We set our sights on Copenhagen for a long weekend, and we weren’t disappointed. Our accommodation was a hit: we stayed at the Steel House in the city center. It’s an incredibly trendy hostel, where the reception and bar are practically one. Even though we arrived late at night, we were greeted by a real pub atmosphere at the counter, so we didn’t go to sleep right away – we sat down to eat a few snacks and downed a glass of Danish beer to set the tone for the weekend.
The next day we took in the city. Of course, we couldn’t miss the must-see attractions, such as Nyhavn, the famous canal with its colorful houses and old wooden boats, which you see on every postcard. It has an amazing atmosphere, even if there are a lot of tourists.
I really liked the City Hall building, which is a monumental yet friendly red brick style.
We also went up to the famous Rundetårn, or Round Tower. This is a very special building: it was built by King Christian IV in the 17th century as an observatory. The strangest thing about it is that there are no stairs! A wide, spiral ramp leads to the top. According to legend, it was built this way so that the king could reach the observation deck on horseback and his wife in a carriage. From above, the whole of Copenhagen lay before our feet.
As we walked along the cobblestone streets, it was interesting to find out where this city started. The history of Copenhagen began in the 12th century, when Bishop Absalon built a castle next to a small fishing village. Its name, København, originally meant “Merchants’ Port”, which is understandable, since maritime trade made it rich. It had a difficult past; in the Middle Ages it was raided several times by German trading cities (the Hanseatic League), and in the 18th century it was decimated by a huge plague and two devastating fires. Yet, the Danes were able to rebuild after every blow. The many elegant Baroque and Neoclassical buildings we saw during our walk were largely left over from their golden age in the 18th and 19th centuries, when the city finally became one of the cultural and political centers of Scandinavia.
We got hungry during our long walks, and of course we tried the local “street food”, the famous Danish hot dog at a stall. It was simple, but it was the best choice there and then.
For lunch, however, we went to more serious waters. One day we had dinner at a restaurant called The Shrimp. It is an incredibly nice, stylish place, where the seafood was fresh and the service was professional. Another time, however, we wanted something completely different, so we ended up at Slurp Ramen Joint. I’m not exaggerating, we had some of the best ramen of our lives there – thick broth, perfect noodles.
We also went to the beach to pay our respects at the Little Mermaid statue. Although we knew it wasn’t a huge monument, we still had to see the symbol of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale.
One of the most interesting parts of the weekend was visiting Christiania. This is Copenhagen’s “free town”, a self-proclaimed autonomous district in the Christianshavn district. Its story began in 1971, when hippies and squatters (arbitrary squatters) occupied an abandoned military barracks. They have their own laws, their own flag, and have developed a completely unique, alternative lifestyle. As we walked among the graffitied walls and uniquely built wooden houses, it was like entering another dimension – a slightly chaotic, very colorful, and extremely thought-provoking place.
Copenhagen was exactly what we imagined it to be: modern, bike-friendly, friendly, and full of surprises.