Tag Archives: Copenhagen

On to Sweden! Next stop, Liseberg

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This is the fifth in a series of blog posts documenting our 2023 summer holiday: a wonderful road-trip around Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

Day 5: July 28, 2023

Today we said farvel to Denmark (for now) with a 315km road trip to Gothenburg (Göteborg).

But before we could leave Denmark we needed to get some more Danish pastries for the road. And where better than at a Lagkagehuset? For we Brits that’s the chain of bakeries that we are more familiar with as Ole & Steen.

Pastries procured we started our drive towards another landmark of Danish culture – the Øresund Bridge. This crossing had been firmly embedded in my consciousness after my very first visit to the Government Digital Service offices and a pub conversation about this incredible new Danish-Swedish thriller. Suffice to say Christine and I absolutely loved Bron/Broen and here we were with our opportunity to follow in the wheel tracks of Saga, Martin and Henrik.

Aerial view of the 8km Øresund Bridge taken from a plane. The artificial island of Peberholm is visible in the foreground where the road disappears into the 4km Drogden Tunnel. The sea is bright and blue and the sky is clear with a few scattered clouds.
A photo of the Øresund crossing taken by my pilot friend Chris from the cockpit of his Easyjet

I had forgotten that as well as being an 8km long road and railway bridge, that the Øresund crossing starts with a 4km tunnel (the Drogden Tunnel) linking the Danish island of Amager with the artificial island of Peberholm. I also hadn’t realised that every time that olive green Porsche did the crossing that it would take a good half an hour and cost £55 (maybe the police have an exemption).

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Experimenting at the Experimentarium

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This is the fourth in a series of blog posts documenting our 2023 summer holiday: a wonderful road-trip around Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

Day 4: July 27, 2023

The Experimentarium

A core memory of mine (to use Inside Out speak) is the one or two occasions spent in the basement of the Science Museum playing with all sorts of amazing interactive exhibits. It’s planted deep in my mind this idea of the Science Museum as a fun and interactive place where you not only see exhibits but touch and feel science as well. Unfortunately, having returned to the Science Museum with both Ezra and Eleanor in more recent times it doesn’t have the same sense of magic1.

But Copenhagen’s Experimentarium does. Originally something we had intended to cover with the cost of the Copenhagen Card part of our decision to buy the tickets individually was our use of the hire car to travel around Copenhagen and get out to this museum rather than using public transport (parking cost us about £8 for the day). And it was another highlight (every day has been a highlight so is that idea getting devalued?)

For the family it cost us 776 DKK for entry and made me pause to think about how my expectation of some of the most famous British attractions is for them to be free (and full of requests for donations). When I go to the Science Museum or the Natural History Museum it is fantastic to find that they are free of charge (we do have paid for membership of the Natural History Museum). However, charging entrance is obviously a factor in how the Experimentarium to refresh and reimagine and invest in the experience they offer in a way that was refreshing and impressive.

The Experimentarium is everything I want The Science Museum to be.

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Fun at Tivoli Gardens

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This is the third in a series of blog posts documenting our 2023 summer holiday: a wonderful road-trip around Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

Day 3: July 26, 2023

The third day of our holiday was one we were all very excited for – the first theme park of the trip as we planned to spend the day at the iconic Tivoli Gardens.

A scenic view of a tree-lined sidewalk beside a decorative iron fence adorned with blooming flowers. In the background, there is a historic building with a tall spire visible against a clear blue sky. People can be seen walking in the distance along the pathway.
A child in blue shorts stands next to a large bronze sculpture of two lions engaged in a fierce pose. The sculpture is located on a grassy area near a road, with trees and buildings visible in the background. The sky is partly cloudy.

After making sure we stocked up with a hearty breakfast at Cabinn we walked into the centre of Copenhagen.

A city scene featuring a large historic building with a tall spire, set against a blue sky filled with fluffy white clouds. In the foreground, there are bike lanes marked with symbols, and a street populated with various vehicles, including a bus. The scene captures the vibrant urban atmosphere.
A vibrant outdoor stage is seen in a park, with people walking along a pathway and gathering on the grass. The sky is partly cloudy, and trees surround the area. Several steps lead up to the stage, which is decorated with banners.

Our visit coincided with the culmination of the 110th Tour de France, which had been won by Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard. This meant that the centre of Copenhagen was buzzing with cycling fans. We were in the queue for Tivoli before the majority of people had arrived but it was still getting busy enough. And as we made our way into the park we found that a special stage had been set up inside in his honour.

There is a dizzying array of ticketing options for Tivoli Gardens. At its most basic you can buy a ticket to enter the gardens and have pay per use access to the rides and amenities. And then there were various ticket passes and packages that included food and drink and photos.

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Exploring the Heart of Copenhagen

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This is the second in a series of blog posts documenting our 2023 summer holiday: a wonderful road-trip around Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

Day 2: July 25, 2023

We did a lot with our first full day in Copenhagen!

First, a Copenhagen Treasure Hunt

When I visit somewhere new I love the experience of getting out on foot and orienting myself somewhere. But self-guided walking tours aren’t always that much fun, especially for children, so it was brilliant to discover Seek and See.

For less than £20 we got a route that introduced us to Skyla and helped her build a new spaceship so that she could return to save her home planet.

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We’re all going on a Summer Holiday

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This is the first in a series of blog posts documenting our 2023 summer holiday: a wonderful road-trip around Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

Day 1: July 24 2023

Today was the day we set off on our exciting journey across Scandinavia as we left Waddon and flew, via London Heathrow, to Billund in Denmark.

We weighed up all the options about how to get from our pocket of London to Heathrow and in the end decided to drive and leave our car with Maple Parking Meet and Greet, booked via Holiday Extras for about £150. Services like this come with pretty bad reputations but despite that we figured our 19 year old Focus would be safe enough. And thankfully it was.

We were flying to Billund because the starting point for our decision to go to Scandinavia for our holiday was to visit OG Legoland in Billund. So our round trip starts and ends in Billund – with Legoland as the grand finale.

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