Twas late January 2013 when I had quit my job in London to embark on a spot of travel before returning home to Sydney after my year-long working holiday. Budget airline flight booked and excessively large suitcase packed, (with room for shopping of course!) I wearily dragged myself out of bed at two o'clock in the morning to get myself to Stansted airport for one of the horrendously early flight timeslots that unfortunately accompany those enticing price-tags. A close shave with a night bus changeover and a seat next to a passenger who sounded like he was successfully hacking up a lung later and I finally landed in Copenhagen; a city which resembled a perfectly white frosted cake, with a dusting of icing sugar...
I stayed budget concious and checked into Danhostel Copenhagen Downtown, one of the only hostels located within walking distance to pretty much every main attraction of central Copenhagen. I will admit to an arduous journey locating this elusive hostel, with extremely vague directions given on the website/email, combined with scarce WiFi access to load Google maps. However, I eventually resigned myself to trusty McDonald's WiFi and zoomed through the freezing air to my home for the next few nights, a 4-bed female dorm.
The dorm itself was small but relatively comfortable. I'm no fussy traveller and will make the best of what I get presented with, so the room was average on my scale. Clean and comfortable, I was happy and so was my wallet. Additionally, the hostel's lobby was atmospheric and a sense of community and a general welcoming vibe resonated throughout the lively space, tucked away neatly down a quiet side street of the Danish capital.
My visit consisted of just 5 nights, never enough to really delve into the depths of a city, but, alas, my ever-underweight wallet was to blame. I should really put her on some sort of bulking diet. Visiting during winter did have its advantages however, one of those being: no crowds. Literally zero. Some streets were actually eerily quiet at certain times, (bar middle of the night) but was overall much more convenient, both transport and attraction-wise.
First stop was Strøget, the world's longest pedestrian shopping street for a spot of retail therapy. All your typical European chain stores made their appearance, as well as the Danish department store Illum, lit up colourfully and nestled in a prime location on the corner of Strøget and Købmagergade, reminiscent of Selfridges London. Various food outlets dotted the popular street and its surrounding shopping area, with everything from traditional Danish smørrebrød (open sandwiches) and frikadeller (meatballs), to a typical burger and fries.
After watching a fascinating changing of the guard at Amalienborg palace, I made a bee-line for the famous Little Mermaid statue. Having dreamed of being a mermaid as a little girl (as I'm sure most did) after having been read the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairytale, this attraction was highly anticipated by my inner, glittery-pink 6 year-old self. The statue was a moderately-sized, elegant representation of the tale's protagonist, delicately perched atop a waterside rock; as if just having popped up for a spot of sunbathing between treasure-hunting with Flounder. The walk along the coastal area is also rather picturesque and definitely gets a thumbs up in my book.
Speaking of Hans Christian Andersen, I knew I wanted to make a pilgrimage of sorts to his place of rest at Assistens Cemetery in the Nørrebro district. Catching a quick metro train (the metro is fabulous by the way; runs efficiently and 24 hours a day), I eventually located the cemetery and began my quest for the grave of my favourite childhood author. Being difficult to navigate and having misleading signs, Assistens did not facilitate this quest to the best of its ability, however, my wrong turns often resulted in discoveries of fascinatingly beautiful headstones. Andersen's grave itself was highly maintained and laden with wreaths and notes from admirers. A touching scene.
On my final day in Copenhagen I decided to catch the train over to Malm
ö, Sweden, traversing the Öresund bridge, but I was rather disappointed. Perhaps it was the bitter cold that dampened my mood, but, while there was some interesting architecture, Malm
ö did not strike me as very different from Copenhagen. Although, I did find the completely frozen solid, mid-spout water fountain in Gustav Adolf Square quite novel (clearly an Australian.) I would only recommend this day-trip if you are staying in Copenhagen for a more extended period.
So, Copenhagen. You were stunning, impressively wintery and culturally rich. I only wish the beautiful Tivoli Gardens and theme park had been open, but unfortunately it was closed for the winter season. Sad face.
And now, pictures!
