Day 2 - Bakken and Tivoli

This morning we took advantage of a late opening time at Bakken amusement park and slept in and got ourselves a little caught up in sleep.  And after getting ourselves out the door and over to the train station and had a quick fast food brunch at a place called Sunset Blvd we caught the C line over to Klampenborg to check out the park.

It was a very cool park with lots of charm.  It was set in the woods along a river.  We walked around a bit then I got to riding.  I hit up the Wild Mouse first and it was one of the fastest, if not THE fastest I've ridden, it was crazy!  I did the fun house with lots of tilting floors and stairs and a blast of air to end with.  Then I did their flitzer coaster, Racing, which was also fun.  I checked out their spook house which was quite nice and their hunting themed dark ride which wasn't.  Then dad and I did their surprisingly very fast mine train coaster and their big old side friction coaster - which had recently gotten new trains and a computerized ride system so it no longer had brakemen who rode along the ride but it was still a peppy, fast ride with a lot of fun moments.  Then I rode the old wooden coaster and the mine train one more time each and then steeled myself up for a ride on Tornado - their spinning, launched, indoor coaster.

Tornado was awesome!  Once you go over the top you start spinning like mad and the track is so twisted you can't tell where you're going or which way is up!  It was a crazy, crazy ride.  And as soon as it was over I wanted to do it again.  Dad met me at the exit and I was so pumped that he decided he wanted to give it a try too, so off we went.  I chose a seat across from him and it was a riot watching his expressions at the beginning parts of the ride.  But once he got over his initial alarm he had a great time as well!  Go Dad!  After that we sat for a beer in a cafe next to the wooden coaster and people watched.  Finally we caught the train back to the city and took a little break at the hotel.  Well Dad did, I ran out to an electronics store to try to find a means to get my photos downloaded.  No go.  

After I returned we headed out to dinner at Wagamama.  A high end Asian food chain that's all over Europe and it appears they may have opened a place in Boston!  It was very, very good.  We both had delicious chicken curries and I would definitely hit it up again if I find myself near one again.  Very recommended.  Next up was Tivoli Gardens!  An amusement park right in the center of Copenhagen.

It's been said that the park was the inspiration for Disneyland and it is clear that they spared no expense in making things appear as fantastic and fanciful as possible and after the sun starts going down (at about 10:00pm) all the lights start coming on and the lights are all just as fantastic and fanciful as well.  I probably took 100 photos here it was so wonderful.  And as soon as I figure out how to get my pictures off the camera I'll share them with you all. 

The rides at Tivoli didn't disappoint either!  Demon was a nice, twisted looping coaster with a cool helix before the first drop, The Flying Trunk was a nutty rid where you ride in a twisting and turning steamer trunk through a serpentine series of dioramas based on Hans Christian Andersen stories while a recorded monologue gave a VERY condensed version of each story.  It was almost all in Danish but I did recognize The Emporer's New Clothes, The Ugly Duckling, The Snow Queen, and the Little Mermaid.  Maybe a few more.  Odin Express was a zippy little mine train that ran it's course three times per ride without stopping in the station.  It was cool but I got some painful high fives from the operator as I went flying by at full speed!

 Starflyer was next and is sort of the new emblem of the park as it's visible from just about anywhere in central Copenhagen.  Imagine your typical amusement park chair swings on a 225 foot tall tower going 40mph and you've got the Starflyer.  I've ridden one before so I knew what was coming, but it's still a rush and you're spinning fast enough up there that you can barely get a fix on the view.  I love them!  And can't wait to try the 400' version in Stockholm!  They were a little over the top with their safety regulations on this ride though as we had to empty our pockets and were individually patted down to ake sure we had everything out of our pockets.  I was a little hesitant to part with my wallet but the ride operator (in a Scottish accent to rival Fat Bastard's) gave me a light sock in the arm and said, "Whut?  Ya wanna kill a wee baybah?  Jus' put it in da bax!"  So I did and all was well.

I did a round on their float through dark ride themed to mining and dragons which was well done and their fun house which was really not.  And then finally Dad and I took a spin on their sCENIC Railroad coaster, which is celebrating its 100th birthday this year!  It's an old side friction coaster and has a brakeman who keeps the train from derailing.  It's probably a nutty job because the ride was surprisingly very thrilling and had some great drops and tunnels through a fake Alpine mountain range.  Dad said it was his favorite of the day and I was also quite surprised by it and immediately rode again.  After that we spent the last hour walking around the park enjoying the ambience of the place and caught a closing time light/laser/fire show on the park's pond.  As we walked out we stoped for a beer at the German beer hall across from the train station and technically still in the park.  It was a nice end to a very fun day.  The weather was great (aside from a 20 minute shower while we were at Tivoli), Wagamama was delicious, and the parks were absolutely terrific.