COPENHAGEN

The land of babes, bikes and buggies. Copenhagen is such a clean and quiet city, where everyone gets around on bicycle. No one jaywalks and all of the restaurant kitchens close by 8pm, with the exception of McDonalds of course. The people here are beautiful and friendly and speak impeccable English. This was quite the change coming from New York City!

Cameron and I chose to walk the city on a self-guided tour. We broke it up into two and a half days so we could spend some quality time exploring the treasures at each sight.

Up first on the agenda was NY Carlsberg Glyptotek, Nyhavn (New Harbor), Marmorkirken (Marble Church), and Design Museum Danmark. It was pretty hilarious, by the time we made it to Design Museum Danmark (a museum of crazy innovative chairs), we were so tired from walking all day that all we wanted to do was sit. Let me tell you, touring a museum of chairs when all you want to do is sit… not the best idea! We ended up speed walking through the museum to a café to find a chair in which we could actually rest our bones.

Day two, we explored Rosenborg Slot (Rosenborg Castle), Rundetårn (Round Tower), and Carlsberg Brewery. From the royal jewels at Rosenborg Slot to the world’s largest beer collection at Carlsberg Brewery, Copenhagen continued to excite us.

On our final day, we had just enough time before we flew out in the afternoon to see the remaining sights. We wandered Christiansborg Slot (Christiansborg Palace or Castle), National Musset (National Museum of Denmark), Tivoli Gardens and Kastellet (Citadel).

Copenhagen was a great way to transition from the States to Europe!

 

HELPFUL HINTS FOR PLANNING YOUR VISIT!

• BEST TIP – Invest in a Copenhagen Card. This card is like gold. Purchase them online ahead of time, print your voucher and bring it to the City Visitor Center. This card works as a bus/metro/train pass and gets you into pretty much every museum, castle, and sight there is in town. You can buy them on 24 – 48 – 72 hour time slots. We had the 48-hour and started it at noon on day 1 then it was good until noon on day three. This strategy worked great since most sights are open 8:30am-5pm.
  • Visit www.copenhagencard.com for more information
• CURRENCY – Copenhagen uses its own currency, the Danish Krone (KR or DKK – different from the Swedish Krona). Due to Denmark’s strong economy, the conversion rate is pretty steep and the cost of living in the city center is steep as well. Be sure to plan ahead and bring more funds than you may think.
• DRESS – As I previously mentioned, the Danish are very beautiful and impeccable. This is apparent in their dress. Men, women and children are dressed very well, in perfectly tailored garments. Most people were seen sporting the minimalist look.  Not many venture out from the typical city center staples of black, white, grey and more black! They wear very simple jewelry, if any at all. For some Danish style inspiration visit HERE>
• SOCIAL NORMS – There were two main norms we picked up on right away. No one here jaywalks. If you do, you will get some looks and feel all eyes on you…learned that one the hard way! While riding public transit (mostly buses), it is custom (as it is in most countries) to leave the wider section on the lower level of buses for elderly, moms with children and handicapped. A good rule of thumb is to just head up a few steps to the back of the bus. If there are no seats up there, you are welcome to sit in the lower level but make sure to offer your seat at the first sight of anyone older than you (even if they are completely able bodied).
• NATIVE DISH – Pickled Herring – This is essentially sushi grade fish that has been pickled for some time. It is sweet and salty at the same time. This dish is commonly served with a lemon wedge and bread. Typically, it is served on a board with a few other finger foods (cabbage, cucumber, onion, bread, cheese, and lox).
• UNDERGROUND MUST SEE – The tour of Marmorkirken (Marble Church). More details to come in my next post, the “Highlight of Copenhagen”. Stay Tuned!
• TOURIST TRAP – The Den lille Havfrue (The Little Mermaid). This tiny statue is about as anticlimactic as the Mona Lisa. Lines form, people get pushing, and cameras snap shots like crazy. Seen above, it is a tiny statue that sits upon a rock. It attracts THOUSANDS per day. Cameron and I thought it was funny to take a photo of the 400 people who were taking photos of it simply because thousands before them had, most of which probably don’t even know the history behind the little lady.
  • Fun Fact after my rant: This little mermaid was a gift from the founder of Carlsberg Brewery and now stands as the semi-official symbol of the city. Causing quite the fuss in Copenhagen, she has been blown up, beheaded, sunk in the harbor, and painted numerous times.