The Scandinavia Diaries (Day 6): A whistle-stop tour of Copenhagen

Hej, and welcome to the sixth and final post in my ‘Scandinavia Diaries’ series. I actually arrived back home a couple of days ago, but for one reason or another, I am only now getting round to editing and uploading this article. The last day of the trip was slightly manic – we had a plane to catch in the evening, and when is that ever not a source of stress?! – but nonetheless one of my favourites.

Although we were based in Sweden, Copenhagen Airport happened to be the closest suitable place from which to fly back to England, so we decided to spend that morning and afternoon doing a whistle-stop tour of the city. My mum, brother, and I all split up, and went off to explore Denmark’s capital in our own special way. Over to my past self now for a more in-depth report on what I got up to in those five precious hours!

17:30

Hello from somewhere up in the sky! I’m tired, achy, and rather sunburnt, but I’ve had a brilliant day exploring Copenhagen. My mum, brother, and I all wanted to visit the city before going to the airport, so we left Lund just after nine, and arrived on the other side of Øresund Bridge just after ten. Early mornings are not my cup of tea, so as you can imagine, I was pretty cranky during the journey, but as soon as I set foot on the sunny platform in Denmark’s capital, I was raring to go.

After putting our suitcases in lockers, we all agreed to go our separate ways and meet up again at three o’clock. The Statens Museum for KunstSMK (Denmark’s National Gallery) was top of my to-do list, so I left the station via the Tivoli Gardens exit. I had a quick look at this amusement park from the outside, but since it wasn’t yet open, all I could see was stationary rides. Still, they seemed pretty fun, and I hope that one day I’ll be able to try some of them out!

Round a corner, I came across the Copenhagen City Hall, a magnificent structure, which, that day, had some sort of fitness competition going on outside it. I stopped briefly to watch various men climbing up ropes, and various women doing sit-ups with weights attached to their chests. Oh, to be sporty like them…

After walking round a shopping area for a bit (and rejoicing when I saw a branch of Flying Tiger in its city of origin), I eventually found myself standing in front of Copenhagen Cathedral. It looked rather more like a Greek temple from the outside, with its imposing columns, but inside it was just as church-like as any other house of worship. I walked quickly up and down the aisle, admiring the statues lining the walls as I went, then crossed the road to see another religious building.

Sankt Petri Church – the oldest building in the city centre – was quite a bit smaller than the cathedral, but rather more charming because of it. I enjoyed wandering around its shady interior, gazing up at the vaulted ceiling and ornate chandeliers. Outside, I was enchanted by an adorable school, Sankt Petri Schule, the playground of which jutted into the church's courtyard.

After wandering past the main building of Copenhagen University, and the Great Synagogue (which was sadly guarded by policemen), I stumbled across one of the city’s most visited sights: the seventeenth-century Round Tower. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll know that I love seeing places from above, so I couldn’t resist buying a ticket (only 25 DKK – about £3!) to climb up this structure. The queue was luckily pretty short, and within five minutes, I was beginning my ascent.

Rather unusually, this tower didn’t have a staircase (at least not until you were near the top), but instead a sloping pathway. This made climbing it quite a lot less tiring than usual, and I didn’t suffer from the shortness of breath that such activities normally induce in me.

Along the way, I came across various rooms: the old library hall, where a modern art exhibition was running; a former garderobe (which was surprisingly quaint, with its little candle lantern); and a bell loft. Near the roof of the building, there was also a small nook where you could stand on a glass floor above a twenty-five-metre drop. I’m not afraid of heights, but I still couldn't quite bring myself to do this!

The views from the top of the Round Tower were fantastic! Signposts were dotted all around the balcony to help visitors identify the various buildings they could see. In the distance, I caught sight of the Rosenborg Castle, and suddenly remembered that I was supposed to be visiting the nearby art museum! Back down the tower I went, and out into the street.

On my way to the SMK, I stopped very briefly to see the castle and the tranquil King's Garden just outside it. By this time, the sun was at its highest, so many people had gathered in this park to picnic. I crossed over a bridge, and saw some huge fish swimming about in the moat-like waterway below. How I would love a refreshing dip, myself!

And then – after allowing myself to be distracted a countless number of times – I finally arrived at my destination. I was amused to see that chairs had been installed in the fountain just in front of the institution. A number of people had taken their place in them, and were cooling their feet off in the refreshing water.

I didn’t have a huge amount of time to explore the museum, so unfortunately I had to whiz round most of the rooms. However, I think I got a pretty good feel for the place, and if anything, the shortness of my visit gives me a great excuse to come back in the future. The modern art section was by far my favourite, and I especially loved trying to wrap my head around the surrealist works. Also up there was the main hall area, with its marble sculptures and paper lanterns.

At one point, I came across a huge orange sign that read, in block capitals, “Foreigners, please don't leave us alone with the Danes”. I’m still not entirely sure what it meant – although, of course, it must be largely to do with the country's immigration problems – but I took one of the free posters lying next to it, and will be sure to hang it in my university room, come October.

After charging my phone in the museum café for a bit (cheeky, I know), I made my way back outside, and started in the direction of Nyhavn. This waterfront, with its gorgeous colourful houses, is the sight you’ll see on the front cover of any guidebook, and it’s as beautiful in person as it is in the photos. There were, of course, crowds of tourists there at the same time as me, but since I was one of them, I couldn’t really complain.

I paused, to the right of the canal, in the courtyard of the Kunsthal Charlottenborg, a large mansion that has now taken on the function of a modern art museum. In this outside area, I found a small exhibition, featuring Brexit and EU-related posters. As a strong ‘Remainer’, I was very pleased to see this, and totally agreed with all the points the notices were trying to get across.

After this, I walked to the far end of the harbour, and, since three o’clock was fast approaching, decided to head along the river, back towards the railway station. As usual, I made a few detours along the way. The first of these was to visit the outside of the Christiansborg Palace, which is currently the seat of the Danish government, and was, in the past, the main residence of the country’s monarchs. Despite being half covered in scaffolding, it was a splendid sight to behold, and I enjoyed my tour of its exterior.

I also stopped just outside the building to browse a small flea market. I knew I couldn’t buy anything – I didn't have any cash on me, and my suitcase was full to the brim – but I still allowed myself to wander from stall to stall, admiring the costume jewellery, books, and vintage record players.

My last port of call was, I regret to say, McDonald’s. (In my defence, I was sweltering after my long walk, and was desperate to get my hands on whatever cheap, cold drink I could find). Armed with a mango frappuccino, I made my way slowly back to the station, and plonked myself down on a bench to wait for my mum and brother.

All good things must come to an end

And now, just a few hours later, I’m on a plane back to England. This holiday has gone by in a flash, but as they say, time flies when you’re having fun. A huge thank you to my mother for organising this fantastic trip – I'm not sure I know a better itinerary planner – and to her and my brother for being such great travel companions! Scandinavia, you’ve been an absolute dream, and I’ll definitely be back.

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