Copenhagen - Christianhavn

I was intrigued by Christianhavn when I saw it from our boat canal tour. It sits on Amager island, just across from the city center. A very clever pedestrian and bike bridge provides access to the island, which is mostly residential, and many of those residents live on boats and floating homes that line the canals there.

We walked across that clever bridge, which wisely separates walkers from bikers. On a Sunday afternoon, hundreds of bikers whizzed past us, perhaps to visit Broens Gadekøkken, which serves "world class street food." This collection of eateries and outdoor dining is only open April to October. Copenhageners wisely go indoors the rest of the year.

It wasn't dinnertime yet, so we continued walking down the cobbled streets admiring the boats until we unexpectedly came across the church with the spiral staircase, surrounded by apartments. Formally known as Vor Frelsers Kirke (Church of our Savior), it was consecrated in 1696, but the unique twisted spire wasn't added until 1752. For a fee, you can climb the 400 steps (150 outside) to the top. We declined, but could clearly see the more adventurous making their way to the top.