Tivoli Amusement Garden Copenhagen

Tivoli Amusement Garden

Copenhagen

Denmark

In the 18th and 19th centuries, pleasure gardens (commonly named "Tivoli" or "Vauxhall") appeared across Europe as a form of getaway from the increasingly expanding cities. The gardens were typically established as beautiful and lyrical parks complemented with promenade paths, outdoor pavilions, music and performance, public houses and amusements.


Copenhagen's Pleasure Garden, known as Tivoli Park, was created in 1843 by Georg Carstensen.

Tivoli will never be completed 

Mr. Carstensen said himself, "Tivoli will never be completed", meaning Tivoli is constantly changing.  Today, 169 years later, this oasis just outside Copenhagen, Denmark, remains true to the original vision, with a mixture of old and new buildings and rides.   This year the roller coaster marks its 100th anniversary.  It will be restored to its original design. Read about the restoration project for it's Centennial here.

Beauty, Fragrance, Amusement, Motion

The Ferris wheel
There is certainly something for everyone at Tivoli.  The Ferris wheel is a favorite at Tivoli with old and young. Feel the surge of excitement as you swing to the top with a glorious view over Tivoli and Copenhagen.

The Demon
Looking for some speed and thrills? The Demon is without a doubt the ride that causes the most screams of excitement in the whole of the Gardens. This wild ride features three amazing loops and reaches 28 meters at its highest point.

The Golden Tower
Feel the surge under your shirt and wind in your hair, with a fantastic view over the city in the Golden Tower.

The Star Flyer
There is an impressive 360-degree panorama view from the Star Flyer – that is, if you dare to look.

We have focused mainly on the rides in this article because this week's #FriFotos Twitter photo topic is "Motion".   Throughout Tivoli Park you can find examples of "Motion" as people stroll through the beautiful gardens, ride the various modes of transportation or enjoy one or more of their favorite rides.

Like any good amusement park in the states, you can certainly eat your way through the fair grounds.  Feast your eyes on these colorful suckers that appeal to young and old.

Baltic Cruise Highlight

Our evening visit to Tivoli was definitely one of our favorite memories from our Baltic Cruise on Celebrity Constellation.


Starting at 5:30 PM, Celebrity ran a shuttle to Tivoli . For $20 per person, you got a round-trip bus ride to Tivoli and admittance to the park. We walked around the beautiful grounds, which had hundreds of varieties of flowers.
 
After walking around, we had a BBQ sparerib dinner at Promenaden. The ribs were fabulous and a very healthy portion. After dinner we took a few more pictures, as the lights came on in the park, and then headed to the shuttle bus to return to the ship.

Be sure to plan a Baltic Cruise with an overnight in Copenhagen, Denmark so that you can experience the park in the evening.   As the sun sets and the lights come on, it is really magical.

Panama Canal Expansion

Images from our Panama Canal Transit

Panama Canal

100 Years Anniversary

Developing a water passage across the Isthmus of Panama uniting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans dates to the early 16th century. 

Official Opening

August 15, 2014

We won't attempt to cover the history here. Instead, we will focus on a milestone which occurs this year, the 100th anniversary of the Panama Canal and the status of expansion plans to bring the canal into its next 100 years. For information on the canal's history, please see the official Panama Canal site.

Panamax

Panamax specifications have been in effect since the opening of the canal in 1914. Ships that do not fall within the Panamax-sizes are called post-Panamax.  Currently ships that are a maximum of 965 feet long and 106 feet wide (beam) can pass through the canal. That typically means the older and smaller ships in a cruise lines' fleet are the only ones that can make the transit. Ships like the Allure of the Seas or the Solstice-class ships are not among them. The new locks would open up possibilities for the larger cruise ships to complete the transit.

Expansion Plans

There are four major parts to the expansion plans.  The purpose of the expansion is to enable post-Panamax vessel transit of the canal.

• construction of two new sets of locks - one on the Pacific and one on the Atlantic side of the Canal
• widening and deepening of existing navigational channels in Gatun Lake
• deepening of Culebra Cut
• new 6.1 km-long access channel to connect the Pacific locks and the Culebra Cut

Each lock will have three chambers and each chamber will have three water re-utilization basins.
For complete details about the plans, see PANAMA CANAL EXPANSION PROGRAM MARCH 2013 (PDF).

Overall, the Expansion Program is 72% complete and at this time, is expected to be open to commercial transits in the second half of 2015.  

The contractor for the new locks, Grupo Unidos por El Canal S.A. (GUPC), is currently threatening a work stoppage due to $1.6 Billion in cost overruns.  The ACP, the autonomous agency of the Government of Panama in charge of managing, operating and maintaining the Panama Canal, has proposed advancing $100 million to GUPC  to allow the contractor to tend to its pending obligations. The contractor must guarantee these funds through a letter of credit. In addition, ACP is willing to extend for a period of two months the moratorium for the repayment of $83 million in advances by GUPC. These would give an additional $83 million for GUPC.

Full story: Panama Canal Proposal to Jointly Contribute $283 Million to New Locks Project

Here is a video published by the ACP describing the Panama Canal Expansion project.