On the Free Walking Tour of Copenhagen we visited many castles and royal residences. Denmark has a Royal Family and they reside mostly in Copenhagen.  The current queen is Queen Margrethe II.
The Danish monarchy is constitutional which means the monarchy cannot independently perform political acts. Denmark is a democracy and while the Queen signs all acts, they only come into force when countersigned by a cabinet minister.   It is actually quite similar to our Dáil and president. 

For a tourist, the changing of the guard at Copenhagen Castle is a must see.

To read more about the Royal residences and castles click here.

The Little Mermaid Statue is an iconic symbol of Copenhagen and Denmark.  It is based on Hans Christian Anderson's story of the Little Mermaid.
The statue was gifted by Danish brewer Carl Jacobsen (Carlsberg) to the city of Copenhagen.

Copenhagen is famous for cycling and is the first Bike city of the world. As you can see from the photos, there are bikes everywhere.  There are designated parking areas for bikes, 390km of bike lanes and even traffic lights for bikes!  
I noticed in the city that there were many vacant car parking spaces, something you would never see in a capital city. This is because everyone cycles. In fact, we were told on our Free Walking Tour that 70% of people living in Copenhagen do not own a car! Compare this to our last Irish census in 2011: 69% used cars to go to work and only 10.5% walked or cycled to work.
There is quite a range of bikes used in Copenhagen.  I saw the usual mountain bikes, racers and hybrids but the majority of bikes were of the "High Nelly" style.  Most had baskets on the front and many had carts/trailers on the back or front to transport their children!
For the real Copenhagen experience, tourists are encouraged to rent bikes. A lot of hotels can arrange bike rental but for me who is afraid of getting lost and stranded in an unfamiliar city, the Copenhagen City Bike is a brilliant idea.  Each bike has a computer screen that has a full GPS system. Bikes are docked all over the city.  To use one you need a credit card and log in.  You set up a profile and from then on, all your routes are recorded and you can navigate using the GPS screen. If you pick up another City Bike later  you just log in and all your details and routes traveled are on the system. 

Despite being part of the European Union since almost the very beginning (Denmark joined the EEC in 1961), Denmark does not use the Euro.
It uses the Danish Krone. 
One Danish Krone is equivalent to approximately €0.13.  Check todays exchange rate here.

Follow this link from Wikipedia to read all about this currency which is also used in Greenland and the Faroe Islands. 

Look closely at the photos below and the Kroner notes on the Wikipedia link.  Don't they look similar to our Euro? A tour guide on our Walking Tour of Copenhagen told us that the Danish people don't want to join the Euro but the government would like to join. So the notes and the coins that have been designed in recent years have become very similar to the Euro currency!

Let's start our Danish food exploration with a Danish pastry.
Danish pastry or Danishes are known the world over as a breakfast bread or a sweet treat with a coffee or tea. However, the name is very misleading! These pastries should probably be called Austrians. In 1850 there was a bakers strike. Bakers from abroad, mostly Austrians were hired by the bakery owners.  They brought with them their own recipes and when the striking bakers returned to work, they continued to use these recipes. 

Look at Ms Treacy's smile! She is smiling because she's about to eat another tasty Risted hotdog.
The Danish hot dog stand is one of the Denmark traditional icons and is also a major tourist attraction.  On our Free Walking Tour our guide listed eating a Risted hot dog as one of the essential things to do in Copenhagen.
So what exactly is a Risted hotdog? It is a long sausage in a short bun, dressed with pickles, fried onion, fresh onion, mustard and ketchup. Yum!

The Danish Open Sandwich is a lunch time favourite.  It has your favourite toppings on a dark Rye bread.  Rye bread is darker than our brown bread and heavier in texture.  We can buy Rye bread in many supermarkets in Ireland. 
In the picture above I chose a chicken salad on the left and a potato/onion salad on the right. Delicious!

We will finish this food article with some dessert. Or some Guf to be precise!
Ice-cream is very popular in Copenhagen with ice-cream parlours on most street corners. The ice-cream is the same as at home, you choose your flavour or flavours and you get a scoop or two on your cone. But the added extra you can ask for in Denmark is some Guf.  I thought that this would be a little teaspoon perched on the top-oh no! The lady in the ice-cream parlour piled on the Guf until I begged her to stop.  Guf is made of beaten egg whites and has a sticky soft texture. It seems to be pink in every shop and it tasted to me like bubble gum. 
It seems to be a uniquely Danish topping for ice-cream. I would advise not to ask for some Guf with your ice-cream here in Ireland as we use the word Guff for a totally different meaning!

The name LEGO comes from the two Danish words Left Godt meaning play well. The Lego company began in 1932 and has been twice voted Toy of the Century.
Read more about LEGO

The Tivoli gardens /amusement park are are one of Copenhagens top attractions. Tivoli opened in 1843 and was visited by Walt Disney for inspiration for his own Disney land! The famous Michael Jackson also visited Tivoli and incorporated some of the ideas into his Neverland home.
Tivoli has stunning gardens,  ponds and fountains. In among the flowers and bushes you can see peacocks,  ducks and other birds.  You will also stumble across many fairground rides. There are 40 restaurants in the park.
The park is open from 11am to midnight. Most tourists get the most out of their entrance fee by visiting in the morning,  walking around the gardens, trying the rides and having a lazy lunch in the many cafes out on the lawn. Then they return at night when the park transforms into a lit up wonderland with live music on the lawn. As it was a Friday night when I visited,  there was a DJ on the main stage and thousands of people on the lawn dancing the night away!