Day 12, 24 June 2014 - Copenhagen - Rosenborg Slot (Castle) and the fabulous Danish Crown Jewels, The Amber Museum, Stroll around Nyhavn, Visit Carlsberg - all the history, a burger and a couple of dark ales, Copenhagen Zoo - Polar Bears/Wolves/Puffins - tick!

As you can imagine from that list, there was a lot of choice for a cover photo - but this shot at the Zoo encapsulates exactly how I felt at the end of the day. The album for today has (of course) loads more photos of jewels, castles, Carlsberg's lovely horses and the zoo.

I was conscious of having a lot of ground to cover, so was up and at 'em a bit too early - with 40 minutes before Rosenberg Palace opened it's gates, I had more than enough time to stroll the Kings Gardens behind the castle. Planted at the beginning of the 17th C, it's Denmark's oldest royal garden - full of roses in full bloom and dozens of other early birds just like me. As soon as the gates were opened I was in and immediately headed to the underground Treasury - castle, schmastle - I wanted to see the Danish Royal Treasures & Crown Jewels in peace. Wow. 'Nuff said. Refer to photos - in particular the emeralds. I finished with the gems as the first wave of hordes descended and headed up to the castle itself - suffice it to say the three life size silver lions guarding the thrones since the 1660s were a major highlight. This 17th C castle, built as a summer house by Christian IV certainly has a fairy-tale quality. I decided one castle a day is my limit and put off Amalienborg Palace 'til tomorrow. Instead I headed to Copenhagen's Amber Museum - based in Kanneworff's House which dates back to 1606 sits near the start of colourful Nyhavn. This was a pretty swift visit, but seeing their large collection of amber with insects inside was interesting in a Jurassic Park kind of way. Amber has always been very big in these parts since 30-50 million years ago Northern Europe was covered in massive and now extinct pine forests. It was not always known to be fossilised resin - the ancient Greeks thought it was tears of the gods, the Vikings thought god tears that landed on earth became gold but if they landed in water they became amber. The Chinese even thought it was the souls of dead tigers and as such symbolises courage. It was a particularly attractive trading commodity in the Roman Empire until say 200AD when a small amber figure cost more than an adult slave. That could really put a dent in someone's self worth! I say it was a swift visit because I had a brief look in the store below the museum and the prices looked like phone numbers - international ones. I took a stroll around picturesque Nyhavn (well it was New in 1671 when they dug out the canal) which is full of top-end restaurants (more phone number type prices on the menus) then eventually caught the #26 in the correct direction to get to the Old Carlsberg brewery and "Visit Carlsberg". Something different for me, but I quite enjoyed some of the dark ales in the UK and the lure of a couple of free beers did the trick. Huge fun as it turns out - I now know 1000% more than I once did about the origins and methods of beer making, saw the largest collection of unopened beer bottles in the world (Guinness certified - currently 22,334) and tried the dark ale with a burger for lunch. (Tomorrow I'll head to the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek for a glimpse of the famous art collection gifted to the public by Carl Jacobson and his wife in 1888 - they have a Van Gogh I'm keen on - Denmark's most valuable painting.) Back in Christian IV's time in the 1600s, 10-30 litres(!) of beer a day was normal. The period was known as the Great Nordic Inebriation. The workers at Carlsberg didn't miss out in their day either. They each received a beer ration of 4 pots (litres) per day from 1860-1890 when it was reduced to (just) 2 pots per day. Now I don't know if the beer invigorated me or just numbed my feet, but I saddled up after lunch and headed to Copenhagen Museum to see their Arctic Ring Exhibit. Initially it was a bit disappointing. There seemed to be one very camera shy polar bear - but I kept strolling and when I least expected it this fellow came out and put on a superb show. I finally got to see a real life (albeit behind glass) puffin. Missed them at the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, saw a stuffed one in a museum in Berlin, so that was another achievement. As was the wolf. Then dodging children, strollers, ice-cream parlours and the gift shop, I made it onto a bus and back to the hotel by 5 pm. Copenhagen apparently has nightlife. And the old buildings look pretty when it's dark and the lights go on. But staying out past 10 pm to see them is just not on this black duck's agenda. Need to rest up before my final day in Copenhagen tomorrow!