The Holmens Church houses the tombs of two of the most revered Danish naval heroes.
The Borsen Stock Exchange, which dates from the early 1600s, used to be a large marketplace. Today the many gabled building with the dragon tail spire is believed to be the oldest stock exchange still in use anywhere in the world.
Just across the street from the Stock Exchange is the Christiansborg Palace, a large complex consisting of the Royal Reception Hall, the Parliament House and the Supreme Court.
After a stop there, we drove past the Vor Frelsers Church with its magnificent green and gold spire on our way to the main square. Then we made our way to Christiania, where a community of non-conformists took up residence in 1971 and where picture taking is forbidden.
Our next stop was on a pier where we walked along and viewed a large passenger ship docked there, posed for photos at a beautiful fountain, and walked into the large plaza fronting the Amalienborg Castle. The four identical buildings there house the royals, and have done so since 1784. The big open area reminds me of the Place Vendome in Paris. The really amazing thing is that the plaza is open to the public. Cars drive in and out and back and forth and up and down the streets that pass in front of the royal residence with nothing more than ceremonial uniformed guards stationed at four different points. Imagine the White House without the fences and metal detectors, and with cars passing within a few short feet of the entrance. What a wonderfully peaceful place. We were there long enough to see the changing of the guard.
Our final stop was the marina where Hans Christian Anderson's Little Mermaid, the symbol of Copenhagen, perches atop a rock along the shore. The statue itself is a little shocking because it is so very tiny.
Click a picture to see a larger view.
Laura and I at the Airport
The Holmens Kirken
The Borsen Stock Exchange
Three Entwined Dragons Form the Spire
The Christianborg Palace
Area Behind the Stock Exchange and the Palace
Through the City
The Spire of the Vor Felsors Kirken
Radhus Pladsen
Christiania
Along the Pier
Amalienborg Slot
Statue of King Frederik V
Church
Changing of the Guard
Unusual Car
The Little Mermaid
Statue near the Little Mermaid
The Marina by the Little Mermaid
