admin8570In Copenhagen I had a touch-and-go during my trip to BERLIN. About 40 minutes by plane I arrived in the Danish capital. Only three days’ stay, but to be honest, it would only take a day or two more to visit it if you want to delve deeper.
CLIMATE
The climate, for those who don’t like the cold, was not the best. The temperature was low and there was also an icy wind. The centre of the city is very cosy, you can get around well on foot, there are cars but there is not the exaggerated traffic that there is in our country. The bicycle lanes are everywhere and go all the way to the airport. A city on a human scale. Copenhagen is a city ‘on a human scale’ it is quiet and the lifestyle is not hectic or stressful. The public services are very efficient and are also prepared to transport bicycles; they are also always on time. The Danes people are very kind and helpful even towards foreigners, as far as I’m concerned those few times I said I was Italian, considering that there are few Italian tourists, they hinted an extra smile. One certainty about the city, for us life is expensive, a lot, but if you plan everything well before you leave, you don’t spend large sums of money to sleep and eat. An example to give you an idea of the difference, compared to our part of the world, in Sicily a cappuccino and a croissant is around €2.70 while a cappuccino and a muffin in the Danish city I remember paying 35.69 kr (€4.80).
WHERE TO SLEEP
To sleep I can recommend a B&B or a Youth Hostel. I opted for the latter. I remember that in making the reservation on the internet I paid twice for the same hostel. When I arrived the guy who registered me, and among other things from Florence in Erasmus, informed me of the fact and gave me the money back, to my astonishment. Only later when I went up to my room and checked the reservation I realised the mistake I had made. It happens. The rooms were very clean with two bathrooms and there were 5 beds in total, but occupied including mine only 4. After a quick shower I went down to the street to start visiting the major sights first and then move on to the secondary ones. Then I headed for Nyhavn, a small harbour lined with colourful terraced houses dating back to the 1600s and 1700s, and a monument in the shape of an anchor dedicated to the fallen of the Danish navy.
Many goods of all kinds used to depart from Nyhavn harbour, not by chance Nyhavn means new harbour, and it is also known as the biggest bar in Scandinavia for the many places that are literally stormed by locals and tourists having lunch or an aperitif, with prices obviously rising as in all tourist areas.
Continuing along the Langelinie riverfront, you will come across The Little Mermaid, a bronze sculpture inspired by the fairy tale by Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen.
Also worth a visit is the Royal Palace of Amaliemborg, the official seat of Danish royalty. If you go there around 12 noon you can watch the changing of the guard. From the hostel heading towards the centre, you can visit the Tivoli amusement park, a huge park that can be toured in a couple of hours. Don’t miss the large pedestrian area. Stroget is located in the city centre and has a pedestrian street full of shops for shopping, one of the largest in Europe, Stroget is also called the surrounding pedestrian streets.
Now comes the best part, in my opinion. Moving away from the main part of the city, you can visit the various neighbourhoods. Indre By a historic district where you can explore the many cobbled streets and beautiful squares and for lovers of good food, eat in one of the many places to eat. In fact the district is known to be the place with the best clubs in the city.
Vesterbo: once a red light district, to tell the truth it still is, but while it used to be very unkempt, today it is a district that is being modernised while still maintaining its ‘red light district’.
Osterbro: the bourgeois district the least touristy, the residential district for those who want to get away from the touristy places and to get a feel for local life is the right neighbourhood.
Copenhagen is certainly a city that I recommend for a weekend, as I said above, four days are more than enough for me, but as is always the case with other cities, if you want to visit them in greater depth you should stay for at least a month. The nearby villages are also not bad if you have time. On your next trip I hope that these few lines have given you an idea of what the city is like, maybe you will be able to spend a nice weekend there.
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Bye bye friends,
Francesco
