Today was my last day in Copenhagen and the end of my two week trip. My return flight was 2pm so I had to be at the airport by noon giving the whole morning still to explore.

I left the hotel by 8am hoping to visit nearby Rosenborg Palace. This is a smaller version of the larger water castles but located in city park having been absorbed by urbanization.

I visited in 2003 and remember small rooms crammed full of furniture. I was hoping to walk around the gardens to take pics but the gates were locked until 10am when the Palace would open.

However I wasn't aware an army base was located right on the grounds and many soldiers were doing their morning routines on the Palace grounds.

Walking back the town centre I wanted to make my way to the town hall square. I remember when I arrived in 2003 from the train station the gold just glowed blindingly in the sun giving the first impression of this truly being a city made of gold. This time it had been so overcast and dreary with wet weather those conditions were never recreated.

A few blocks away past the Tivoli Gardens was the third of Copenhagen's Palaces. Christiansborg Palace takes a large amount of space, almost an entire downtown island to itself. It was scheduled to open 10am so I had to wait a bit after first trying to find the entrance as all the doors were closed and no outdoor signs put up yet

I was first inside when the doors opened. Ticket options were 80K for the Palace, 40K for the ruins, 40K for the stables, or 110K ($22) for a combo which I went for. They let me leave my bags as I had everything with me on my way to the airport

You have to wear plastic bag slippers over your shoes to protect the floor. Only one wing of the Palace is open on the second floor with about a dozen rooms.

The grand hall had a collection of modern wall size tapestries, rich in colours, and a more contemporary illustration than more historical tapestries.

As I was the first one today and in low season I had the Palace practically to myself. Although elaborate it was not as grand as Frederiksborg outside of Copenhagen I'd visited two days ago. (See entry Frederiksborg Slot http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-en tries/londone7/29/1414341980/tpod.html )

The next section included in the combo ticket was the underground ruins. Aside from some bricks there was really nothing to see. It doesn't compare with the catacombs in Budapest or other Palace ruins. There were however displays of the history of the Palace and earlier Palace fires which led to building expansions.

In the rear grounds were several horse carriages practicing their rounds. The stables were included in the combo ticket but they open at 1.30pm so I couldn't go with my 2pm flight.

I was expecting something like the Vienna Riding School but when they say stables they literally mean horse stables as I think that's all there would have been to see.

The combo ticket probably wasn't worth it and I should have just got the Palace ticket for 80K ($16) as I got to see the horses parading for free anyway.

I was planning on leaving but the tower was due to open at 11am. No ticket is required and it is free except for the wait time. You have to go thru a security screening which I didn't want to as I had my bags and was short of time but ended up anyway, hoping I wouldn't be late for my flight and end up regretting it.

You have to take two elevators. The first allows 8 people, the second only 6, so wait times when busy. There is no stair option.

At the top were impressive views but no view of Nyhavn harbour as the city is quite built up. It was a fitting end to the trip as I started in the Reykjavik Cathedral tower, now ended in the Copenhagen Palace tower.

You can also visit the Parliament and Chapel but they are both open on Sundays only. Also Parliament is by prior reservation only. I guess I was short of time and money in 2003 so I'm glad I got to discover more of Copenhagen that I hadn't on my last visit as I'm not sure why I didn't come here then.