Copenhagen: The Little Mermaid
The boat arrived in Copenhagen at 9:30 AM. First, we went to see the Little Mermaid statue. When we arrived, the place was packed with people, and the mermaid was very small. Surrounded by so many people, I couldn’t even see it clearly, let alone take a photo. I instantly lost interest in sightseeing.
A sightseeing boat next to the mermaid
The second stop was the Gefion Fountain. When we arrived, there were far fewer people. The fountain features a statue of a woman with a whip driving four oxen pulling a plow, surrounded by splashing water. The scenery was beautiful, and even more fascinating was the legend behind the fountain. It is said that in ancient times, King Gylfi of Sweden promised the goddess Gefion that she could dig up a piece of Swedish land, but only within one day and night, and whatever she could dig would be hers. So Gefion turned her four sons into four oxen, plowed a large piece of land from Sweden, and moved it to the sea. Thus, Lake Vänern was left on Swedish territory, and the dug-up land became the island of Zealand, where Copenhagen now stands. Whether the legend is true or not, when you look at a map, the shapes of Lake Vänern and Zealand are indeed strikingly similar.
The queen’s boarding pier opposite the entrance
Next, we went to the Royal Palace Square. The palaces in Europe are somewhat similar. In the center of the square stands an equestrian statue of King Frederick V, surrounded by four palaces. There, we saw many people lining up in front of one palace, so we joined the crowd out of curiosity. But nothing seemed to be happening. The crowd kept growing, and suddenly two women came out of the door—one carrying a baby, the other pushing a stroller. Everyone raised their cameras and phones and started snapping pictures. Someone in the crowd said they were members of the royal family, but later we realized it was just the changing of the guard ceremony. It shows that herd mentality is not unique to us Chinese.
Curious crowd at the palace
Passing through the palace, we arrived at the famous Marble Church. Frederik’s Church took over a hundred years to build and was completed and opened in 1894. Because large amounts of marble from Denmark and Norway were used, locals call it the “Marble Church.” Its most distinctive feature is the largest copper-green dome in Denmark. Unfortunately, due to renovations, we could not enter. We could only look at the outside. There are statues of figures on the church’s outer walls and upper stone railings. It is said that the upper ones depict biblical figures, while those around the church are statues of famous clergy. We saw names on the pedestals, but couldn’t recognize a single character.
Can anyone tell me who this is?
View of the palace and Marble Church from afar
After lunch, the whole afternoon was spent visiting City Hall Square and having free time. Denmark is truly the hometown of fairy tale master Hans Christian Andersen, and even the city hall is built with a childlike charm. Made of red brick, it is a square fortress-like building with pointed spires and a golden clock, very much like a king’s castle. Above the main entrance is a gilded statue holding a scepter in one hand and a sword in the other—this is Absalon, the archbishop who founded Copenhagen. The city hall has a bell tower 105 meters high, which chimes every 15 minutes. Across from the city hall, on the corner of a building, there is a large outdoor thermometer showing the real-time temperature. The highest temperature on the thermometer is 30°C, showing how cool the climate is here. Above the thermometer, there is a golden figure; if it rains, a figure with an umbrella will pop out, once again making you feel the charm of the fairy tale kingdom.
Archbishop Absalon
The square outside the city hall is not very large, but it is one of the important venues for summer festivals. When we were there, it happened to coincide with the World Santa Claus Congress. Dozens of Santa Clauses dressed in red with white beards gathered in the square, singing and dancing, showing off their charm. The surrounding crowd cheered and applauded them.
In the square there is also a bull-dragon sculpture fountain, featuring a bull and a dragon fighting, so it is also called the “Divine Bull Subduing Dragon” fountain. Leaving the city hall square, on the left side of the road is the statue of Hans Christian Andersen. Strangely, the Little Mermaid statue was packed with tourists taking photos, but here no one was taking pictures. I walked up and took a photo with the fairy tale father who brought me so much joy in my childhood.
The divine bull subduing the dragon; the dragon represents evil.
The remaining hours were free time. The others in the tour group went shopping on the pedestrian street, but we had no shopping task, so we wandered around. We came to the Nyhavn Canal, an artificial canal built between 1669 and 1673, which brings seawater into Kongens Nytorv (King’s New Square) and brings maritime traffic into the city center. The houses along the canal are of varying heights and bright colors, and the two-masted sailing boats docked there give a sense of time travel. On the sunny side of the canal is the famous bar street. Most seats at the bars were occupied, with people slowly drinking beer and enjoying the rare sunshine. The old iron bridge over the canal was covered with all kinds of love locks, connecting happy families. We didn’t have a lock, otherwise we would have liked to add one to find an excuse to come back to this beautiful place.
Random snapshots during free time
A sailing yacht with masts
Waiting quietly for the sun to set
A fun bus
Do you know what this is?
I wonder which general this is?
Ha, finally got on!
Note added later: Throughout the trip, we saw very few bicycles. Even when we did, they were used as sports equipment, with riders wearing knee pads and helmets. But in Copenhagen, we saw many people riding bicycles on the streets. When waiting at traffic lights, the long line of bicycles rivaled that in our country. I wonder if it’s because the terrain in Copenhagen is relatively flat. A reminder to everyone: cyclists in Copenhagen ride very fast, especially some children who dart around and seem to have little regard for traffic rules. Be careful when crossing the street.
