Copenhagen II

On my first morning in Copenhagen, I set off with a fully charged camera for a walk around the city. The train station is located not far from city hall square, and I walked from there towards the waterfront to get in some quality time playing with my new camera. The old city feels very classical in style, narrow streets with cobblestones and colorful townhouse style old buildings rising not-too-high. Apparently the city was largely spared the massive destruction suffered by other large European cities during the Second World War, so many of the buildings are original, and many others have been rebuilt to match the originals. As you walk towards the inner harbor, however, Copenhagen’s reputation for being the northern capital of architecture and design begins to manifest itself in geometric glass buildings and secretive new construction projects shrouded in white plastic. It was a very interesting progression from old to new. Between the train station and the waterfront are also a few small green spaces, and the inner harbor is lined on one side, and sometimes both, with park space, walking paths, and cafes. The water is supposedly very clean and in summer plenty of people take advantage of the swimming areas that have been officially set up, one of which has stairs to climb up and jump into the water from. After spending my travel week in Scandinavia I do definitely want to come back in the summer, maybe then I’ll take a leap into the inner harbor. Unfortunately it was a little too chilly for that, but plenty of people were out walking their children in strollers on the nicely laid out stroller-wide smooth stones.

From the waterfront and its modern buildings – one of which was a Marriott, note to self – I walked a little farther to the area of the city known as Christianshavn. Criss-crossed by a series of canals, this is absolutely where I would want to live in Copenhagen. And I would want a boat. Some of the houses lining the water are old-style townhouses with beautiful windows and antique chimneys, while others are modern apartment buildings with glass balconies and contemporary architecture. Regardless, they all enjoy beautiful views of the tree-lined canals and quick access to their boats – which I hope they all have. It felt like stepping into a different world, different from the canals of St. Petersburg and Italy, quiet but still very much alive. I headed back towards the center a different way, after stopping to look at a beautiful church with a spiral spire and noting once again that I needed to come back in the summer when the stairs to the top would be open. I walked past the old royal exchange, the parliament building, plenty of monuments, and the small square that used to be the center square of the city, a small street just off the water and on a canal that is absolutely beautiful and lined with cafes. The cafes were prepared for the weather, since it wasn’t raining plenty of people were sitting outside near space heaters and wrapped up in fleece blankets that had been draped over their chairs, St. Petersburg could learn a few lessons here. If only the Danish kroner hadn’t been so ridiculous, I might have stopped for a coffee, instead I headed up one of the world’s longest shopping streets in the heart of the old city. Paved with cobblestones and open to pedestrians only, it reminded me very much of the Getreidegasse in Salzburg, which always makes me smile. Past the square where the gallows used to stand, and on to more shops where I found some souvenirs and, yes, guilty, bought a gorgeous leather purse for my own souvenir. On the way back to the hostel, by this point it was early evening and the weather was clearing a little so I wanted to take advantage of the relative warmth and clean air and go for a run, I walked past some IKEA electric cars all plugged in and ready for rent, a typical Danish family complete with bike, stroller, and dog, and a couple more parks showing serious signs that spring was knocking at the door. I got pizza with some of the guys who had arrived in my room during the day, one from Costa Rica and two from Switzerland, though the French speaking part. Fun guys, a little older than me and with very interesting stories to tell. I like that just because you have a steady job in Europe doesn’t mean that you don’t continue to travel often when you have a few days, just another part of the lifestyle I appreciate.

The next morning dawned sunny and warmer, with perfect timing since I had planned on making my way to the old fortress in the north of the city via the botanical gardens and the King’s park. The botanical gardens was my favorite, with a beautiful and huge gazebo that I’m sure was in full swing at the end of March, and flowers beginning to poke through the soil. I caught a glimpse of some of the buildings of the University, and made an impromptu stop in the national gallery. The royals have quite the collection, and there were also several special exhibitions of modern art that were quite refreshing if strange, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg is beautiful but usually a little lacking in shockingly modern art. So giant spheres filled with plant life and suspended from strings to create the shape of atoms in the atrium of the national gallery of Denmark were a breath of fresh air. The old fortress is very well preserved, with the layers of earthen ramparts and water, then walls – though not particularly impressive ones – surrounding the collection of buildings in the center. It is like a little enclosed city, with only two points of entry. Walking around the top of the ramparts with the sun on your face and the wind coming in from the sea was an amazing feeling, I think I would visit that place every week if I lived in Copenhagen. It was apparent that many did, plenty of people were jogging or walking their dogs. Just around the corner from the fortress is where the Little Mermaid statue sits, looking out to sea. Unfortunately, a few days before I arrived in Copenhagen this memorial to Hans Christian Anderson’s story had shipped off for the World’s Fair in China. Luckily I hadn’t had my heart set on taking my own picture of the statue, but I was disappointed not to be able to tag Brittany in the photo ☺ Just means I’ll have to go back, what a disappointment ☺. A gorgeous Anglican church sits next to the fortress, all grey stone and looking as though it was dropped in from London, and there is a solemn memorial to all those who fought in the Second World War. There was a wreath of poppies placed at the bottom of it, which brought back memories, and as I headed in towards the Danish Royal Palace I wondered whether it could possibly have been a year and a half since I was standing in front of the Foreign Office in London for the Remembrance Day Parade. Someone is pushing the hand of time forward much too fast.

On the way to the Palace I saw the Catholic church with its façade right on the street, a Russian Orthodox church complete with golden onion domes, and the Marble church. A relatively small church with a massive dome, it is a beautiful piece of architecture and also a peaceful spot in the middle of the city. Walking back into the sunlight and across the street, I was just in time to see the changing of the guard at the royal residence. The usual marching soldiers, with children on their parents’ shoulders speaking in lots of different languages. I couldn’t quite figure out why so many tourists from Mediterranean countries had chosen to vacation in Scandinavia at the end of March since they were always talking about how cold it was, but I’m still jealous of their ability to pick up and go to another part of Europe for their week off. Since it was Holy Week, there were more people around then would probably be typical for a week in March, which made the people watching more entertaining of course. On the way to the national museum I walked through yet another part of the city with a large square, this one featuring a majestic shopping complex and the royal opera house, though the whole square was extensively under construction so didn’t do too much poking around. The national museum was very interesting and well done, I am always amazed by the many similarities between cultures around the world, and learning about ancient Scandinavia proved to be quite a pleasant afternoon. There was also a special exhibit on coinage which always is fascinating to me, seeing coins someone used in Greece 1500 years ago or in England during the Blitz is somehow just as meaningful to me as the clothes that they wore, all different aspects of a different life I suppose. Also some incredible centuries old altarpieces very similar to those of northern Germany, just a little to the south. I spent the early part of the evening in the gardens by the government buildings, and treated myself to a late showing of A Single Man since in Scandinavia movies are shown in their original language with subtitles, rather than the awful dubbing that takes place in Russia. My feet were tired and I knew I had days of walking ahead of me in Stockholm, so I thoroughly enjoyed being entertained for two hours while drinking a Snapple and seeing if I could pronounce any of the words scrolling across the bottom of the screen. I walked back to the hostel along what had become my usual route past the pavilion on the little lake, and realized I had gotten to know another delightful city.

Unfortunately, it was already time for me to leave. Wednesday morning I got my things together and set out for the train station, snapping some last minute pictures of the Tivoli Garden amusement park and the many bike stands on my way. I got some croissants for the road, found my seat, and chatted with a couple of Americans who were also traveling through Northern Europe for a vacation. The husband was a teacher in an international school in Berlin, and the wife is still living in the US but comes over to Europe relatively often so they can travel together. They had been able to see a fair amount of Europe, and were curious about my time in Russia. It was a nice train ride, sometimes chatting other times looking at the small towns passing by outside the window. There really is nothing like traveling by train, and 5 hours was a perfect amount of time to see the countryside, meet some nice people, and catch a quick nap. Before I knew it, I was getting off in the center of a fog-enshrouded Stockholm, ready for the next adventure.