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Copenhagen Canals Arriving in Copenhagen it looked like I might be going back across the Oresund bridge into Sweden - a not too helpful tourist office (which generally seems to be the case) insisted there were no beds left in Copenhagen but they could get me somewhere either in Sweden or 40 minutes further into Denmark, well thanks.... I didn't believe the city could be so full on a rainy week in May and eventually found a room in a bit of a basic but central hostel through the 'Use-It' office - a tourist info service directed at backpackers, and very helpful they were too.
Copenhagen seems to be made up of building styles culled from most other countries in Europe. There are bits that wouldn't look out of place in Paris, Berlin, London of maybe even St Petersburg, though the most noticeable influence is Dutch with the colourful canal side streets. Another influence from that nation is the popularity of cycling as a mode of transport, great to see a city with a properly planned cycle nework and so many people using it (I think the Danes are second only to the Dutch in the cycling stakes, but then it does
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Copenhagen Skyline help if your country is flat as a pancake...). The best thing from a visitors point of view is the free bike service, basically like shopping trolleys the bikes are available from racks all over the city. Stick in a 20kr coin and off you go. They're a bit basic, 1 gear and no immediately obvious brakes...I almost had to throw myself off to avoid sliding past a red light and into the middle of a busy dual carriageway, after which I discovered the brakes are operated by pedalling backwards! The other important lesson I learned on my first day is not to let go of the bike until you're sure you don't need it any more - after about 10am every bike disappears from every rack and that's it until about 5pm, unless you're very very lucky.
I had a brief cycle tour around the inner city for the first morning and then after foolishly surrendering my bike for lunch ended up on foot for the rest of the day. A short but pleasant visit to the National Gallery and then nothing too exciting - bit of shopping and doing my laundry and then headed out to Cafe
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Star Chart - Rundetarn Mambo for the rest of the evening (I was sharing a dorm with a US couple but while nice they didn't seem particularly sociable - no big night out this time). The next day I headed out to Christianhavn, just across the water to the east. The old part is the most Dutch looking part of the city with a maze of canals, while the north end of the island is a really good example of just how attractive modern low rise apartments can be (unlike the usual UK 'expensive rabbit hutch with tiny windows' approach). Some really interesting ideas and locations including one with a canal running through the centre of the building (see pic)! Coming back down the other side I passed through Christiania, Copenhagen's 'alternative' community housed in what were formerly army barracks. It's wasn't really as interesting as perhaps I was hoping - while it's good to see a big city allowing some of it's inhabitants to put two fingers up to the interests of big business - the selfconciously hash obsessed graffitti and signs, reggae and beads and 'crazee' colours of the houses all seemed a cliche. A sort of hippy theme park just laid
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Christianborg Palace on for the tourists, and judging by the amount of toothless wonders drinking themselves into oblivion well before midday and trying to cadge any change out of passers-by the whole 'alternative' way doesn't seem to have any more answers than more conventional systems.
Back in the city centre, and with a bit of sun out a trip up the Rundetarn to take in the city skyline seemed like a good call. It's an unusual building, serving as an astronomical observatory since 1642. To get to the top instead of steps there's a big spiralling ramp inside the tower - like a cobbled multi-storey car park... The view at the top gives a good impression of how small Copenagen is - powerstations, port facilities and other heavy industry are visible all around on the edge of the city proper. That said it's still a nice view with the many ornate spires and domes of the various churches and palaces (and the Copenhagen stock exchange...), while just visible out to the east is the low grey smudge along the horizon - Sweden across the water.
I wanted to check my email before dinner and was pointed in the direction of
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Cool Flats (Kayaks stored either side of teh steps) the Laundromat Cafe out in Vesterbro (or was it Norrebro??). It's such a cool little place I ended up staying the rest of the evening (Cuban toast - very nice), and chatting to Tora, a local student theology with the intention of becoming a priest (I'm sure female priests shouldn't be that pretty...). A nice relaxing end to Copenhage before another long day on the train to Stockholm.
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