Copenhagen was very busy with five cruise ships in port today. Our walking tour did cross paths with the large crowds and busloads of tourists, but also took us along side streets well away from the other groups.
We continued our walk along the promenade. Our guide pointed out a few famous buildings across Copenhagen Harbor (Københavns Havn) from where we walked. One was the Copenhagen Opera House. It is directly across from Amalienborg, where we would be visiting shortly. In the not-so-far distance was the Church of our Savior, easily recognized by a helical spire that reaches a height of 90 meters. Another of its identifying characteristics is its external winding staircase. There are 400 steps to reach the top. If you can ascend all of those steps, you will be treated to fantastic views of central Copenhagen. Next time I’ll have to climb those steps to experience those views.
Further on down the promenade we came across a replica bronze statue of 
Michelangelo’s David. ‘David’ stands outside the Royal Cast Collection (Den Kongelige Afstøbningssamling), which is part of the Statens Museum for Kunst. Our guide told us that this particular statue is one of a handful of other replicas of Michelangelo’s David found throughout Europe.
When viewed from most angles, ‘David’ looks just ordinary. But when viewed head on, with the red brick of the Royal Cast Collection building as a backdrop, the green of the oxidized bronze makes a striking contrast…and a nice photograph.
Across the harbor sat the HDMS Sælen (S323), ‘on the hard’, right outside the old navy headquarters. Our guide said the vessel was a coastal submarine of the Royal Danish Navy. Before the Royal Danish Navy purchased it in 1990, it belonged to the Royal Norwegian Navy. It sank while being towed from Copenhagen to Aarhus, but was recovered and restored. The Sælen served during the invasion of Iraq.
Sometimes on these tours you find something unexpected. Case in point was a futuristic yacht tied up along the promenade. Its design was a study in angles and curves. In front of it, arms folded, a slight smile on his face, stood the skipper. I guess he was the skipper. He sure looked like the proud driver of this magnificent craft. Many passersby stopped to take pictures of the yacht. Wish I could sail aboard a vessel like this. I spent several minutes just staring, drooling. One day…
And just off the port side of the yacht was the Fountain of Amaliehaven. Beyond the fountain lay Amalienborg. Amalienborg is home to four palaces: Christian VII’s palace, Frederick VIII’s palace, Christian VIII’s palace, and Christian IX’s palace. They surround a large courtyard, shaped like an octagon. The courtyard is called Amalienborg Palace Square. One of the palaces looked like it was wearing a necklace made of gold and ivory elephants. I wonder what the significance of that is. A statue of King Frederick V on horseback stands in center of the expansive, cobblestone palace square.
Amalienborg serves as the main royal residence. This was my first time seeing a place where royalty still lives. The Royal Life Guards (Den Kongelige Livgarde) were on duty. They carry bayoneted guns. While some members of our group took photos of them, they cautioned us to watch out for the cars that drive through. Two streets, Frederiksgade and Amaliegade run at right angles through Amalienborg so we definitely heeded his advice.
Something else we missed was the march of the guards. The guard start their march from Rosenborg Castle at 11:30 am. The changing of the guard then takes place in front of Amalienborg daily at noon. We didn’t get to see that.
Up ahead was Frederik’s Church, also called The Marble Church, at the end of Frederiksgade, the narrow street that runs from the palaces. We did not get to visit that church, either. It looked like such a beautiful church from the outside. If I return here again, I’ll have to make it a point to go inside.
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