Copenhagen, Denmark

While Amy’s friend and classmate Mathilda was at work, we took a bus, then a train from Malmö, Sweden, across the Øresund Bridge to Copenhagen, the capital and largest city in Denmark. Originally settled by Vikings more than a thousand years ago, the island city has been a cultural and economic center of Scandinavia since the 16th century. Map link: Copenhagen, Denmark

Our first stop was Tivoli Gardens, an amusement park in Downtown Copenhagen, across the street from the central train station. Opened in 1843, it was the inspiration for Disneyland after Walt Disney first visited here in 1951. It was a cool, cloudy day, and we enjoyed taking in the park’s grounds, gardens, attractive buildings and rides, although we didn’t go on any. We ate lunch outdoors at a shawarma and falafel place overlooking a lake, then worked our way out of the park, seeing as much as we could in the short time that we had. 

Show playing at Tivoli Gardens

Dragonfly art!

From Tivoli Gardens we walked to Christiansborg Slot (Castle), home to the Danish Parliament, Prime Minister and Supreme Court. We waited about 30 minutes to go to the top of the central tower, called The View, which is the highest place in Copenhagen. It began to drizzle as we walked to Amalienborg Palace, the winter home of the Danish royal family, adjacent to the stunning marble Frederick’s Church, built in the 1750s. 

Bonus Question: I enjoyed researching the names for the days of the week (see Bonus Question from post: June 17, 2026, 3-2-1 Launch!) and decided to do the same for the months. Where do the names for the 12 months of the year come from? (answer at end of post)

The drizzle continued on and off as we approached the charming Nyhavn historic canal, with its pastel buildings, cafes, vendors and watercraft of all kinds. The mist deteriorated into a steady rain, which quickly cleared the streets of tourists, but we were fortunate to find a covered cafe table to wait out the weather. 

Our last stop was at Kastellet, an enormous, star-shaped 17th-century fortress that is both an active military base and a public park. We enjoyed walking on the cobblestone streets among the distinctive red brick buildings, as well as on the 1.5-mile gravel perimeter path on the ramparts and bastions overlooking the moat, stopping for a selfie at the Dutch-style windmill. After sightseeing, we ate a delicious meal of Thai food at Wok Express, then caught the train back to Malmö. 

Source: Reddit

Bonus Question Answer: Today we follow the Gregorian calendar, which is based on the ancient Roman calendar, believed to have originated with Romulus, the first King of Rome, around 750 BC. 

January—Named after Janus, the Roman protector of gates, doorways and transitions. He is usually depicted with two faces, looking in opposite directions. As is common today, the new year was a time for both peering forward and reflecting back. 

February—Comes from the Roman purification and atonement ritual Februa, which happened during festivals at this time of year. 

March—Named for Mars, the god of war. This was the time of year when military campaigns resumed after stopping for winter. 

April—Derived from the Latin word aperire, which means “to open;” referring to the beginning of plant growth each year. 

May—Commemorates Maia, oldest of the seven Pleiades sisters, and goddess of Earth, growth and spring. 

June—Dedicated to Juno, queen of the gods and protector of women, marriage and childbirth.

July—Named for Roman dictator Julius Caesar, who invented the Julian calendar, precursor to the Gregorian calendar that we use today. 

August—Honors Caesar Augustus, first Roman emperor and grandnephew of Julius Caesar.

September, October, November and December—The Roman calendar originally had only ten months (January and February were added later), and the last four were uninspiringly numbered in Latin: septem (seven), octo (eight), novem (nine), and decem (ten).