On Wednesday I left Reykjavik, Iceland for the last of my trips across the Atlantic, headed for Toronto, Canada. This will be my second time visiting Toronto, and this time I am here primarily to visit a friend and also see a little of the city. On my last visit to the city in 2010 I really did not have enough time to see much at all, with only 48 hours, so was happy to be returning to the city.

The Flight from Iceland was not a bad flight really, there was little turbulence along the way. For the most part there was a cloud layer below so not really much to see, however I happened to open the shutter on the window at just the right time as we were crossing the coast of Canada. Which really did give some amazing views over the sheet ice that was broken up a little and the rock and snow areas in Newfoundland.

From the window of the plane, the sheet ice breaking up

Arriving into to Toronto late on Wednesday, I was met by my friend who I would be staying with. Being later in the day we really did not get out to much this evening and left seeing some sights for the morning. This blog update is going to be a collective update for the first two days in Toronto and I will do another for the last two days. The first day we took a walk along the waterfront and into downtown a little, while the second day was a little less strenuous checking out a couple of specific sights.

One thing you quickly notice about Toronto is just how much construction is going on. There are many High Rise Buildings, either almost complete, in varying stages of completion or just have approval. Since my last visit and into the next few years the Toronto Skyline will change considerably I think. However there are still many buildings with historical background around the city which will not be so quick to change.

This is the Canadian Malting building on the Toronto Waterfront

Toronto has a number of parks spread all over the city, however some of the nice ones are a long the waterfront. One such park that we stopped in on the walk though was the Toronto Music Garden, which is located right on the waterfront. While it is possible to take an Audio Guide Tour, or just a Guided Tour, we just took a walk through as this is quite a nice part of the Toronto Waterfront.

The Toronto Music Garden

Of course one thing that is hard to miss from most any place in Toronto is the CN Tower. Listed as the tallest structure in Toronto at 553 Metres (1.815 ft) and rises prominently above the rest of the city. It really is hard to choose the best angle for a photo. However I thought the one below was not to bad, when we visited one of Toronto’s Inner city Beaches on the waterfront.

CN Tower, and the Inner city beach at HTO Park

Friday morning we took things a little slower after quite a long walk on Thursday, we caught the streetcar to one area to take a look at a couple of really interesting buildings. The First was the Art Gallery of Ontario, which has a very large glass front curving from one side to the other, while inside is finished nicely with a lot of timber.

The glass front to the Art Gallery of Ontario

The second building was the OCAD (Ontario College of Art and Design), this building really does stand out when you first see it. The primary part of the building is a three story classroom block covered in Black and white tiles, half a dozen story’s off of street level, being held in place by a number of multi coloured beams.

OCAD Building in Toronto

A short walk away is one alley that locally gets a bit of a mixed reaction, however for the most part is a really interesting place. That is Graffiti Alley, which is a series of different alleys that have an extensive range of Graffiti art on the walls. While in some areas it does look a little tacky, there is a very good section for about one or two blocks with some quite amazing art work.

An Owl in Graffiti Alley

In the evening, we headed back out not far from my friends place for a small evening photo session. While they did not all work out, I did get this one of the Toronto Skyline in the evening, a little while after the sun went down. It really is an interesting view with the city in the background all lit up and the rail yards in the front.

Toronto lit up at night

I am really enjoying this time in Toronto, it really is a place that you need to spend at least 4 or 5 days. I really has been good getting to spend the time with my friend and see the city from the eyes of a local, rather then a tourist guide going with a script. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them below.

While yesterday I was able to get around and see a lot of Reykjavik, without spending time going to more museums there was not a lot more to go and see. So today I have chosen to take a tour, what they call the Classic Golden Circle. Tis is a full day tour and takes in a lot of the countryside going out of Reykjavik and gives you a peak at how Iceland was and still is being formed.

The first stop was at a view point over and area named Þingvellir (Thing Fields). This particular valley is what they call a rift, it is an area that is located right above where two continental plates join. In this case the north Atlantic plate and the European plate. Where the two plates join in Iceland is an area that is ever changing through both Volcanic and Earthquake Activity. In fact the area seperates by about 2cm more each year, creating a very dramatic and interesting landscape.

Looking out at Þingvellir (Thing Fields)

Heading down into the valley it was time to take a walk, which was quite a nice stop. The walk took us through part of a fissure in the rock, created by the earth moving. As well we were able to see an important landmark in Ireland’s history, such as the Law Rock. Þingvellir (Thing Fields) was the location for the Alþingi (assembly) a part of Iceland’s Supreme Legislative and Judicial Authority for almost 300 years from its establishment in 930 AD. The Law rock was the focal point of Alþingi and a natural platform for holding speeces

Law Rock, marked by a flag pole, one of the most important locations in Iceland.

The Landscape at Þingvellir (Thing Fields)

The next stop was a combined stop for lunch and to see a waterfall. For lunch I enjoyed a soup, which was a traditional Icelandic meat soup, with bread rolls.

Traditional Icelandic Meat Soup, the meat is Lamb

The waterfall, Gullfoss (Golden Falls) was truly something amazing to see. The falls are three tattered drops before on final longer drop of about 32 meters. The volume of water passing over the falls is quite surprising, and is really what makes this such an amazing sight.

Gullfoss (Golden Falls) quite a spectacular waterfall

One of the interesting things is the amount of ice that develops around the falls. Of course like most waterfalls as the water passes over the falls there is a fair amount of spray generated. This spray as it goes through the cold air and lands on the grass and rocks on the hillside it turns to ice, which creates a rather interesting landscape. Really though words just cannot describe how beautiful this place is.

The Spray from Gullfoss, turns to ice on the ropes, and the ground

Geothermal activity is another aspect of Iceland that is a large part of the landscape, and this was the prime feature at the next stop. The geothermal springs that we stopped at mostly are just pools of hot water. However there are two which have in the past have been active geysers and one of these two is still active quite regularly. In fact every three to eight minutes, and it is quite a sight to see. Take a look at a series of photos from the geyser erupting, click here.

A Thermal pool, water is at between 80-100 degrees celcius.

On the way to the next stop the tour guide made a side stop at Faxi waterfall, which was not quite as impressive as the previous one, however it was still get a beautiful place and another amazing part of Iceland.

The Faxi Waterfall, not quite as impressive as Gullfoss, but no less Beautiful

It seems that even on a tour of the country side I still end up seeing a church, and in this case a cathedral. This is Skàlholt cathedral and is the most recent building of this cathedral was built here in 1963. It is not a really large church but has many beautiful stained glass windows along with a mosaic over the alter.

Skàlholt Cathedral

We made another short extra stop at crater Keriõ, which was formed 6500 years ago. The crater is about 55 meters deep, with about 7-10 metros of water forming a crater lake.

Crater lake in Crater Keriõ

The final stop for the day was at one of the Geo Thermal Power Plants near Reykjavik, the Hellisheiði Geothermal Power Plant. This plant is rather new only commencing operation in 2006, and has been grown in 3 stages to currently produce 303MW of electricity and 133 MW of Hot Water, as of October 2011. When the final stage is complete the plant’s target capacity is 400MW which would rank it as the larget Geothermal Power Plant in the world.

Part of the Hellisheiði Geothermal Power Plant

The tour today was really a lot more then I expected, the information provided by the guide was outstanding, and I really Enjoyed the tour. While it was a guided tour it did also feel very much like there was more freedom then the other tours I have taken previously. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them below.

In the past I had never really thought of Iceland as a place that I may think about visiting. It was always just a small country somewhere way up north. Well this kind of changed when I found one of the better options to fly from Europe to North America was with Iceland Air, at least price wise anyway. I decided as part of the flights may as well take a couple of days and see a small part of Iceland.

I arrived late yesterday afternoon, which is not really any problem to still see anything as the sun does not set until about 10.30 pm or later, and in fact it was still not truly dark even at midnight when I went to bed. However while this may be the case you need to be able to brave the cold.

At least at this time of year, when I arrived at the hotel it was 3 degrees Celsius, however with windchill it was said to be like -5 degrees Celsius. As you can imagine it only got cooler later into the evening when there was even very light amounts of snow falling. Which I did find some remnants this morning when I was walking, in areas the sun was yet to reach there was snow on the ground still.

Snow on the Ground in Reykjavik

The first place however that I visited this morning was a church, by the name of Hallgrímskirkja (Church of Iceland). This church does have a rather modern look to it, construction was started in 1945 and was completed in 1986. While inside the church is very plain it still has a grandeur to it due to its size.

Hallgrímskirkja (Church of Iceland) sitting overlooking the city

There are two really nice things about Hallgrímskirkja, the first is the organ, which has a total of 5200 pipes, with 72 voices. The organ really does dominate the wall above the entrance to the church, and again I am here at the wrong time to hear it as they start with performances in June.

The organ in Hallgrímskirkja (Church of Iceland)

The second is the view which you can get from the tower. It costs a small fee to go p, however this is one of the best views which you will get over Reykjavik and the surrounding area, without trekking out of the city and up one of the mountains. Plus the view from here is inside so potentially a whole lot warmer then heading for the mountains.

View looking north from the tower of Hallgrímskirkja (Church of Iceland)

From here I headed a bit further out of town to take a look at the botanical gardens. While this is not large it is a very beautiful spot. Nicely landscaped and a step away from the main roads of the city, it is nice and peaceful. There is a small waterway running through here as well as a nice stone garden.

Part of the Waterway which runs through the Botanical Gardens in Reykjavik

The Rock Garden in the Reykjavik Botanical Gardens, there are different plants between almost every rock

I have tended to not find myself in to many museums on this trip. Often because they are so big and take away so much time, where I could see more of the city. Today I gave in a little bit though and visited one museum, the Saga Museum. This museum is located in the Perlan building, which actually affords an even better view over Reykjavik then the church I visited this morning.

Perlan Buildings, home of the Saga Museum

The reason I was happy to visit this museum was two fold. The first reason was that it was cold outside, maybe a few degrees above zero, but below with the wind chill factor. The second reason was that the exhibit with audio guide only took about half an hour, and pretty much gave you a decent background on the first settlement and first few hundred years of Iceland’s History.

View towards the mountains from the Perlan Building

The one thing I think that I like best about Reykjavik is it’s size. Nothing is really very far apart, and you can go from city centre to a bush track within one kilometre of the city. This is I suppose one of the benefits of being a city with only just over 100,000 people.

Easy Hiking tracks right near Reykjavik city centre

One of the last stops that I made this evening was at a relatively new building which was completed in 2011, the Opera House Reykjavik. This is quite an interesting building using a lot of Glass on the extra, and from the inside uses a lot of angles, when you are inside you almost always keep looking in different ways at all the different angles. It is quite an interesting building, although maybe a little sterile at the same time.

Opera House Reykjavik

Although it has been probably a little colder then I would have liked, this has not stopped me from getting out and seeing Reykjavik. If i let the weather dictate how i spent my time, then I would have been stuck in the hotel all day and seen nothing. So this is a lesson really, never let the weather dictate your holiday (of course there are exceptions), a little wind and a little chill with the right preparations are nothing big to worry about. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them below.

When you arrive into Copenhagen one of the first things that you may find jumping out at you is the way they write the name of the city on some of the tourist posters. It is written more like cOPENhagen, and in some ways that is not a bad way to describe the city.

The city is open and it is easy to get around, the people you meet in stores are willing to help. The language barrier that exists in some other European cities that I have visited does not pose any problems here. Actually it is to some extent like I am in an English speaking country, while some things are not understood perfectly, the understanding does not take long.

All of this made it really a very easy city to get out and see. While there are some tour options like a Hop On Hop Off bus, I actually choose to walk the city, as it is a relatively compact city. I like the idea of walking especially when things are not great distances apart, as you get to see more of the city then when you are whizzing by in a bus. It also gives you that opportunity to change the route if something interesting catches your eye, which is nice as well.

Even though I was not planning to take the Hop On Hop Off bus I decided to use a rough version of it’s route at least to get started. This left me starting my walk in the area of Nyhavn, this is also the area where there is a Canal which comes in towards the city centre, however it is a dead end. Along this area is a many housing options and many people have boats moored along here. It does create an interesting area seeing the different colours and the boats is interesting.

Row houses along the area of Nyhavn, with the boats in the foreground

Walking along the waterfront in Copenhagen is quite nice, except of course for the often cool breeze that was blowing. This is not a big issue though, and hardly a reason why you would avoid this walk. There are quite a few interesting sights along the river that are worth visiting. The first of which that I arrived at was Amalienborg Castle, which is the Winter Residence of the Danish Royal Family. This is a fairly large complex located around a big open courtyard. I arrived just at the right time to see the Changing of the guard which was fun as well.

Amalienborg Castle, the Winter residence of the Danish Royal family

Located very close behind Amalienborg Castle, is a really beautiful church by the name of Frederick’s Church, or also commonly known as the Marble Church. Even though construction on this church started around 1749, it slowed and the church left in ruin for almost 150 years until it’s final completion 1894. The outside of the church is quite striking, and the dome is thought to be inspired by St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. While the inside is rather simple, however very striking due to the size of the building.

Frederick’s Church, Copenhagen, Denmark

The Organ inside of Frederick’s Church, Copenhagen, Denmark

Further along the waterfront is a rather iconic statue in Copenhagen, that of The Little Mermaid. If you have not heard of the statue, you are sure to have heard of the fairy tale which it is based on. The fairy tale was originally written in 1837 as a Ballet by Hans Christian Andersen, and later adapted as an animated musical film by Disney. The Little Mermaid statue itself though was unveiled in 1913, and has been in the same position for almost a century with the exception of a the period of the 2010 Expo in Shanghai when it was located in the Danish Pavilion.

The Little Mermaid Statue, Inspired by the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen

On my return walk I took a different route which took me though Kastellet, which is North Europe’s finest and best preserved fortifications. The Interior fortress today belongs to Danish Defence and is used as a modern military establishment. However it is possible to walk through the main street, to the church and around the walkway on top the fortress embankments. It is atop one of the rear embankments that I found a windmill, which looks just a little bit different to the ones I found in Bruges a few days ago.

Windmill on the rear embankment of Kastellet in Copenhagen, Denmark

Not to far from where I exited Kastellet, I found the first church I was to visit in Copenhagen. The church is St Alban’s Anglican Church, which was built from 1885 – 1887, in the Gothic Revival Style, for the growing English congregation in Copenhagen. Locals often refer to this church as “The English Church” In some ways I find it one of the more Aesthetically pleasing church’s which I have visited, maybe though it is just the style. Inside the church is quite beautiful with many beautiful stained glass windows, which are in the processing of being repaired and restored.

At Alban’s Anglican Church “The English Church” Copenhagen, Denmark

Set of Stained Glass Windows at St Alban’s Church

Nearby to St Alban’s is a rather old and interesting fountain. The Gefion Fountain, was complated in 1908 and features a large-scale group of animal figures being driven by the legendary Norse Goddess. Originally the fountain was suppose to be located in the Town Square near to City Hall, however the current location was later decided upon, and I think it is quite a wonderful location with such a nice backdrop, and really away from the noise and busy areas of the city.

Gefion Fountain nearby to Kastellet in Copenhagen, Denmark

As there was little else to see around this area for the time being, I caught a ferry across to just near the Copenhagen Opera House. From here I was walking past Christiania, which is a sizeable hippy commune, towards Our Saviour’s Church in Chirstianshaven. In some ways the building of this church has a rather drab exterior, with nothing to exceptional in the appearance except for for the Conical Spire.

Church of Our Saviour, Copenhagen Denmark. The Spire actually has an external Spiral Staircase

There are two really exceptional features about Our Saviours Church in Copenhagen though. The first of course is the spire as you can see above. However this spire is not just any spire, around the outside is a staircase which allows visitors to climb almost right to the very top, which is around 400 steps, or 90 metres from the ground. As you might well imagine from this height you really do get a very good view over the city of Copenhagen.

View over Copenhagen from the top of Our Saviours Church

The other interesting feature within Our Saviours Church, is the organ. In physical size this organ is I think the biggest that I have seen. Built between 1698 and 1700 it is set into the wall, and is known as a Swallows nest organ. From the front the organ appears to be supported by two elephants and the facade of the organ has intricate wood carvings with the bust of Chirstian V in the Centre.

The Organ in Our Saviours Church

One thing of interest I found wandering around Copenhagen the other day was how you solve the problem of having no Beach in the city centre. You basically build a floating pontoon, put some sand on it and a few chairs, and you have an inner city beach. Not a bad concept.

A beach in the heart of Copenhagen

Another nice area of Copenhagen is just to the Western edge of the city centre, and is a series of five fairly large lakes. In earlier days of the city these lakes actually used to be one water way and for a period form part of the cities fortifications, and at another time were part of the cities reservoir. Today they are a protected area and serve more of a purpose as a location for recreational activities, such as walking and running around the tracks that encircle them.

Sortedams So, One of the five lakes to the west of Copenhagen City Centre

Copenhagen is from what I have seen a wonderful city. For a small city there is a lot here to see, however being small is what makes it great, everything is close at hand and easy to walk to, or what most locals seemto do is cycle. I can say for sure that Copenhagen will Definitely be on my list of cities to return to in the future. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments below.

Today was a slightly earlier start then yesterday, as such there was no real time to walk around another area of the city. The tour today covered a number of the things that make Amsterdam and the Netherlands quite a famous country around the world. These include, windmills, the Hague, delftware and Madurodam, well they may not all make the country famous, but they all are quite interesting.

The tour For the morning had three stops, Zaanse Schans, Volendam and Marken. The first stop in Zaanse Schans is a village famous for its windmills, in 1760 having up to 700 in the area. Today from what I could see there are very few Left right near the village, I could count less then 10 in the area where we stopped.

Windmills at Zaanse Schans

This stop in Zaanse Schans was more then just a stop to see the windmills though, as there is more history in the village. The other most prominent feature you can see in the village is the traditional Dutch architecture. This architecture dates back to the 16th Century and gives the village a nice traditional look.

Typical houses in Zaanse Schans

Even this far out (about 15km) from Amsterdam canals still are quite prevalent around this village. It does tend to create for some nice scenes.

Water Canals in Zaanse Schans not quite as wide as in Amsterdame

The second stop on the tour is the town of Volendam, this name may sound familiar to some readers of my blog. The reason for this is that last year in September I took a cruise on a ship from Holland America Line with the same name, Volendam. This was just a short stop with enough time to have a bite to eat for lunch and also see a little of the waterfront of Volendam, which is a small fishing village.

The Town of Volendam, nothing like I expected

The next part of the tour was to not be via the bus but on the ferry across from Volendam to Marken. Marken is a village on an island, which was only connected to the mainland in the 1950′s. Again this is another beautiful area in the Netherlands countryside, and has some really nice traditional architecture here as well.

The Village of Marken is located on an island, about 30 minutes from Volendam by Boat

The reason for visiting Marken was to visit a small demonstration of two local industries. These are the making of cheese, and the making of clogs. While the cheese making was not a live demonstration, the making of the clogs was a live demonstration though. It was quite interesting the machines they use to make the clogs and just how quickly they can make a pair.

Clogs covering a tree in front of a store selling clogs.

This was now time to head back to Amsterdam, where the second part of the tour would start. This afternoon was three more stops including Delft, The Hague and Madurodam.

The first stop this afternoon was in Delft at a Delft blue pottery factory. One of only two factories left in The Netherlands. The process I imagine is similar to other types of pottery only this is a specific style they use here in The Netherlands. The interesting part to all of this is that originally this style of pottery was created when the locals brought back beautiful pottery from China. Now days the tables have turned back and the copies are now coming from China.

Delftwear at a local Manufactuer in Delft

In the city of Delft, we had a little bit of free time in the city center to take a look around. There are a Couple of really nice older buildings here including the New Church (it may be the new church but is still over 500 years old), along with the City Hall which has now become to small for the city.

The city hall in Delft, this building is now to small though

Unfortunately the time did not allow a lot of time to go into everything, however I did find another church by the name of Maria van Jessekerk. This one I was able to get in for a quick look and they have a lot of really nice stained glass along with a beautiful organ with 2500 pipes.

The Organ at Maria Van Jessekerk, Delft, Netherlands

The next visit was to The Hauge, this was more of a drive by tour though which of course made it hard at times to see some of buildings. We did get to have a photo stop at one building though The Peace Palace. This building is the home of the home of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which is the oldest institution for international dispute resolution.

The Peace Palace in The Hauge, Netherlands, The sun was not helping me here

The last stop for the day was at Madurodam, which is the location of a miniature village, with many Miniature replicas of buildings around Amsterdam. As you wander around this miniature village there are many buildings you recognize. However you also get a unique view of some buildings, which in the city are hard to actually distinguish everything that belongs to a building, while here the building is complete and some are very much larger then you expect.

One of the Netherlands Churches at Madurodam

Model of the previous Rotterdam Cruise ship at Madurodam

I really enjoyed seeing so much of the countryside around Amsterdam today. I got to see a lot more then i was expecting, as i could not remember what the tour actually said was included. I would recommend it to anyone else visiting the area around Amsterdam. I think that some of the tours I have taken in Amsterdame have been some of the best I have seen. They provide a really good commentry and the tours are generally split up to allow you to see the parts that interest you, instead of picking a long tour that is only halfwhat you are looking for. If you have any questions or moments please feel free to leave them below.

While last night I took the opportunity to take a canal cruise through Amsterdam, today was my chance to see the city from a bus. Starting the morning with a city tour, tend the afternoon seeing the Keukenhof Gardens. Like the past few cities I have visited it is really the best way to maximize my time here and to see as much as I can.

I started out the day with a small walk around one of the main streets, called the Damrak. Along this street there are a number of interesting buildings. Damrack leads between the Central Train Station and Dam Square. To one side of Dam Square is the World War II museum, while on the other side are some quite impressive buildings. Including the Royal Palace, which is rarely used except for visits of State and important events and Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) which is a Gothic Style church from the 15th Century.

Dutch National Monument on Dam Square, Amsterdam

The Royal Palace on Dam Square, Amsterdam

I headed up for the start of the tour, which was back towards the train station. The city tour is not to long about two and a half hours. However it was I think a fairly comprehensive tour. The first part of the tour drives through the streets of Amsterdam, where you get to see the style of the houses, and also some of the more prominent buildings, in terms of museums and galleries.

Typical Amsterdam Street, different houses, all mixed in together

As the tour headed towards the out skirts of the city, we stopped to visit one of the remaining windmills actually in the city area of Amsterdam. This particular windmill is from the 17th century and is still inhabited today. At their peak, the Netherlands had over 10,000 windmills which were used for grinding grain or pumping water. Today there are just over 1,000 left in the whole country, however this number has been increasing, as only fully operational windmills are counted, and recently a number of complete rebuilds has helped.

A windmill just outside the Amsterdam city area, from the 17th Century

In both the canal tour last night and the bus tour today it is hard to miss the many house boats along the canals. There are around 2,500 such boats in Amsterdam today. However this number is not increasing due to new government limitations on the addition of new house boats. Some of these actually rival some houses for quality and luxuries, and in the right one I could easily imagine living.

House boats in Amsterdam come in all shapes and sizes, some look like homes others look like boats

After getting a break for lunch it was onto the second half the of the tour, which was to the Keukenhof Gardens. These gardens are around 40 minutes drive from Amsterdam city centre, and is a really beautiful drive.

Arriving at the gardens today we were given what apparently had been missing for a few days here, and that was some sunshine. This really did make it a little nicer going around the gardens, I imagine it would not be to fun in the rain. Of course when you think about gardens the flower that holland is known for is the tulip, which is of course in plentiful supply right throughout the garden in a wide variety of colors.

Tulips in the gardens at Keukenhof Gardens

The tulip is not the only flower that is in abundance though there are many other flowers in just about every color you can imagine. The plantings are varied throughout the gardens mixing different flowers and colors to create some really unique and pleasing views it the garden. Also thrown into the mix are other landscape features such as how stone, pathways and water is incorporated into the garden.

View across the main Lake in Keukenhof Gardens

Another feature of the garden that was nice to see was the sculptures and artwork incorporated into the gardens. One which I quite liked was “The Friendly Dragon” by Joshua Pennings. It was quite a interesting statue and almost felt like this little dragon could be a pet.

"The Friendly Dragon" by Joshua Pennings at Keukenhof Gardens

One of the pieces in the gardens hat caught my eye was their windmill. When I did a little reading in the guide book it says that this windmill was gifted to the garden in 1957 by Holland America Line the cruise company which I have cruised with three times now. It is again a little different to the windmills I have seen, however I think that this might be the case with many windmills, each will have there own individual touch.

The Windmill at Keukenhof Gardens

Tomorrow I have two more tours lined up to see a little bit just outside of Amsterdam. Today was great to get to see some of the city and some nice gardens as well. While Amsterdam does have a certain reputation it is also a nice place to visit and see a little of the city, whether you are seeing the attractive side of the city or the maybe slightly questionable side. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments below.

Another move between cities, and more time spent at airports, however the day was actually a fairly productive one in terms of seeing the cities. Not only did I have the entire morning in Copenhagen to get around and see a little more.vi was also in Amsterdam early enough to take a canal cruise and see but a small part of the city here as well.

Sating the morning in Copenhagen, I took a walk through the botanical gardens. While this is a really nice green space that is a fairly peaceful area in the middle of the city, it was also a little disappointing. Some rather large portions where in the process of being replanted, and some other areas did not look like they had much attention in a while. The was however some really nice areas as well with flowers and other plants.

Looking across the lake in the Botanical Gardens in Copenhagen

I was took a walk through another garden which was located between my hotel and the botanical gardens, by the name of kings garden. This garden is another nice green space, and mostly consists of manicured trees, shrubs and hedges, with some statues and water fountain.

A path in Kings Garden with shaped trees either side

Also located in kings garden is a castle, not just any castle, but the castle that also houses the royal treasury including the Danish Crown Jewels. The castle is Rosenberg Castle, and was built in 1606 – 1634 as a summer castle for King Chirstian IV. It is possible to walk through the entire castle and they have on display some fairly extensive collections of art work, furniture, silver, crockery and glass wear. All of which was interesting to see.

Rosenborg Castle, in Kings Garden Copenhagen

The Throne of the King (1665) in Narwhale-tusk and the Throne of the Queen (1731) in Silver inside Rosenborg Castle

As I mentioned this castle also has an attached treasury. In the treasury the is quite a collection of royal artefacts including guns, swords, vestments, gold and jewellery. The centre piece of the collection though is crown of ??? And the Denmark Crown Jewels.

The Danish Crown Jewels, at Rosenborg Castle Treasury

It was getting towards lunch time which was also the signal that I needed to be heading back to the hotel to collect my luggage and make a move to the airport. This all worked really well, I got to the airport with about 90 minutes to spare which was enough time for lunch and to relax a little, before boarding the flight for Amsterdam.

Once I arrived into Amsterdam, one of the first things that I wanted to do was work out my way around getting into the city where my tours leave from. As my hotel is a little way out of the city, I needed to know everything would work out time wise. It all works out pretty easy actually, and I am really glad that I made the decision to save quite a bit of money staying out of the city with just a slight inconvenience to get in.

Amsterdam Centraal Train Station from the water

Since I was in the city anyway, I had a look for something to do, no point getting the train in and then straight back out. Not to far outside the station is one of the canals. This particular area though seems to be almost like a hub for the boats offering canal tours, dinner cruises and the like. The best part about this is that it is a nice fairly cheap way to see some of the city of Amsterdam. I managed to get a discount ticket for just 8.50 Euro’s where the regular price is 14.00 Euro.

Canal Cruise Boat in Amsterdam

On the cruise you do get to see Amsterdam from a different angle, although for me this was the first time seeing it. I think there are a number of things that it is easier to see from the water, such as the range of different houseboats around the canals of the city. There are also the bridges which you get to see from the side instead of just walking over them, and there are some 1200 bridges in the city.

One of over 1200 bridges crossing the canals in Amsterdam

Houses along a canal in Amsterdam

I should get to share a lot more about Amsterdam and the surrounding area’s over the next couple of days as I have booked two fairly extensive tours. So keep watching and we shall see what Amsterdam has to offer. If you would like to leave a question or a comment please feel free to do so below.

Today is a little bit different to my normal day travelling, because today I met with some relatives who live in Copenhagen, and they took me on a mini tour of some of the Danish Countryside north of Copenhagen. This was a very enjoyable day meeting family that I had not met before and getting to see some of their country through their eyes.

The first stop was just a little to the north of Copenhagen in a small village by the name of Taarbaek. This is a nice little seaside area, which on a clear day (which unfortunately today was not) you can see across the water to Sweden. This area has some really nice older houses, and a lot of sail boats moored along the foreshore. There are many small paths which lead from the main street down to the water’s edge. While there is one interesting sight here is the large birds painted onto many buildings.

A path to the water in Taarbaek

By the sea to a palace, the next stop was inland a little at the Spring and Autumn Palace of the Danish Royal Family. Fredensborg Palace is located on the Eastern shore of Lake Esrum in Fredensborg on the island of Zealand in Denmark. This Palace is the most used of the Danish Royal Residences and is often the the site of important events and state visits for the Danish Royal Family.

Fredensborg Palace, Spring and Autumn Palace of the Danish Royal Family

While here it just so happened that the timing was right to see the Changing of the Guard. This is a procedure I imagine is as much to do with tradition as with it’s purpose. What is a very set range of marching is performed, along with a drum and flute for some of the time.

The next stop was again another palace, however this is an older palace which is no longer used by the Royal Family. Frederiksborg Palace was constructed in the early 17th Century for King Christian IV on the site of a early castle of Frederick II. The Palace itself is constructed on a series of three Islands in the middle of Palace Lake and is a large Red Brick Building, in fact the largest Renaissance Palace in Scandinavia.

Frederiksborg Palace, photo from the courtyard entrance

Also looking over the Palace is a series of tiered gardens which incorporate a series of Monograms in small box hedge bushes. Along with extensive flower displays, and a water feature running the length from top to bottom of the garden.

Looking from the bottom of the water feature towards the top of the garden

One of the Monogramed gardens, although upside down

After lunch we had two more stops planned, however due to weather and timing only one stop end up  being possible. This stop was actually at a very old, small church named Herlev Kirke. From the outside it appears just another red brick church. However inside it has a series of beautiful paintings on the ceiling and is a really beautiful small church.

Inside Herlev Kirke, looking from the altar towards the back of the church

I really enjoyed the day seeing the Danish Countryside with my relatives. It is really a beautiful country and actually at one or two points I almost thought I was back in Australia, when we were driving through some of the country areas. I must say that if you ever get the chance to visit Denmark take it, because it is a lovely country and it is very easy even if you don’t know the language. Please feel free to leave comments or questions below.

I arrived in Copenhagen around lunch midday on the 7th of May. While the flight time out of Brussels might have been slightly early, it was a little push to get to the airport. I do think that arriving to a city around this time is great. Especially if you are flying and you arrive to early in the day it probably means that you have had to be up and moving a little to early. Wile on the other hand a late flight means you miss the entire day in the city.

Getting from the airport to city here in Copenhagen is really easy, there is a metro train quite frequently or buses and trains as well. The pricing is fairly reasonable at 36 Danish Kroner (about $6-$7). The best part is though even though it makes a number of stops along the way it is less then a 15 minute journey.

I did not waste any time getting out to see the city, this was thanks in part to a relative who lives in Copenhagen, giving me some ideas along with leaving some more information ready at the hotel for me. Since I really only had a couple of hours of the afternoon left, my choice was to take a Canal Cruise which lasts about one hour and takes you past many of the interesting sights that are visible from the water. The one fun thing about this is that the boats are really low to the water, as many of the bridges in Copenhagen are quite low.

Canal Tour boat, they do fit under the bridges, only just in some cases.

Being in a boat can sometimes be the one thing that affords you the best view of some places in the city. This is primarily because nobody when they are designing a city stops to think how people will take a photograph of their completed work. So often when you are taking photos from the street you have to get awkward angles or cut pieces of the building off. One of the buildings which is on the waterfront is the Skuespilhuset (Royal Danish Playhouse). This is a fairly new building with an interesting style.

Skuespilhuset (Royal Danish Playhouse) from the water

While Copenhagen itself is a fairly old city, it was founded 10th Century AD, and the city does have it’s fair share of wonderful old buildings. Just like the Skuespilhuset, there is also a number of other buildings which are architecturally quite interesting. With the next one being already insight before leaving sight of the Skuespilhuset, which is the New Opera House, sitting on the opposite bank.

Copenhagen Opera House

A city of course is never just defined by a few buildings, but by everything that makes the city up. This often works best with cities that water is incorporated into the city. This is very much seen in every aspect of the city of Venice. However there are also some really nice scenes created by the combination of the water and the buildings here in Copenhagen as well.

A row of house with the reflection into the Canal

For the first evening my relatives had suggested I take a look at Tivoli Gardens. I actually did not really have any idea what to expect, I had thought maybe just some gardens. However when I looked at the map and the brochure, it was more along the lines of an inner city Theme park, with restaurants, rides and also some gardens. While the rides are not my thing, I still took a look and was quite happy to see that it was a really nice place. The small areas of Gardens are quite nice and there are some really cool lighting effects at night on some of the buildings.

Tulips are everywhere at Tivoli Gardens

Also a number of nice water features around the park

One of the buildings lit up at night, everywhere you look it is like fairy lights

Wow, it would seem that in just half a day I am already putting myself a full day behind on my blogs. While I could try and include everything from yesterday afternoon and today into one post it would become terribly long and really I want you to remain interested, but don’t worry I will get the rest for today up soon, most likely on the Travel day coming up. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them below.

Ordinarily when I travel to a city I spend most of the time in the city which I traveled to. In this cases have traveled to Brussels, however really I have spent only a small amount of time in Brussels itself. Yesterday I choose to visit Bruges, while today I am visiting Antwerp, which is really pretty much the total of the time I will have in Belgium.

So today I took the train to Antwerp, like Bruges the weekend is the best time to do this to get value for money, with a return trip costing just €7.80. The other thing that helps with making this possible is the proximity of places. Depending on whether you get the express train or not it can take just 35 minutes to get from Brussels to Antwerp.

With my www.use-it.be map in hand I was ready to see all the good parts of the city. While I did not actually plan a route today, I sort of had an idea which sights on the map I wanted to see, so we easy to get started. The city of Antwerp really is a bit of a mixture, while there are the older buildings there is also a great deal of more modern buildings as well. The first building which really caught my eye though was the interior of the station building.

Inside the Train Station in Antwerp, Belgium

In a way it can be quite difficult to date Antwerp as a city from the buildings which you see. While some look old, there are also many that appear newer but old styles. In some cases it is easier then others in such cases where the date of construction is incorporated into the facade. In either case though Antwerp seems to have less nice older buildings then many other cities I have seen in Europe.

This building has 1509 on the side, however the bottom looks much newer

Of course I cannot visit a city though without coming across at least a few churches it would seem. While that was the case again today in Antwerp, I honestly could not tell you what any of them looked like from the inside. It was about half and half between the churches which were closed completely, and the churches which were in the middle of Mass. However there was some nice churches at least from the outside.

Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp

De Kathedraal, in Antwerp. The largest Gothic Church in the Low Countries

The further you move through the city the more you see some rather stark contrasts in the age of buildings. Along the waterfront is one such area. There is what looks to be a castle that seems to go by the name of Photo Fortress, while at the moment there is nothing be done with it, it has had quite a frayed past. Tis building is one of the older buildings in the city constructed around the 1200′s.

Known to some as Photo Fortress, has been used for many different purposes, but vacant at the moment

On the other hand the not far along the waterfront is a rather new building which houses the 360 degrees view museum. This building offers some really spectacular views of the city, which I only later have found out is free to go to the top for the view. Not to worry though the building is an interesting piece of the city anyway in its quite stark contrast to many of the older buildings.

A little of the super modern put into the mix

While green space is not a huge thing around the city of Antwerp there is stilly the occasional little park. However there is also one park that is quite large not far from the station. This park is called Stadspark and from the small time I had to look as I walked through, it appears to have everything. There’s a lake for water birds, a walking/jogging track, a rather large play ground for children and a skatepark. Besides this there is also plenty of greenery as well.

Stadspark in Antwerp, the water, and trees are nice to watch

It would seem that Belgium as a whole seems to be a really nice place. There is a good mix between city living and the countryside. Getting around is easy and walking in the city areas is good and mostly flat. But at the same time there is also a good mixture of old and modern. I did enjoy my day in Antwerp, however it is not probably my favorite city. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments below.