For our first ever visit to Scandinavia we decided on Copenhagen, which would also give us the opportunity to visit Malmö in Sweden for the day. As with many of our trips, we were able to find cheap flights which would partly offset the extra costs of visiting what is known to be an expensive part of the world.
Our first impressions of Copenhagen were very favourable – the railway station that took us from the airport to København H (the main central station) was in a stylish minimalist design with a smooth, uncluttered look. Tickets were easy to buy from the machines and were valid for a set length of time after purchase.
Our hotel was actually right next to the central station, and whilst a large part of the reason I chose it was because it was good value, it turned out to be probably the most characterful accommodation we’ve ever stayed in.
The hotel was designed in 1935 in the shape of a steam locomotive, and was where train conductors used to stay. Great effort has been made to preserve the character and original features, including door panels in the rooms where the conductors could hang their uniforms – the panel was accessible from outside so the staff could clean and return the uniform without disturbing the occupant. On our side of the hotel we had views directly over the train tracks and station, I’d read some reviews saying that the train noise keeps guests awake at night, and the hotel had helpfully supplied ear plugs, but we personally didn’t find it loud at all.
Our first port of call was the nearby Rådhuspladsen, a large square which is dominated by the City Hall. This is open to visitors and we enjoyed the ornate interior, which included a room housing Jens Olsen’s World Clock. This timepiece is one of the most accurate mechanical clocks in the world and also shows the positions of stars and planets and other astronomical information. Both the City Hall and the clock are free to visit.
Although the city is very easy to walk around, we chose to use the Metro system a few times as well. The service is frequent and efficient, and being driverless provides the fun of having a driver’s eye view if you sit at the front.
One of the images that people associate with Copenhagen is Nyhavn, a canal/waterfront area with colourful buildings. There were plenty of eateries there aimed at tourists which we didn’t go to, instead finding a nearby Espresso House café where we had our first taste of semla, a cardamom flavoured bun filled with almond paste and cream – delicious.
Nyhavn provided the start of a very pleasant waterside walk where we saw various sights along the way. The first of these was the Opera House, which was designed to have a view from the central point that lines up exactly with the nearby Amalienborg Palace and Frederiks Kirke.
Further along we saw one of the most famous sights of the city – the Little Mermaid statue. It was predictably surrounded by crowds of tourists taking selfies, a somewhat precarious endeavour as it involves stepping out onto the rocks for those who wish to be right next to it. I did take a photo (I have no interest in selfies) in the brief few seconds when there was nobody next to her, but made sure to capture CopenHill in the shot which I personally think is much more interesting. This ultra modern power plant also includes a ski slope, hiking and the world’s tallest climbing wall.
We saw quite a lot of birdlife along the waterfront including cormorants, and the largest number of coots I’ve ever seen in one place.
The nearby Frederiks Kirke, also known as Marmorkirken (marble church) is worth a visit, containing the largest church dome in Scandinavia.
That evening we tried Cambodian cuisine for the first time, I had a curry which was very flavourful but subtler than Thai, followed by a pumpkin and sticky rice dessert. It’s definitely given us an appetite to try more Cambodian food.
The following day we had one of the highlights of our trip, a journey to Sweden. This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, having watched the Danish/Swedish drama The Bridge, in which the main characters are frequently going backwards and forwards between Copenhagen and Malmö. The Øresundsbroen between the two countries was opened in 2000 and is about 5 miles in length, containing both road and railway, most of this is bridge over the Øresund strait but it also includes a section of tunnel. We caught the train from the Central Station which took about 35 minutes to Malmö, we had been told to take our passports as checks would be carried out on entry into Sweden, but this didn’t actually happen.
We got off the train at Triangeln, the station before Malmö Central, which greeted us with yet more examples of great Scandi design.
Malmö was a very pleasant city to stroll through, being mainly pedestrianised with the ubiquitous cycle lanes which are also a prominent feature in Copenhagen. I’ve never been anywhere with such a culture of cycling before and it was very refreshing to see. As well as normal bikes you see many with carriers for children and for transporting all sorts of goods. It all feels very civilised.
We saw the main squares including the one housing the Town Hall, and visited a little design museum with displays about projects to reinvent abandoned church buildings.
And now the culinary highlight of our day in Sweden – giant slices of cheesecake in a café with a view over Lilla Torg market square.
Suitably refuelled we walked along to the castle, via a pretty road of colourful houses. We didn’t go inside the castle itself but saw some interesting things in the grounds.
One of my favourite architects is Santiago Calatrava, probably best known for the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia. I was excited to see another building by him in Malmö, the Turning Torso, although the gloomy weather that day meant that the top was lost in the cloud. We also walked through an area where a fish market is held in the mornings.
There is a considerable amount of construction taking place in that area of Malmö, with many new apartment blocks and businesses springing up. It’s certainly a very liveable place to be, located near the waterfront, city centre and Central Station.
We caught the train back to Copenhagen from Malmö Central Station, interestingly the ticket back was cheaper as we were given a group discount.
Rather than going to more famous (and hence quite touristy) museums we try to find smaller ones which tend to be more interesting, and this certainly proved to be the case when we visited the Arbejdermuseet (Workers Museum). Set in a beautiful building, this documented the history of the working Danish people and also had an exhibition about Klaus Albrectsen, a fascinating satirical political cartoonist who also drew many famous jazz musicians.
Food markets are always interesting to look around and the nearby TorvehallerneKBH had two sections, one containing fresh produce such as an array of fish and cheeses, and the other side specialising more in chocolates and other delicacies. Although busy, it wasn’t as overrun with tourists as these places can sometimes be.
Another central attraction is the Rundetaarn, or Round Tower. To get up the tower involves walking along a long winding slope, with a short narrow staircase to access the very top part from which there are views over the city, continuing the theme of our trip these weren’t very visible due to the gloom but it was still worth the climb.
Part way up the tower was an exhibition which I think was primarily aimed at children, containing floral displays inspired by the royal Rosenborg Castle gardens. It was actually a relaxing place to spend some time, with very calming video installations to enjoy.
Shopping doesn’t really feature much in our holiday plans but it was nice to stroll through the city centre, and we went in a wonderful bookshop which was set in the building of a newspaper publisher. It had plenty of titles in English as well as Danish.
It’s worth mentioning that we were staying right next to the Tivoli Gardens, but didn’t visit for two reasons – the first being that it’s a seasonal attraction and wasn’t open when we were there, and second as amusement parks aren’t really our thing. For those who do enjoy them then it looks like a fun place to spend some time.
Our final morning brought the somewhat alarming news that Storm Otto would be arriving in Copenhagen just when our flight was scheduled to leave that afternoon. The fact that the storm had actually been named by the Danish meteorological service just added to our sense of unease. We made good use of our last few hours in the city by visiting the Danish Architecture Centre, which had displays about various new developments, including the airport, as well as Lego construction areas and a giant slide.
It turned out to be our lucky day. Our flight left on time, the winds were already quite strong and it was a blustery takeoff, but most of the flights after ours were either severely delayed (many to the following day) or cancelled.
I would highly recommend going to Copenhagen, we did find that prices were a bit higher than in the UK but not considerably so, and the opportunity to include a day trip to Sweden makes for an ideal short break.
rhtravels 