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The Other Half surveyed her lounge full of the finest mid-century designs and it dawned on her that she had never set foot in their country of origin. I respectfully pointed out that she had declined the trip for the great victory over FC Copenhagen in a dreary November in 1998. The chance to see Brian Laudrup break the hearts of his countrymen did not capture her imangination. Alas, it made Brian homesick and we never saw much of him after that night. She remained keen and it was obvious that my current aversion to places that sell expensive beer was going to be tested.
We grew up with Denmark in our consciousness. We didn't realize it at the time, but who can forget Danish bacon? Wasn't all bacon Danish? As it said in the advert, Sizzle. Butter wasn't butter if it wasn't Lurpack! The model of drinking man was cast as a marauding Viking, monotonously chanting Skol, Skol, Skol. Skol ironically would never reappear until I went to Malta a couple of years back.
Five nights in Copenhagen were duly researched. I closed my eyes and pressed the "book" button on the internet. The research suggests Copenhagen has
done a good marketing job on itself and now tops the poll of the world’s happiest capital. Denmark as a country has never dropped below 3
rdplace in the happy country stakes since the inception of polls. The global happiness survey by the way last suggested that citizens of Burundi were least satisfied with their lot. The self-promotion suggests that the relatively small city of a mere 1.2 million people lead a fantasy life in amongst cobbles streets and pretty canals, before heading home to their super cool apartments full of amazing Scandinavian furniture and lights. Indeed, I am sure all of this is possible for some – at a price. In 1998, I remember my trip being expensive. Today, the strength of the £ sterling will probably leave us poorer European cousins with our noses pressed on the glass window as the beautiful people go about being happy.
My football watching season finished in a torrential downpour under the picturesque Richmond Castle on 27
th May, but my trip to Denmark meant that the close season would be short this summer. I had already penciled in a trip across The Bridge to watch Malmo FF in action in
Danish Design Museum
Finn Juhl Cheiftan Sofa the Swedish Superliga, should anything else not present itself. The top division thoughtfully plays on in Sweden, whilst most of Europe is heading for a beach. However my gamble fixture came off and Lyngby pulled a home game in their Europa League Qualifying Round to coincide with our trip. The football sorted, I could concentrate on other aspects of the trip.
The weather was horrendous on the journey to Gatwick. The hot summer to date - reminiscent of 1976 and beach nights after school - crashed in a torrential downpour. The surface water on the road was atrocious. A car aquaplaned into the crash barrier on the M23 a few miles before the airport and came to a halt facing back towards Croydon. I slowed down to prevent another catastrophe. Happiness was in evidence early the next morning. The rain had stopped. The Easyjet plane was ready and waiting to go. We were joined by Bangor City. The draw had given Lyngby a game against the good Citizens of North Wales. Dinas Bangor City. The players mingled with the other passengers in their Kappa training tops. Gary Taylor-Fletcher was the only recognisable player. He was winding down his career,
Copenhagen
Marble Church lending experience to what a former colleague would describe as the League of Sheep side, after a career that had gone full circle from non-league footie to the Premier League and back.. I doubt he got to play in Europe at Blackpool. A few pairs of very large headphones appeared in true footballer style. They told in no uncertain terms to remove them for take off. It was hard to imagine Real Madrid starting their European campaign for the season on Easyjet.
The plane touched down 10 minutes early. The first port of call was the Information Desk in Arrivals to collect our pre booked Copenhagen Cards. See more. Pay less. The slogan is spot on. The cards seem expensive, but when you do the sums it is a no brainer. I was most surprised to see just how many people paid cash at museums and attractions over the next few days. We had opted for the 120 hour card, so that would cover us including the transport all the way back to the airport on our return. Lufthavn Airport is on the island of Amager and a mere 20 minute journey on the Metro into the city centre.
We located the M2 line and set off. We hopped off at Kastrup to take some photos of the Planetarium. The ticket inspectors were checking the train at the next station. The Copenhagen Cards attracted an approving nod. We alighted and went to a furniture warehouse. A strange choice, I hear you say, but it makes a change rather than me rambling on about football. The Other Half was able to see designs only visible to intrepid Internet searchers back home and it was all here - 1000s of items - all laid in a huge warehouse. A little piece of furniture heaven full of Hans Wegner, Arne Vodder, Finn Juhl, Arne Jacobson and many more. We spied a Sibast Mobler Model 29 and another and another. 92000 DKK. I looked interested. The price dropped to the lowest possible of 85000 DKK. A still eye watering sum, equivalent to over £10,000! The half hour perusal actually saved me money, as a Louis Poulsen light the Other Half had been hankering after for months was dismissed as not quite what she was looking for. We headed back to the Metro. Four stations later, we landed in Kongens Nytorv - King's Square
- and it was a 5 minute walk to the hotel.
Wake Up Copenhagen is a budget choice and the subject of much derision in many reviews for charging for every conceivable extra.. A cluster of 4 PH5 lights illuminated 4 Swan chairs beneath at each end of the reception area. Budget clearly had a different meaning in Denmark! I went to reception to get a 20 DKK coin for the luggage lockers. ... Wake Up doesn't store bags . Check in wasn't until 3 pm, so change secured I was a bit taken aback when it was announced that a room was ready and available. We dropped the bags in the compact room, which is about as close as Europeans get to offering a Japanese style capsule and went to explore. It had been an early start, so we made our way towards Copenhagen University looking for a recommended cheap eatery. The actual University is now spread out across the city, but the old section still houses the law and theology faculties. I use the word loosely ....... nothing in Denmark is really cheap. The Paludan Boge - bookshop - gives a good impression with a
huge Poulsen Artichoke light hanging above the tables. An executive beefburger clocked in at about £12. A pint of Tuborg or Carlsberg was £5. They were both high quality. Service is efficient and courteous and as always in Denmark, staff can switch into English or German or whatever is required at the drop of a hat. Prices are high, but not in that southern European make it up as they go along and rip you off way. The price is the price.
We gained free entry to the City Tower with our Copenhagen Cards. Let the savings commence. The Other Half gets nervous about lots of steps, so was pleasantly surprised to see a cobbled ramp suitable for driving a horse and carriage up in the old days to get her almost to the top. I pointed out the geography and the landmarks of the city. Cruise liners were docked at Nordhavn. The Talia Parken stadium loomed in the north, now renovated and expanded since my trip in 1998. I pointed out the castles and palaces and the area beyond Paper Island where alternative Copenhagen - the "free" Christina - flourishes away from the clean design lines
of what you expect in Scandinavia. The Bridge across the Oresund snakes across the water towards Malmo, the rest of Sweden and all those Scandi crime dramas so popular on BBC 4. The Other Half had persuaded me that we had too many things to do in and around Copenhagen, so I had put my Malmo football match on hold for another trip.
We walked down to the Christianborg Palace. The tallest tower in Copenhagen sits on top. It is actually free, but we had already had our aerial view for today. The Palace was once a royal residence, but now acts as home of the Danish Parliament and venue for state functions. There was no queue for the Royal quarters. We deposited our small backpacks in the lockers. The majority of castles and palaces we would visit in the next few days were quite strict on the no backpack rule, so it was always a good plan to have a 20 DKK coin on hand for the deposit. We latched on to a free tour, which filled us in on the basics of the information on what we were seeing. The Other Half suggested a sit
Copenhagen
Planeterium down, so the Copenhagen Cards were once again employed on the included boat trip round the inner harbour. The usual suspects were all aboard with their selfie sticks, all eagerly snapping at everything and anything. We went under about 20 really low bridges. I waited patiently for someone to ignore the guide doing the commentary and literally loose their head. We all survived to sail another day. The circus was in full flow near the Little Mermaid, as the masses jostled to get their photo next to the small icon of Copenhagen. We circumnavigated the inner harbour passing Nyhavn, the Little Mermaid, the new Opera House and the Royal Danish Theatre. We returned to Gamle Strand and returned to the hotel for a brief pit stop.
The Danish Design Museum was just down the street and open until 9 pm on Wednesdays. We passed the executive galleries, where only the finest mid - century design pieces were on offer to god people with pockets as deep as Russian oligarchs. We also passed the downtown branch of Bruun Rasmussen - the upmarket auction house, where the hammer can fall on chairs with a price as much as £100,000.
This is not a typo - some vintage Finn Juhl pieces with top provenance attract serious bidders. I thought fondly of our own tall boy, which had passed through this very building albeit with a more competitive price tag. A small shop tempted us with some Holmegaard glass, although the prices were at the top end of the spectrum. The Design Museum was another piece of furniture heaven with order. The chair collection much favoured Wegner, Jacobson and Juhl. I perused a Chieftain sofa that could easily fetch big money in an auction back at Rasmussen.
It was a pleasant evening in the sunshine, so we put on our local heads and wandered back towards Nyhavn for a drink ...... but not before visiting Netto. Nyhavn - New Harbour - was built to get cargoes straight into Kings Square, but became the headquarters for every visiting sailor with bars and other forms of entertainment. Today, it is a cleaned up parade of expensive hotels, bars and restaurants where the unwise part with large sums for a beer and a herring. However armed with some of the Carlsberg brewery's finest products, we joined the many other locals and
opted for our bench on the opposite side to watch the late evening stroll. Same view, low price. Top tip - think like a Dane - your money will go much further. The happiness level was definitely well above Burundi, as we surveyed the harbour.
The lunchtime meal at the Boge - bookshop - had served us well and there was no need for a large evening meal. My research took us one stop on the Metro to Norreport, where another TripAdvisor gem lay in store. The Pizzeria Fioreta is in a pleasant side street on the north side of Norreport. The review comments had not been off the mark, with the most expensive pizza on the menu coming in at 88 DKK. One between us was large enough to share. Go now - before he sells up and buys a Juve season ticket. We took the Metro back to the hotel and retired after the early start. The local bars were just coming alive - most didn't close until 5 am. Copenhagen is more of a party city than you would suspect.
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Rainyb
Lorraine Brecht
Love the colors!