiansborg Palace. If you read my article on the canal tour, then you saw the back side of this from inside the canal. Yup, The Travelin’ Man gets around.

 

 

 

Jacob took us to a little known sort of private gardens where we got off our bikes and walked around a bit. Absolutely stunning, and the gardens aren’t too shabby either!

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This is a fabulous view of some of the downtown buildings. This just looks ultra contemporary to me. Even with the dreary, overcast weather, this view looks fresh and bright. Copenhagen has done an excellent job modernizing their skyline without compromising historic integrity. Case in point, look at the next picture.

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Definitely not one of my better pictures, but this used to be two cement silos (there is another one to the right). They were hideous to look at, especially in light of the city beautification project, but they were not able to take them down. So they built (high dollar) apartments around and through the silos. Absolute engineering genious!

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Jacob led us through a cemetery that is also a popular park. The idea being to celebrate life by making the cemetery a beautiful park that people can enjoy. And some pretty famous people resting here, as you can see.

And of course just a ton of other great things we saw on this tour. As you may have caught on, it was quite dreary during this tour, and the threat of rain seemed to be increasing as we neared the end of the tour. At one point, we were stopped at an intersection waiting for a light, and Jacob informed us we were only two minutes away from base.

Jana pointed down the street, “We’re not gonna make it”- you could literally see the heavy rain splattering down on the cobblestones AND you could see it moving in our direction! The light turned green and suddenly we were all Tour de France contenders in a every-man-for-himself race back to base!

But Jana was right, we didn’t make it….although it was very, very close and we only got a little bit wet. But it sure was an exciting way to end an already fabulous tour!

* Each area is rated on a scale 1-5, with 1 = poor, 3 = good, 5 = exceptional
How did this do compared to what I had expected: 4
How well were the logistics handled: 3
Was the staff helpful and friendly: 4
Overall execution and presentation: 4
Total score: 15
4 – 8 is POOR (was not at all what I expected and/or was not worth the time/money)
9 – 10 is OK (quality of the experience was a little low, but I enjoyed it)
11 – 13 is GOOD (met expectations, would recommend, would do again)
14 – 15 is VERY GOOD (surprisingly good, exceeding on some levels)
16 – 20 is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (outperformed my expectations, great value)

 

 

Tivoli Gardens of Copenhagen

Tivoli Gardens of Copenhagen

 

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Easily the most beautiful amusement park I have ever seen. Do you remember “I Dream of Jeannie,” the TV show from the late 60’s? Recall how she had a fully furnished living room down inside that tiny little bottle she lived in? Well this amusement park is just like that.

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You look around at all the rides, ponds, gardens, and restaurants, and you ask yourself, how the hell did they get all this stuff in the middle of town and in such a seemingly very small area. It’s truly amazing. I’m sure it is actually the bottom of some genie’s bottle.

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And there are quite a few rides packed in here, and not cheap rides like you might see in other amusement parks, some of these are really decent rides. And the restaurants, OMG. Tons of restaurants at all levels of quality. Seriously, like 20 places to eat, probably 80% were sit down decent restaurants.

The other 20% would be fast food, street food booths, and candy vendors. The smell of cotton candy, hamburgers, and popcorn tells your senses your are definitely in an amusement park!

 

 

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We sat at one place for drinks. We were surrounded by the beautifully landscaped gardens and literally right next to a pond used for the bumper boats. From where we sat, we could see most of the biggest and scariest rides all around us, and we were entertained by hearing the screams from the passengers. It was awesome fun! No, of course we didn’t ride anything. But we sure had fun laughing at those who did!

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Oh wait, we did find one ride us old folks could handle, haha! She makes it look so easy!

Later, we had dinner at Fru Nimb, which is reviewed on the restaurants page. It was an unforgettable experience sitting on their private terrace, people watching while having a delicious dinner and wine with our friend from the US, Melissa-The-Shark-Tamer. We love you girl!

Good times.

The Train

The Train

Train from Stockholm to Copenhagen

Logistics

We got our round trip tickets online at sj.se for about 1200 kr each ($150). The train ride is around five hours each way. We left Stockholm Central Station on time, and arrived at Copenhagen Central Station a half hour late.

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The seats were preassigned. The rows were two seats on each side. We all sat together in the same area. The seats, even though they did not recline, were very comfortable. And about as roomy as a first class ticket on a plane, though not as wide. There was ample storage overhead. Each seat had a large pull down table, and there were two power outlets in the center console.

There is, of course, a bathroom on each car. There was a bistro in car 5 that served snacks, sandwiches, and drinks, including beer and wine.

 

The Ride

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As you would expect, the scenery across southern Sweden is absolutely stunning. And keep in mind that these pictures were taken from the high speed train while zipping through the countryside.

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Coming from the city, we sometimes forget what the wide open country looks like. Beautiful sprawling pastures, lush green forests, and calm clear lakes and ponds. You can almost smell the fresh air even inside the high speed train as it dashes through the scenery.

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And the train is so quiet, it’s very easy to take naps or have quiet conversations. For the most part, it is a very smooth ride, but there was some side to side jostling later in the trip out. I assume this was because we were at a higher rate of speed to make up some lost time. There are frequent stops at most of the major towns to pick people up and drop others off.

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Then you’ll cross the Øresund Bridge. The bridge runs nearly 8 kilometres (5 miles) from the Swedish coast to the artificial island of Peberholm in the middle of the strait. The crossing is completed by the 4-kilometre (2.5 mi) Drogden Tunnel from Peberholm to the Danish island of Amager, then on to Copenhagen.

For us, the relaxing and scenic voyage on the train is part of the enjoyment of the trip