I’m rarely in favour of burying the lead and so, straight-out, here it is… I saw elephants in Copenhagen! Of all the things I thought I might find – delicious food, a Little Mermaid, and some stunning sun – elephants were not on the list. But on our last day in the city we stumbled across them in Frederiksberg Park. Let me take you on our journey…
We hired Copenhagen’s fantastic Bycykels to get around for the day. The smartest of smart bikes, they come with handy electronic tablets that have GPS, landmarks, and a lot more. The bikes also have a built-in electric motor, which can be helpful on some of Copenhagen’s rare hills or when your legs are getting a little tired at the end of the day! We had spotted a station near us on previous wanders, and there were plenty of bikes there when we went to grab them. It took a few minutes for us to register on the system, but once we did, we just selected Frederiksberg Have (Park in Danish) from the ‘Points of Interest’ and away we went! Copenhagen is a fantastic city to cycle around, with most of the city centre very flat, and lots of separate cycle lanes and even traffic lights to help you speed along safely.
How idyllic does that look?! On a Monday morning it was nearly deserted and so we too spent some time lounging on the grass, soaking in the sunshine.
Frederiksberg Palace was constructed during the early 18th century as a summer palace for King Frederik IV. You can take tours, although it was far too nice a day for us to be drawn inside. Instead, we chose one of the wide paths and simply followed our noses round the park.
A few canals wend their way through the gardens, and apparently King Frederik used to have himself rowed about in them, happily waving to his subjects.
Right up there on the weirdness scale was the can-I-believe-my-eyes moment when we spotted the Suttertræ or Soothers’ Tree. Blossoming from the branches of this tree are a rather strange fruit – hundreds of old pacifiers or babies’ dummies that have been left by their former owners. Some had letters or toys attached as well – so sweet! Apparently Danish children start attending kindergarden at 3 years old and are then considered too old to have pacifiers, so as a way of easing the parting blow they bring them to the tree and then the Pacifier Fairy brings them a small gift.
And then we turned a corner and it was elephant time! Copenhagen Zoo is right next to part of Frederiksberg Park and so while walking through the gardens, you can also spot a few of the zoo’s residents. While I know not everyone is a fan of zoos, and this was not the full in-the-wild experience that I dream of experiencing in Africa one day, Copenhagen Zoo elephants looked pretty happy, with a family group, mud holes, and plenty of stimulation. I was especially thrilled to spot the little baby!
After waving goodbye to the elephants, we sailed cycled back into town to explore Tivoli Gardens and sample some more delicious smørrebrød – posts on these coming soon!
Bits & Pieces
The Bycykels normally cost DKK 25 an hour but when we visited they had a special price of just DKK 10 an hour – about a pound. Bargain! For more information on the scheme and where to find them, click here
For more information on Frederiksberg Park and Palaces, click here
