One person's missed tour is another's adventure...

Ok, so I was supposed to go on a tour to a castle this past Sunday but unfortunately our train was late, therefore we were 3 minutes late to meet the buses and watched them drive away as we got to the meeting point. But, rather than let the beautiful day go to waste Chris, Hilary and I decided to take our own walking tour of the city...

First stop, The Round Tower. This is the oldest look-out in Europe and although it isn't the highest point in Copenhagen, the top allows for a great view of the city.


The inside of the building is basically a spiral so we walked up what seemed like a never-ending spiral to a smaller spiral staircase before we finally got to the top



And it was so worth it!!! The sun was out for the second time since I'd been here and although a little windy it was a great day for sightseeing! I think my school is straight back from the dome in the picture below, located in the oldest part of Copenhagen. By the way, the dome is the Freu Plads...where we watched our bus leave us behind, haha.


I think Sweden's in the back of the picture below...or the bridge connecting Copenhagen to Sweden anyway.



Like I said...a little windy. Below is one of the many plaza areas they have located throughout the city.


And, the ice skating rink...we'll see if I ever feel graceful enough to try this out.


And....the classic Copenhagen shot--every postcard/travel guide/poster of Copenhagen will have this port's picture in it. These ships stay here all year round and I'm not sure if they ever leave or if they're just there for people to take their own postcard pictures.




And this is where the Danish royalty live. Denmark has a Constitutional Monarchy and is actually Europe's oldest Monarchy. Margrethe II is the Queen, and we get a day of school off for her birthday in April (I'm psyched because it's one of my long class days)! When the flag is up, it means a member of the Danish royal family is home...we didn't find out which one though.


Think I could pass as one of the guards?! :) We found out you could take pictures with them as long as your stay at least 1.5 meters away!


And now, I'd like to introduce the pride of Copenhagen--the Little Mermaid! Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale turned Disney hit is based off this 4-foot-tall sculpture. And, apparently people like to vandalize the statue as her head has been cut off twice with a third attempt, she has been drenched in paint many times, and has been knocked off her stone. Also, two men returned her arm one day after amputating it after a night at the bars before! I promised my sister I'd take a picture of the little mermaid for her so enjoy Jordyn!

And our final stop for the day was Christiania, which is like Copenhagen's little Amsterdam. It is its own community with residents, a government, and school system. The government of Copenhagen calls it a "social experiment." Everyone here is very free-spirited and make a living selling their crafts. The art here was amazing! Rather than spray paint, many times murals are made or added onto with paint brushes. We weren't allowed to take pictures in here, but we sneaked a few in on the edge of the community. It is a little sketchy in there as the streets have under-cover cops and big dogs trained to attack anyone who runs as weed is often bought here and busts are made. Also, I heard it is a very selective community and not just anyone can become a member...either residents are born into it or else a new member may join only if an existing one passes away. I'm not sure if that's true or not, but interesting none the less.


Hilary, Vicki and I getting proof that we'd been to Christiania, even though it looks like we could have taken that picture anywhere, haha. Vicki's a senior who's studying abroad her last semester too!