CITY MYSTERY: WHAT WILL WE FIND?
- Hannah McDonald
- Jul 11, 2022
- 8 min read
Amalienborg • Nyhavn • Round Tower • The King’s Garden (Rosenborg Garden) • Nydober • Kastellet • The Little Mermaid • De Kongelige Pavilloner Ved Nordre Toldbod
Sleep: The average person typically needs 7-8 hours per night, and someone who runs as much as Joelle typically needs 9-10 hours per night. Currently, my average sleep per night in July (according to my Apple Watch) is 6 hours, which Joelle continuously reminds me is not enough. Despite this, we continue (an attempt) to rise early and go to bed late, spending long days on numerous adventures. Further, we have yet to fully adjust to our current time zone (a bad habit supported by the midnight sun), adding to the sleep problem. Here is a summary of time changes, with Hawaii being the baseline since that is the last time zone to which we adjusted:
Hawaii: 0
Colorado: +4
Iceland: +6
Denmark: +2
————————
Net change: +12
Early Bird Gets the Worm
--- Map Points 2 and 3 ---
Despite our fleeting hours of sleep, we set an early alarm to beat the crowds to the Copenhagen streets, wanting to enjoy the beautiful city in its stillness and quiet (inspired by Joelle’s early run yesterday). Out the door by 7:45am (that really does not seem early when I type it, but it feels early given our compounding sleep deficit), we begin walking through the city, passing Nyhavn and arriving in Amalienborg (the home of the Danish royal family). The only others out with us are locals headed to work, most on bikes using the robust bike lanes throughout the city.
Nyhavn (map point 2) is almost a different place when we arrive this morning versus Monday early evening. The restaurant patios are empty; the canal is still, as ferry tours have yet to begin; and few people roam the streets because tourists are still resting from the day before. It is a great time to peacefully enjoy the normally bustling area (although we do not stop to enjoy it just yet).
Amalienborg (map point 3) is where Queen Margrethe II and Crown Prince Frederik's family spend much of their time. This square has four palaces, each on a corner; a statue of King Fredrick V, who founded Amalienborg, in the center; Frederik's Church behind the square, centered between two palaces; the Amaliehaven fountain between the waterfront and the square; and guards lining the inside of the square, keeping watch and ensuring everyone behaves. All this together makes a beautiful, royal site and, naturally, a tourist destination. At this time of day, however, it is empty, with just a few people passing through, not stopping to linger. The plus side: Peace and quiet to take it all in; the minus side: No fellow visitors to take our picture.
Murder Mystery: Amalienborg (and surrounding area)
--- Map Points 2 through 7 ---
One activity included with our Copenhagen Cards are Murder Mysteries—packets with puzzles to solve throughout the city, allowing exploration of the city while playing a fun game and solving a murder. This sounds similar to escape rooms we have done, whether in-person or at-home, and we are excited to do it. Picking-up the Murder Mystery packets yesterday was an adventure of its own (see Joelle’s July 11th blog), and now, with us standing at the Amaliehaven fountain (map point 3), the case itself begins. Oh, did I mention this is (supposedly) based on an actual murder case recorded in the Nordic criminal archives?
To prevent any spoilers in case you ever decide to solve this mystery yourself, I will not include too many details or solutions. In summary, it was hard, very hard.
This is the murder of Alicia Maria Nastia Petrov, whose body was found by the Amaliehaven fountain in front of the canal, and it is our job to find the murderer and uncover any other related crimes. We wander the streets, trying to follow the clues and solve the puzzles (and take a croissant break at a bakery), but most our guesses are wrong and some solutions we do not understand even once the solution is revealed in the packet. Outcome: Joelle solves some elements of the case, but we do not do poor Alicia justice—do not hire us if you need a detective. On the bright side, we see some new sites in the city and sit on a patio at Nyhavn, enjoying the sun and view before tourists arrive. Here are some notable places we discover during our investigation:
Frederiks Church (map point 4)
Aleksander Nevskij Church (map point 5)
Sankt Ansgars Church (map point 6)
Odd Fellows Mansion (map point 7)
Sankt Annæ Passage (not shown on map)
Nyhavn (map point 2)
Amalienborg Palace: Jewel Exhibition
--- Map Point 3 ---
The only section of the Amalienborg Palace that can be visited is the museum, located in one of the four buildings in the square. I know this because I overhear a tourist asking a museum employee multiple times. Their conversation is something along these lines:
Tourist: “Can we go in the palace?”
Employee: “This is the museum.”
Tourist: “But can we go in the palace?”
Employee: “This is the only section you can enter.”
Tourist: “So we cannot go in the palace? What is this?”
Employee: “An exhibition with jewels and pictures and such.”
I also find that disappointing news, but we tour what we can. Room after room is filled with the Queen’s jewelry—more jewelry than one person can possibly need, often gifts and worn on only a few occasions. Some pieces are missing, replaced by a picture, as the Queen’s terms for the exhibition are that she can continue to pull and wear whichever pieces she wants. Everything is incredibly sparkly and impressive. My favorite is seeing pictures of the Queen wearing the jewelry while learning a little story behind the piece, rather than just seeing the pieces themselves. I would be interested to hear the Queen’s personal thoughts behind each (well, some…there are a lot and neither of us have all day) because most are not particularly to my taste (except the tiaras, of course).
Another section of the exhibition has previous Kings’ studies. The rooms are full of objects and pictures, hopefully placed for exhibition purposes and not preserved in their original locations because I cannot imagine getting work done with all that. As Joelle puts it: “How many pipes does one person need?”
Throughout the exhibition, we get glimpses of life in the palace. A couple rooms, including the dinning room, is open to explore, and we spot one open window overlooking the back courtyard. Here, we glimpse what regular outdoor time for a royal must resemble. Presumably, it is a whole ordeal to leave the palace as a royal, so we imagine much time is spent within the walls and courtyard, which is quite small and fully enclosed. Are royals mostly confined to the walls of their home day-to-day, similar to how we all were during COVID lockdowns (omitting the obvious size difference between said houses and—for that matter—quantity differences)?
While leaving the exhibition, we notice just how busy the Amalienborg Palace square is now, a stark contrast to how we observed it this morning.
Refilling the Sleep Tank
--- Map Point 1 ---
With our eyes drooping for hours now, we return to our Airbnb for some lunch and a quick rest before resuming the site seeing. Immediately upon crossing the entryway, I nestle into the couch, getting off my feet for a few minutes before making lunch. A couple hours later, I wake-up and sleepily make my way to the bedroom, crawling under the covers next to where Joelle is already fast asleep. We do not wake up for several more hours. It is now 4:30pm. We napped for over 4 hours and never had lunch. Oops (but also much needed). Hopefully we can sleep tonight…
Deplete the Sleep Tank
…In an attempt to make sleep a possibility tonight, I decide to join Joelle on her run (by join I mean try to keep up while she grows further and further away). This actually turns out to be a fun, energy-burning, site-seeing adventure.
Round Tower
--- Map Point 8 ---
We are staying just down the street from the Round Tower, an astronomical observatory built by King Christian IV in 1637-42. Running down a pedestrian-only street filled with stores and shopping, Joelle (ahead of me) stops and (once I catch her) points. “The Round Tower,” she says. “Oh, it’s a tower, and it’s round. I guess we better take a picture,” I reply. I am sure the inside is impressive and the top supposedly offers great city views, but from where we stand, it is just a literal round tower amid a bustling shopping street.
The King’s Garden (Rosenborg Garden)
--- Map Point 9 ---
Denmark’s oldest royal gardens, established in the early 17th century as King Christian IV’s private gardens, reside by Rosenborg Palace and are now open to the public. The castle is closed for the day; however, I chase Joelle through the adjoining garden, as she weaves in and out of the zig-zagging and crossing paths. In her words, this is a “hardcore game of hide and seek,” as she runs far ahead of me while I try to keep her in sight. We share plenty of giggles while exploring the gardens, and many locals are grouped in the grass, having a picnic, playing games, listening to music, and more.
Nyboder
--- Map Point 10 ---
Leaving the garden and running further through the city, suddenly everything around me is matching. What have I found?
Nyboder, long rows of distinctive 17th and 18th century yellow houses, was built in 1757 by Christian IV to provide housing for the growing Danish navy and their families. Today, the housing district provides accommodations for Danish military personnel and civilian applicants alike.
Kastellet
--- Map Point 11 ---
Kastellet is a fortress—one of the best preserved in Northern Europe—shaped like a pentagon with a star around it. The outer edge has a path around the star shape, with a moat on the inner edge. That moat can be crossed at two points, allowing entrance into the pentagon-shaped fortress with hills forming the star around it. Those hills have a path to run or walk on. The map provides a good visual of the fortress' layout. A text I send Joelle during our run summarizes the reality of the star concept : “I’m stuck on some path lol. The star is cute in theory but oh boy.” The star shape does not allow for easy entrance and exit (logical for a fortress), and I was fading.
The fortress itself is guarded by two soldiers at one of the entrances (the other was unguarded). The square within has a church and numerous buildings, in addition to a windmill on the hill. Today, Kastellet remains a working base, while also serving as a historic site and public park. It is a nice place for a run or walk if you do not mind doing so in a star shape.
The Little Mermaid
--- Map Point 12 ---
A statue of the Little Mermaid lives on the edge of the canal and draws many tourists, although much fewer at the current time of night. On our canal tour (see July 11th blog), we learned this statue is a combination of two women. The artist, wanting to spend more time with the beautiful ballerina portraying the Little Mermaid, proposed the idea of this statue. The ballerina agreed until realizing she would need to pose nude. Since the ballerina did not like that idea, the artist’s wife posed for the mermaid’s body, and the ballerina posed for the mermaid’s head, resulting in the statue being a combination of the two women.
De Kongelige Pavilloner Ved Nordre Toldbod
--- Map Point 13 ---
The Danish Royal Family and their guests wait to board the royal yacht—Dannebrog—in pavilions by the canal at Nordre Toldbod. There are two pavilions, one with a crown on top for the royals and one without a crown on top for the non-royals. Naturally, the royals and non-royals cannot wait together.
Føtex Food (grocery shopping)
--- Map Point 14 ---
Wanting to restock on a few goodies to prevent food rationing, we brave the grocery store, selecting a different chain this time. Føtex is less overwhelming and easier to navigate. We find what we need, in addition to some bonus items (including ingredients for lunch wraps tomorrow). The updated dinner plan is basil gnocchi, and I am stoked. These groceries are only ~$30 and at least four meals plus snacks—highly recommend.
Copenhagen at Night
By the time we are walking back to our Airbnb (approaching 10:00pm), many tourists have retreated and the streets are once again empty, but they sky is still light. Clearly, the best time of day in the city is morning and evening.
So fun! Loving the vicarious trip!