A snapshot into a part of our daily lives – this may remind
you of living conditions akin to sleepovers from childhood.
Initial impressions of Copenhagen were not so good. Upon
exiting the metro station to the neighbourhood we were to stay in there were
about a billion bikes everywhere, in some places stacked two high, this later
turned out to be one of the things we loved. Graffiti covered every imaginable
and some unimaginable surfaces and the place seemed a little run down. We were
staying in Norrebro, when you look past the surface it is a trendy thriving
area with designer coffee shops, unique restaurants and interesting people. We
came to love Copenhagen and found that it is wonderful, cool, colourful,
vibrant, full of life, culture and bikes… so many bikes….
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| Around every corner... |
When we surfaced from the metro and made our way to the bus
stop we saw our bus and started running (yes with packs on) to catch it. Not
being familiar with the local rules Amy stepped out on the bike path with
almost catastrophic results. A very angry cyclist braked, swerved and then
shouted something in Danish at her and she jumped back onto the footpath.
Woops, well it was one quick lesson.
Simon managed the navigation to the apartment and missed the
bus stop by about 6 stops. In every previous country the bus had a sign telling
you what the next stop is, Copenhagen has a sign telling you the next scheduled stop not every stop as we
would come to learn. After realising we were woefully unequipped with only
directions from one bus stop and a tiny segment of map we asked a local for
directions who pulled out their phone and google maps to the rescue. When we
arrived at the apartment we were confronted with 5 stories of stairs. We had
been in our packs over an hour by this stage but with ‘aint nothin to it but to
do it!’ attitude we climbed the stairs and entered an empty dark apartment,
found our room and collapsed.
Day 1
On our way to our first stop we passed a local bakery and
established what would become daily in Copenhagen. Pastries. Danishes come from
Denmark so of course we had to have some local produce. They were delicious and
fuelled our mornings activities.
Doing some research the previous night we had a good idea of
what we wanted to see each day. We really wound up the walking range on this
visit but Copenhagen is so flat its really quite easy to get around on foot. We
had the option of bikes but not being familiar with the local customs and rules
we decided foot was safer – now that Amy had learnt the protocol. First stop
was Tivoli gardens which is essentially a large amusement park, garden and
entertainment centre in the middle of Copenhagen. After getting there we
decided the mood wasn’t right so we left heading for Nyhavn.
On the way we
walked by Christianborg Palace and stopped in for a visit. Mary wasn’t there to
say G’day to but we had a lookie loo and Amy took some amazing photos capturing
the opulence and grandeur of the palace. Fun fact, this palace has burnt down
twice and is now in its third build.
Setting off to Nyhavn, the postcard little canel inlet from
the ocean with its multi coloured buildings, tall fishing boats and canal side
restaurants and walking past some nice shops we arrived and took “the post card
photo” on the canal bridge with about 20 other tourists. The restaurants were
of course overpriced and touristy so we kept going looking for something more
hip pocket friendly.
Next stop was The Marble Church with its massive dome and
the 12 apostles painted inside. Its quite impressive to stand inside and just
admire.
Moving on we hustled to see The Little Mermaid which has
become a symbol of Denmark. Before getting there though we saw another church
and stopped for some photos and playing with the camera settings. Amy has
really taken to the photography and getting into the details and settings of
the camera and is now shooting mostly on manual mode where we can adjust
everything rather than relying on the auto settings. This has yielded some
great pics, and at times some frustration especially on overcast days.
The little mermaid was somewhat underwhelming but its on the
“must see” list so we ticked it off and kept walking.
We wound our way around
to a 16th century citadel complete with moat and walked the top of
the earthen fortifications back to where we started. Picking up the trail of a
self guided walking tour we set off towards Rosenborg castle along the way
admiring the changing buildings from modern to old, streets cobbled to smooth
and bikes, bikes everywhere.
Arriving at the gardens that surround Rosenborg castle there
was a display on built local carpenter apprentices. We took some pics and had a
wander through before crossing the bridge to the castle only to be told, sorry
we’re closed we open tomorrow at 10. Bugger!
Day 2
Return to castle Rosenborg. After Simon successfully got
lost then found the way to the castle we entered and explored inside. The
castle is also the home to the Denmark treasury holding the countries most
valued jewels and possessions. The interior of the castle has been renovated
several times but some rooms remain original. We found this one really heavy
and dark with an almost overwhelming amount of painting, castings and just
stuff in general. The opulence was of course palatial and at the top is the old
throne room complete with thrones and three silver lion to guard them.
Heading down into the basement is the treasury complete with
two armed soldiers at the door and a massive vaulted entrance. On the various
wall and centre displays were precious objects made of everything from china to
diamonds. Mostly diamonds. Personal standouts were the crowns and Amy
particularly liked the queens jewellery set of diamond necklace, earrings and
broach. C’mon Dinar lotto!
Returning to sunlight somewhat temporarily with showers
seeming frequent we moved to our next stop. Rundetarn aka The Round Tower.
Rundetarn is a 17th century observatory attached to the old
university and church which has the unique design of a winding path that rotates 7.5 times
to the top instead of the usual staircase. Much easier on the legs. At the top
the view is good over Copenhagen and you can see the numerous high church
steeples and rooftops. Copenhagen as mentioned earlier is totally flat so you
can see for miles.
Winding our way back to the earth and taking aim at our next
stop the Church of Our Saviour. The reason for visiting this particular church
is it has a unique feature. It has an external winding staircase around the
steeple taking you to a final height of 103 metres above the ground. The walk
to the church was decent and having become stair masters from living on a 5th
floor apartment with no lift we set to work. The stairs were ancient, wooden, narrow
and steep making the ascent somewhat intimidating but then when we stepped outside
onto the external copper coated stairs with the wind whipping at us it was a
proper effort to make that last push to the top. The wind was to so intense we
only stayed briefly to snap some quick shots and make our way down. The descent
was equally hairy but legs wobbling we got back down and had a well-deserved
ice cream. We heard about the most incredible little porridge place (Grod)
which was open breakfast, lunch and dinner, and had a great dinner of
barley-otto (a slant on risotto) with pork and apple, and a congee (Asian porridge)
with chicken, coriander, ginger etc. Just amazing! Simon and I flirted with the
idea of opening our own porridge place and have decided to cook more creative
porridge when we return.
Day 3
Naturally for breakfast we went to our favourite porridge
place for breakfast, there are no words for how incredible this place is. We
decided to spend our final morning in the National Museum of Denmark as they
have a new exhibition that having missed out on the museum in Norway dedicated
to this we couldn’t miss another chance. VIKING. The walk to the museum was
uneventful for once and we walked on in. The exhibit itself is the most
comprehensive inventory of Viking Age items and relics including a ONE THOUSAND
year old hull of an actual Viking longboat exhumed from northern Denmark. There
was a video game you could play along through the exhibit and I can proudly say
Amy would’ve been a successful Viking. Simons game corrupted and didn’t get the
finish but it wasn’t going well… We spent about an hour in the exhibit taking
in the history and information and getting dressed up.
After we headed into the ancient history section to kill
some more time but the area was fascinating going through the earliest human
remains through to the Iron Age. It was interesting to learn that man had
hunted at least two species of deer and bull to extinction by 8000 BC. Well
done humans! We headed back to our lofty room and hit the trail to the airport
via public transport, this time without any mishaps.
Parting Thoughts
- Copenhagen is a beautiful city with culture coming out its eyeballs, a gorgeous old town with bustling, vibrant and edgy neighbourhoods around it.
- Rooms with slanting roofs do not make for easy living – Simon was continually hitting his head.
- If living on the 5th floor get a lift installed!
- We love Grod (porridge), they actually had a cook book but unfortunately reading Danish was a pre-requisite.
- The people of Copenhagen have got something right. There is very little traffic (cars) 70% of people get around on bikes not cars. From childhood children are out on the cycle paths. We saw no obese people and everyone was active. Cycling is part of everyday life not a hobby or sport, or ‘I need my 30 mind of exercise’ it’s just how people get around. We loved how easy and casual it is. Parting thought “How has Copenhagen created this bike culture? How could Australia create a similar culture?”
Lessons Learnt
- Always ask the driver if the bus stops at the stop you want
- Get your directions crystal clear prior to arrival and cache the local maps on the phone
- DO NOT step out onto the bike paths when not a cyclist
- Pastries and coffee are sufficient for breakfast
Tak Denmark, we loved you and your porridge and will recommend
you to everyone.
Now Guten Tag Berlin!
Simon and Amy.
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