I’m just back from a wonderful five nights in Dunsborough, Western Australia where I took part in a five night stay Zumba Retreat. It was organised by our three lovely Zumba instructors over four days. There were over 40 ladies in all who participated! I certainly didn’t know all of them but with all the events happening have come away with many new friends. My friend Lisa booked us a three bedroom house in a complex very close to many of the other ladies. It was within walking distance to the beach and the small local town, a winner on all fronts.
Outside
My room
Kitchen, Dining, Living Room
Geographe Bay, Dunsborough
And so it begins!
Day One
Of course it started with a Zumba class at 9.15 am for just over an hour, ready for a nap already. Back to the house for showers and then off to Clancys Fish Pub for lunch and a shopping session after.
Dunsborough is full of quirky shops selling all kinds of gifts, designer clothes and things you generally don’t need but just have to have. We ended up going home with multiple bags each.
In the afternoon there was a tango lesson, which I baled on, I wanted to preserve energy for the cocktail party later that evening. As you can imagine this was a noisy gathering, so many cocktails and wild dancing.
Day Two
Not too early a start today, a zumba class at 9.15 followed by a morning tea. More zumba at 10.30 – 11.30 am. I am definitely feeling it by now and ready for a rest. Lisa, Rose and I had a quick lunch at our house and decided to go for a drive to a winery and restaurant.
Meelup Farm
I spotted this big boy from the car as we were driving away, I love seeing kangaroos in the wild
Wine tasting at Wise Winery
More Zumba at 3 to 5.15 pm but also missed that! Opting instead for a walk along the beach.
Another big party tonight, well two actually! First a welcome party for the newcomers and a goodby party for the other ladies who were departing.
Our first party involved so many games designed to get to know one other. So much fun and plenty of food and wine and of course more dancing. Luckily the other party was within walking distance and was in full swing by the time we arrived, more dancing and drinking. Ready for my bed.
So far so good, I was actually hoping to lose a few kilos! I doubt that will be happening with all the morning teas, lunches, party food, wine and cocktails. I think it will be going the other way.
After leaving Gothenburg, we travelled to Copenhagen using a Flix bus. The journey took around five hours and crossed into Copenhagen from Malmo over the Oresund Bridge. This bridge became very famous after the Nordic Noir series “The Bridge”. One of my all time favourite TV series. Travelling on a Flix bus is a great way to see the countryside and I had booked seats directly behind the driver. When we arrived in Copenhagen there was a Mexican standoff between our bus and another bus on a two lane road into the station. In the end we had to get off the bus and walk for around 15 minutes along cobblestones to find a taxi to our hotel.
Oresund Bridge
The Øresund Bridge is an approximately 16 km long road and rail link between Sweden and Denmark. It consists of three sections: a bridge, an artificial island and a tunnel. The link opened on July 1 2000. Source: Oresund Bridge
Oresund Bridge
Crossing over to the Danish Side
Arriving at our hotel – Copenhagen Strand – at around 4 pm we checked in and then set about exploring. I loved Copenhagen on sight and had no idea how stunning this city was. We were staying just around the corner from the picturesque Nyhavn Canal. We walked up and down this beautiful 17th century waterfront looking for a place for a snack and drink. It was difficult to choose as there are so many bars and restaurants. Even on a cold afternoon or night you can sit outside as there are heaters and blankets to keep warm.
Day One
Studying the menu
He only needs a moustache!
Enjoying a beer canalside
Great weather
Waiting for dinner
Although we were only here for two nights/three days, really that’s all you need in Copenhagen as it is a very walkable city and probably all most people could afford as it is very expensive.
Day Two
I decided on the Christian IX palace today and a walk along Stroget later. With so many spires, steeples and old buildings that are dotted around Copenhagen I had my phone out constantly snapping away. The palace is situated on Slotsholmen (Castle Island) in the middle of the city.
Borsen – 17th century building – the former Stock Exchange
Nikolaj, Copenhagen Contemporary Art Centre
Christiansborg Palace
Frederik Vll
I really would have like to visit inside this palace but with time ticking on and many more things to see we just had time to visit the ruins underneath the palace. The palace is built on 800 year old ruins. The oldest ruin is the wall from
Bishop Absalon’s 12th century castle. I think you would need at least half a day or more to really explore this palace.
Next we walked to Stroget, the famous shopping street. This was Anthony’s treat for sightseeing in the morning! Strøget is a pedestrian, car free shopping area in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is 1.1 km long and has many designer shops, restaurants and bars. We found one of the large department stores, Illum, a fancy five floor shopping mall with a rooftop restaurant. Here we had a delicious lunch and a glass of wine.
Lunch at Illum
Colourful Smoked Salmon Salad
Stork Fountain
Mathias Hansen House
Caritas Fountain
Halloween display
La Glace, the oldest confectionary shop in Denmark, founded on 8th October 1870
The Round Tower
As there was still some daylight left I wanted to take a look at The Round Tower. This building offers some of the best views in Copenhagen and it has a spiral ramp to walk up to the top, so much better than the stairs I was expecting! Still it was quite an effort to walk up but so worth it. It dates back to the 17th Century and was built by King Christian lV.
The Round Tower
So pleased I made it!
View from the top
Stroget from above
Beautiful filigree iron railings
Stroget
Trinity church within The Round Tower
I felt quite accomplished at the end of the day as we had seen so much already.
Day Three
All too soon our stay in Copenhagen was coming to an end. So after checking out at 11 am we decided not to waste time and set out for exploring more of Copenhagen. I managed to persuade Anthony to visit another palace! This time it was Amelienborg Palace, the home of the Danish royal family. This place was just simply stunning and we were lucky enough to be there for the changing of the guards. It was first built in the 1750’s but has been rebuilt a couple of times due to fires. Again I only got to view the outside due to hubby’s need to press on and see other things, namely more shops.
A Platoon of Guards
Just one of the palaces inside the square
Frederik’s Church was just around the corner so we walked over to have look at this magnificent church, also called the Marble church. It is an 18th century Lutheran church with the largest dome in Scandinavia.
Frederik’s Church
Stained glass images of the saints in the dome
St. Paul
Ornate cross at the alter
After this we still managed to find time for a visit to another department store. The famous Magusin du Nord, with its flagship store in Copenhagen. It’s a great one-stop place to shop and has something for everyone here.
Below are some of the other photos I snapped during our three day stay in Copenhagen.
