August 10-15, 2024
Denmark Krone – 6.8 to $1 US; Norwegian Krone- 10 to $1
My sisters ended their portion of the cruise in Copenhagen – but for our very short day in port (about 5 functional hours to see a large and beautiful city founded in the 10th century), we took a boat ride and had a nice lunch.
Like Stockholm, Copenhagen is a city with multiple islands and small peninsulas, making boat travel one of the most efficient ways to tour. Tours start at the Nyhavn dock – where you can scan a code and get tickets on your phone or wait in a very efficient line for the tours which leave about every 30 minutes and last for either 1 hour or 1 hour and 45 minutes (the hour tour for 2 people with live guide is 338DKK – about $50).
Back on land, we walked to Christiania – a “Freetown” started by squatters in 1971 on the grounds of the recently abandoned military base on the edge of the city (at that time). The area has its ups and downs – and although officially violence is prohibited, there are still reports of muggings and violent crime. The area is – interesting.
We had to be back onboard by 3:30 – and without any shuttle busses, needed to take the metro (which is quick and efficient) to a bus stop to get us back to the ship. But only 1 bus goes out to the port – and there were 2 ships in port. We managed to get aboard an extremely crowded bus with me hanging on just inside the back door.
The next day was – technically – our second to last stop in Denmark (Greenland belongs to Denmark and uses the DKK). Aarhus is known for its Old Town – Den Gamle By and extensive Botanical Gardens. We walked to the Botanical Gardens (about 2 miles from port) – which are located next to the Old Town. My favorite part of the Botanical Gardens (entrance is free) was the Butterfly Garden
Then on to Den Gamle By (€27pp). It has an interesting setup – from Middle Ages to modern times (which includes a Blockbuster and a single woman’s apartment from the early 2000’s) as you stroll through its streets. Being in Denmark – they have a really nice bakery with classic pastries with recipes from the 1950’s.
Our next stop took us into Oslo – capital of Norway (both of the Serenade’s Captains are Norwegian). The dock area included a large shopping mall – and some very interesting art –
Our walking tour (led by an American studying in Oslo), took us around the old city – pointing out favorite pastimes…
Historically, the capital of Norway in 1300, then destroyed by a fire and the capital was moved to an area by Fort Akershus by King Christian IV in 1624, and renamed Kristiania in his honor. Kristiania became the capital of the Sweden-Norway union from 1814-1905. As the city grew, it eventually incorporated the original city of Oslo and adopted that name in 1925.
We continued along the coast to Kristiansand, a lovely small city where they greeted us warmly with a local musician and singer at the docks.
It has a very big Aquarama – complete with saunas, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and a diving center. We could not take any photos inside – but for 440Kr for the two of us – it was a bargain way to spend our day. John even went into the cold plunge pool. So we finally did the Scandinavian thing and enjoyed a sauna!
Overnight and the next morning, we sailed along one of the deepest fjords to Olden, a village at the innermost portion of the Nordfjorden.
The village is lovely, and you can choose to go up the skylift for an amazing view (it was spitting rain – so nixed that), go for a hike up a steep staircase (that was out as well), or do a double decker bus ride to get a view of the glacier for 200Kr pp. We chose option “C”.
Coming up – more Norway!