Rolling into Copenhagen for a weekend we felt like we’d just arrived in an imagined future city from a 70’s sci-fi movie. A driver-less metro takes you into the centre of town from the airport and the clean design which Scandinavian cities are famous for is immediately evident, and yet this is a city which maintains something of its history and tradition on nearly every corner.
Friday Night
After checking in at Generator in the brightly lit party street of Gothersgade a group of us immediately headed out to find some traditional Danish fodder. On a tip from a friend studying nearby we wandered down to Toldbod Bodega, passing the Palace on the way. This quiet, traditional “pub” style restaurant was our first encounter with Danish portion sizes; which is to say they were gigantic. We ended up barely being able to finish our herring three ways and “Mary’s Christmas Pork”. Lesson learnt: two courses is always going to be one and a half too many in Copenhagen!
After being thoroughly weighed down we checked out the Nyhaven area with its small quay-side cafe bars. Most of these offer a great place to relax with a microbrew beer brewed specially.
Sights To See In Copenhagen
Picking up all the major sights in Copenhagen is easy – it’s a dense little city. We hit up the Round Tower (and the art exhibition it housed) to get a good view of the city before us. Seeing Copenhagen from above is pretty cool.
Later we went back to the Palace via the Little Mermaid (who is indeed, very little!) and we happened to catch a changing of the guard at Amalienborg Palace. This happens daily at 12pm and is worth swinging by to see.
In stark contrast was Christiania, the famous anarchist “state” within Copenhagen with only two rules: “no photos, no killing”. The Danish government has more or less called an end to the social experiment as it’s promoted to a kind drug-based tourist ghetto in the city – it’s a strange place and worth visiting at least for the “you are now leaving the EU” signs.
Shopping in Copenhagen
One of the reasons for our visit was to immerse ourselves in Scandinavian style so an all-purpose trip to Magasin was in order – not only because it’s a massive department store which has the majority of the best Scandibrands (and see them all at once) – but you can also get a discount if you’re a foreigner (remember to bring your passport as proof!).
Not far away is the famous Stroget. We took a leisurely stroll and popped into a few of the cute little boutique shops there. One of our group was looking for some uber cool Danish designed furniture so we headed to the Palace area where the majority of these designer stores are set.
An Evening At Tivoli
We saved Tivoli until Saturday night so to enjoy it lit up against the night sky – and it is spectacular in an old-world, traditional, amusement park kind of way. At first we just wandered around (and picked up some typically Danish chocolate covered liquorice) taking in all the lights and sights of the park. Later we settled down in a restaurant by the main stand to catch some big-band Jazz; our final must see on our trip to Copenhagen.
