Denmark - A bit of everything

So, I recently saw a great post about Ireland and was inspired to do a bit about my own home country of Denmark. Unlike Ireland, it's a bit of Hit'N'Miss if people know about us and what they think they know can often be quite amusing :)

But I digress, so let us begin.

Above you will find one of our biggest claims to fame, which is ironic as you will soon learn.
This is The Little Mermaid, based on the story of the Danish author, Hans Christian Andersen, which has written many a fairy-tale known to kids all around.

The reason why it's ironic that this status is one of our biggest claims to fame, comes from what everyone who sees her for the first time says........."I thought she'd be bigger".
She is literally life sized, even a bit smaller than real-life and as she is a few meters into the sea, she appears even smaller from where tourists stand and look at her.

Going from one of our older monuments to something new, you see above you The Blue Planet, North Europe's largest aquarium and an award-winning architectural wonder of a building.
Every bit of cool structure outside is mirror inside in incredible scenario's and experiences with aquatic life from our local seas.

Jumping a few years back in history, we have here one of Denmark's many castles, this one being Frederiksborg Palace, which was built in the 16'th century by King Christian IV.

Denmark has (for its size) a huge amount of castles and "Fortified Manors", though I'll only show one more a bit later and that for a special reason.

Next up, something for kids and adults alike, Tivoli Garden, an amusement park dating back to the 18'th Century and an absolutely amazing place to visit at almost any time a year (they have a few months closed during autumn and spring and the amusements are only open in summer). In the summer it's a wild mix of flowers, amusements and water and in the Winter, a wonderland of ice and snow, sculptures and fireworks.

Of course, you can't talk about Denmark and Amusement Parks without mentioning Dyrehavsbakken aka "Bakken", the oldest operating amusement park in the world, first opened in 1583.

It lies smack up of one of the largest open-access wildlife preserves in Denmark, Dyrehaven, which is a vast open "park" area with wild deer and more, including in the center one of the Royal Castles.

Moving a bit forward in time again, another part of Denmark is the "Orange Bicyclesnake" in the capital, Copenhagen, another bit of architecture that has won a few prizes here and there, it is in it's essence a raised well-lit bicycle path going though a highly trafficked part of Copenhagen, allowing for easy access to cyclists and pedestrians alike.

Whats this you say, another castle ?
Indeed not, this is Børsen, the danish Stock Exchange, established in the 17'th century, the building is right next to the Danish Parliament and was constructed in the early 16'th century.

Speaking of the Danish Parliament, that's what you see before you. Christiansborg Palace is the home to not only the Parliament, but also to the Prime Ministers Office and the Supreme Court.

Yep, they literally work in a palace :D

So what else is there than fancy buildings and history ?, well I could honestly go on forever with that, as we have a very long history to talk about, but people don't just come here to see old buildings, they also come because we a lot of amazing nature to experience and enjoy.

Ancient forests, taken straight out of fairy-tales.

Barrows and Burial Mounds dating back to the Viking Age and even some earlier.

And of course, tons of ocean, being an Island :)

And as an amusing aside, the oldest flag in the world still in use, Dannebrog.

I hope you enjoyed this little trip though some of Denmark, I know I did :)