COPENHAGEN
Sadly I went far too hard too fast on the first night, so our first day in the city I had the hangover from hell.
We found the perfect antidote though in this tiny restaurant that had a simple concept: they serve hearty chilli con carne, with rice, crusty fresh bread and a dollop of sour cream and salsa, and that’s it. It was warm and cosy and full of rugs and blankets, twinkling with candlelight.
On our 2nd day we started with Danish pastries (of course) and coffee, and we booked a hop on hop off bus tour round the city, which was perfect as it was quite rainy so we couldn’t be arsed to walk. It took us to all the sights – Tivoli Gardens, the harbour, the traditional colourful houses lining the Nyhavn canal etc, and of course the Little Mermaid which I was very excited to see, even tho everyone says she’s tiny and not that interesting.
Amazingly there were only about 8 people there, including the 3 of us, so we could get up close to her and just hang around in peace.
Apparently she’s often getting vandalised, and in the past has lost her arm, and twice lost her head – they never found it one of the times, so someone out there has a Little Mermaid head just chilling in a box or on a shelf or whatever. Someone also graffitied her with “free Ahmed” tho nobody ever worked out who Ahmed is/was, or what he needed to be freed from. On the day we went, she was holding a little daisy.
She’s a huge cultural icon in Denmark and even tho yes she is tiny, I LOVED her.
After our bus tour we had a wander through the city, and got hotdogs in the main square, which apparently is Danish tradition, then settled into a cosy bar on the famous canal.
We wandered from there to Christiania, a self-governing Freetown founded by hippies and squatters and known for its alternative lifestyle (think vintage shops, weed, creative markets, music, eclectic bars etc). We had quite a few drinks then carried on through the city, trying out a few more bars.
Copenhagen is very clean, with beautiful wide cobbled streets and squares. The people are very stylish and effortlessly cool. Cycling is THE way to get around, and there are more bikes than people here, with 5 bikes for every 4 people. There are bikes lining every street, just left there, no locks, nothing.
Micqui wanted to ride bikes but that’s an absolutely not from me.
People also swim in the harbour daily, and on their way to and from work. The water is assessed daily for cleanliness and safety, and there are “sea bins” which are contraptions to reduce rubbish in the canals.
Like the bikes, people just leave their stuff on the banks as they swim, and it’s perfectly safe and secure. There’s this thing called Jante’s law, which is a moral code, which loosely means everyone is equal and you look out for your fellow community and create a social trust. People even leave their children outside shops in prams and buggies, knowing that if there are any problems, someone will quickly let you know.
They also had an election here last week but there are about major 9 parties and they’ve ended up in a situation where nobody is coming out in front and are going to have to form some kind of coalition, but seeing as the parties are from different ends of the political spectrum I’m not sure how that’s going to work.
(Obviously this being the internet I feel I should point out I don’t know anything about Danish politics or social laws, and this is cobbled together from frankly quite drunken conversations with locals)
There are candidate posters EVERYWHERE and most of the candidates are young and good looking which is not really what we are used to in the UK.
The following day we had even more traditional danishes for breakfast, then did a canal boat tour, seeing some more of the sights, including the Little Mermaid again but from the water this time. There were about 80 people there!!! Plus us in the background of their photos in our big orange boat. I’m glad we lucked out and went when it was quiet.
We had a traditional lunch of open sandwiches with fish before rounding things off and heading home to the UK, tired but having had the best time. The 3 of us have known each other since we were 19, and despite being besties all that time, and having made individual trips together, we’ve never been away all together, tho we definitely will again. It was an incredible trip, we laughed so much, just messing about, spending time together and having so much fun. Feeling very lucky and fortunate indeed ♥️