Copenhagen: colourful tenement houses, hippies and bikes, bikes, bikes

Copenhagen. We already know what to eat ans where to find tasty smørrebrød. We also know that you have to be careful with your money here. Today the most important stuff – what to do on a weekend in Copenhagen? What to see, how to move, where to go for a walk and where to relax?

Shall we? Here’s a list of activities in Copenhagen!

1)       USE A BIKE… OR A SIMILAR VEHICLE!

The bikes are everywhere in Copenhagen. Thousands, hundreds, hordes! The cyclists squeeze before traffic lights like cars. Apart from regular bikes you’ll notice various bike-like vehicles. Mainly with a big box in front, where the Danish carry one, two or even three kids at the time! Or daddy carries his kid and the mommy! Or furniture and other stuff. What’s cool about such vehicles is the fact that you can take a bike, a kid and a pram so you can have a walk later on. Ideal!

Whole Copenhagen rides on bikes, and the infrastructure is amazing – bike routes everywhere and bike lanes on larger streets. We also decided to ride a bike. Or rather a bike-like vehicle – it looked more like a rickshaw! 🙂 It was a lot of fun for the ones being carried (mainly for me and Maks) and a little less fun for the rickshaw driver 😉 But think about all the burnt calories!

2) TAKE A WALK DOWN THE NYHAVN CANAL

Nyhavn is one of the most beautiful places in Copenhagen. Colourful tenement houses from the 17^th and 18^th century, little boats and views like on postcards. Add some tiny restaurants serving Danish smørrebrød and an amazing waffle-ice-cream place!

Nyhavn means New Port but it’s not that new anymore. It was built in 1671-1673 when King Christian V decided to bring the water traffic and trade closer to the centre of the city. The area was therefore full of sailors. There were also poets. Hans Christian Andersen, one of the most famous Danes, used to live in the area, too.

Nyhavn today is an ideal place to have lunch and a walk afterwards or a romantic dinner. You’ll also find the sandwiches at  Told & Snaps we recommended before as a good idea for lunch. A walk and ice-cream in Vaffelbageren on the corner of Nyhavn and Toldbogdade are on the other hand a great idea for a dessert. You can see Łukasz and Maks eating those ice cream in the picture above!

3) CHECK OUT STRØGET, THE MAIN FOOTPATH OF COPENHAGEN 

Start with the Radhuspladsen with a beautiful town hall built in 1892-1905 and walk through the Strøget footpath. You can buy some souvenirs here, ice cream, waffles, kebabs, hamburgers form McDonald’s and LEGO. You can eat breakfast, lunch and dinner here. The footpath leads to Kongens Nytorv and then to nearby Nyhavn. Supposedly it’s one of the longest footpaths in the world. I don’t know if it’s true, but walking along is quite nice 🙂 What’s more, that’s the only place I remember from my one-day trip to Copenhagen in high school around 12 years ago!

In the guide to Copenhagen (which I bought and left at home ://) I also read that Strøget is a bit similar to the footpath in Toruń. What do you think? There’s something about it!

4) SEE THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD IN AMALIENBORG PALACE

While sightseeing, you should check Christianborg and Amalienborg palaces.

Christianborg is situated on the Castle Island and is a historic centre of Copenhagen, the heart of the city. The castle was the King’s seat until 1794. Now it houses the Danish parliament – Folketing (I remember all these weird names of Scandinavian parliaments from the WOS (knowledge about society) lessons in my high school!). Going further, towards the Copenhagen’s mermaid, you’ll reach Amalienborg palace current residence of the royal family. There, especially if you’re with kids, see the changing of the guard. Maks was fascinated by their big hats!

5) TAKE A PICTURE OF COPENHAGEN’S MERMAID…

…and walk around in the nearby Churchill Park… The mermaid statue was founded in 1909 by the son of the Carlsberg brewery founder. He was fascinated by Hans Christian Andersen’s Litte Mermaid. The mermaid has “gone through a lot” over the years – she was a frequent victim of acts of vandalism, she lost her head, hand and arm and once even got a cow’s head on top of hers! In 2004 the mermaid was dressed in burqa in protest against the accession of Turkey to the European Union. Today it’s a must for every visitor to Copenhagen 🙂 Just don’t be scared by the horde of tourists in the neighbourhood!

6) CHILL OUT IN KONGENS HAVE PARK

Kongens Have Park (Roseborg Have) by the Gothersgade is vast and spacious and lots of Danes come here to lie down or have a picnic. Especially on Saturday’s afternoons. It’s best to lie facing the Rosenborg Castle, chill out a little bit after sightseeing and plan further actions…

If you’re traveling with a little one, you’ll be pleased by the vast space where the little one can run, have fun and play on the grass. Maks was however disappointed by the lack of a playground in the park (at least we couldn’t find it!). Being used to Szczęśliwice and Pola Mokotowskie, he expected a playground behind any tree… But the grass was ok as well! 🙂

7) PUT YOUR CAMERA INTO YOUR BAG IN HIPPIE CHRISTIANIA

Freetown Christiania, an independent society was established in Christianiahavn district in 1971. It was founded by hippies and at its peak was inhabited by a few thousand people. Now there’s only a few hundred inhabitants. There are numerous signs forbidding photography inside so unfortunately we have no pictures.

Łukasz carries the camera on his shoulder and quickly realises that the sign is a serious business. Someone walks towards us quickly, gives us a plastic bag and decisively asks us to put the camera in it. There are also signs saying “Don’t Run” in Christiania. These are worth memorising as well – those who run are either thieves or policemen. “The City” is neglected, a bit makeshift, colourful (graffiti) and full of people. But what’s the most noticeable (or rather smellable) is the scent of marihuana. Because you can buy marihuana or hashish from a stand in Christiania. Just like a waffle or a hot dog in other parts of Copenhagen.

Freetown was established in 1971, when a group of hippies settled in former military barracks.

Alternative communities were pleased with this situation – makeshift houses emerged along with schools and kindergartens for the inhabitants. Christiania has its own flag (yellow rings on a red background, you can see it in an altered version on a barrack close to the football pitch), and since 1994 its own law that does not allow violence, hard drugs (a yes for the soft ones!), weapons and… car traffic. We really liked the last one. I could finally let Maks go without fearing that he will jump on a moving car 🙂

Chirstiania is worth visiting because it’s a place like no other. A place where the time stopped some time go – you can see it in the eyes of old and shabby hippies who smoked pot all their lives. It’s also a little creepy, when you see parents pushing a pram and smoking joints. Yet, it’s fascinating due to the simple fact that it exists…

It’s also worth visiting on Sunday, when a peculiar football match takes place. Peculiar because the “football players”, both male and female, are dressed in various costumes – lizards, nurses, sumo fighters or horse riders. The costumes make the game a little more difficult but on the other hand, it might have been the most entertaining match we have ever seen! There’s lots of people around, adults and children, a picnic atmosphere… and we even managed to take some pictures:)

That’s how our 3 days in Copenhagen looked like. We surely haven’t seen everything. We still have Tivoli Gardens to see – one of the oldest amusement parks in the world. We also want to see Legoland in Billund when it comes to Denmark in general. We haven’t seen the Carlsberg brewery either because Maks is too small for all these attractions. We may come back then. But not too soon because PLN 60 for 2 waffles and an ice- cream still sounds kind of scary 🙂

Some practical information:

– if you need something, you’ll find “7 eleven” on pretty much every corner (especially in the city centre). It’s a chain with basic products

– even better if you shop in LIDL or Netto – the prices are much better

– if you’re trying to spend as little as possible, don’t buy water. Danes drink tap water – if they can, why can’t we? 🙂

– the trip from the airport is one of the simplest and nicest – at the airport, you just need to catch a train that will take you to Hovedbanegard station. It’s a beautiful station, designed to look old but also fitted with various modern shops and snack bars! A nice welcome in Copenhagen. Then just go sightseeing… 🙂