What should we do in Oslo & Copenhagen?

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Lady Jag

Guest
Anyone have any advice? This will be our first time to Europe and our sons, ages 13 & 15.5 yrs. by then, will be with us.

Regarding Copenhagen, I've heard some pretty disappointing comments about Tivoli and now I'm confused as to what to do. Should we avoid it and do something else? Is it best to do a horse-drawn carriage type tour on our own, take a train to one of the castles or do the canal cruise on our own?

In Oslo, we were thinking about visiting the Viking Museum. Has anyone done this and was it worth it? How long did it take to see it? Did you do a ship tour or not?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! :thumb Thanks! :) :) :)
 
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2forTravelin

Guest
We were in Copenhagen for a pre-cruise stay so we had some time to look around. We did not go to Tivoli as it was raining the day we planned to see it. However, I would highly recommend the canal tour as we thought it was one of the high points of our stay. If you are interested in castles, Rosenborg Castle is set in a nice park and has the crown jewels in the basement. It is not too far from the cruise ship harbor area. We also went to the Resistance Movement Museum and thought it was quite good as well.

In Oslo, we took a ferry over to Bygdoy and saw 3 museums that are fairly close together: The Viking Ship museum, the Fram museum and the Kon Tiki museum. We saw all three in about 3 hours. We spent the most time at the Fram museum. The Fram is an old (1900-era) ship that was used for polar exploration. You can actually walk onto the ship and have a glimpse at how those on the expedition lived in such tight quarters. The Kon Tiki museaum has exhibits about Thor Heyerdahl's travels as well as 2 of his boats The Viking Ship museum is interesting but of the three, the one where we spent the least time. This was our last port and we may just have been 'museum-ed' out.

Hope this helps.
 
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Lady Jag

Guest
Boy, does that help!! Thank you SO much! I'm copying and pasting your info. and will definitely follow your advice.

For Oslo, can you tell me how you got to the ferry that took you to Bygdoy? Did you do the whole excursion on your own? I'd much rather 'wing it' than be herded around with a bunch of people.

Also, for Copenhagen, how did you get to the canal boats? Did you take a taxi? This is something I've wanted to do and have heard positive comments about it, so it's definitely on our Must Do List.

Thanks again for the help!! :thumb :thumb :thumb
 
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2forTravelin

Guest
We did our own touring everywhere on our cruise except St. Petersburg. There was absolutely no language problem anywhere in Scandinavia.
If your ship docks by Akerhaus Castle, you only have a short (less than 10 minute) walk to the ferry. There is a tourist information center just as you leave the ship and they have a detailed map with specific directions. There is a sign at the ferry in English (I even have a picture of the ferry and sign if you're curious) so you really can't miss it. The first stop is the Viking Ship museum or you can go to the next stop for the Kon Tiki and the Fram and then walk back the other way. The distance between museums is about a 15 minute walk. I forgot to mention that the museum exhibits also have English translations.
I think I would probably take a taxi to the canal tour. The one that we took started at Nyhavn. I think there is also a tourist information center at the port but I'm not sure as I don't know where your ship will dock.
Anything else, just let me know.
Oh, 2 webvsites I used that might help:
http://www.visitoslo.com/indexe/
http://www.woco.dk/
 
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Lady Jag

Guest
Awesome information once again! Thanks so much! We'll definitely take the ferry then. Should be much more fun to get around on our own. Thanks again, I'm off to check out the links you supplied.

:wave :thumb :wave :thumb :) :)
 
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edwardv

Guest
just back from Baltic - had a great time at Tivoli - caught 3 shows for free, great music, lots of fun, dining under the stars (not free, but you can go from hot dogs to super deluxe), loved the flowers, the lights, the energy of the people. drop a line if you need more info
 
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Lady Jag

Guest
Hey Edward! Welcome home and glad you had a good time! Unfortunately, we'd be at Tivoli Gardens during the daytime and would miss the lights and perhaps some of the embiance. Would it still be worth it during the day?
 
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edwardv

Guest
If I remember right, Tivoli is about $20 for 2. If you are not into Carnival rides, I am not sure how much you would get out of it, unless you just like gardens, casinos, etc. The main part of Copenhagen is really great for walking. You can hit most of the palaces & stroget in an easy stroll, which I really recommend. There are lots of taxis available if you get tired & plenty of friendly people if you get lost.
 
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Scapel

Guest
Lady Jag,
We have been to Copenhagen twice and visited Tivoli both times and ate at the Herzgovinia restaurant both times. I think I would have rather take the canal tour. I really wasn't into midway rides, but everyone else wanted to and it was suppose to be the thing to do.
Stroget street is a nice walk and can be done with a guide book. Time it to get to the palace for changing of guard and maybe tour the palace.
Of course take your picture with that little statue. We walked from Tivoli to where our ship was docked. Long walk. There was a WWII museum depicting Copenhagen during the German occupation along the way. I think it is a beautiful city and more time should be spent seeing it than Tivoli gardens.
Any Six Flags property would over shadow Tivoli. Tivoli has just been there so long.
 
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Lady Jag

Guest
Thanks, Joe, that's exactly what my friends were saying about Tivoli compared to any other amusement park. I thought it would be quaint and have a unique atmosphere, but I'm afraid the kids would compare it to Disneyland and be disappointed.

I think we'll opt for the canal ride in Copenhagen. I guess we'll catch a taxi from the ship and then maybe find something else to do like walk down the Stroget. Do you happen to know when the guards change at the palace?
 
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Lady Jag

Guest
Fabulous website, Joan! :thumb I've had a ball roaming all over the world through your pictures!

Can you tell me how we'd get to the boat dock for the canal tour? Do we just get a cab from the cruise ship terminal? Do you happen to remember the cost of the tour? I'm surprised the taxis accepted credit cards! Thanks again! :)
 
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seagoingJLW

Guest
We actually did the canal tour as part of a shore excursion. But there were many passengers waiting at the dock as we got off the canal boat. They had come by cab.

Joan
 
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BruinSteve

Guest
Lady Jag,
I know I'm chiming in here a little late in the game...but, perhaps my comments will either cement it...or confuse you...who knows?

Anyway,
First Oslo: We did a Shore excursion through the ship...Saw the Open Air Museum, the Ski jump and the Sculpture Park...I wasn't thrilled with the Open Air Museum--basically a collection of old log cabins dragged to the site from all over Norway...The Sculpture Park was very different...and actually a pleasant surprise...I don't think the kids enjoyed it that much though...(our daughters were with us and were 15 and 17 at the time)...
We had time after the excursuion to explore the Akerhaus Castle on our own--it was right next to the ship...

As for Copenhagen, we were actually there pre-cruise as our cruise left out of Copenhagen...So, we had a few days there...
We were not thrilled with Tivoli...Our girls heard "amusement park" and said "let's go"...but for our girls, who grew up with Disneyland, Knott's and Six Flags Magic Mountain all a short drive from home, Tivoli just didn't match up...And for us, we basically found it loud, boring and overcrowded...

On the other hand, I wholeheartedly endorse the Canal Boats...You can pick them up easily on your own at Gammel Stam...Roseborg Palace was quite interesting as well...and we particularly enjoyed just strolling down the Stroget, the main walking/shopping street...and eating/drinking at picturesque Nyhavn...There is PLENTY to see in Copenhagen and definitely not enough time when it's just a port stop...

We'll be visiting again while on the Constellation next July and really look forward to this stop...It is indeed one of my favorite cities in Europe...

Enjoy...
 
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