Hidden Jewels: Copenhagen & Hong Kong

Introduction Welcome to my Personal Project. In this project, I have decided to show the hidden locations of two places, Copenhagen and

Hong Kong. Through the media of photog-raphy, I will take you through my own ex-perience on what makes these locations such amazing places to visit and why you should possibly visit these places if you

could.

Welcome to Copenhagen

Kiin Kiin In the district of Norrebro, lies this special little Thai resturant. The only Thai restaurant outside of Thailand to claim a Michelin Star, this restur-ant serves a stunning fusion of Oriental and European cuisines. The set menus include seven delectable dishes and can come with wines that fit each dish perfectly.

Kiin Kiin is definitely a restaurant you must try out when heading to Co-penhagen because of how unique this little restaurant is. When you first enter, you are greated with warm open smiles and sat down in what seems to be a lounge area. You are served little appetizers before you move upstairs where your main course is served. The restaurant will set you back quite a lot and is closed in July.

If Copenhagen is a little too far, Kiin Kiin has opened another restaurant in Bangkok called Sra Bua.

Nyhavn Nyhavn was once a busy commerical port where ships from all over the world would dock. Now it has become the perfect place to enjoy a stroll or look for a quick bite to have. These colorful port-side houses and docked ships create a magical atmosphere especially during a brisk summer day.

Nyhavn has many al fresco (eating outside) resturants and with the environment that surrounds this place is very calming. It is perfect for a nice stroll and there are many things to offer such as the oldest house who’s design has not been altered since 1681.

Christianborg Palace The current Christianborg Palace you see before you is the third of its kind. It first went by Absalon’s Castle then Copenhagen Castle and finally in 1745 Christianborg Palace was finally built. The first two Christianborg Palaces were burnt down and the support structures of Absalon’s castle and the Copenhagen Castle can be see underneath the current castle.

This palace is currently being used as the seat of the Danish Parliament, The Danish Prime Minister’s Office and the Danish Supreme Court. Since the castle is still being used, special precautions are placed such as the plastic bag they use to cover your shoes.

It truly is an amazing castle to visit and the normal grounds are free to visit. The tours cost around 100 Danish Krones if you want access to every single part of the castle that is open to the public.

Norrebro Bryghus is one of the many mi-cro-breweries that you can find in Den-mark. They hand-brew their own beer to help increase and spread the already large Danish beer culture.

The staff of this brewery serve their cus-tomers with extensive knowledge of what they are serving and are always willing to help you choose the right kind of beer that will blend well with your food. It is truly an interesting experience and is a must go if you can find a space. Reservation is re-quired as it does get quite busy during din-ner time.

Marble Church A very convenient place to visit if you’re planning to go to Nyhavn, Amalienborg Palace and the Copenhagen Opera House. This church was beautifully created and is aligned with both Amalienborg Palace and the Copenhagen Opera House which makes for some very nice scenery. The Church stood as a ruin for almost 150 years due to bud-get cuts and was left incomplete. It was only until 1874 before Denmark’s Finance Minister sold the ruins to Carl Frederik Te-itgen and was completed in the August of 1984.

Cap Horn Cap Horn is a restaurant on the Nyhavn that specializes in seafood. They prepare their food everday from scratch with their raw ingredi-ents selected with the purpose of quality and care of the environment. They have tried to stick as organic as possible which means their tea, coffee and even beer come from organic suppliers.

The restaurant retains it’s original look with old wooden floors, fire-places and many more that help contribute to a relaxed atmosphere inside. Their food is extremely tasty and if you stop by Nyhavn, why not have a bite at Cap Horn before continuing your journey through Copenhagen.

Day Trip This is a pretty interesting and sight-filled trip to go on. If you have a spare day, going to these places can be a great time to spend it. In this journey you will go to Helsingor, home of Hamlet’s Slot, Helsingborg, Malmo and then back to Copenhagen. Your first stop should be Helsingor. With a 1 hr train ride from Copen-hagen, you will find yourself in the castle that Hamlet took place in. It is a beautiful castle that is surrounded by the Baltic Sea. Next you trav-el across the Baltic’s and into Helsingborg. From there you can take a train down to Malmo where you can shop to your heart’s content. From there you can take a train right back to where you started from.

You can pack light as this trip doesn’t need much. Make sure you keep hydrated and pack some snacks as the train rides may make you hungry.

Hong Kong: Pearl of the Orient

Botanical Garden The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens is located at Mid-levels, on the northern slope of Victoria Peak. The Botanical Gardens occupy around 5.6 hectares and was founded in 1871. The entire park is free to the public so spend some time exploring the exhibits and enjoying the great surroundings.

The Botanical Gardens are a great place to relax and escape the busy at-moshpere of Hong Kong. Here you can take your time and enjoy the fresh air and great scenery that is provided.

The Pawn The Pawn is the reunion of four pawn shops creatively made into a resturant and heritage building. The restoration of The Pawn was a de-liberate project to preserve the historic integrity of this Wan Chai ad-dress.

This building brings to life the atmosphere of old Hong Kong but mixed with the chic and retro Hong Kong that we know today. It is worth the visit and the dining experience is like no other. There are three levels all with a different theme to them.

Wet Markets The wet markets of Hong Kong are truly special places where fresh ingre-dients can be found. It is a very unique experience to be in Hong Kong and vis-iting these wet markets as you may find many interesting little knick-knacks along your journey.

One of the most predominate markets in Hong Kong is the Wan Chai Market. Packed with fruits, meats, fish, clothing and toys, almost anything you need can be found here.

The Wan Chai Convention Center The Wan Chai Convention Center outlooks the Victoria Harbour and also has a beautiful promenade as well as the Golden Bauhinia. It also contains two hotels connected around the convention center that include Grand Hyatt and Renis-sance which makes this a convenient place to visit. The convention center regularly holds large conventions that attract many people around the world and if you just happen to be in town and a convention comes through, be free to check it out. Concerts are also held here.

The promenade in front of the convention is beautiful for a sunset stroll and you can look across to see the magnificent view of Kowloon. It also includes the Golden Bauhinia square which is a great visit as well.

Basement (Resturant) This quirky little restuarant on Gough Street is owned by a family friend. It serves more western based cuisine . The owner of the resturant also owns the furniture shop chain called Homeless, where most of the furniture comes from. It is open for both dinner and lunch although lunch is general-ly cheaper.

The resturant creates a wonderful atmosphere and the retro looking fur-niture really helps with that. The food is beautifully decorated and they have a wide variety of drinks to go along with your meal.

The Peninsula This iconic hotel has many things that are worth visiting although it is rath-er expensive and you have to keep that in mind. The Peninsula hotel was first openned in 1928 and only in 1994 did they add the extra 30 story tower. This ho-tel is very important to the culture of Hong Kong as this is where the British offi-cially surrendered to the Japanese on December 25th, 1941.

Some of the biggest attractions to this hotel are the marvelously designed vic-torian lobby as well as their resturants. The afternoon tea served at The Lobby is very well known and many people go to have tea here. Also, there two main Dinner resturants Gaddi’s and Felix’s are very well known and well acclaimed.

If you have some money to spend, take a ride back to the airport on the Penin-sula’s fleet of Rolls-Royce Phantoms and arrive to the airport in style!

Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade Probably the most iconic sceneries of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Island skyline. Just as beautiful as it is during the day, the skyline of Hong Kong is a marvelous site and sitting on the Promenade and admiring the architectural beauty of Hong Kong is rather relaxing. If you come on New Years and Lunar New Years, this is one of the best spots to see the fireworks display although it does get rather crowded.

Its definitely worth visiting, especially at night, as it does create a soothing and beautiful atmosphere. The promenade is also linked to the Star Ferry and Tsim Sha Tsui Bus Terminal so it isn’t inconvenient to come and go from. The prome-nade closes at 10pm so, plan your trip accordingly.