Tuesday June 19 was one of those days that with a lot of luck, everything fit perfectly into place – an open-top bus ride; an open-top boat ride, and lunch in the Christianborg Palace Tower.

Christian Holm Donatsky has been leading enjoyable history-focused walking tours for 15 years. We took his June/July “Kings’ Copenhagen” tour covering the period from 1600-1800 – wars, fires, scandals, and all kinds of interesting stuff.

If you’re at Rosenborg Castle, there are two free gems, across two different streets from the Castle – the Botanical Gardens, and the Reformed Church.

We give Richard Karpen six out of five stars for his daily guided Copenhagen walking tour! He’s funny, knowledgeable, personable, passionate…In 1.5 hours, he helped us learn about Danish culture, social values, history, society.

Here’s your fun opportunity to get to know someone who lives in the heart of Copenhagen; see her historic (c. 1797) beautiful apartment (and her views!); enjoy an amazing, traditional meal; and experience her neighborhood with a 1-hour walking tour after your meal.

If you have time for a day trip that’s a short distance out of Copenhagen, the 30-minute train ride to Roskilde and its award-winning Viking Ship Museum is well worth it. The museum displays five 1000-year-old Viking ships that were found in the local Roskilde fjord in the 1960s – hundreds of thousands of pieces that have been carefully treated and reconstructed. And it’s a beehive of activity with demonstrations of Viking ship building.

How can one possibly explain Copenhagen’s Christiania? Here’s a description from Rick Steves: “…an ultra-human mishmash of idealists, hippies, potheads, non-materialists, and happy children (600 adults, 200 kids, 200 cats, 200 dogs, 2 parrots, and 17 horses.)” The homes are just a kick to look at – they’ve been cobbled together with whatever building materials people can find, and residents call it “architecture without architects.”

Take a step back in time; escape the hustle and bustle of Copenhagen; and take an easy half-day or day trip to Dragør (pronounced “Droughor,” kind of one syllable – go figure.) It’s just a 1-hour bus ride from Nørrebro to this  precious/historic fishing/harbor village (and it’s only 5 miles outside of downtown Copenhagen.)

Enjoy a ride on Copenhagen’s “Boat Bus!”  Budget traveler pro tip – the boat bus is “free” with your standard bus/train/metro pass (We bought a month-long pass at the train station for about $60 each. An amazing bargain!)

What a wonderful way to explore Copenhagen’s Rosenborg Castle – with tour guide Richard Karpen’s  one-hour tour. He’s witty and very knowledgeable, and brings the castle and its treasury to life with his stories. (The castle was built in the 1600s, and is humble by European standards. It’s very enjoyable, and is just a few minutes away from central Copenhagen.)