The Canals of Copenhagen and Carlsberg Brewery

My dad & me

 Today Dad & I hopped on the Open Top Tours double decker bus and took it over to the first stop on their canal tour route. After a bit of a wait we climbed aboard the open topped boat which took us through the canal system around Copenhagen and under the numerous low bridges that cross over them. We cruised past the Little Mermaid statue, the old stock exchange building and Eclipse - the second largest personal yacht in the world, wowza!

Cruising through the canals

The Marble Bridge

The Eclipse

The Queen's library in the castle

   After we cruised around for an hour Dad & I got off the boat so we could explore Christianborg Castle. Entrance was free thanks to our Copenhagen Card. We walked around the castle and down underneath it to see the ruins of the past 2 castles that sat there before the current castle. After walking around for an hour or so, we rode a city bus back to the central train station and grabbed a Polser hotdog from a street cart on the sage advice of a friend of mine. Great suggestion David!





 Then it was back on the Open Top bus over to Carlsberg Brewery's visitor centre. Admission was free with our Copenhagen Cards again, and we were each given 2 free drink tickets. We walked through the old brewery and Dad, who used to work at Labatt's, explained the brewing process, and shared some found memories. Then we enjoyed our free drinks in the open courtyard that featured a pretty good DJ. We left the brewery and got caught in a flash rain storm on the way to the metro, but it was nothing a few seasoned Vancouverites couldn't handle. The Copenhagen metro trains are impressive! Clean, big, and very easy to navigate.

 Back to the hotel for a quick break, then next door to Astor Pizza. Great pizza for a good price! It's still pretty early here, so we might head over to a jazz club.

Sightseeing in Stockholm

 Dad & I were awake early this morning. We headed upstairs and were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the free breakfast. They even have a fresh squeezed orange juice machine! After breakfast we headed over to Gamla Stan (old town) and wandered through the cobblestone streets. We walked around the outside of the royal castle and down to the water and then back over to the hotel, because apparently nothing is open before 10 am, and it was barely 9. Back to the breakfast bar for another glass of OJ and another latte.

            

The cobblestone streets of Gamla Stan

Looking up to the palace from the water

 We decided that the best way to get around town was aboard one of the many double-decker tour buses that can be seen circling around the city. There are at least 3 different hop-on hop-off bus tour companies that operate in the city and they all seem to have free Wi-Fi. We picked Red Sightseeing Stockholm, because they have a combination ticket that allows you to hop on & off their buses and boats for 72 hrs.
 As we headed for the bus stop I ran into an old friend and his girlfriend from back in Vancouver. I knew he was going to be in Stockholm for work while I was here, which was a huge coincidence. An even bigger coincidence is that his hotel is only 2 blocks down from us! You know the saying, it really is a small world after all!

 After a 20 minute wait at the first stop we squeezed onto a fully loaded bus and scored the last two seats up top. We popped our free but ill-fitting ear bud headphones into our ears and dialed into the English channel. We heard all about the different buildings and bits of history along the way through Gamla Stan, Djurgarden, and all the way up to the cruise ship terminal at Frihamnen. We got off the bus, hopped on a boat and toured around the different islands that make up the city. We got off the boat at Djurgarden so we could check out the Vasa museum. Unfortunately for us, it seemed as though all the passengers that had come from the 4 large cruise ships in the port had all decided to head there too. After seeing the line up snake through the courtyard out front, we decided to check out the Nordic museum instead. The building of the Nordic museum is stunning, the exhibits inside are a little underwhelming. Lunch at the Nordic museum was good, and afterwards we headed back over to Vasa museum and walked right in. The Vasa museum houses the war ship Vasa that sailed, and sank on her maiden voyage in 1628. The ship is impressive, and the lengths they've gone to to salvage and restore her is even more impressive! After that we got back on the bus and looped around to the train station, and got off just 2 blocks from our hotel.

The Nordic Museum Buiding

Vasa as viewed from the stern

 After a quick rest, dad & I headed out for a traditional Swedish dinner: Chinese food from Hong Kong Restaurant.
 Most museums and attractions seem to open around 10am, but Vasa museum opens at 8:30am (which we discovered too late to do us any good)