Visit to Princess Mary's Palace

The Little Mermaid (see the ice in the water around her)

Amalienborg Palace (from Courtyard)

Dome inside the Marble Church

Locals enjoying the King's Gardens

Rosenborg Slot (Castle)

The Throne Room of the Castle

Crown Jewels of Denmark

View from the Second Floor (note all the people sitting on seats enjoying the sun)

Typical Cafe with all bikes outside

I am sure no Aussie could visit Copenhagen and NOT call in to see where our Princess Mary lives in Amalienborg Palace. I was no exception. Today dawned bright & sunny, and Kim & I braved the minus 4 C temperature to go and do our bit to keep Mary company. We got to Amalienborg Courtyard in time to see the changing of the guards. We looked up to wave to Princess Mary - well, we waved at the palace and hoped she was home and standing by a window, and maybe, just maybe, she realised it was us. On the way there, we walked along the frozen shore and visited the famous Danish landmark, the statue of the Little Mermaid. Hans Christian Andersen wrote a fairy tale about her, and Disney made a movie about her. She looked pretty chilly this morning - I can tell you that - ice was clustered at her feet.

After a reviving coffee & Danish pastry (can't beat eating a danish in Denmark!) we wandered into see inside the magnificent Marble Church. It's green dome is a distinct feature of the Copenhagen skyline, and from inside it is spectacular. Then we walked a few more blocks and entered the grounds of Rosenborg Castle. It was built in 1606 and was the Royal residence up until 1710. (The Royals prime residence is now Amalienborg Palace). The Castle is surrounded by the King's Garden and even though it was chilly today, the sunny weather bought lots of people to walk in the grounds. Apparently the gardens attract 2.5 million visitors a year - it has flowers blooming in spring & summer. The floors of the old castle are now a Museum where centuries of Danish Royal memorabilia collections are housed. Amazing stuff. We saw several floors of royal artifacts, and also went into the Treasury to see the crown jewels which belong to the currently reigning royal family. In the cellar were bottles of wine that were laid down in 1615. Apparently they have enough wine in the cellar to last 300 years. Ah yes, but will it be drinkable? The castle itself is guarded by the Royal Life Guards and they constantly patrol around.

The castle shut at 2pm, so we decided it was time for a late lunch. Kim led me along several blocks to find one of her regular cafe's. The first cafe was full, so we were lucky to get a table at the next one. The cafe business is very popular - despite coffees costing around $5 AUD, there seems no shortage of customers. Kim ordered a goat's cheese platter which didn't sound too interesting from the menu, but when it was served it looked very appetising. I ordered what I thought was a full, anti pasto platter, but it turned out to be mainly a selection of salami, spicy sausages, paté, gherkins, olive tapenade & pesto sauce - no cheese or marinated capsicums etc. Both meals were not huge, but cost $20 AUD each. I have found eating out to be quite expensive. Even a danish pastry is around $2.50 AUD. I took a photo outside this cafe today, as it shows all the customers' bikes pulled up outside. Driving cars is discouraged here, so fuel & parking costs are set high, hoping to keep fuel emissions from fouling the environment. I can't recall seeing one obese person during my 10 days here, so I guess the regular walking/bike riding keeps everyone fit.