Rebecca White
Gal_From _Gallifrey
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2018
Disclaimer: As a 21 year old, I do not think I was the target demographic for this trip. However, I will try to be as objective as I can.
So this trip...was rather underwhelming for me. Granted, I had just come off the new Iceland tour, but even the old Knights and Lights trip had its moments. My first issue was there were too many people in our group, 46! No one was on time and we were constantly late everywhere we went. Thankfully, no activities were so time consuming that being late would have required an itinerary change. Second, there were no children/young adults on this tour. Most people doing this trip were going to the cruise straight afterwards, so likewise our trip catered heavily to that "cruise-age" demographic. However, I would not have wanted to see Copenhagen any other way, as I would have completely missed some of the best parts the city and country have to offer. With that being said, here is the day-to-day action.
Day 1: Arrival in Copenhagen.
I cheated a bit here. We were already in Iceland, then we spent two days in France in between. Needless to say, we flew in midday with no jet lag to speak of. We met our guides, Amber and Robyn, at the Tivoli Hotel in Copenhagen. This hotel is between the central train station and a construction site, but the noise level wasn't too bad. There is also lots of graffiti in this area, but according to our local guide Klaus it is not indicative of a high crime rate like it is in America. To kill time I went to the National Museum of Denmark, which is sort of like a Natural History Museum with archaeology, artwork, and antiquities. Dinner that night was just at the hotel, served buffet style.
My thoughts: So not too bad, Copenhagen is a very clean city and over 60% of citizens bike everywhere so there are good bike lanes. I never felt "unsafe" like I do in Paris and pride week was going on so yay!! If you are looking for things to do before dinner, do not go to Tivoli Gardens or Nyhavn as you will be visiting those places on Day 2. The hotel was really separated from a lot of the major tourist attractions in Copenhagen except for Tivoli Gardens, so if you want to see the city center you would have to take a cab or a bus.
Day 2: Treasures of Denmark.
After days and days of 6:30 or 7:30 am meeting times in Iceland, we finally had a respite. We met at 9:00 for a walking tour of the city, featuring our local guide Klaus. He led us through the city to the royal palaces, the famous shopping streets, and by the old stock exchange and cathedral. Our tour ended in Nyhavn, the harbor with the colorful buildings, where we started a canal tour. The boat took us around more of the city, and we even paused right behind the Little Mermaid statue! The rest of the day, including lunch and dinner, are spent in Tivoli Gardens. If you have been to Disneyland you will believe that Walt was inspired by Tivoli. So much was packed into such a small area, and there was almost not enough time to enjoy it all! There is an additional guided tour you can take of Tivoli with a different local guide named Max. He's awesome, 10/10 recommend his tour. You will fill the rest of the day at Tivoli, guaranteed. At 7:00 there is a pantomime show on the famous Chinese stage, and at 10:00 there is a laser light show on the water.
My thoughts: What I expected from a "big city" ABD. The walking tour isn't bad, only 2 miles give or take. Tivoli is what really blew my mind. I have never been to Disneyland in California before, but if it is anything like Tivoli it will be magical. They have a Matterhorn ride that is so old, it is literally just a wagon on rails. An operator has to sit in the middle of the wagon and pull on the breaks to keep you from flying off the ride. Harrowing but enjoyable. If you get motion sick easily, be very careful here. There are many rides that spin and tilt, and just looking at them made me sick. I recommend the Hans Christian Anderson ride, it is a cross between Haunted Mansion and Peter Pan that takes you into Anderson's stories. There is food from all corners of the earth, and when the sun sets everything lights up.
Day 3: To Be or Not to Be
Yeah yeah yeah as the title suggests you go to Hamlet's castle. But first, you drive to Roskilde to see the Vikingship museum. I'm minoring in archaeology at college and this was the coolest thing ever! You see the excavated remains of 5 viking ships that were sunk purposely in the fjord to deter attackers, then get to board a replica of the ship yourself. Lunch is also there at, of all places, an Italian restaurant on property. The first of the two castles you visit is Frederiksborg castle. Here, you don't go inside, but you get a lovely tour around the lush gardens. The second castle is Kronborg castle, from which Shakespeare based the famous Elsinore castle in Hamlet. Not only could you walk around inside, but a troupe of actors ran about in real time acting out scenes from Hamlet, engaging the guests at times. Dinner was back in Copenhagen at Tivolihallen, an award winning family run restaurant. Food included some pasta and potato salad, plus a carving station with every meat imaginable. As this was a short tour, there was no photo slideshow at the end.
My thoughts: Archaeology!!! Ok, so besides that the lunch we had was actually terrible. I watched as they brought the food up from downstairs and place it under a heating lamp before they served it. Yes the food was still cold. I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt, as we were a big group and it would be difficult to prepare for us, but several of our group never got any food. The staff was standing around, not really sure what to do, and eventually told the four of us they didn't prepare anything for us. Our guides also didn't seem to be willing to do anything to fix the situation either. Fortunately for me, I was traveling with my family so I could share with them, but given what I've experienced with ABD in the past I am surprised nothing was done about it. Frederiksborg castle seemed like a waste of time to me. We only walked through the gardens, that's it. I would have rather spent more time at Kronborg castle and watched more of the Hamlet production as that was the most entertaining bit of the day.
All in all, this trip was still better than seeing Copenhagen by myself, but I would recommend it be done before the cruise as it is intended. My family flew home rather than continue on, and our departure was a bit chaotic because we were deviant from the group. Our guides were...average, nothing good to say but nothing bad to say either. Robyn typically does the Alaska trip and Amber the Peru trip. If you are deciding between this trip and any other of ABD's Europe trips (especially Iceland!!!!!!!!), pick the other trip.
Cheers!
So this trip...was rather underwhelming for me. Granted, I had just come off the new Iceland tour, but even the old Knights and Lights trip had its moments. My first issue was there were too many people in our group, 46! No one was on time and we were constantly late everywhere we went. Thankfully, no activities were so time consuming that being late would have required an itinerary change. Second, there were no children/young adults on this tour. Most people doing this trip were going to the cruise straight afterwards, so likewise our trip catered heavily to that "cruise-age" demographic. However, I would not have wanted to see Copenhagen any other way, as I would have completely missed some of the best parts the city and country have to offer. With that being said, here is the day-to-day action.
Day 1: Arrival in Copenhagen.
I cheated a bit here. We were already in Iceland, then we spent two days in France in between. Needless to say, we flew in midday with no jet lag to speak of. We met our guides, Amber and Robyn, at the Tivoli Hotel in Copenhagen. This hotel is between the central train station and a construction site, but the noise level wasn't too bad. There is also lots of graffiti in this area, but according to our local guide Klaus it is not indicative of a high crime rate like it is in America. To kill time I went to the National Museum of Denmark, which is sort of like a Natural History Museum with archaeology, artwork, and antiquities. Dinner that night was just at the hotel, served buffet style.
My thoughts: So not too bad, Copenhagen is a very clean city and over 60% of citizens bike everywhere so there are good bike lanes. I never felt "unsafe" like I do in Paris and pride week was going on so yay!! If you are looking for things to do before dinner, do not go to Tivoli Gardens or Nyhavn as you will be visiting those places on Day 2. The hotel was really separated from a lot of the major tourist attractions in Copenhagen except for Tivoli Gardens, so if you want to see the city center you would have to take a cab or a bus.
Day 2: Treasures of Denmark.
After days and days of 6:30 or 7:30 am meeting times in Iceland, we finally had a respite. We met at 9:00 for a walking tour of the city, featuring our local guide Klaus. He led us through the city to the royal palaces, the famous shopping streets, and by the old stock exchange and cathedral. Our tour ended in Nyhavn, the harbor with the colorful buildings, where we started a canal tour. The boat took us around more of the city, and we even paused right behind the Little Mermaid statue! The rest of the day, including lunch and dinner, are spent in Tivoli Gardens. If you have been to Disneyland you will believe that Walt was inspired by Tivoli. So much was packed into such a small area, and there was almost not enough time to enjoy it all! There is an additional guided tour you can take of Tivoli with a different local guide named Max. He's awesome, 10/10 recommend his tour. You will fill the rest of the day at Tivoli, guaranteed. At 7:00 there is a pantomime show on the famous Chinese stage, and at 10:00 there is a laser light show on the water.
My thoughts: What I expected from a "big city" ABD. The walking tour isn't bad, only 2 miles give or take. Tivoli is what really blew my mind. I have never been to Disneyland in California before, but if it is anything like Tivoli it will be magical. They have a Matterhorn ride that is so old, it is literally just a wagon on rails. An operator has to sit in the middle of the wagon and pull on the breaks to keep you from flying off the ride. Harrowing but enjoyable. If you get motion sick easily, be very careful here. There are many rides that spin and tilt, and just looking at them made me sick. I recommend the Hans Christian Anderson ride, it is a cross between Haunted Mansion and Peter Pan that takes you into Anderson's stories. There is food from all corners of the earth, and when the sun sets everything lights up.
Day 3: To Be or Not to Be
Yeah yeah yeah as the title suggests you go to Hamlet's castle. But first, you drive to Roskilde to see the Vikingship museum. I'm minoring in archaeology at college and this was the coolest thing ever! You see the excavated remains of 5 viking ships that were sunk purposely in the fjord to deter attackers, then get to board a replica of the ship yourself. Lunch is also there at, of all places, an Italian restaurant on property. The first of the two castles you visit is Frederiksborg castle. Here, you don't go inside, but you get a lovely tour around the lush gardens. The second castle is Kronborg castle, from which Shakespeare based the famous Elsinore castle in Hamlet. Not only could you walk around inside, but a troupe of actors ran about in real time acting out scenes from Hamlet, engaging the guests at times. Dinner was back in Copenhagen at Tivolihallen, an award winning family run restaurant. Food included some pasta and potato salad, plus a carving station with every meat imaginable. As this was a short tour, there was no photo slideshow at the end.
My thoughts: Archaeology!!! Ok, so besides that the lunch we had was actually terrible. I watched as they brought the food up from downstairs and place it under a heating lamp before they served it. Yes the food was still cold. I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt, as we were a big group and it would be difficult to prepare for us, but several of our group never got any food. The staff was standing around, not really sure what to do, and eventually told the four of us they didn't prepare anything for us. Our guides also didn't seem to be willing to do anything to fix the situation either. Fortunately for me, I was traveling with my family so I could share with them, but given what I've experienced with ABD in the past I am surprised nothing was done about it. Frederiksborg castle seemed like a waste of time to me. We only walked through the gardens, that's it. I would have rather spent more time at Kronborg castle and watched more of the Hamlet production as that was the most entertaining bit of the day.
All in all, this trip was still better than seeing Copenhagen by myself, but I would recommend it be done before the cruise as it is intended. My family flew home rather than continue on, and our departure was a bit chaotic because we were deviant from the group. Our guides were...average, nothing good to say but nothing bad to say either. Robyn typically does the Alaska trip and Amber the Peru trip. If you are deciding between this trip and any other of ABD's Europe trips (especially Iceland!!!!!!!!), pick the other trip.
Cheers!
And there was one morning where we met at 9:30 am, everyone was cheering
