I’ve been in Copenhagen now for three days and yet I haven’t managed to write one word about my exciting trip to this city, which is a shame because I have had a blast here. This city certainly deserves a note or two. So I think I will try to make up for this by dedicating this single post to my time here. It might be long. Bare with me on this one.
My train ride from Gøtenberg (a transfer city from Oslo) was notable because as I mentioned earlier, the snow had melted across the countryside, exposing the green grass below, for the first time in my trip. A good sign indeed, inviting the warmer, more mild air to southern Scandinavia. We zipped along the rails through much of the countryside. If you’ve ever driven through the heart of Ohio, southern Sweden looks like that. Little isolated country homes surrounded by a single line of scattered trees and acres and acres of rolling farmland. Beautiful. We hugged the coastline, along what I think is known as the Kattegat portion of the North Sea, until we got to the very bottom of the Swedish landmass, crossed a bridge over the small inlet that connects the North and Baltic seas, and came rolling to a stop in nearby Copenhagen, capital of Denmark.
I did the same as I always do. I hopped off the train. Stood by for a moment to soak in the atmosphere of the new train station, gather my bearings, and walk towards the hostel. Easily found, located in the thick of the old town across from the Tivoli Gardens by the central train station, I walked into the hostel, into a bar and lounge room. The corner of the bar had a sign with an arrow pointing to a register that read, “reception”. I walked up to the counter and a blonde girl with Wayfarers in her hair handed a girl sitting on a stool a beer that she had just finished pouring from the tap and then walked over to greet me. The large lounge area was packed with people, but relatively quiet with smooth, atmosphere-y music playing in the background. I told her I had a booking and she looked at the computer and after a few moments, frowned. It was 4:30 in the afternoon. She apologized and said the bed was not ready for some reason (probably as a result of an obnoxious traveler who just sort of refused to leave - it happens) but that I could wait at one of the tables in the lounge and she’d bring the keycard to me as soon as she could, probably a half an hour or so later. I took a seat. It was no big deal. I took out my computer and used the internet a bit, catching up on emails and messages and whatever else. A minute later, she came up to me, smiling, placed a large beer from the tap in front of me and said, “On the house.” This is a cool hostel.
Eventually I worked my way up to the room, put away my bags, made my bed, and left to go explore a bit. The neighborhood where the hostel is located is within what is loosely known as the city’s old town, a densely settled puzzle of alleyways bordered by 17th century buildings and canals that criss cross through the old town. Copenhagen is spread across several islands and, being located along a choke point for shipping into the Baltic Sea, is a masterpiece of interconnecting waterways. I followed one of the canals down and out of the old town, across a beautiful bridge, and wandered over to an area known as Christiania, a smaller island neighborhood that had been taken over in the 70’s by hippies. The island now sports funky music venues, art galleries, and loose drug laws, but also has some of the most beautiful, old apartment buildings and some really attractive parks and ponds. I walked through the gritty yet somehow still Copenhagen-orderly hippie zone and into some of the parks. The sun was starting to set. The air was relatively mild - I could get on without a hat and gloves if I wanted to. When the sun had set and the sky turned dark, I walked back towards the hostel, stopping in on a shwarma restaurant. There are lots of shwarma restaurants in this city. I bought a shwarma sandwich and a coke zero served in a glass bottle as almost all cokes are here, and then ate in the back amidst other after-workers and evening shoppers. I continued to walk through the old town alleyways. I past an old man in a cap with ears like a cow that wrapped around his face as he stood by the side of the narrow street, swaying and dancing to the music he was playing on a flute. But he just played one note over and over and over again. It was pretty amusing. There was a more talented music group by a fountain at the conjoining of many alleyway streets. Hip Copenhagers dressed in tight black clothes drumming on bongo drums and xylophones, whistling and clapping. The music had a strong gypsy vibe to it and gathered a lot of attention from bystanders. They played continuously, never wavering in their beat as young people swayed and danced around the fountain, freely moving their limbs in an arrhythmic pattern, like a looser, freer version of the Charles Shultz’s “Peanuts” characters.
I went back to the hostel lounge to find it lively and bustling. I took a seat and relaxed at one of the tables. The bar was hopping. Happy hour is from 8-9 each night, two beers for the price of one (which quickly becomes a lot of beer). I took two beers and drank while I wrote a bit about my trip to Oslo. I became drowsy very quickly and retired for the night.
Waking up at a decent hour the next morning and taking a seat in the lounge for breakfast, instant coffee and a muffin, I was approached by an enthusiastic woman, maybe in her upper 20’s, wearing a badge around her neck with her name, Anna, and the flags of the countries of the languages she speaks, and asked me if I was joining her and the group on the free city walking tour she was leading in about thirty minutes. I said, “Yyyyyyes. Of course I’m joining,” not realizing there was a free walking tour. And she said, great! I met her and the group outside the hostel 30 minutes later. While we waited I had started talking to a Canadian girl and an Australian guy, both my age, learning a bit about what brought them to Copenhagen, as more people gathered together. Apparently this tour group, run by young Danes, combs the more popular hostels in the city for interested walking tour takers. The tour, I overheard at the hostel, was awesome, and it was. Anna led us through the old town and to the harbor, around the royal palace and back to the old town. She talked thoroughly of famous Danes and the history behind the city, throwing out interesting facts and stories along the way. She was incredible, and the tour was free. I guess she just loves her city that much. Here are some fun things I learned about Copenhagen.
1. Copenhagen is the city for bike enthusiasts. Copenhagers are the friendliest, happiest people on the planet (a recent study proves that) but they will run you over like pedestrian killing machines if you get in their way along the city’s developed bike lanes. Old women are the worst offenders (of the cyclists).
2. Most of the city’s museums are free as is their botanical garden (but I didn’t go to any of them).
3. The country has the oldest single royal family in Europe and their Queen is quite popular with the Danish people (even though her French husband of fifty years is not). She is responsible for many cool projects one of which is that she is solely responsible for translating the entire series of Lord of the Rings books into Danish.
4. 99% of Danish Jews survived World War 2 despite the Nazi occupation of their country due to the diligence and cleverness of their king at the time and the cooperation of the Swedes in smuggling them all across the strait into neutral Sweden.
5. The best restaurant in the world, Noma, is located in Copenhagen (voted number one by the recognized Michelin guide). The waiting time for a table at that restaurant: 6 months. Average price of a meal: 6,000 Danish Kroners ($1,045 USD).
6. The current Prince, son of the Queen, and heir to the throne, married an Australian common girl on a trip he took once to Australia. They met in a bar. She didn’t know he was the Prince of Denmark until he invited her to visit him in Denmark, six months after they had been dating. She is now the Queen-to-be and lives in a wing of the palace next to the Queen’s. She already speaks better Danish than the Queen’s French husband.
7. Hyggelig (pronounced, hoo-gull-ey) is the coolest Danish word in the language and has no direct translation in other langauges. But it means sort of like “cozy” and it is fun to use in everyday conversation in either Danish or English.
8. Lots of other stuff. Anna was great.
We wrapped up the tour, I asked Anna for some advice on places to eat, thanked her, and then I took off with Aaron, the Aussie from Perth, to go see the mermaid. I didn’t know the mermaid was famous in this city until well after I had gotten here. Did anyone else know that Copenhagen is famous for its mermaid? Anyway, we checked it out. It’s a small statue of a mermaid on a pedestal on the rocky shore of the harbor. There were tons of people surrounding the statue. Aaron helped me take a photo (because I guess you have to do that), we laughed at the plainness of this attraction, and then walked back into the old town to get an eco-hotdog from a stand that Anna had recommended to us. The hotdog was pretty good and even better, it was cheap.
Earlier in the day I had done some research on the local music scene in the city. It was a saturday night and I really wanted to go see some local live music. I went to a website where locals write about their own city, encouraging travelers to come and experience the “real city” as the locals do. It’s a cool idea and Copenhagen was listed. Local Copenhagers seemed to unanimously favor a place in Christiania called Loppen, for live music. I convinced Aaron to come with me. That was our plan for the evening.
We went back to lounge out in the hostel for awhile. We got a couple beers and chatted awhile. We were joined by another traveler, a Mexican American girl from southern California who was traveling here to visit a friend she knew from Denmark. The four of us later went to dinner where we ordered steak (something I hadn’t eaten in a long, long time) and then we went back to the hostel bar for happy hour where we made good use of the specials. Properly lubricated, we walked over to Christiania to find Loppen. Christiania comes alive at night. As interesting as it was when I walked through the evening before, it was on fire, literally, late this saturday evening. The place felt like a giant, pagan bonfire with people dancing around these large, open fuel barrels full of fire wood, the fire rising high into the dark sky. People gathered around the fires keeping warm, drinking and socializing. We found Loppen and paid our reasonably priced cover fee. We got our hands stamped and walked into the venue. The room was located on the second floor of an old factory building. The room was very dark. The floors, walls, and ceiling were made of a dark, heavy wood, with an attractive bar in the corner, and a level stage along the far wall. Some scattered chairs and tables took over the floor space in the near corner. The venue was very small (the best ones are) and the atmosphere was intimate. Their were three live bands, all Danish, all hard rock, and all of them were extremely talented. It felt a lot like the Silversun Pickups’ music video “Lazy Eye” (one of my favorite bands of all time). The music and atmosphere had a similar feeling. Hip Copenhagers stood around the stage, mesmerized by the loud rock music and the band members swaying in beat, just a few feet away. I love places like this. This venue reminded me a lot of a place you might find in LA or Brooklyn. Just a cool, cool scene.
Eventually the Danish girl wasn’t feeling too well so she went back to the hostel with Monica, the American girl. Me and Aaron stayed for the whole show then walked around Christiania a little. Through the neighborhood, past many a bonfire, was this little square, blackened by the night, with the largest of all the bonfires. This one was in something bigger than a barrel, it was more like a giant dish and was filled with old stacking crates, the large industrial ones used for pallets. The fire burned bright and rose 10 feet in the air. There must have been a hundred people around this one dancing to this truly excellent electronic music being blasted from this DJ in under a tent. There was a small makeshift bar on a foldout table where you could by cheap beer or vodka. The beat kept rolling until late in the night. Aaron and I stayed by the fire, dancing along with everyone else until the wee hours of the morning before we eventually succumbed to our tiredness and headed back to the hostel. It’s hard to describe here but that was one of the coolest evenings I’ve ever experienced.
Aaron had to catch an early train the next day back to Sweden where he was studying as an exchange student and I slept in until late in the morning. I still had one more full day to explore. I woke up around 10 and hopped in the shower. Suddenly, while lathering up the shampoo, I heard a loud alarm system start going off followed by an automated voice issuing directions in Danish followed by the translation in English. It said to remain calm, that there was an emergency in the building, and that everyone should evacuate the building immediately. Puzzled and with suds streaming down my body, I turned off the shower, dried off, and went back to my room to grab my coat. I was the last one out of the building as I joined the hundreds of people out on the sidewalk waiting for instructions. I was in a tank top shirt with my Burton jacket and scarf, soccer pants, and flip flops. My hair was still damp from the shower. I was cold. The firetrucks showed up, searched the building, and after about 20 minutes, allowed everyone to re-enter. Okay, these things happen. I never found out what that was about. I didn’t care. I went back to my room to finish dressing. I figured now was a good time to start the day.
I went to the nearby 7 Eleven (they are actually nice everywhere else in the world (I mean that in relation to the crappy American ones)) to buy a juice and bagel and I sat on a bench in the sun in the middle of the old town.
I sort of took it easy today. I basically retraced the steps I had taken yesterday during the walking tour so that I could take some more thorough photos. I decided to spend the day simply wandering around, snapping photos of the city’s most photogenic areas (there are many). I also dedicated much of my photo taking time to using my new lomography camera. Now that the streets are a bit busy and more picturesque and the days are getting warmer and sunnier, I am going to try and take more and more experimental photos with the new camera.
I’m back in the hostel now. We are approaching happy hour and the bar and lounge are getting busier and busier. I’m pretty contented right now. I had done some planning today as well. I reserved a ticket tomorrow, late morning, to Hamburg, Germany. My first stop to “the continent”. I’ll be there for a few days and then I’ll take the train to Berlin where I plan to stay for about a week and half, relaxing, catching up with friends, and enjoying the glory of what everyone agrees is one of the best cities in Europe.
Keep following me - we’ve got a long way to go!
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| A live Danish band playing by the fountain in the main square of Copenhagen's old town |
I did the same as I always do. I hopped off the train. Stood by for a moment to soak in the atmosphere of the new train station, gather my bearings, and walk towards the hostel. Easily found, located in the thick of the old town across from the Tivoli Gardens by the central train station, I walked into the hostel, into a bar and lounge room. The corner of the bar had a sign with an arrow pointing to a register that read, “reception”. I walked up to the counter and a blonde girl with Wayfarers in her hair handed a girl sitting on a stool a beer that she had just finished pouring from the tap and then walked over to greet me. The large lounge area was packed with people, but relatively quiet with smooth, atmosphere-y music playing in the background. I told her I had a booking and she looked at the computer and after a few moments, frowned. It was 4:30 in the afternoon. She apologized and said the bed was not ready for some reason (probably as a result of an obnoxious traveler who just sort of refused to leave - it happens) but that I could wait at one of the tables in the lounge and she’d bring the keycard to me as soon as she could, probably a half an hour or so later. I took a seat. It was no big deal. I took out my computer and used the internet a bit, catching up on emails and messages and whatever else. A minute later, she came up to me, smiling, placed a large beer from the tap in front of me and said, “On the house.” This is a cool hostel.
Eventually I worked my way up to the room, put away my bags, made my bed, and left to go explore a bit. The neighborhood where the hostel is located is within what is loosely known as the city’s old town, a densely settled puzzle of alleyways bordered by 17th century buildings and canals that criss cross through the old town. Copenhagen is spread across several islands and, being located along a choke point for shipping into the Baltic Sea, is a masterpiece of interconnecting waterways. I followed one of the canals down and out of the old town, across a beautiful bridge, and wandered over to an area known as Christiania, a smaller island neighborhood that had been taken over in the 70’s by hippies. The island now sports funky music venues, art galleries, and loose drug laws, but also has some of the most beautiful, old apartment buildings and some really attractive parks and ponds. I walked through the gritty yet somehow still Copenhagen-orderly hippie zone and into some of the parks. The sun was starting to set. The air was relatively mild - I could get on without a hat and gloves if I wanted to. When the sun had set and the sky turned dark, I walked back towards the hostel, stopping in on a shwarma restaurant. There are lots of shwarma restaurants in this city. I bought a shwarma sandwich and a coke zero served in a glass bottle as almost all cokes are here, and then ate in the back amidst other after-workers and evening shoppers. I continued to walk through the old town alleyways. I past an old man in a cap with ears like a cow that wrapped around his face as he stood by the side of the narrow street, swaying and dancing to the music he was playing on a flute. But he just played one note over and over and over again. It was pretty amusing. There was a more talented music group by a fountain at the conjoining of many alleyway streets. Hip Copenhagers dressed in tight black clothes drumming on bongo drums and xylophones, whistling and clapping. The music had a strong gypsy vibe to it and gathered a lot of attention from bystanders. They played continuously, never wavering in their beat as young people swayed and danced around the fountain, freely moving their limbs in an arrhythmic pattern, like a looser, freer version of the Charles Shultz’s “Peanuts” characters.
I went back to the hostel lounge to find it lively and bustling. I took a seat and relaxed at one of the tables. The bar was hopping. Happy hour is from 8-9 each night, two beers for the price of one (which quickly becomes a lot of beer). I took two beers and drank while I wrote a bit about my trip to Oslo. I became drowsy very quickly and retired for the night.
Waking up at a decent hour the next morning and taking a seat in the lounge for breakfast, instant coffee and a muffin, I was approached by an enthusiastic woman, maybe in her upper 20’s, wearing a badge around her neck with her name, Anna, and the flags of the countries of the languages she speaks, and asked me if I was joining her and the group on the free city walking tour she was leading in about thirty minutes. I said, “Yyyyyyes. Of course I’m joining,” not realizing there was a free walking tour. And she said, great! I met her and the group outside the hostel 30 minutes later. While we waited I had started talking to a Canadian girl and an Australian guy, both my age, learning a bit about what brought them to Copenhagen, as more people gathered together. Apparently this tour group, run by young Danes, combs the more popular hostels in the city for interested walking tour takers. The tour, I overheard at the hostel, was awesome, and it was. Anna led us through the old town and to the harbor, around the royal palace and back to the old town. She talked thoroughly of famous Danes and the history behind the city, throwing out interesting facts and stories along the way. She was incredible, and the tour was free. I guess she just loves her city that much. Here are some fun things I learned about Copenhagen.
1. Copenhagen is the city for bike enthusiasts. Copenhagers are the friendliest, happiest people on the planet (a recent study proves that) but they will run you over like pedestrian killing machines if you get in their way along the city’s developed bike lanes. Old women are the worst offenders (of the cyclists).
2. Most of the city’s museums are free as is their botanical garden (but I didn’t go to any of them).
3. The country has the oldest single royal family in Europe and their Queen is quite popular with the Danish people (even though her French husband of fifty years is not). She is responsible for many cool projects one of which is that she is solely responsible for translating the entire series of Lord of the Rings books into Danish.
4. 99% of Danish Jews survived World War 2 despite the Nazi occupation of their country due to the diligence and cleverness of their king at the time and the cooperation of the Swedes in smuggling them all across the strait into neutral Sweden.
5. The best restaurant in the world, Noma, is located in Copenhagen (voted number one by the recognized Michelin guide). The waiting time for a table at that restaurant: 6 months. Average price of a meal: 6,000 Danish Kroners ($1,045 USD).
6. The current Prince, son of the Queen, and heir to the throne, married an Australian common girl on a trip he took once to Australia. They met in a bar. She didn’t know he was the Prince of Denmark until he invited her to visit him in Denmark, six months after they had been dating. She is now the Queen-to-be and lives in a wing of the palace next to the Queen’s. She already speaks better Danish than the Queen’s French husband.
7. Hyggelig (pronounced, hoo-gull-ey) is the coolest Danish word in the language and has no direct translation in other langauges. But it means sort of like “cozy” and it is fun to use in everyday conversation in either Danish or English.
8. Lots of other stuff. Anna was great.
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| Anna, our guide, showing something about a statue |
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| Me and the mermaid - she didn't look interested |
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| DOP, the eco hotdog stand where we ate some luch |
We went back to lounge out in the hostel for awhile. We got a couple beers and chatted awhile. We were joined by another traveler, a Mexican American girl from southern California who was traveling here to visit a friend she knew from Denmark. The four of us later went to dinner where we ordered steak (something I hadn’t eaten in a long, long time) and then we went back to the hostel bar for happy hour where we made good use of the specials. Properly lubricated, we walked over to Christiania to find Loppen. Christiania comes alive at night. As interesting as it was when I walked through the evening before, it was on fire, literally, late this saturday evening. The place felt like a giant, pagan bonfire with people dancing around these large, open fuel barrels full of fire wood, the fire rising high into the dark sky. People gathered around the fires keeping warm, drinking and socializing. We found Loppen and paid our reasonably priced cover fee. We got our hands stamped and walked into the venue. The room was located on the second floor of an old factory building. The room was very dark. The floors, walls, and ceiling were made of a dark, heavy wood, with an attractive bar in the corner, and a level stage along the far wall. Some scattered chairs and tables took over the floor space in the near corner. The venue was very small (the best ones are) and the atmosphere was intimate. Their were three live bands, all Danish, all hard rock, and all of them were extremely talented. It felt a lot like the Silversun Pickups’ music video “Lazy Eye” (one of my favorite bands of all time). The music and atmosphere had a similar feeling. Hip Copenhagers stood around the stage, mesmerized by the loud rock music and the band members swaying in beat, just a few feet away. I love places like this. This venue reminded me a lot of a place you might find in LA or Brooklyn. Just a cool, cool scene.
Eventually the Danish girl wasn’t feeling too well so she went back to the hostel with Monica, the American girl. Me and Aaron stayed for the whole show then walked around Christiania a little. Through the neighborhood, past many a bonfire, was this little square, blackened by the night, with the largest of all the bonfires. This one was in something bigger than a barrel, it was more like a giant dish and was filled with old stacking crates, the large industrial ones used for pallets. The fire burned bright and rose 10 feet in the air. There must have been a hundred people around this one dancing to this truly excellent electronic music being blasted from this DJ in under a tent. There was a small makeshift bar on a foldout table where you could by cheap beer or vodka. The beat kept rolling until late in the night. Aaron and I stayed by the fire, dancing along with everyone else until the wee hours of the morning before we eventually succumbed to our tiredness and headed back to the hostel. It’s hard to describe here but that was one of the coolest evenings I’ve ever experienced.
Aaron had to catch an early train the next day back to Sweden where he was studying as an exchange student and I slept in until late in the morning. I still had one more full day to explore. I woke up around 10 and hopped in the shower. Suddenly, while lathering up the shampoo, I heard a loud alarm system start going off followed by an automated voice issuing directions in Danish followed by the translation in English. It said to remain calm, that there was an emergency in the building, and that everyone should evacuate the building immediately. Puzzled and with suds streaming down my body, I turned off the shower, dried off, and went back to my room to grab my coat. I was the last one out of the building as I joined the hundreds of people out on the sidewalk waiting for instructions. I was in a tank top shirt with my Burton jacket and scarf, soccer pants, and flip flops. My hair was still damp from the shower. I was cold. The firetrucks showed up, searched the building, and after about 20 minutes, allowed everyone to re-enter. Okay, these things happen. I never found out what that was about. I didn’t care. I went back to my room to finish dressing. I figured now was a good time to start the day.
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| The weather is warming! Sunbathers by a cafe |
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| The sandwich shop where I got lunch today in Christiania |
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| One of the more picturesque areas of the old town |
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| Private ships in one of the city's frozen canals |
I sort of took it easy today. I basically retraced the steps I had taken yesterday during the walking tour so that I could take some more thorough photos. I decided to spend the day simply wandering around, snapping photos of the city’s most photogenic areas (there are many). I also dedicated much of my photo taking time to using my new lomography camera. Now that the streets are a bit busy and more picturesque and the days are getting warmer and sunnier, I am going to try and take more and more experimental photos with the new camera.
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| Bicycles are everywhere - even in wintertime |
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| Even the construction walls are attractive here - art alongside a construction barrier |
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| Cyclists in front of the Princess's Palace |
Keep following me - we’ve got a long way to go!
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