I came to Copenhagen without much research as it was my springboard to Faroe Islands and Greenland.
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| View of Copenhagen from the Church of our Saviour |
It is a relatively small city and I spent more than 8 days (full days and in between flight days) exploring it, which allowed me to explore the city quite comprehensively.
Free Attractions
The Little Mermaid
I arrived in Copenhagen in early morning, and could only check into the hotel after 2pm. The only attraction that came to my mind was the little mermaid and Nyhavn.
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| The little mermaid |
I enquired about it at the tourist office, and it was about ~2km away, a do-able walk. Having seen the mermaid before, I set my expectations accordingly for the small but iconic little mermaid.
It is a 17-th century waterfront canal lined with colourful and iconic buildings.
Throughout my Copenhagen stay, I strolled up and down either side of the canal multiple times, as it made for a nice walk in the daytime.
The Royal Library
The Royal Library is the national library of Denmark and the university library of the University of Copenhagen. It is among the largest libraries in the world.
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| The Royal Library |
I like to visit libraries, not to borrow books, but to look at the size of a library's collection through the arrangement of their bookshelves and the library's architecture. In addition, I like to believe that the cafe has reasonably priced food and drinks for the studious users. 😍
'Troll-Hunting'
On my last day in Copenhagen, I went 'troll-hunting' after reading about Copenhagen-based visual artist, Thomas Dambo's creation of playful giants out of recycled material, which I thought sounded interesting.
According to Dambo's assistant:
"Green George, one of the sculptures located in Christiania, “was built to remind people of their importance in shaping the environment”
Green George
It was built with trashed wood from Christiania garbage disposal.
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| Green George in Christiania |
I was really happy and thrilled (haha) when I located Green George. It was a unique creation.
Suttetrolden Sanka
It is located in Remiseparken about 4 km from Copenhagen city centre. I had some problems locating it, and almost wanted to give up the hunt. But, I eventually found it at the children's playground :)!
I was happy but also tired as I walked a total of about 10km to find Suttetrolden Sanka.
<< I walked ~27km for the last day!!! 💥😈>>
Christiania
Christiania considers itself a free town within Copenhagen, and is known for it open use of soft drugs. Although it is an interesting place, I was hesitant to visit it, until I realised that I needed to in order to commence the troll hunt as Green George 'resided' there.
The difference from the rest of Copenhagen was apparent the moment I entered through into 'the state of' Christiania.
Notably, there were colourful murals everywhere. Most of the shops were still closed, and people were going to work in the morning.
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| Buildings and Green George |
I "walked back into the EU" after locating Green George and a short tour around the area!
The Royal Palace
I passed by the palace and there was a group of reporters waiting by one of the gates and crowds milling around.
It was a sunny morning, too early to check into the hotel, and I had slight jet lag and a pair of sandals that was breaking apart (the sole had come off after two years without use), thus I stood at a shaded corner to rest and to observe the crowd.
A group of people came out from the side door across me, and walked towards the gate near me. My attention was drawn to two elegant ladies within the group (they looked familiar?) and smiled as they walked past me.
<<Seemed like they might have been royalty/public figures but I was too lazy/tired to whip out my camera?>>
My curiosity as to their identities was still piqued in the evening, and I surfed the web on Copenhagen news.
I realised that the two ladies were Kate Middleton (Duchess of Cambridge) and Denmark's Princess Mary. I recognised their outfits!
<<Why's didn't I take a photo??? I would have gotten such a good close-up shot!!!>>
Attractions (with entrance fee)
Church of Our Saviour
It was not in my to-do list but I saw the church from afar with its unique spiral dome.
As I was walked nearer to it, I was amazed that one could actually walk on the outside the dome. I hurriedly entered the church to purchase the ticket for the climb.
I followed the turn of the spiral stairs upwards, taking in the magnificent view of the city.
The view of Copenhagen was spectacular.
I was truly charmed by the structure of the church.
Many of the eateries and restaurants were open.
Torvehallerne
It was definitely one of my main highlights of Copenhagen's attractions.
Christianborg Palace
I purchased the ticket to visit the various attractions around the Palace before my lunch appointment at Tarnet Restaurant.
The Round Tower
It is located in the one of the busiest areas in the city centre shopping district.
In place of stairs leading to the top of the tower was a winding spiral path leading up and down the tower.
Other Sights
I walked by many other different palaces and castles within Copenhagen.
There were also many charming squares within the city blocks and no shortage of open spaces.
There were also many random but interesting sights scattered around the city.
Evening walk
I would usually avoid going out in the evening. Still, having walked along Stroget shopping streets during the day several times, an evening walk along Stroget and around the hotel area should be safe.
It was a chilly but lovely walk.
Food/Supermarkets
Denmark is well-known for its food.
After surfing the web trying to book a reasonably-priced Michelin-starred restaurant without much success, I managed instead to make a booking at Tarnet serving local food within Christiansborg Palace. 😋
The restaurant interior is huge with high ceilings, and tastefully decorated with stone sculptures and some other simple decor.
They served Smorrebrod (traditional Danish open-faced sandwich) and I ordered the "The Tower Stjerneskud" comprising flounder, shrimps and others. It was my first real Danish meal of the trip and it was delicious. I finished my meal with a nice cup of cappuccino.
Nyhavn Area
After a short visit to the tourist office to check for food recommendations, I 'shortlisted' two restaurants in Nyhavn.
Nyhvn 37
First, I ate at Nyhvn 37, where I had grilled langoustines, which the waitress enthusiastically told me was local seafood. It was tasty but rather time consuming to eat.
<< It's longer but skinnier than crayfish >>
Restaurant Barock
This was my last lunch in Copenhagen, and I skipped their open sandwiches (by then I'd had more than my fill of Smorrebrod) and opted instead for a salmon pasta linguini, which was tasty and a satisfying meal to cap off my Copenhagen visit.
Food near the hotel
I also visited a ramen shop(Mr. Ramen) near the hotel, where I slurped up all the ramen including the soup as it had been a while since I had a bowl of ramen.
I also tried the Jagger burger since it was a local burger joint. It was quite a typical burger though - delicious but somewhat sinful with the side of fries.
Supermarkets
Somehow, supermarket tours made its way into my travel activities. 😆
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| Irma / Rema Supermarkets |
There were two supermarkets within short walking distance from the hotel. I spent most of my evenings 'touring' the aisles of the supermarkets, examining the products and their prices, looking for interesting snacks to try.
Hotdog Wagon
The local term for a hotdog stand is a 'hotdog wagon' or 'polsevogn' and they seem to be popular judging by the number of wagons that I saw throughout the trip.
I had a hot dog as my first lunch, and also as a snack on my last evening. 😚
I went to Torvehallerne on my last day in Copenhagen and regretted not visiting it sooner. It is situated next by the Norreport Station.
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| Torvehallerne Food Market |
There was a wide selection of food and interesting produce to browse and try.
I had a coffee since I already had my lunch at Barock.
After my walk to Suttetrolden Sanka, I came back for a sushi dinner.
Fiskebaren (Michelin Bib)
Fiskebaren is a restaurant located in the meat packing district in Copenhagen.
I managed to get a table for dinner, even though I was apprehensive about venturing out in the evening.
I had the Blue Mussel, and the serving portion was huge. It was fresh and tasty but I only managed to eat about half of them.
Thought and Discovery
I liked the fact that the airport was around 25 minutes by train from the city centre. However, train prices between cities in Denmark are expensive.
I thought the very existence of Christinia was fascinating.
<<Imagine declaring Lim Chu Kang or Alexandra Village as a 'free town' within Singapore?!?!?>>
Although I enjoyed the local food in general, I was not (and still not) accustomed to having cold dishes as a staple dish or a main course.
I 'forgot' to have a meal in one of the Chinese restaurants.
I was intrigued by the popularity of the hotdog wagons, I did a quick google search and found that the Danes do indeed love hotdogs!
I also found out that the hotdog wagons are actually quite a longstanding part of the city's culture, which celebrated the 100th anniversary of an ordinance that established the right to sell hot dogs in the streets in 2020. The first wagons appeared in 1921.
Last but not least, Thank You Copenhagen 💕😘