Copenhagen has green copper domes, twisty spires, wide canals reflecting C17th buildings, and cafés on cobblestones where British tourists chase ales with schnapps – mind how you go!
A guided “Kanal Fart” will sail you past the Opera House, Black Diamond, and Little Mermaid, in a traditional low boat. When asked for your “fart plan” hold the jokes about spontaneous combustion. The Baadfarten (pronounced “both fartin”) on a sturdy vessel built in 1895 encompasses four lakes and you can lunch at the 18th century Sophienholm manor overlooking Lake Bagsværd. Eating in Copenhagen will lighten your wallet in no time so the Madklubben concept offering gourmet fare at budget prices is a boon for cash-strapped South Africans. We tried three of their nine restaurants – Hanzó, Alabama Social, and Gran Torino in Nørrebro, where city night lights twinkle in the lake.
Immerse yourself in pastoral history at the 86-acre Frilandsmuseet showcasing 50 Danish farms, mills, and houses built between 1650 and 1940. I admired the dried seaweed roof of a Faroe Islands cottage and chatted to a farmer’s wife who told me the best way to care for your undies was not to wear them. Sensible!
The north of Copenhagen is festooned with forests. On any of the sun-dappled paths you may encounter red squirrels, dog walkers, or a random crone cackling downhill on a bicycle, silver hair horizontal in the breeze. You can pick wild raspberries and make silly puns when your husband shows you an old beech.
“This old beech took yew fir a noble oak!”
I know. Groan. It falls even flatter when you have to explain the puns to a native Dane who doesn’t get the fart jokes either. Few do!
Visit Karen Blixen’s ancestral home at Rungstedlund, north of Copenhagen, where she lived until her death in 1962. It’s furnished just as she left it. Stroll through 40-acre parklands comprising the bird sanctuary she started in 1958 and find the Out Of Africa author’s grave under a tree. There’s a café, shop, and library containing all her writings and artwork.
Bakken, the world’s oldest fairground (started 1583), is a fun alternative to the more famous Tivoli in the city centre with 38 restaurants and seven theatres offering concerts, ballet, panto, cabaret and rides. If you feel like a good scream, Det Gyldne Tarn will hoist you sky high before dropping you like the rand. You get to appreciate the medieval rooftops for two seconds before plummeting to what feels like your certain death. Waterproof broeks recommended.
Cycling is the best way to explore Copenhagen and smart bikes with an inbuilt computer and GPS route planner are available for hire at 25 locations or book one online at www.bycyklen.dk
A Copenhagen Card gives you access to all transport including boat tours, and free entrance to 74 attractions. Order one from www.copenhagencard.com.
More about Copenhagen from www.visitcopenhagen.com
Gallery
