Sit back, relax and prepare to take in the sights of majestic Copenhagen. View the city from the unobstructed comfort of a rickshaw. Enjoy photo opportunities along the way, stopping at your convenience, as well as scheduled breaks at the Little Mermaid, Amalienborg Palace, Rosenborg Castle and Copenhagen’s cathedral.
In the Danish capital Copenhagen, where more than a third of the population cycles to work, a rickshaw ride allows you to see the city through a typical Danish cyclist’s eyes.
A guided tour by rickshaw in Copenhagen can be booked here.
Our journey through the cobbled old town included stops at the romantic Rosenborg Castle and the royal gardens, which house the crown jewels such as the 3kilo monarch’s crown. We also caught a glimpse of the world-renowned bronze statue of The Little Mermaid.
Easy to explore
We stayed at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Copenhagen, designed by the famous Danish architect Arne Jacobsen, on Vesterbrogade and appreciated the close proximity to the Tivoli Gardens and Strøget’s pedestrian-only shopping street.
Across the street is the Copenhagen Central Station, the city’s first railway connection. Its first line led the way to the ancient capital of Roskilde, the hometown of Bishop Absalon — the founder of Copenhagen.
The town’s marvel is the Roskilde Cathedral, which was built from three million bricks baked using the holy “kilde” (springwater). Work began in 1170 and it took a hundred years to complete. The addition of a ring of royal sepulchral chapels was made around 1400. Today, it is the burial ground for the Danish monarchy.
As one of the earliest French-inspired Gothic brick buildings in the world, the cathedral made it to the Unesco World Heritage list in 1995.
If you visit the Roskilde Cathedral in summer — from June to August — be sure to join the tours or catch the performances on a 500-year-old organ. Check the timetable at www.roskildedomkirke.dk.
Sail away like a Viking
It is also in Roskilde that you can view the five 1,000-year-old Viking ships, which were lifted from the depths of the channel of Roskilde Fjord 50 years ago in “the greatest find from the Viking Age and the Danish National Museum’s first large-scale underwater excavation”.
Besides viewing the archaeological finds at the Viking Ship Museum, you can check out the Viking cooking, metal smith and costume dress-up stations.
We had a blast trying to set sail on a life-size reconstructed Viking ship out of the harbour. It costs 80 DKK (S$18) for a one-hour sail. Back on shore, our hungry and tired group fuelled up on Viking egg cake, malted sourdough bread and wines.
Almost a fairy tale
After the strenuous activity of rowing a Viking ship, relax as you hop on a ferry from the nearby Hillerød city centre along a picturesque lake to Frederiksborg Castle. Along the way, you will be treated to a gorgeous view of “the most beautiful sea mile” in Denmark.
Known as the “Versailles” of the Nordic region, the Frederiksborg Castle — not to be confused with Frederiksberg Palace in Copenhagen city — is a museum that traces 500 years of Danish history (www.dnm.dk/uk).
From Easter to mid-October, you can meet castle hosts dressed up as Christian IV and enjoy the lakeside baroque garden for free.
Special exhibitions this year include “Søren Kierkegaards’s 200th Anniversary” in the Golden Age rooms and “Denmark and the Russian Empire 1600-1900” in the Great Hall, where gowns will be exhibited.
On the way back to Copenhagen, stop at Klampenborg train station and visit Dryehaven (Deer Park), home to thousands of deer. There, you can enjoy a horse ride through the dreamy lush green forest where you won’t be able to tell one Bambi from the next.
The former royal hunting grounds is also home to the oldest amusement park in the world — the 426-yearold Bakken amusement park. The Tivoli Gardens, dating back to 1843 is the second-oldest. So let your inner child indulge in some good oldfashioned fun for a perfect ending to your holiday in Copenhagen.