Denmark Days part 1

Copenhagen!

Last Tuesday, I left the Netherlands for the Danish leg of my European adventure. I was staying at The Generator hostel in Copenhagen, and although I have literally no other hosteling experience to compare it to, I found it quite great (thanks Birte, for the recommendation!).

I was staying in an all female dorm with 3 bunk beds, a nice vanity, an ensuite bathroom, and lots of pink. When I first arrived, it was just me and two British highschool girls in the dorm, but later that evening we were joined by an older Greek lady named Anastacia, a young Japanese girl named Yuki who seemed to just sleep all the time, and Milla, from Helsinki, who ended up being my buddy for the next couple days.

Milla and I enjoyed some Tuborg beer in our hostel bar that night, and got to know each other a bit. She is working on her Math Masters in Finland, hoping to become a high school teacher, living with her Dutch bf who she met while traveling in New Zealand. There was supposed to be karaoke in the bar the bar that night, but it didn't end up happening. Too bad, but it was still a nice night.

After a really great sleep (I was super impressed with the comfy mattresses and fluffy duvets at the hostel), Milla and I got up and headed downstairs to meet the "free walking tour" that picks up at our hostel each morning. With a few fellow hostelers we wound our way down Strøget (Europe's longest pedestrianized shopping street. Weeeee!) and met more tourists taking the tour on the steps in front of town hall.

At about 11am our tour guide Igor (originally from Prague [holla], but 3 years in Copenhagen) began what would be a comprehensive tour of the city highlights that gave a really great overview of what it was all about. He started with some facts about the buildings around us. The Town Hall was modeled after a similar one in Sienna, Spain. The statue of Bishop Absalon above the entrance shows the important Danish figure holding a bishop's crook in one hand and a sword in the other. No ordinary man of the cloth, he was also a bad-ass warrior, whom we learned more about later. We also gazed upon the entrance to Tivoli, the world's second-oldest theme park and inspiration to one Walt Disney.

Next we took a walk past the home in which Carlsburg Brewery founder J.V Jacobsen was born, and looked across the canal at the former royal residence, Christianborg Slot, which has burnt down so many times its almost funny. But not funny. Obviously. Because fires aren't funny.

Bad Ass Bishop Absalon

Next up, we visited another Bishop Absalon statue. In this one, he was wearing chain mail and a helmet and riding into battle on a rearing horse. Igor told us the story of how the B.A bishop was the guy who finally rid Denmark of their pesky pirate problem, and started the country off on a lengthy success period of ruling the seas and nearby trade routes.

"New Harbour"

We wandered back to the area of Nyhavn. I feel as if this is the picture of Denmark everyone gets in their heads. Colorful houses and wooden sailboats, picture-perfect. At the front of the harbor is a large anchor in memory of the 2000 sailors who lost their lives in WWII. Denmark's navy valiantly sank all their ships rather than turn them over for Nazi use. Way to go, Denmark.

Next we saw a giant department store and hotel, the building on the spot where Hans Christian Andersen originally moved in to when he first came to Copenhagen, across from the royal theatre. We heard some cute stories about good old Hans C., including a tale revolving around his friendship with my homie Charles Dickens.

We took a quick coffee break at Baresso (I gather its the Starbucks of Denmark), and then continued on the tour. Our next stop was Amalienborg, the royal palace complex, consisting of 4 palaces. One for Queen Margrete and her hubby Henrik, one for crown prince Frederick, his Tasmanian wifey Mary and their four kids, one gallery-type palace open to the public, and one more where the royal family receives other royal families and dignitaries etc.

Igor told us some cool facts about the Queen, the dopest being the fact that she speaks 7 languages, which facilitated her being the person responsible for the Danish translation of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. What a cool lady!

After our walking tour (which took about 3 and a 1/2 hours), Milla and I stopped at a teeny tiny Italian restaurant for lunch. Then we took on the Strøget. We didn't finish the whole thing (it's huge), but tackled a good chunk of it. I got a cute dress for a steal at 199kroner.

Posing by a lovely fountain

After shopping, Milla led the way to a bar she'd discovered earlier in the week. It was called "Mikkeller", and. little bit off the beaten tourist path. I loved the atmosphere to bits. Very chill, with mismatched chairs and tables and isolated drawers hanging off the walls. They have a rotation of 20 craft beers on tap at any one time, and a super knowledgable bar staff. Milla works at an English pub at home, so she knew what she wanted (hoppy hoppy hoppy!), and the bartender was able to recommend to me a couple beers for "a non beer drinker who doesn't like anything bitter". Milla and I each bought a round. I tried a beer with a hint of lemon that I really enjoyed, and another that was almost sweet, but also really refreshing. One of Milla's choices was a port with chili overtones that was super interesting.

Me and Milla at Mikkeller

After a great time at the bar, Milla ad I stopped at an all-you-can-eat sushi place on the way back to our hostel for dinner. I was pretty impressed, sushi snob that I am. We took a bus back to the Generator and soon after our arrival there, went to bed.

The next day was another one with lots of walking. Stay tuned to read all about it!