Hence the title of this blog- this city attracts people who only want fairy tales.
Coming into Copenhagen from Berlin by train, we had to stop at Odense and change to another train. It felt like preparing us to go into a different world. The train was more than an hour late, but my expectation for DB was already at the bottom.
Tivoli and the statue of H.C. Anderson is right next to Central Station. I saw Mr. Anderson for the first time, even though I practically grew up with his fairy tales. He is gazing at the gate of Tivoli, probably thinking "These happy kids. They have no idea how cruel the world can be out there." Don't get me wrong. I loved and still love all his stories, but they are really sad ones especially for children.
Summer is a pretty perfect time to visit Copenhagen ( except if you want to come here for Christmas beer, a stronger beer with caramel). The sun still shines at 8pm. I enjoyed the nice evening walk along the canal to say hello to the Little Mermaid.
She is a human sized bronze statue of the character. That's it. However, she has traveled to Shanghai World Expo to represent Denmark. The year 2013 also marks her 100 birthday, as a statue.
Here are some of my recommendations of the city.
Christiania
You simply HAVE to at least have a look at this community. If you are against smoking pot, walk along the small lake to get a feel of the place. If you are curious like myself, you will probably see more weed on the main street of Green Light District than all the former years combined. At every corner and every stand. Sold by bulk.
Since 1971, hippies and anarchists took over the abandoned military base and started their own community, or a city within a city, where they don't follow Danish Laws and try to be self sustainable. They are peaceful people minding their own business in a perpetual state of high on weed.
Three rules when visiting Christiania: no photo ( seriously no), no running ( otherwise they would think some drug dealer from outside is running from the police), and no hard drugs.
By the time I left Christiania, I was a bit high just from inhaling the air.
Christiania is easy to find. First find the tall tower of the Church of Our Saviour. Then walk along the road Prinsessegade toward the east.
The David Collection
Building up from the private collection of a successful lawyer and business man, this museum has amazing collection of Islamic arts and fine china. And it's free. The tablet to load English introduction is cool.
The Hirschsprung Collection
To appreciate the works of Danish painters, the Hirschsprung Collection behind the National Gallery is the place to go. It houses better Danish paintings than the National Gallery in my opinion. However, Danish painting is not my cup of tea. It is too rigid and academic.
Other European arts in the National Gallery are not impressive at all compared to museums in Paris or Madrid.
Free coffee by Copenhagen Fashion Week
During my stay, Copenhagen Fashion Week is on. I tried to pass by Town Hall Square (Radhuspladsen) whenever possible for people watching.
Sadly, people going to the fashion shows really didn't dress up to my expectation.
Then I saw this tiny car for distributing coffee to people queuing outside the fashion show. It's so cute that I went up to ask how much a cup of coffee costs. It was actually hired by the show. Apparently people in fashion can not live without their coffee. Neither could I. The guy from the coffee car made me one for free as well. How nice! Thanks to CFW I guess.
Best weekday to visit Copenhagen is Wednesday
I've no idea what's special about Wednesday to the Danes, but plan a trip to include that day. Most museums open longer hours, until 21:00 vs 17:00 normal hour. Some are free, such as the Hirschsprung Collection. Some are open to public, such as the green houses at the Botanical Garden.
More pork
For such a small country, Denmark has some very big brands. Maersk is the biggest shipping company and donated the 500Mn euro Copenhagen Opera House. Carlsburg is among the top 4 beer brands. Arla is also big in dairy industry. (My life in consulting really comes back all the time.)
And Denmark is the biggest pork exporter in EU. One local specialty of hotdog is put fried bacon outside of sausage. What's better than one pork product? Two pork products!
No wonder all the vegetarians moved to Christiania!
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