Copenhagen, Denmark October 23rd - 25th, 2009

As much as I hate when Eric leaves me to go on a work trip, sometimes I am able to make the most of it and join him! This was the case last week when Eric travelled to Copenhagen for a three day conference, and I tagged a quick weekend trip onto the end of it.

I arrived on Friday night really late (around 11 p.m.), and Eric was sweet enough to meet me at the airport so that I didn’t have to navigate the public transport into the city center. We took the train straight from the airport to the Kongens Nytorv stop which was about a 15 minute ride, relatively inexpensive (given the expense of the city) and dropped us about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. Score!

Our hotel was located in Nyhavn which sits on a canal, surrounded by multi-colored buildings housing restaurants, cafes, and families (Hans Christian Anderson lived in one for awhile). The city at night is quite nice. It is relatively quiet (maybe it was the time of night) but it was also very clean (which is also the case in the daylight). Meat carts are everywhere and on our walk alone from the train stop to the hotel we passed three! We also passed (and stopped to browse) an exhibition featuring the top 100 places you should visit, before they disappear because of global warming.

Hans Christian Anderson lived in one of these

We arrived at the hotel (Clarion Collection Hotel Neptune) which Eric had checked into earlier following his conference and planned to settle in for the night...until...I started to inspect the room. I went to crawl into bed and noticed a booger on the wall!! How REPULSIVE! It was right at arm’s length if you were to lay in bed so that had to be what it was. Eric offered to sleep on that side, but because we have set sides of the bed I decided to suck it up. I was practically sleeping on Eric the entire night just in case I happened to roll over against the wall, brush up against it somehow or if it decided to jump off the wall and onto my hand. I didn’t sleep much.

The next morning we headed out, in the rain, to the city center. We passed by Tivoli Gardens, a somewhat large amusement park right in the city. Unfortunately, in October, it was closed, but apparently a month following our visit it would reopen for the holiday season. Our first stop was the Radhuspladsen which is the city hall square where we visited Radhuset which is the town hall we climbed the 200 steps (supposedly) to the top of the steeple for a 360 degree view of the city. The view on the really cloudy, wet, gray day was limited, but we tried to imagine what it would look like on a sunny, clear day.

Upon exiting the town hall, we were met by a recently married couple taking pictures and a freakshow of people dressed in green business suits dancing around and trying to gather a crowd. We tried to video a bit of it, but it proved too weird for our camera to even record it. Instead just trust us; it was weird. Once we'd had our fill, we headed over to the Stroget for a bit of shopping. Unfortunately, we didn't see a whole lot to purchase mainly because of the exorbitant prices, but we did get our postcards and check out some of the chic little boutiques including one called Kitsch Bitch which I found hilarious (and had to get a picture of.) Who actually puts the word 'bitch' in a store name! Ballsy!

Nice to meet you

It was time to head over to one of the most unique settlements in Copenhagen in the Christianshavn area called Christiana. Christiana is an alternative community founded in an army barracks in 1971. It is a self-sufficient utopian society where police let the people rule and don't interfere. I have to say it was probably one of the coolest sights. Sadly pictures weren't allowed, but picture this: a mix of normal and bum-looking people huddled around a burning trash can for warmth, money exchanging hands underneath 'stall' looking overhangs which also appeared to double as homes. The most interesting sight was the hodgepodge of people. Old, young, scraggily, put-together, children, rogue pets; it was fascinating.

Forever trapped in the 60s

Once we'd had our fill of the dodginess, we headed out onto a parallel street along the water and decided to find a place to eat. Lonely Planet recommended Cafe Wilder in Christianshavn, and it was delicious. The smorrebrod which consisted of 2 very hearty sandwiches and salads. Although Eric and I were only hoping for a small bite, the huge sandwiches we chose disappeared quickly. Besides the food, Cafe Wilder had great hygge. What is hygge you might ask? Well, it's a feeling. It's a sense of 'friendly, warm companionship of a kind fostered when Danes gather together in groups of two or more although you can actually hygge yourself when no one else is around.' Most, if not all, of the cafes, bars and restaurants try to foster this type of atmosphere. After our bite, we had a bit of a wander around Christianshavn, then headed back to the hotel for a rest.

One of the best things about our hotel (besides the wall decor) was snack time for us (dinner for some) between 5-8 every night. They had quite a selection of small plates and even though we were going to dinner, I just had to sample the offering. The food turned out to be pretty average, but the hot chocolate, dare I say, rivaled some of the best I have ever had.

We headed out into the rain to dinner at Peder Oxe in the Stroget area for a bit of traditional Danish fare. Eric had been there with colleagues a few nights prior, thought it was good, safe and figured I would like it. He knows me well. Anywhere with a salad bar is right up my alley. The food was tasty (sea bass and duck) and the wine option was unique. If you order the house wine, it comes in a bottle with hash marks on the side. You are only charged for what you drink; brilliant idea!

In true Wilson fashion, we took a post-dinner stroll and also in true Wilson fashion, headed back to the hotel for the night.

Table wine to measure consumption...probably
best not to keep track.

Sunday morning brought more rain, boring, but it didn't stop us from exploring the city further. We first headed to the National Museum. Poor Eric loves museums, especially history-related, which is like my worst nightmare, but I decided to appease him by going for a little. Luckily, our time was limited as we wanted to make it to the Danish Design Center right when it opened in order to zizz through there before heading back to Nyhavn to catch the highly recommended canal cruise. The Viking section of the museum captured Eric's interest right away so that was where we spent our time.

Right next store was the Danish Design Center. It was smaller than I anticipated but featured some really cool innovations from the past 20 years as well as some eco-friendly ideas-in-the-works for the future. We left the Design Center with a parting gift. I just had to have this stone salt holder with a mini spoon. (Since we've been home it's been essential in the kitchen! Great buy!!)

We then headed back to Nyhavn for the canal tour. As I mentioned previously it came recommended from our cousins Sally and Jason who had lived in Copenhagen for 3 years as well as our guide book. The weather forced us inside the boat which took us around some of the major sights on the canals (The Royal Opera House, The Little Mermaid, The Bibliotek, and Church of our Saviour which has 400 steps on the outside of the tower which you climb 95 meters to the top). We've kind of struck out on canal tours as we are now 2 for 2 on not enjoying them all that much. We tend to do them on the last day and just don't seem to enjoy them as much as we feel we should. Oh well, we saw the major sights which we were happy to check off the list.

With our brollies open, we headed back to the hotel to collect our bags and head back to the airport. After a quick meal and some shopping to try and spend our last few crowns, we were heading back to London. Overall, I would say I liked Copenhagen. It was a mix of Amsterdam, Sweden and Munich, but had charm and was exceptionally clean. I probably wouldn't go back, but I would definitely recommend it to a friend.

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