Copenhagen is expensive, flat, relaxed, quaint and clean.
The Royal Palace.
When I was little I had a few films that I played on repeat: Grease, Black Beauty and a few other late 80s classics. However, I’m sure I drove my parents quite mad with my love of one particular film, a (probably not historically accurate) musical version of the life of Danish fairy tale author Hans Christian Andersen. In the opening of the film, Hans sings about “wonderful” Copenhagen, who he calls “the friendly old girl of the sea”. I knew, even then, that one day I’d like to see this “old girl” that he was singing about. As an adult, even with other details of the film fading into obscurity, I remember the song and that I wanted to see this place. Now that I have I can write my own ode to wonderful Copenhagen, not in song, but on my blog.
Nyhavn.
At this stage of my adventure I have joined a group tour. They were the easiest way for me to get into Russia and the tour, which snakes through Scandinavia, The Baltic States and Poland as well, was a good fit. I was apprehensive about joining a group tour; I have been fairly independent up to this point and wasn’t sure how I would cope with structure. But, with my partner in crime safely back home I was craving some company and conversation. On this, the tour has delivered. This trip is mostly solo travellers, meaning most people are up for a chat and a laugh. As most of these tours are filled with Australians, it even means I get a nice feeling of home. So far, the staff on the tour are funny, informed and kind. This has made the experience a fun one and meeting a tonne of new people has been great. However, I am feeling a little rushed. 1 and a half days in Copenhagen wasn’t enough for me. I didn’t get a chance to be in the city, know its quirks and understand the way its people behave in such a short time. With a tour like this you can only really get a snapshot. So, I fear, my descriptions and observations may not be as apt as in previous entries.
The King’s Garden.
We drove north from Berlin to the port town of Rostock The ferry ride from here to Denmark was one of the roughest I have ever endured. No amount of trips on the Australian classic ‘The Spirit of Tasmania’, could have prepared me for what was 90 minutes of hell. The Baltic sea was so rough on the day we travelled that people could barely walk around the ship and, embarrassingly, I vomited twice. What a great impression of me for my new friends! At one point there was an older lady of about 70 who was on the ferry, she couldn’t stand or walk and was yelling quite loudly in Danish. She was coming out of the bathroom with her son helping her when the ship suddenly shook, so there I was, in front of the bathroom with one hand over my mouth about to throw up and another trying to help the lady and her son not fall in a heap as the shipped swayed from side to side. I’m sure it was quite hilarious to see, in fact one of the girls who was on my tour assured me it was. When we reached dry land we were met with lush fields charming cottages and flat lakes. Denmark is really beautiful. The city itself is an interesting contrast. It is mostly low rise and there is not a skyscraper to be seen. The old buildings like the stock exchange and the town hall are red bricked, green roofed and adorned in decorations like statures. The new buildings, like the Royal Library, however, are mostly stark, boxy and made of glass. They sit side by side in perfect harmony. The streets are flat and are filled with enough cyclists to rival Amsterdam who ride around at a much more relaxed and friendly pace. There is lots of building works in many places, not restoration works that have been the norm in most European cities, but new constructions. Copenhagen is a city on the move, one who is not afraid to embrace the modern and the past at the same time.
Town Hall.
No trip to Copenhagen would be complete without a trip to see the statue of The Little Mermaid. The Hans Christian Andersen character’s form is perched on top of a rock out on the water in the north of the city. Yes, she is small and probably not overly impressive as a statue; but there was something really special about seeing it. She is the symbol of the city and personally, despite how kitsch it is, I loved it. We were able to visit at dusk (about 10pm here) when the hoards of tourists and the people selling replica statues have gone for the day. Being there when it was quiet and being able to admire her with just the sounds of the waters of the bay hitting the rocks made it even nicer. In fact, this relaxed and nice feeling continued at many of the other sights. I saw 3 royal palaces, where I saw the changing of the guard, royal horses and lush royal gardens. I saw the colourful houses of the Nyhavn where ships and boats from many eras are permanently docked. I cruised around the bays and harbours of the city in a boat and had to duck my head as we went under bridges. I sat in King’s park and watched it fill with school students playing soccer and carting around boom boxes. I ate a Danish hot dog with pickles, onions, mustard and sauce and, as you would expect, a custard danish.
The Little Mermaid.
In contrast to the other sights is the community of Christiania, a former hippy commune and squat that is now a ‘green light zone’ that you guessed it, sells a lot of green. The police turn a blind eye and the people have not been asked to move on. Considering they have been there since the 70s, I’m guessing it won’t happen now. Here you cannot take photos of the amazing street art or anything inside the community’s walls as they don’t want evidence of their activities on film. Walls are filled with amazing art, vendors sell drug paraphernalia right next to souvenir t-shirts and the odour of pot fills the air. This place is nothing like the rest of Copenhagen and one of the only places I saw some slightly sketchy looking characters. Not that they bothered anyone, they just didn’t act in the same open and warm way other Danes did while I was there. This warmth was apparent from the 3 locals who saw us looking a bit lost and directed us to some delicious smørrebrød (a sort of Danish open sandwich or bruschetta). They do say people in Scandinavian countries are most content with their lives and it shows. No one seems to be rushing, the women are very natural looking and don’t seem to wear huge amounts of make up and people smile at you, just because.
The best hot dog ever.
One evening was spent at the most classic of Copenhagen activities, spending the night amusing ourselves at the Tivoli Gardens. Tivoli gardens is an amusement park in the middle of the city, right across from the town hall. Inside the walls of the park there are rides, resteraunts, bars, carnival games, concerts and people of all ages having a great time. The Tivoli gardens are an institution. They were opened in the 1860s and are said to be Walt Disney’s inspiration for Disneyland. You can see why Walt was impressed. The fairy lights that light up the buildings and garden have a magical quality. The place is a sea of bright colors. The people who maintain Tivoli have done an excellent job of maintaining its quaint turn of the century charm. it really does feel as if you’ve stepped back in time to a place with a pagoda, a Taj Mahal styled palace and a pantomime theatre that are all relics of the past.
Tivoli Gardens.
As we departed on a much smoother ferry from Helsingør, I saw Hamlet’s castle which sits on the water’s edge. An awesome way to say goodbye to an all to short trip to Denmark.
Hamlet’s Castle.
Ali's adventure 