Kool Kobenhavn (Copenhagen)

Member Name: chinnyli

Product:	Copenhagen
Date:	22/08/01 (657 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Plenty of English speakers, Lots of indoor and outdoor sights to see, Relaxed and friendly city

Disadvantages: Expensive, Wet and windy weather

Not one of the most favoured tourist destinations in Europe compared with some of the more tropical(ish) climates of cities in the rest of Europe, Copenhagen, or Kobenhavn as it's known in Danish, suffers from the misfortune of frequently damp weather and high prices.

Copenhagen is about 910 km from the UK, located on an island/region known as 'Zealand' off mainland Denmark (Jutland), in the most southwestern part of Scandinavia. Being so close to both the Baltic Sea and North Sea, it is frequently wet and windy in Copenhagen, even during the summer. While sitting out the rain in a park café, a waitress told us that sometimes, it could rain throughout August without a break!

Copenhagen is also known for being quite an expensive city, and having stayed there for four days, I can readily agree that prices there are similar to central London, although you should note that sterling was also quite weak against the Danish krone when I went (Aug 7-10, 2001 £1= approx DKK 11.4).

However, the climate and prices shouldn't deter you from visiting this city (admittedly my boyfriend and I only considered coming here after we missed all the cheap flight offers from Go for Reykjavik!) because if weather is dismal, there are plenty of museums to visit, both inside and outside the city centre, and there are plenty of unmissable experiences to be had here.

Plus, a major benefit of this city is that the majority of the locals can speak English and are generally very helpful - enough to make us ignorants feel guilty for not bothering to learn any basic Danish before arrival :)

---- How do I decide what to see? ----

For the majority of the museums and sights in Copenhagen, there will be an admission charge, so if you're on a tight budget it may be a good idea to find out costs, particularly if you will have to take transport there.

The best way to do so, is by getting hold of a mini magazine called '
Copenhagen', published about twice a year by Copenhagen's tourist board Wonderful Copenhagen. I picked up a copy of this at the Danish Tourist Board in London, and assume its available in Copenhagen's tourist information points although I didn't actually see copies there. It provides general sightseeing suggestions (and adverts), but the most useful part of this magazine is nearer the back, which provides a breakdown of every museum and sight in Copenhagen, and includes information on admission costs, how far it is from the city centre, and whether there is wheelchair access.

We found this quite useful for deciding and planning which sights we most wanted to see and could afford to do so.


---- Copenhagen card ----

If you plan on travelling and seeing a lot, it may be worthwhile getting a 'Copenhagen Card'. These are useable to get free admission to most sights and museums, or will otherwise offer a small discount for those that don't. It's also useable on all buses, trains, and harbour buses (between Det Kongelige Bibliotek or 'Black Diamond' to Nordre Toldbod) within Copenhagen's 'HT' area - a "metropolitan area bordered by the stations of Hvalso, Borup, Tureby, LI Linde, Varpelev, Helsingor (Elsinor) and Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup". Unfortunately this means that you won't be able to travel to Sweden (Malmo), even though the Copenhagen Card does offer discounts on some sights there.

It's not cheap though, with the 24 hour card for adults (over-16s) costing DKK 175, 48 hours DKK 295, and 72 hours DKK 395. Children aged 10-15 can get their cards half price, while two children aged 0-9 can travel with each adult ticket free. However it does mean you can go back and visit a sight more than once if you missed out sections, or can immediately jump off a bus and back onto another if you accidentally took the wrong one :)

Another thing to bear in mind, i
s that most of Copenhagen can be covered on foot anyway - we walked from the Little Mermaid back into the city centre, visiting several museums en route, though we were very tired and quite wet by the end!

To find out whether it is worth buying a card, check out the 'Copenhagen' magazine I mentioned above, as in addition to giving details of normal admission prices, it also tells you if entries are free or discounted with the card.

The card is available from the main tourist information office near Tivoli Gardens, as well as Copenhagen Airport (Service Information, Terminal 3), travel agents and tourist offices, major DSB stations and HT ticket offices, and some hotels, camping sites and youth hotels. When you buy your card, you'll also be given a Copenhagen Card guide, which provides details on where you can use your card, and how to get there.

The card becomes valid when stamped with the first day of validity when you buy it (you can choose a date), a starting time is written (first full hour ie 14:00 which you can also choose), and signed on the back.

You can start using the card up to an hour before the 'starting time' on buses and trains.

---- Sightseeing ----

I can only comment on the sights I actually went to, and I should warn you that if you buy a Copenhagen Card, you're more likely to visit sights that you wouldn't ordinary do just so that you can get your 'money's worth' out of it! (As I did.)


I will be writing about the museums I visited in Copenhagen in a separate op soon, for now these are some of the other places I saw:

- Kastellet -
Price: Free
Open Mon-Sun 10.00-17.00
Getting there: HT harbour bus 902 to Nordre Toldbod

The grounds of Kastellet, according to the Rough Guide to Scandinavia (written and researched by Jules Brown and Mick Sinclair, 3rd edition published 1994, p 70, ISBN 1-85828-039-7) was "a for
tress built by Christian IV and expanded by his successors through the seventeenth century, after the loss of Danish possession in Skane had put the city within range of Swedish cannonballs". It is now occupied by the Danish army and closed to the public, although the tall arches, gateways and grassy slopes on the five-point star shaped island are accessible.

The island can only be assessed via two bridges crossing over the moat. Once past the gateways, you can take a path up to the top of the grassy slopes, walking along the 'perimeter' of the island. However, there are barriers to stop you from getting onto the side of the slope facing the moat - for safety I suppose, you don't want to go sliding into the moat!

It makes for a pleasant (though windy) walk during the summer, and locals often take their dogs for a stroll here. From the top of the slopes, you can see the rustic though quite post buildings of what looks like a village in the centre of the island, see where the Danish army would've used to place some of their cannons for defence, and watch cute sheep mowing the moat side of the slopes!

The focus of the island for me was a large windmill on one side of the island (I'd never been up close to one before) - although unfortunately it is no longer in use, and the structure has to be artificially supported.

- Den Lille Havfrue - The Little Mermaid -
Langelenie
Price: Free
Getting there: Bus 29. Or Harbour bus 902 to Nordre Toldbod, walking through park on right (not through Kastellet) following river.

If you've read the other ops on Copenhagen, you'll notice that everyone has mentioned how disappointed they were with the Little Mermaid.

I'm not here to tell you anything new I'm afraid, though she's roughly life-sized, she appears much smaller, particularly when being mobbed by the many tourists visiting her.

However, I wouldn't have miss
ed it for the hordes of people that visit and photograph her everyday, then risk falling into the water by clambering over rocks to be photographed next to/kissing/holding her, then clamber back down to suddenly realise "****! How do I get back now?!" The majority end up taking off their shoes and socks, chucking them onto land, before venturing back.

Challenge for the day: Getting a clear picture of the Little Mermaid without someone obstructing the view.

Much more impressive is the neglected Gefion fountain (Gefionspringvandet) near harbour bus stop Nordre Toldbod, of a woman wielding a whip over four foaming bulls.

An excerpt from Rough Guide to Scandinavia (p 71): "The fountain's sculpted figure is by Anders Bundgaard and shows the goddess Gefion with her four sons, whom she's turned into oxen having been promised, in return, as much land as she can plough in a single night. The legend goes that she ploughed a chunk of Sweden, then picked up the piece of land (creating Lake Vanern) and tossed it into the sea - where it became Zealand."

It's a shame then, that the fountain isn't presented in its full glory - there should've been a full cascading water fountain, but this wasn't working when we visited, and didn't appear to have been for a while. The base of the fountain was filled with stones and overgrown with weeds, although the sculpture still remains.

- Rundetaarn - Round Tower -
Kobmagergade 52A (http://www.rundetaarn.dk/)
Price: Adult DKK 15/Children DKK 5; Free with Copenhagen Card

Not on the priority list for most people, though the Round Tower does boast of having the best view in Old Copenhagen.

A 209 metre long winding passage leads to a platform at the top of the tower - which I suppose makes it wheelchair/buggy friendly as long as no-one suddenly lets go of the handles! Thankfully relief is provided halfway up the tower, in the form o
f an exhibition space in the Library Hall, where the content changes frequently. The exhibition I saw there was excellent, and worth more than the admission price alone, and far better than the tower view too.

When you're done with the exhibition (or you could visit it on the way down I suppose) continue onwards and upwards. Eventually there will be some smaller steps leading up to the platform (damn, have to abandon that wheelchair/buggy now) from where you can overlook Copenhagen.

The view isn't that interesting, although if you're willing to place a DKK 2 coin in the appropriate telescope, you can look out towards Kastrup Airport, and just strain a little harder... you can just make out the bridge spanning between Copenhagen and Sweden... oooh! It's a long story this, but my boyfriend and I had become a bit obsessed about seeing if this bridge really existed (we'd gone on rather long expeditions but without actually just jumping on a bus or train across to Sweden), so this was a rather suitable sating of our curiosity!

- Tivoli Gardens -
Vesterbrogade 3 (http://www.tivoli.dk/)
Price: Adult DKK 39-49/Children DKK 20-25. Free with Copenhagen Card. Costs extra for fun fair rides whether or not you have a Copenhagen Card.
Open: Apr-Sept, Sun-Thu 11.00-24.00; Fri-Sat 11.00-01.00
Nov-Dec, Mon-Sun 11.00-21.00
Getting there: Opposite Kobenhavn station. Tivoli has three entrances, one small one opposite the station, the main entrance is on Vesterbrogade, and another is opposite Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek on Tietgensgade, which is also for groups.

We truly abused our Copenhagen Card privilege here, taking every opportunity to walk through Tivoli... "we're going to see the Little Mermaid aren't we now? Let's just walk through Tivoli first, it'll make a good shortcut."

And I suppose, given a choice between walking alongside a busy, smoggy road, or being able to wander t
hrough the lively and aesthetically pleasing scenery of Tivoli, who wouldn't?

First time I ventured through Tivoli, it was late at night as the guardsmen were about to lock up. The park was completely illuminated, with various lanterns, and lighting on every building. I can't quite decide if it was decidedly tacky, or kitsch, but it definitely had a certain charm. Wandering through this area at night just seems magical. They also have fireworks here twice a week before the garden closes (definitely Wed as we forgot about it, not sure about the other day), which I've heard are quite impressive.

It's a beautiful garden, providing several themed areas and multi-cultural styled buildings, as well as gushing fountains, seated areas, and entertainment in the form of fun fair rides and pantomimes.

However, my one complaint about Tivoli, is that it's over-commercialised (surely not!) There are several wonderful buildings here, plus some quirky structures (a really cool Captain Cook type pirates ship!) that I would've loved to have seen from the inside (just to see if they continue the theme consistently inside) but they're all restaurants! Seriously, every one of these glamorous and unusual buildings is a restaurant, and they're not cheap too. I took a quick glance at the boat's (Fregatten Sct Georg III) menu, saw the prices, saw the very limited selection on the menu (a choice of four main courses!) and scarpered! I know Tivoli have to make money, but I just feel that some of the buildings could've been put to more interesting and less exclusive use - a museum? Ghost house maybe?! Some proper shelter from the rain without having to buy something?

You also have to pay for fun fair rides. This you can do by paying for rides individually (prices range from 1-5 tokens, and each token costs DKK 10), or you can buy a pass that allows you access on all the rides. (Sorry I forgot to note down how much that
is.) It's probably best to have a wander around all the rides first to see which you are likely to want to go on and if there are any restrictions affecting you, as you can still buy a pass once you're inside Tivoli.

The rides aren't too scary, the worst probably being Det Gyldne Tarn (5 tokens) which climbs upwards very high slowly, then suddenly plunges down, halts, rises etc. My boyfriend said the view from the top was great though! And the new Monsunen (Flying Carpet 4 tokens) looks pretty scary too... though you will probably have tried something quite similar in other British theme parks... the rest look quite tame :)

---- Park spaces ----

If you're wanting somewhere to chill out and eat your picnic, rest etc without having to pay admission fees, you could try out some of Copenhagen's park spaces.

Orstedsparken is a pleasant haven from the scuffle of traffic and pedestrians and is quite large, providing plenty of benches and greenery, while the large pond provides a calm focal point.

There is also a small café providing refreshments, hot food, and ice cream, although during bad weather, the café does not provide hot food and may shut up early if there haven't been many customers. We managed to get a toasted cheese and ham sandwich here though.

Closer to the city centre, Christiansborg has a little garden square hidden away close to the De Kongelige Bibliotek (Royal Library or Black Diamond)

Botanisk Have (Botanical Gardens) is also free, though I missed out on seeing this.

---- Shopping ----

There are definitely too many branches of Hennes & Mauritz here, due to Sweden being such a close neighbourly friend I suppose. Sorry this bit is so short, added it as an afterthought just before midnight.

---- Eating out ----

Thankfully, most of the menus in Copenhagen's city centre are displayed both in Danish and English, saving you the ordeal
of hunting for that elusive dish name that doesn't exist in your phrase book.

Unfortunately, as a prime tourist area, most restaurants are quite expensive, and you could be looking to pay a minimum of DKK 150 for the main course alone in most places. Another problem, is that some places have two different menus - one for lunch, and another more expensive for dinner. Frustrating as I'd been pining after a specific dish one evening, forced my boyfriend to trail around Copenhagen with me for four hours trying to track down which restaurant I saw selling this dish, only to discover that the dish had only been available for lunch. Doh!

Food will obviously be cheaper if you venture out of the city centre, although of course menus no longer provide an English translation, and establishments can look a bit dubious!

Pizza Pasta Restaurant (Vesterbrogade 31, Mon-Sat 11.30-22.00, Sun 12.00-22.00) is a good place to try for 'normal' food at reasonable prices.

They have three course set menus from DKK 98, plus an a la carte range of starters from DKK 15-29, meats from DKK 79-109, pastas from DKK 59-79, and pizzas from DKK 39-54.

I tried the garlic bread here - very yummy, spread with olive oil and tomato sauce and herbs.

Starters begin from DKK 15 for garlic bread (very yummy, spread with olive oil and tomato sauce), to DKK 29 for soups and salads. The minestrone soup was particularly nice for dipping bread in.

Greek beef with béarnaise sauce, fries and salad was DKK 79. The beef tasted just like two normal burgers, but my boyfriend reckons they were quite spicy! I enjoyed it anyhow, and the fries were good too - not too thin and not dehydrated at all.

Pasta dishes include standard fares such as Carbonara, lasagnes and Bolognese, but some also included seafood like prawns or salmon.

Another fairly cheap place to try for pizzas, pastas and burgers is Astor Pizzas (Reventlowsgade), n
ext door to the Astor hotel near Kobenhavn station, though if you don't order the small pizzas, prices rise pretty sharply (DKK 112 for a medium sized vegetarian pizza).

And of course there's the usual presence of McDonalds and Burger King franchises dominant in most European cities, though they don't count as food of course.

---- Somewhere to stay ----

We faffed around for ages surfing the internet finding out about hotels in Copenhagen, that by the time we got round to making enquiries roughly three weeks before we were due to arrive, most of the best (double) rooms had gone. Most of the hotels could only offer single rooms, twin bedrooms, or single rooms with an extra bed included. Not surprising considering August would be their prime tourist season.

As with everything else in Copenhagen, you should not expect to get much out of your money where accommodation is concerned. At the price range we were looking at (under DKK 700), none of the hotels we looked at offered ensuite facilities, but would have a sink in the room. As a general guide, Wonderful Copenhagen gives these as average hotel prices:

1 star: Single-DKK 400; Double- DKK 525
2 star: Single-DKK 645; Double- DKK 800
3 star: Single-DKK 917; Double- DKK 1,122
4 star: Single-DKK 1,347; Double- DKK 1,534
5 star: Single-DKK 2,095; Double- DKK 2,395

Wonderful Copenhagen's website provides a list of approved hotels, with a search facility that allows you to narrow down price bands, area etc.

---- Practicalities ----

- Preparation -

First off, if you're based in London, you should try to get down to the Danish Tourist Board on Sloane Street. They don't have a lot of information, but this is a good point to pick up up-to-date maps, hotel lists, as well as general sightseeing information to begin planning your stay.

The map will also include a train network map - very useful for worki
ng out how to get from the airport to the city centre, or vice versa!

If you're not in London, the tourist board provides a premium rated number to request brochures and information, and you can check out Wonderful Copenhagen's website (http://www.woco.dk/) for information, though they don't have a very good online map.

Um, I didn't really bother with guide books with this trip except to find out where the tourist board is, (and researching places after I'd visited) so couldn't really recommend any.

And as I mentioned, it rains frequently in Copenhagen, so please remember to bring brollies (how terribly British!) and maybe a warm jumper. Although don't leave all your summer clothes behind, there can be occasional days of sunshine!

- Arriving in Copenhagen -

With three terminals, Copenhagen's airport in Kastrup is pretty big, and you'll realise this as you try to find your way out of the airport! It's also decidedly confusing, with some signs not very obviously placed, and passengers arriving in the same lounge area as others are departing - be very careful of this, as we were quite unobservant about watching out for exit signs, and almost ended up in a queue for a flight back to London Stansted (and we weren't the only ones!)

It's an amazingly long walk (I'm used to mini Stansted!) to get to arrivals, we were walking solidly for 10 mins before we even got to baggage collection (not that we had any luggage to collect).

However, once out, you will be greeted by the usual airport spectacle of people holding out name cards, then out into the spacious, modern concourse area of which a high elegant clock is the focal point.

- Getting to the city centre -

The easiest and cheapest way of getting into town is probably by train, and the train station is thankfully adjoined to the airport.

Train tickets are priced according to how many
zones you travel - currently DKK 6.50 per zone, and Kobenhavn central train station is three zones from Kastrup, so it costs DKK 19.5 for a single journey there. The journey takes about 12 minutes.

Even if your final destination isn't actually Kobenhavn, you may have to get off there to interconnect for trains to other parts of the city.

The train runs every 20 minutes from about 5am to midnight, and is generally on time.

Be aware though that the train from the airport is usually (but not always) quite short so don't walk too far to the front end of the platform as you may end up attempting to run back with luggage (and children if you have them) in toll!

Also, check that you're on the right platform (ask ticket seller where Kobenhavn train leaves from), as otherwise you may end up in a suburban part of Copenhagen, or even worse on a non-stop journey towards Sweden's Malmo!

It's also possible to take a bus to Kobenhavn train station, however as it isn't significantly cheaper than the train (18 DKK on bus 250S from Terminal 3 according to Go's flight guide) and takes 30 mins, it's not really that worthwhile, although they do run every 10 mins.

Taxis, according to the same flight guide, cost DKK 140-180 and take about 20 mins.

Finally, when crossing roads - there are two kinds of zebra crossings. There are ones which are similar to those in France, they have a pedestrian crossing light (ie green man, red man) which correspond with the traffic lights. These should be treated as pedestrian lights - ie you cross when you see a green man. However, note that this doesn't stop cars edging slowly around from a side road keenly waiting to speed forward - that's because their light is on green too even though the 'green man' is telling you to walk.

Then there are the ones that don't have pedestrian crossing lights but have two sets of very high orange bl
inking lights that only drivers can see above the road. These can and must be treated as normal zebra crossings like those in Britain - ie cross at will when you have the opportunity, otherwise you'll be waiting all day!

____________________________________
For more information:

Website: http://www.woco.dk/
Helpful info on places to see, where to stay (with links to hotel websites), eat etc.

Website: http://www.bbdk.dk/
Information on bed and breakfast.

Website: http://www.ht.dk/
Information on buses and harbour buses

Website: http://www.dsb.dk/
Information on S-trains

Tourist board offices:

- London -
55 Sloane Street (nearest tube station Kensington)
Tel: (020) 7259 5959

This is right next to the Danish embassy (where I believe you can apply for a visa if you need one), a rather imposing looking building with a dark glass entrance, you may have to press a buzzer to be allowed in, and then you have to work out which is the door in!

They provide general information that you can take away with you, including maps, hotel list plus places to see.

24 hour tourism and brochure information line: 0900 160 0109 (premium rate)

- Copenhagen -
Bernstorffsgade 1 (Next to Tivoli Gardens opposite Kopenhavn's central train station)
Tel: +45 70 22 24 42
Open Mon-Fri 10am - 4.30pm except public holidays.
Email: touristinfo@woco.dk

You'll need to take a ticket as you walk in, either for 'general information', 'sales', or 'hotel bookings'. Wait for the number on it to be displayed above the counters. Queues for 'general information' tend to be a bit longer.

If you're intending to buy a Copenhagen Card or anything else there, you might as well pick up a 'sales' ticket, and then ask for information while you're getting your ticket!

They also sell the usual odd
ments of tourist tacks here, postcards etc.

Summary: