Welcome to the 7th day of my HomeExchange trip in Copenhagen, Denmark! No castles or cathedrals today. Today is about fear, screaming, challenges, guts, amongst tulips and other pretty posies.
HUH?
I visited Tivoli Gardens which so happens to be located right across the street from the main train station in Copenhagen which so happens to be just a few bus stops from the apartment where I stayed.
It opened in 1843, and is the second-oldest operating amusement park in the world with the oldest operating amusement park located in Denmark as well. Tivoli is immaculately clean, trimmed, painted, and kept up to date. It didn’t show its age at all.
Tivoli is famous for its spectacular night lighting. Spread out over 21 acres, in addition to the rides it has gardens, indoor and outdoor theaters, an aquarium, fountains, amusement arcades, and a zillion candy shops and eateries.
The entrance was free with my Copenhagen card, but in order to ride the rides, I purchased a wristband for about $30 which allowed me to ride as many times as I wanted. It was about 1pm on a beautiful sunny Thursday so not many people were there. That meant either
I didn’t have to wait in a line or there were only a few people ahead of
me. Around 3pm many people started to show up, presumably because school let out.
The first (and pretty much only) thing I wanted to do was hit the rides!! The rides did'nt allow anything in your pockets…no
coins, camera, cell phone, keys, etc because they could fling out and konk somone on the head below. We had to leave them in bins and remember to pick them up when getting off the ride. Darn, I wanted to take some videos!!
Though I did rides first, tour second, I'm gonna make you wait for it. So, let me show you around a bit:
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| The Entrance |
It's been a long time since I've seen TULIPS!! One of my fave flowers.
A little taste of what's to come!!
Bumper Boats!
A huge outdoor theater.
A male peacock (the pretty one) watching over his mate lying nearby.
I love the hanging globe-shaped flower baskets.
This vase is over 8feet tall.
The Nimb Hotel, built in 1909 sits on the edge of Tivoli Gardens. A night, its outlines are lit up in white lights.
Ready to go on some rides??? I've liked wild rides ever since I was a kid going to the Puyallup fair in Washington State, or our little County fair in Port Angeles. I love heights. I used to climb trees! I even earned my pilots license! Heck, I've even jumped out of perfectly good airplanes...TWICE!!
But, todays' rides have become very sophisticated and test peoples limits. I hesitate and watch (several times) and have to convince myself...but...so far...I haven't NOT gone on a ride because of fear. I've gone ON a ride with a great deal of fear but I got ON!!! I mean, if I can go to the rooftop of the Stratosphere in Lost Wages and get on a ride that goes OFF the edge of the roof then taunts you by pointing you at the ground and rolling forward then jerking to a stop...well......
But, todays' rides have become very sophisticated and test peoples limits. I hesitate and watch (several times) and have to convince myself...but...so far...I haven't NOT gone on a ride because of fear. I've gone ON a ride with a great deal of fear but I got ON!!! I mean, if I can go to the rooftop of the Stratosphere in Lost Wages and get on a ride that goes OFF the edge of the roof then taunts you by pointing you at the ground and rolling forward then jerking to a stop...well......
Though the Vertigo ride at Tivoli (which you'll see in a bit) seemed like it would be the worst...and it WAS scary!...the swings were the scariest.
The Star Flyer (swings) is 260 feet high. I rode them at the county fair when I was a kid, but these new-fangled ones are higher and faster. About half the time I couldn't look while whiring around on that thing!
Remember the 'Scrambler' ride of the olden days? It whisked you around horizontally while the seated area also did horizontal 360's. 'Tik Tak', the modern version, rotates both horizontally AND vertically at high speed generating forces approaching 4G.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A SHORT VIDEO OF THE TIK TAK 'SCRAMBLER'
The ‘death drop’ I’ve done before and it was on top (the ROOF!) of the Stratosphere in Las Vegas! But, no one can possibly get used to your seat dropping out from under you without prior notice from a height of 207 feet.
And, who can resisst a good roller coaster?
And, who can resisst a good roller coaster?
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE DEATH DROP AND ROLLER COASTER!!
Next up...Fatamorgana!! Wha??? Is that the Fat Lady? Nooo...it's the name of the ride! A different twist on the scrambler, this one adds 150 feet to the element. If you sit in the saucer section, it also tilts as it twirls within a twirl.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE AERIAL SCRAMBLER AND ROLLER COASTER!!
As I said, rides are much wilder these days and I love that, but as I’ve gotten older I find I have to overcome a little bit of fear first before I get the guts to get on. Luckily, I didn’t shy away from any of the rides though I was a smidge hesitant about the airplane ride (Vertigo) because it whirls around really fast and spins at the same time! WHEW!! The Vertigo looping plane ride reaches a speed of 100 km/h (60 mph) and a height of 30 metres (98 feet) while rotating 360 degrees producing 5G's of force!! Oh, and the propellors twirl, too!
CLICK HERE TO WATCH VERTIGO. HANG ON!!
Of course, what's the point of going to an amusement park if you're not going to ride the roller coaster, right? Let's go 48 mph, climb to 92 feet then drop, do a loop, then a corkscrew, 4G's, all while having your feet dangle (no floor). OK!!! No problemo!
CLICK HERE TO DO 3 RIDES ONE AFTER ANOTHER!!
That's it!! Time to stagger home while I try to get my balance back.
Next up...My Last 3 Days in Copenhagen!!
Dano
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