<a title="Tivoli Gardens exit by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611086870/"><img class="alignleft" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7611086870_7cbaa28fed.jpg" alt="Tivoli Gardens exit" width="333" height="500" /></a>Our first night in Copenhagen, we went to visit Tivoli Gardens. It's an amusement park and garden that was built around 1850 in the heart of the city there's a<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tivoli_Gardens" target="_blank"> long interesting history on wikipedia</a> so check it out if you want to know more. One legend that floats round the park is that the purpose of the park was to keep people having fun and thus to distract them from politics.  I don't know if I buy that but I did have a lot of fun at Tivoli.

Once inside Tivoli gardens it's like an oasis in the middle of the city. Soft music plays, everyone and everything seems to slow down, people walk around but never crowd each other, and everything looks better in low lighting.

It's as if the park is from another time and I guess it kind of is. There's something elegant about the place and the space. It's refined and well thought through. Each side walk leads to another and the park seems to flow out from the main gates. Tivoli Gardens isn't actually that big. It covers about the same amount of ground space as the railway station next almost next door but you won't know this walking around.
<a title="Me part two in Tivoli Gardens by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611059566/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7140/7611059566_1f649d0ec4_z.jpg" alt="Me part two in Tivoli Gardens" width="640" height="427" /></a>
We went after dinner as the sun was setting. The main entrance is grand and well lit. In fact the whole park, is lit up in the evenings making the space seem extra magical as everything glows and lights flicker and twinkle.
<a title="Dusk in Tivoli Gardens by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611060706/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7611060706_091b412330_z.jpg" alt="Dusk in Tivoli Gardens" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Fountain in Tivoli Gardens by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611055258/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8292/7611055258_9582571455_z.jpg" alt="Fountain in Tivoli Gardens" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Flowers and lights in Tivoli Gardens by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611052704/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8001/7611052704_23b523a0dc_z.jpg" alt="Flowers and lights in Tivoli Gardens" width="640" height="427" /></a>
There are paths to walk along, fountains to admire, restaurants to eat at and  bars to have a drink in. Likewise, there are often concerts to listen to or performances to watch as there are a couple of outdoor stages and of course there are the rides in the amusement park.

In Tivoli at dusk, things seem grand and things that I might otherwise gawk at I carefully took pictures of.  It wasn't until I got home and was trying to name and label the photos I'd taken that I realized how the park exoticized both China and the Orient.
<a title="Tivoli Gardens Chinese House by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611044446/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7271/7611044446_30c72edd3a_z.jpg" alt="Tivoli Gardens Chinese House" width="640" height="427" /></a>
There's a Chinese pagoda that has been trimmed in lights. It's striking and impressive both from afar and from close-up and when the park was built people must have really marveled at it.
<a title="Tivoli Gardens and the rides by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611093918/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8151/7611093918_c4c99076ca_z.jpg" alt="Tivoli Gardens and the rides" width="640" height="427" /></a>

Then there is the nondescript clearly Oriental building. It's large and white with a dome and rounded windows and a walkway with pillars along the front of the building. This building has also been trimmed in lights.
<a title="Tivoli Gardens by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611064184/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8424/7611064184_301c03c89c_z.jpg" alt="Tivoli Gardens" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Tivoli Gardens and the exotic east by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611063162/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8008/7611063162_7784335a1f_z.jpg" alt="Tivoli Gardens and the exotic east" width="640" height="427" /></a>
I really enjoyed walking around the park. The energy in the space was amazing. There are children tugging at their parents, young couples strolling clearly on dates, middle aged men and women taking photos and admiring the gardens, teenagers full of energy bounding around and new parents pushing strollers with sleeping (or sleepy) babies.
<a title="Balloon car in Tivoli Gardens by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611050318/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8001/7611050318_10f56fa43a_z.jpg" alt="Balloon car in Tivoli Gardens" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Candy at Tivoli Gardens by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611046624/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8023/7611046624_cd0cdfe112_z.jpg" alt="Candy at Tivoli Gardens" width="640" height="427" /></a>
There a light show at the main lake in the garden which we stumbled upon having read about it but then having promptly forgotten about it until it was starting. The show relies on music, lights, fog machines and an elaborate system of water jets in the lake. At dark the effects from the lasers, the fog, the water and well timed music and lights was enchanting. People ooo-ed and ahhh-ed and when the show was over everyone lingered hoping that there might be more when they knew there wouldn't be. I was among them.
<a title="A light show in Tivoli Gardens by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611092838/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7611092838_0a7ba34290_z.jpg" alt="A light show in Tivoli Gardens" width="640" height="427" /></a>
The rides were also well lit and almost made me want to take a spin on one of them but rides are really not my thing.
<a title="Tivoli Gardens roller coaster by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611042568/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8005/7611042568_804da39767_z.jpg" alt="Tivoli Gardens roller coaster" width="640" height="427" /></a>
Yes, if you know me, you know that I don't like roller coasters or really most amusement park rides. My stomach doesn't agree with them and rather than being scared because of some outlandish turn or a steep, quick drop, I spend my whole time scared that I am going to throw-up on myself and the person in front of me because I nearly have. Then this fear turns into worry. I worry that I won't have anything else to wear so I'll either have to go home ruining the day for everyone else or spend the whole time walking around with traces of throw-up on myself. Needless to say, I avoid most rides.
<a title="Tivoli Gardens by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611098448/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8001/7611098448_23c29dbb78_z.jpg" alt="Tivoli Gardens" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Ride in Tivoli Gardens by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611048100/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7611048100_256e16e539_z.jpg" alt="Ride in Tivoli Gardens" width="640" height="427" /></a>
Maybe had the carousel been running or I'd felt like waiting in line for the ferris wheel, I'd have taken a whirl but I had a great time without it. We headed home when the park was closing at 11pm.