MEET OUR FRIEND - HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN

We have cruised with another couple for the past four years. Two years ago, while on a Baltic/Scandinavia/Russia cruise, we stopped in Copenhagen, Denmark where we met our travel companion’s brother Richard Karpen. Richie took us on a walking tour of Copenhagen where we saw, among other things, the classic sculpture of Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid. Although we knew that Richard was a tour guide we didn’t know just how seriously he took it.

This year we learned a lot more about Denmark, the city of Copenhagen and about Richard. He first came to Copenhagen almost twenty years ago met and pursued a love interest and later became a part time transplant. He spends his summers (May through September) there and his winters in a warm country in South America.

Each summer Richie conducts very affordable tours of many of the highlights of his adopted city. You may join him for English speaking guided walks to various parts of the historic city center where, along with seeing the main sights of the city, you can learn about Copenhagen, Denmark, The Danes and of course, Hans Christian Andersen. These tours include:

· Castles and Kings - (Walking Tours Monday and Thursday Mornings)
· Royal Copenhagen - (Walking Tours Tuesday and Friday Mornings)
· Romantic Copenhagen - (Walking Tours Wednesday and Saturday Mornings)
· Rosenborg Castle and Royal Treasuries - (Castle Tours Monday and Thursday Afternoons)
· National Museum – (By Special Arrangement Only)
· Private Tours and Dinner Visits– (By Special Arrangement Only)

What makes Richard’s walking tours most interesting is that he does them in authentic 19th-century fairy tale author Hans Christian Andersen’s attire of top hat and long coat. When guiding tours of the Rosenberg Castle, Hans becomes transformed to Sir Richard of Rosenborg. Not only does he dress the part, he constantly researches his subjects and is extremely knowledgeable on both Hans and Copenhagen. His knowledge of his subjects is not at all superficial; he knows them in great depth. When he is at the Rosenborg Castle, staff and other visitors listen to his narration and gain more insight. While we were on one of the tours a passerby actually addressed him as Mr. Andersen. Not only does Richie, excuse me, Hans know all about Denmark, his adopted city of Copenhagen and Hans Christian Andersen, he also knows a lot about very good authentic Danish food and where to get it.

During the average tour of about 90 minutes Hans presents his city, its history and architecture. The viewings include the inside as well as the outside of many of the buildings and landmarks of Copenhagen. The tours not only include Copenhagen’s important buildings, alleys, canals, statues, squares and courtyards, they also include historical insights into many of Denmark’s notable people such as kings, queens and other famous personalities as well as its economy, customs and habits.

Richard has a love of music and plays several instruments and is an accomplished sitar player. Through appreciation of music came a love of dance where he has studied classical Indian dance and now studies Tango.

To learn more about Richard, Hans and Sir Richard at Rosenborg Castle, take a look at:

http://www.copenhagenwalks.com

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/scan/karpen.htm