Trip Reports - I'm Bored. I'm Going to© Copenhagen.




chexfan
Jan 14, 03, 11:34 pm
Well the Working title to this trip report was “All I Wanted was to see that stupid statue of the mermaid on the rock in the water” But I thought to just make this the second report in the I’m Bored© Trip Report Series.

Actually this is just a supplement to the I’m Bored. I’m Going to Estonia (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/003415.html) trip report. So I Highly recommend that you read that as a prerequisite for this trip report!
***********
…After being negged for finding a place to stash my carry-on w/ Estonian goods I made my way down the stairs from the SAS Lounge. I changed the remainder of my EEKs into DKKs and bought a return ticket to København H.

Now, I had been looking through my possessions to find Goldlust’s telephone number, but I simply couldn’t find it anywhere. This upset me.

Anyways, it cost 42DKK (whatever that is worth in real money). The train left at 9:06 and was at Centraal Station in 12 minutes! From here I walked up the stairs and guessed to go left or right. I went to the left and this proved to be the right decision as I soon passed the Tivoli Gardens. To be honest, I had no clue what to expect of this place besides knowing that it was closed. It really was, just, an amusement park.

After I passed Tivoli, I made a left on Hans Christian Andersen Blvd. and walked past the Rådhus down to Benneweis Circus. From here I circled back to the Rådhuspladsen and made my way down Vester Voldgade to the Strøget- the shopping street of Copenhagen. I stopped at the first tourist shop and picked up three postcards. I then continued down one the streets that make up the Strøget, Frederiksbergadde. I stopped at a coffee shop and grabbed a latte, being introduced back to normal (i.e. Western) prices. I wrote my postcards and mailed them off at the Postal Shop on the Købmagergade. I walked by the Helligåndskirken church, which is the oldest church in Copenhagen.

I then ended up at Kongens Nytorv, which was just a square, or so it seemed.

From here, I checked out the little canal thing near Thott’s Mansion and made my way down Bredgade to my destination, the Mermaid. On the way down Bredgade, I stopped by to check out Frederikskirke a marble knock off of St. Peter’s and some museum.

Now mind you, I am carrying a very large carry-on that should have simply, been checked! But I didn’t, b/c I didn’t want to wait an extra 15 minutes in SEA. So I keep on going to my goal switching shoulders, the mermaid. When I got to the park, a sign pointed me to den Lille Haufrue but I could have figured that out. That was the only sign and the path then forked! So I started walking around and stumbled into some military installation. I didn’t get shot at, but I was quickly approached. When I told them my destination very bad instructions were given and I was shown out.

So I tramped around some more and finally figured out the logical direction to the mermaid. And then I just kept walking and walking and voila! There she was. The most unimpressive statue I have ever seen and set as a goal. But heck, I saw it. Good for me!
I made my way back from den Lille Haufrue toward Amalienberg Plads. It was just about 11:30 and I didn’t feel like waiting 30 minutes, so I would miss the changing of the guard. Oh well. I saw the mermaid! I guess I can’t get too greedy on a 3 hour visit in Denmark! From here I went down back towards Kongens Nytorv and onto Højbro Plads trying to get back to Centraal Station. I was getting hungry and was desperately looking for one of those famous hot dogs, but no luck.

Tired and hungry, I got back to København H and surprisingly figured out by myself (heck, I am a smart guy) how to get back to the Lufthavn all by myself. The conductor on the train approached me for my ticket and inquired in Danish why I didn’t validate it. I pleaded innocence and showed a great American accent and he instructed me what to do and punched it for me.

We made it back to CPH in 12 minutes and I was on my way to the SAS Business Lounge!

The size of Copenhagen definitely impressed me as did the architecture and people. It was sad that this was a tease as it has definitely spurred my interest to investigate this city even deeper!


[This message has been edited by chexfan (edited 01-14-2003).]


ozstamps
Jan 15, 03, 7:14 am
Höw dò yóü måkè äll thºsê wÄcky æccéñts Çhêx ¿¿?¿¿

chexfan
Jan 15, 03, 2:05 pm
It appears as though that you have gained a solid grasp on "unique characters"! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Plus, my keyboard has 57,000 buttons for nearly all imaginable characters I may ever need to use! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif


ozstamps
Jan 15, 03, 9:39 pm
I am working on being an apprentice Arturo and these things help. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

------------------
~ Glen ~

Come and visit (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum13/HTML/000502.html) the most ** FRIENDLY FORUM ** on FlyerTalk. No flame wars, no personal abuse, no substance abuse. Not much of anything really!

Morrissey
Jan 15, 03, 9:43 pm
Did you buy some chewing tobacco???

Buster CT1K
Jan 17, 03, 5:17 am
Chexfan: thanks for the Estonian and Danish trip reports! Query: what is a famous hotdog in Copenhagen? What have you heard about it? I love exotic hotdogs :-)

ozstamps
Jan 20, 03, 5:57 pm
Shame you did not link up with Goldlust. He took Joh and I on a walking tour in June, which included Christiania. Quite amazing. Like a Safeway outdoor section - openly selling every kind of ganja and hashish and joints of all shapes and sizes, magic mushrooms etc, etc, that you can imagine .... the dealers are the "Police".

Christiania, Copenhagen's experimental "free society." This independently governed borough has existed since the early 1970s, when a group of young and homeless people squatted on an abandoned military installation and set up an alternative community that would live off the land it occupied, pay no taxes, and police itself.

Christiania has had lots of problems, but it still exists, ever controversial. Laws are comprised of about 10 rules, such as "no guns" and "no hard drugs," that make up the societal code. A council of elected officials meet regularly to discuss community issues and resolve problems.

But what really attracts attention is its drug tolerance. Hash is sold openly from booths in a market on "Pushers' Street." The Danish police tolerate the hash dealers, and in turn, the dealers operate as the borough's police, keeping the streets free of criminals and hard drug dealers.

We took a two-hour walking tour, past makeshift homes, through local businesses, and of course, down "Pusher's Street." Booth after booth of men and women hawked slices off of brown hash bricks from all over the world. If I thought my parents would be shocked, I was disappointed. They might as well have been walking through a bake sale, the way they politely examined the wares from a distance.

http://www.semyan.com/Post10/denmark1.htm

gnaget
Jan 23, 03, 12:56 am
A couple of comments for people who want to do a similar quick visit....

You can safely store your carry-on at the "garderobe" in between terminals 2 and 3 after the car rentals.

If you cross town to the Kgs Nytorv area then you can take the brand new Metro and connect to the airport train at Oerestad. It saves the long walk back tp Kbhvn H. Plus.... you can hop off the Metro at Christianshavn and visit Christiania. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif In addition to what has been described there is actually a high end restaurant there called "Loppen" (The Flea).

ozstamps
Jan 23, 03, 1:20 am
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by gnaget:

.. you can hop off the Metro at Christianshavn and visit Christiania. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif In addition to what has been described there is actually a high end restaurant there called "Loppen" (The Flea).</font>

Well THAT is a place where the cookies and brownies would be a "must have" order I imagine. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif



------------------
~ Glen ~

Come and visit (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum13/HTML/000502.html) the most ** FRIENDLY FORUM ** on FlyerTalk. No flame wars, no personal abuse, no substance abuse. Not much of anything really!

mauld
Jan 23, 03, 6:52 am
What a great (& timely) report! I'm going to HEL (with side trip to Tallin) in April, but have arranged for a 6 hr layover in CPH. Think I'm make a print out of this and "follow in your footsteps" http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

GK
Jan 23, 03, 2:15 pm
I recommend sitting and drinking beer in the Nyhavn (just on way back into town from the (very) little mermaid. If you don't fancy Copenhagen, then Malmo is only 20 mins the other way on the train, in Sweden, so maybe you could do two more countries in the one stopover.

chexfan
Jan 24, 03, 9:58 am
mauld- on such a short visit I'd recommend saving yourself 30+ minutes and NOT going to visit the Mermaid (den Lille Haufrue). http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

GK- on the way back to CPH I realized that Malmö was only a short train ride away. The notion of visiting Sweden did cross my mind! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

epi231
Jan 24, 03, 11:33 am
I believe Malmo is on the same train line that goes between Copenhagen and the airport.
Malmo struck me as being somewhat small and quaint, while Copenhagen is definitely a great city with very many things to do and see.

The minor annoyance about traveling between Copenhagen and Malmo is that the currencies are in fact different; however, there was no passport control of any sort.

Also, if one is not up for a big city, I strongly recommend visiting the castles in the vicinity of Copenhagen. The trains are very frequent, and the castles and surrounding gardens are really very impressive. One (Helsingor, I believe?) is in a very quaint village on the coast and is particularly beautiful.

As a side note, if I had only realized that Malmo and Copenhange are so close when I made my trip to Denmark from London last April, I would have booked with Ryanair into Malmo instead of EasyJet into Copenhagen, saving 40-50 pounds or so.

mauld
Jan 24, 03, 3:40 pm
Hmmmm, decisions, decisons-- My EWR-CPH flight lands at 6:50am, and I take off for HEL at 14:25pm. Given I'll drop my carry on off at SAS lounge I just might be able to do both cities (abit briefly) by first going into CPH (bypassing the Little Mermaid), touring around, then back on the train for a very brief tour of Malmo, with a return to the airport. Its that or sitting around the lounge for 5-6 hours http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

techgirl
Jan 25, 03, 1:41 pm
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by mauld:
Hmmmm, decisions, decisons-- My EWR-CPH flight lands at 6:50am, and I take off for HEL at 14:25pm. Given I'll drop my carry on off at SAS lounge I just might be able to do both cities (abit briefly) by first going into CPH (bypassing the Little Mermaid), touring around, then back on the train for a very brief tour of Malmo, with a return to the airport. Its that or sitting around the lounge for 5-6 hours http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif </font>

Mauld - I'm going to attempt to do this in a couple of weeks so I'll let you know how it works out. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

gnaget
Jan 25, 03, 2:42 pm
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ozstamps:
Well THAT is a place where the cookies and brownies would be a "must have" order I imagine. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif
</font>

Actually, Loppen and other places that serve alcohol went legit in the early 90s with proper liquor licenses, so they have to enforce a no cannabis policy. Back in the good old days it was a free-for-all with bars that operated illegally and sold non-taxed booze.

Loppen is immediately on the right as you enter. I seriously recommend it for a good meal. There is also a club there later at night with live music -- on a different floor in the building.
http://www.aok.dk/E/V/CPHDK/0001/38/68/

The place for "smoking" is called Månefiskeren (Moonlight fisherman) and they don't serve alcohol.

Another classic bar there is called Nemoland.

If you want to go to a Danish bar where time stood still since 1949 then go to "Eiffel Bar" in the adjacent Christianshavn neighborhood.

gnaget
Jan 25, 03, 2:55 pm
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by mauld:
touring around, then back on the train for a very brief tour of Malmo, with a return to the airport. Its that or sitting around the lounge for 5-6 hours http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif </font>

I would skip Malmo on such a short trip. I used to go there quite often because of family but with all due respect there is not that much to do or see. Especially in the winter....

Also, note that the R/T fare is nearly $20 because of the bridge as compared to the negligible cost of going into Copenhagen.

JimC
Jan 25, 03, 6:58 pm
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by gnaget:
I would skip Malmo on such a short trip. I used to go there quite often because of family but with all due respect there is not that much to do or see. Especially in the winter....

Also, note that the R/T fare is nearly $20 because of the bridge as compared to the negligible cost of going into Copenhagen.</font>


Since I lived in Lund, I'll agree with this. There's a few tourist attractions (like the castle) but Copenhagen is far more exciting to the short-term visitor. The Danes hardly ever come across, even with the bridge there now and all the Malmö ads in Copenhagen.



SEO by vBSEO 3.2.0