Copenhagen
Our first time in Scandanavia!
Days at a Glance
| Date | Day at a Glance |
|---|---|
| Thu, 05Oct23 | Arrival |
| Fri, 06Oct23 | Torvehallerne food hall, Rosenborg castle, Citadel and Little Mermaid, Christiana |
| Sat, 07Oct23 | Walking tour, Jewish museum, Tottenham game, Malmo |
| Sun, 08Oct23 | Danish bakery, National Museum, fly home |
High-Low-Hero-Chow/Ciao*
| Ben | Maggie | |
|---|---|---|
| High | Realizing how many people were watching the Tottenham game and van de Ven scoring when down to 10 men | Exploring on Friday |
| Low | Jewish museum’s limited collection | Jewish museum |
| Hero | Lure players statue | Hans Christian Andersen |
| Chow/Ciao | Empanadas from Torvehallerne | Chocolate cake from Ruth’s |
*A game I learned from Ben, who uses it with friends as a fun way to reflect on an experience
Journal
Thursday 05Oct23
We arrived in Copenhagen airport and used the metro to arrive downtown about 30 minutes later. We had delicious Nepalese food of momo, pani puri, and a paneer curry before heading to our hostel. We were tipsy and giggly on a pitcher of sangria, which made the surprise of our hostel arrangements seem even funnier. Ben had booked us at the CityHub, seeing that we’d have our own room but shared bathroom, something we’re accustomed to. He hadn’t looked at any photos, or else he would’ve realized this wasn’t a typical room but a modular “hub” meant to cram as many beds as possible into an industrial space. Our hub consisted of a bed and a small amount of standing room, about the width of a door. We could control the lights and theoretically it had a bluetooth speaker, although we couldn’t get ours to work. We tucked ourselves into our hub and Ben gave me a little light show before bed.
Friday 06Oct23
We woke up late and disoriented after some of the deepest and best sleep we’ve had in a long time. While we may have poked fun at the hubs, the absolute darkness had us sleeping like hibernating bears.
We headed to Torvehallerne food hall for brunch where we enjoyed smørrebrød, empanadas, and fiskefrikadeller (the empanadas being the highlight, Ben later lamenting multiple times that we didn’t get more of them).
After brunch we walked to Rosenborg castle and enjoyed the nice views and park, before heading up to the citadel, snagging a hotdog along the way. So many hotdog stands around, and with the 3 different sauces and crispy onion it was delicious! We wound our way to the Little Mermaid and would’ve missed her if it wasn’t for the crowds. We both were shocked at how small and nondescript the statue was, the most interesting part being the people watching around it (including a tourist attempting to lick her naked chest). The self-guided walking tour we were following explained that the statue was constructed in 1909 but didn’t become a tourist phenomenon until the movie Hans Christian Andersen (1952) became popular and the Copenhagen tourist board wanted to use the mermaid sculpture as a marketing symbol. Funny how those things stick in popular culture.
We walked back South, stopping to enjoy views of Amalienborg palace, the Royal Guards, and Nyhaven. The Rick Steve’s walking tour recommended we pop into Hviids Vinstue to see the old photos of Copenhagen, and we ended up staying for a drink (Ben ordered himself an Irish coffee and I had a local beer).
Wanting to keep the party rolling, we grabbed Tuborg’s from a local convenience store and headed into Christiana, a commune started in 1971 as a squatter base, and now a community considered separate from Copenhagen described as a “pseudo-anarchist consensus democracy.” Known as a place to get weed, “pusher street” has a bunch of stands where sellers propositioned us for “hash,” but once we got through pusher street, it was quite relaxed. Graffiti covered almost every inch, and there were multiple stands selling Christiana merch. We were there around dusk, so the main restaurant square was popping with lots of people there to be with friends and party. It felt a bit grimy, but not in a dangerous way. They don’t allow photos, so the best I could do was this selfie in the bathroom.
After Christiana we grabbed dinner at a casual Indian restaurant and ice cream at Ismageriet before walking home and relaxing in our hub.
Saturday 07Oct23
Another great night of sleep in the hub set us up for a day of walking around to finish the self-guided walking tour. Breakfast was delicious cheese sandwiches from a small cute Dutch restaurant that fueled us to walk along the strøget and take in the sights.
Ben made sure, at my nagging, to have us stop at La Glace, as the hot chocolate is family lore from how much my parents talk about it. I waited in the ten minute line, where the menu made it apparent that every cake had nuts (is marzipan even that good…?) When I finally ordered a hot chocolate to-go the server looked at me with pity and was like “sorry honey that’s not how it works. You have to sit here.” I looked around at the crowded area and realized I’d be signing us up a lengthier stay than I realized. Regretfully, instead of grabbing a table, I just walked out, as we were rushing to get to a local pub to watch a Tottenham game, grumbling that I didn’t even like hot chocolate that much. Maybe a sign that I was vacationed out, as Ben lamented that I should’ve just ordered the hot chocolate after how much I talked about it…Maybe next time, Copenhagen.
Ben, from his mastery of reddit research, found a local pub that many Tottenham fans frequent (they’ve had a few notable Danish players). I was impressed at how many fans there were in full gear, all very into the game with lots of cheering and groaning. My vacation prep consists of lists of must-sees and walking tours, while Ben does a great job at finding pockets of local culture like this. We make a good team, even if sometimes I’m a bit grumpy about hot chocolate.
After the Tottenham game I dragged us to the “Danish Jewish Museum.” The museum’s website explained that in 1622, the Danish king invited Jews to settle in Denmark, so the exhibition would be an exploration and celebration of 400 years of Jews in Denmark. What the website didn’t make so clear was this an evolving exhibition, and we were only given a small preview, so the museum lasted about 20 minutes…..We were both disappointed but sometimes that’s how it goes.
We hopped on a train to Malmö to check out Sweden, enjoying the view on the bridge of the water. We enjoyed walking around, enjoying the city center and city parks, including another citadel-style fortress with a windmill (we can’t escape those windmills!)
Dinner was at Sushi Rebellion with really delicious sushi and wine, although Ben was a bit disappointed in the sweet potato “fries.” Dessert was a sumptuous chocolate cake at Ruth’s. After a really satisfying night we trained back and slept deeply in our Hub. We can cross Sweden off our visited list!
Sunday 08Oct23
We packed up and said goodbye to our hub. Breakfast was more cheese sandwiches at the Dutch restaurant at Ben’s request, and a Danish bakery with a cardmom roll and chocolate croissant at my request. We headed to the National Museum of Denmark next, having heard good things about the Viking exhibit. We enjoyed the first floor exhibits about Denmark as early as the stone age. They had human remains naturally preserved from the peaty conditions of the bog, evidence of human sacrifice referred to as “bog bodies.” The second floor was about Vikings, where we learned more about their raiding and farming culture, and got to participate by “Joining the raid” during a 20 minute video experience, where we went from room to room watching clips that felt a bit like Game of Thrones. Already, that sounds like a lot of museum content. Instead of ending there, with a cohesive narrative about Danish history, the second half of the museum was scattered with exhibits about video game cosplay, Navajo culture, toothbrushes, African artifacts, Egyptian mummies, Asian art, etc. There were almost nobody in these other exhibits rooms crammed with a jarring amount of artifacts. After a similar experience in the British Museum, with too many artifacts and not a clear narrative, Ben wondered “does America just do museums better?” A question that I’m sure we’ll revisit.
To say goodbye to Copenhagen we scarfed down a hot dog and hopped on a train back to CPH to fly home. We both were impressed with Copenhagen. Nice metro system, not overwhelmingly big, delicious food, colorful buildings, just a bit too expensive.
For the Record
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Arrival | EasyJet, Thursday 05Oct23, 7PM CPH |
| Departure | EasyJet, Sunday 08Oct23, 5PM CPH |
| Accomodation | City Hub, Vesterbrogade St |
| Thursday Dinner | Nepali Bhancha, H. C. Ørsteds Vej |
| Friday Brunch | Torvehallerne Food Market |
| Saturday and Sunday Breakfast | Dutch Cheese and Juice, Vesterbrogade St |
| Saturday Dinner | Sushi Rebellion, Malmo, Mäster Johansgatan |
| Saturday Dessert | Ruth's, Malmo, Mäster Johansgatan |
| Maisy | With Hanna and Ray and their two corgis |
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