I've heard many people refer to Denmark as the happiest
country in the world – I saw this for my own eyes on my recent trip to the
fabulous Danish capital Copenhagen (‘København’ in Danish). The thing which stood out to me most about
the city was its friendly people, who always seem to have a smile on their
face, even despite the gloomy January weather!
Copenhagen in a historic maritime city of Viking heritage, which from my
experience had a very laid-back, liberal and fun atmosphere. I fell in love with Copenhagen, as well as
the Danish people and way of life. Copenhagen is a small city compared to other European capitals. There is so much to see though and it is easy
to get round all the sights on foot. A
must see is the city’s fabulous 17th century harbour – Nyhavn
(literally ‘New Haven’). Filled with extravagant sea-faring vessels
and lined with cheerful pastel coloured restaurants and café bars, this part of
town is a real social hub and a great place to sit out and relax. I visited in rather unforgiving January
weather and was pelted by the elements, but from what I was told the place
really comes to life during the sunnier summer months.
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| Nyhavn |
Copenhagen’s historic centre is a charming maze of cobbled
streets and brightly coloured shops and houses.
It is so nice just to let yourself get lost whilst wandering through
these pretty streets. The city’s
shopping district is centred on a long pedestrianized street in the historical
centre, known in Danish as ‘Strøget’. This is the collective name for five streets, known individually as Frederiksberggade, Nygade, Vimmelskaftet, Østergade and Nytorv. It
is often claimed that this is the longest shopping street in the world, whilst
this is actually untrue there is certainly more than enough shops to keep
most shoppers busy! What I would say
though, is I was disappointed to see this historic shopping district overrun by
the ‘usual’ high street brands.
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| Pretty back streets of Copenhagen |
No visit to Copenhagen would be complete without a visit to
the famed Little Mermaid statue (Danish: Den
Lille Havfrue), perched upon a boulder at the edge of the harbour. This iconic bronze statue has become a symbol
of the city. It was created by sculptor
Edvard Erikson all the way back in 1913 and is based on the Danish fairytale of
the same name – ‘The Little Mermaid’. The
story tells of a beautiful mermaid who fell in love with a human prince, giving
up her life in the sea for her heart-throb.
The statue is smaller than I expected, but I’m glad I took a trip to see
it.
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| The Little Mermaid |
The Danish seem very proud of their royals! This is evident from the numerous palaces in
and around Copenhagen. The most central
of these is the grand Amalienborg Palace, which is actually formed from four
identical palaces which sit around a courtyard.
Each day at around noon, the ‘changing of the guards’ takes place, a
traditional ceremony which is popular with tourists. The guards march between Gothersgade and
Amalienborg. The imposing statue of Frederik
V watches over the courtyard. To see the
palaces from outside in the courtyard is free, but those wanting to see inside
the Amalienborg Museum do so at a price of 70DKK on weekdays and 90DKK on
Saturdays. I didn’t visit the museum,
but I understand it is a good insight into the Danish royal history.
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| One of the four identical buildings of Amalienborg Palace. |
Copenhagen’s reputation as the ‘bike city’ is definitely
well deserved – cycling has become engrained in the city’s culture. Rain or shine, you will see bicycles
everywhere! The city is perfectly adapted
for cycling – almost every street has a bike lane separate from the traffic, so
cycling is easier and safer than in a lot of other cities. You can hire bikes all over Copenhagen (I
hired one from the hostel cheaply) – it’s a great way to get round all the
sights, whilst keeping fit and protecting the environment at the same time.
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| Historic centre |
Copenhagen has a fun and liberal feel. This liberal feel is taken one step further
in the self-proclaimed ‘free state’ of Christiania in Kristianshavn. Squatters first took over an abandoned army
barracks in the 1970s and established the community, governed by its own set of
laws. Guns, violence, bulletproof
clothing and hard drugs are outlawed by residents, whereas marijuana features
an active part of the culture. The community
has its own flag; a red banner with three solid yellow circles (representing
the dots of the three ‘i’s in the word Christiania. The flag can be seen flying around the
streets of Christiania and is printed on souvenirs. This is a very colourful part of Copenhagen,
with barely a wall left uncovered by murals.
It is such a unique place to visit – I’ve never really seen anywhere
else like it!
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| A typical house in Christiania. |
Before my trip, upon telling people I was going to
Copenhagen, a very common response was ‘do you realise how expensive Copenhagen
is?’ And indeed I did have quite a shock
upon arrival as to how costly the city actually is. Saying that, I managed to keep within my strict
budget. I stayed in the Copenhagen
Downtown Hostel, which I cannot recommend enough (click here to see separate blog
post). Hostel accommodation certainly
helped keep the cost down. To keep food
costs low, I ate at the hostel most days, as restaurant prices can be
extortionate. Another tip is to walk
everywhere! Copenhagen has the advantage
of being a small and compact city, which really cuts down the transport costs!
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| Typical canal scene in Copenhagen |
There are plenty of opportunities for daytrips outside of
Copenhagen for those who would like to see the surrounding area. There is the impressive Frederiksborg Palace
at Hillerød, the grand Kronborg Castle (the setting of Shakespeare’s Hamlet,
also a UNESCO world heritage site) in Helsingør or the Viking Ship museum in
Roskilde. All three are easily
accessible by train from Copenhagen’s central station. Alternatively, you could take a trip over the
Øresund into Sweden. This can be done by
ferry between Helsingør and Helsingborg, or by train using the Øresund Bridge
between Copenhagen and Malmö. I crossed
the bridge and visited the cities of Malmö and Lund. Although only a half an hour train ride away,
the Swedish side of the water feels distinctly different to the Danish side and
makes for a very interesting trip. I’ve
written a separate post on my trip to Sweden, which can be viewed here.
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| Lund Cathedral (Sweden) 30 minutes by train from Copenhagen |
To sum up, I absolutely loved every minute of
Copenhagen. The Danish people are
amongst the happiest and friendliest people I have ever met, they could not have
made me feel more welcome. Copenhagen is
a small city with a lot of charm and a lot to see.
As always, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your views in the comments
below!
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