From Iceland we made our way back to mainland Europe and Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. We landed at Copenhagen Airport and after negotiating the ticket machines were on our way to the Central Station 15 minutes away.
Our hostel was located a 5-10 minute walk from the Central Station which meant a brief walk through the city’s red light district. It wasn’t the most pleasant part of town and I just couldn’t help but think if you looked up the word ‘vulnerable’ in the dictionary you might find a picture of two foreign backpackers like us weighted down with heavy bags, reading a map of the streets!
The hostel was a pretty budget, run-down sort of place. They had only recently opened up (they close during the winter months) and our 12-bed dorm smelt so musty our clothes wreaked after our two night stay! There were no keys or swipe passes to the doors so security was dodgy to say the least and the cleaners thought it a good idea to start cleaning toilets and showers at 10am every morning. Let’s just say the best thing about this place was the staff on the front desk who were friendly and helpful, and cranked some decent tunes in the common area.
(Our hostel...and the town hall square)
One real positive was the cost of things had fallen dramatically after our stay in pricey Iceland. This was demonstrated perfectly by the fact that ice cold bottles of Carlsberg and Tuborg (two of the best known Danish brews) were on offer at the corner store for the equivalent of a mere euro (NZ$2 or so) so a couple of those went down a treat on our first night as were bantered with fellow travelers. Sheryl opted for vin de rouge.
After a decent night’s kip (only one other bed in the dorm being used always helps!) we set off on our only full day in the Danish capital, co-incidentally a public holiday, with the sun beating down on us. I hadn’t anticipated such warm weather…oh for a pair of shorts and some jandals!
We’d picked up a brochure for a series of ‘DIY Walking Tours’ and decided to do the Central City one first and others later if we had time. The tour started at Tivoli, the sort of random amusement park planted across the road from the busy central train station, and from there past the town hall square and down some of the quieter side streets.
Stop-offs along the way included a brief trip up the Rundetårn (Round Tower) for good 360˚ views of the city followed by a stroll through Kongens Have (King’s Garden) – a pleasant park which was busy with families and sun bathers.
(The view from the Rundetårn and Kongens Have)
(More from the beautiful Kongens Have...and orange terraced housing for the Danish Navy)
Eventually the tour lead us down to the waterfront and to the world famous ‘Little Mermaid’ sculpture. We laughed as an excited tourist keen to take a photo slipped on the rocks, nearly bailing into another couple, while carefully treading the rocks ourselves to avoid a dose of karma.
(The Little Mermaid...and the square in front of the Royal Palace)
From there we passed through Nyhavn which is probably the most pictured part of Copenhagen. The canal is surrounded by brightly coloured buildings and locals and tourists alike wine and dine in the outdoor areas of the numerous bars and restaurants. Still too pricey for the budget traveler mind so one quick photo and on we went.
(Women used to lure sailors on the rowdy Nyhavn, now tourists eat expensive meals and sip on wine)
Later we ventured into the Christianshavn district of town which is just east of the Inderhavnen River. This part of town reminded me a lot of Amsterdam with it’s canals, boats and well maintained narrow buildings on either side. It’s also the home of Christiania. Now this is quite a unique little spot. It was originally a military zone back in the 70s but when they moved out a bunch of young hippies moved in and claimed it as their own land.
The Danish Government rolled with it and ran it as a sort of social experiment. While at first I’m sure the group functioned as a hippy society would it is pretty clear now that it has deteriorated to a lawless playground of all sorts of dodgy doings. Signs are everywhere that photos are not allowed to be taken in Christiania. While they might claim it’s a stake against mainstream society (and annoying tourists) it’s mainly so nobody can document what goes on in there! From what I understand the police are busting in on the area more and more these days.
(The Christianshavn district....home of the Christiania playground)
To be fair the second half of our walk through the area was much more pleasant although their ‘free’ lifestyle basically meant there was a whole bunch of junk around the place.
We stopped for a kebab on the way back to the hostel in the evening. It had been a real scorcher of a day and we’d done a crazy amount of walking. My feet were stinging. Another couple of cold Carlsbergs would soothe the pain for sure.
No comments:
Post a Comment