How Do You Pronounce Nyhavn? (And Visit to the Little Mermaid)

Just like the Highlights of Amsterdam, I’d like to summarize the Copenhagen visit with a photo-log highlight. In particular, my focus is on two popular destinations: Nyhavn and the Little Mermaid.

Let’s start with the pronunciation of Nyhavn.

Nyhavn is  a “17th-century waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen“, lined with colorful buildings.

First thing first, how do you pronounce Nyhavn?  I like linguistics, but even I was stumped.  Phonetically, it seemed like it should be pronounced as Knee-haven? Could it also be Nine-haven?  Nine-halve?  Knee-Have?

We thought we could get that squared away when we got to our destination.  We ate at one of the restaurants and asked our server there.  She said she’s not a local so she’s not 100% certain herself, but she mentioned it is a hard word to pronounce with some roll of the tongue.  She said it, but It didn’t sound like what I would expect, phonetically.

After a bit more digging, she was right.  I think the proper Danish pronunciation of “Nyhavn” is this.

Phonetically, it should be “Knee-houm”.  Close enough?

Go on a Canal Cruise Tour

We didn’t book any tickets ahead of time.  We went to the ticket counter, and we were out on the open-air boat cruise tour not even 5 minutes later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Always watch your head as there are lots of low bridges.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And also colorful ones too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depending on your cruise tour, it may circle around so that you get to pass by the famous Little Mermaid.  You really can’t see much from the back, from a cruise view.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eat at a restaurant at Nyhavn

Since we were at the waterfront, we decided to eat there. We settled on a restaurant called Barock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Little Mermaid

Not satisfied with the limited view of the Little Mermaid, we took the metro to visit the next day.  The closest metro stop was Østerport.  From there, the Little Mermaid is about 11-minutes walk away.  

It may vary depending on the day of your visit, but it is a tourist hotspot (a tourist trap, dare I say).  It’s smaller than I thought.  And the figurine looks so much sadder to me than I imagined.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are nowhere near the real statue in Denmark, you might still come across replicas.  I saw a miniature version of one at the Copenhagen airport.

That airport makes me think.  The moment I stepped off my flight, I’m immediately greeted with an open ended question like this…