Carlsberg, Copenhagen Zoo and the Round Tower

I’ve been recounting my adventures while not on the road. After travelling outside of Copenhagen the day before,  we’d now explore other attractions within the city.

We planned to visit two attractions that our Copenhagen cards would allow. This meant a short train ride east away from the water to our first stop, the Carlsberg Brewery and Headquarters.

Carlsberg

I’ve always been a fan of Carlsberg, so I was rather excited when I had the opportunity to visit them!  We spent the morning touring the Carlsberg neighbourhood as well as the brewery complex.  It wasn’t simply just looking at how they made beverages, but also a look at their history which is very rich and interesting!  We got to see their Carlsberg Jutland Horses which they used for deliveries in the past and are still present and are often on the streets of Copenhagen to this day. There was also the opportunity to tour the the largest collection of unopened beer bottles in the world.

In addition to the great exhibits within Carlsberg, our admission also allowed us the chance to taste two Carlsberg beers!  It was a great morning to explore and end off with a very relaxing lunch and beverage(s).  I highly recommend making a visit here, even if you’re not much of a drinker!

Copenhagen Zoo

A very short walk from Carlsberg (one block through Søndermarken Park) we arrived at the Copenhagen Zoo. We were keen to visit and see what amazing creatures we’d be able to see and experience.  We realized that the zoo itself is HUGE and we spent the better part of the Afternoon here enjoying and learning about all the wonderful animals they had.

One of the highlights of my visit was the Arctic Tunnel where you could walk “underwater” and view the marine life.  We were lucky enough to have a huge polar bear swim by and have a seat on our tunnel!  We spent a good amount of time watching him swim, sit, reposition himself and then sit again repeatedly!

Throwback Note:

When we visited the zoo in 2012 I loved it, I mean how often do you have an opportunity to see such magnificent creatures? I thought Zoo’s were an amazingly “cool” and educational experience for all ages. However, as I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to places like Antarctica and Africa, I’ve been able to see some of these creatures in their natural habitats. I now find myself conflicted about Zoos. On the one hand I LOVE the opportunity to see some of God’s creation that I may never have an opportunity to. But, I’ve also seen penguin colonies the size of some zoos or packs of elephants in open fields who both have the freedom to roam without human interference.

Personally I think there a balance can be struck, but do find myself conflicted from time to time whenever I’m out in the “wild” or visiting a zoo. I’d be curious to see how others feel about this, leave a comment below if you have an opinion.

The Round Tower

Having spent a morning at Carlsberg and an afternoon at the zoo, we make our way back to the city for one last stop, The Round Tower. This is the oldest observatory in Europe and we thought it’d be a nice quick visit.  Upon entering you realize that to get to the top, its a continuous ramp that spirals all the way to the top. As we neared the top the ramp got steeper so by the time we got up there, we were a bit surprised that it was slightly more strenuous then we thought.  But that feeling passed quickly, because the 360 view of Copenhagen was worth it!

I am continually amazed at how beautiful Copenhagen is and how quickly its made its way up my list of favorite cities to visit! We have one more full day in Copenhagen so we planned to relax and enjoy all this city has to offer!