Hot Mess Kayaking: Copenhagen

Sunday, 22 September 2013

Lessons Learnt in Copenhagen: #1 Pizza is very bad for you!

The rest of the week in Copenhagen there was perfect weather and more sun that I had seen in about 2 years! There are what we would call in Australia 'sea baths' in some area which are basically free swimming pools with a decking area. The main site is The Harbour Pool at Islands Brygge but we found an even nicer, quieter area in the district of Vesterbro near the fish markets.

'Where are you Jacqui?' 'I'm in that big graveyard'. I wonder if Tim Burton has been here before? Assistens Cemetery

One day I cycled past Nørrebro to have a look around as there were meant to be some trendy shops in the area. It was a little disappointing but I decided to take a look around Assistens Cemetery whilst waiting to meet up with Casper. Casper thought I was a bit strange for being in a cemetery but what some people don't know this is where Hans Christian Andersen is buried.

Assistens Cemetery

Assistens Cemetery is absolutely huge that you need a fair bit of time to explore - or maybe it was just me because I found it so amazing as some of the sites ranging from delux graves to the overgrown sites below. I just had to stop and take photos! I didn't get time to find Hans Christian Andersen's burial site but in all fairness it was hard to find as the signs lead the way but the site wasn't marked out.

Assistens Cemetery

Seeing something like The Little Mermaid didn't really appeal to me but watching all the tourists line up to get their photos taken with the small statue did. Bus loads of tourists come by each day to see this statue and there are so many souvenirs for something that is only a small part of Copenhagen. For me when I now think Copenhagen I think of sun, sitting in one of the marvelous parks for a picnic, swimming, trendiness, nightlife and alcohol. Although I didn't get the opportunity to go out at all in Copenhagen you will spot many Danes sitting along the canal, in the park, or on a boat drinking a beer or few.

Skt Alban Church

Kastellet

Skt Alban Church

The Geflon Fountain

Skt Alban Church and The Geflon Fountain

Skt Alban Church

Pretty view from the gardens around Kastellet

I found the gardens around Kastellet more interesting than the Little Mermaid. As a photographer there are so many angles you can shoot Skt Albans Church at, each making the church like a completely different building. There are also views that people would overlook such as the one above.

Skt Alban Church

The Geflon Fountain

Gardens nearby The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid. Many, many people and busloads more come to see this rather over rated statue. I went more to see all the tourists go look at it.

Reminded me of the Ugly Duckling which is rather fitting seems Hans Christian Anderson lived in Copenhagen.

I like taking photos of ducks recently

After spending some time at the pool one day I cycled with Casper to the kayak club and sat down by the docks while he was training. Although the view is quite industrial it is a little Oasis from the everyday hustle and bustle of Copenhagen. It reminded me of the days back when I used to row in Melbourne.

View from sitting outside the boat sheds in Copenhagen, reminds me of when I used to row in Melbourne.

Casper's favourite place in Copenhagen - down by the boat sheds for kayaking & rowing

Frederiksberg Castle

Frederiksberg Gardens

One of my favourite photos from the Frederiksberg Gardens. Vibrant colours that remind me of a Van Gough painting.

Frederiksberg Gardens

Tivoli Gardens is something that is beautiful in a Dolce & Gabbana kind of way. Similar to Luna Park in Melbourne all of the old buildings have been kept and restored. There are many amusement park rides which Casper had said a plain out no from the beginning of mentioning Tivoli, restaurants and a concert area where every friday night a different artist or band performs in.

Tivoli - Reminding me of Walt Disney

Tivoli

Above you can see part of one of the rollercoasters at Tivoli. In Australia you pretty much need to go to one of the theme parks in Queensland to be able to ride on a rollercoaster that will take you upside down. I also haven't been on a proper rollercoaster since I was about 14. Casper had the expression on his face that I could possibly convince him to go on it and I managed to get him on at least one ride in Tivoli. Lucky for me he enjoyed it as much as me! Unfortunately the ride was way too short and we both wished it could of lasted a bit longer than the maybe almost 60 sec it took.

Tivoli

Tivoli Concert area

Tivoli

I enjoyed Copenhagen and it is a city I could see myself living in. It seems very social, clean, active, trendy and people seem to be aware of the environment - hence the well planned bike paths all over the city. I just need to get my head around the difference in language compared to Norwegian and Swedish!

Tuesday, 30 July 2013

Copenhagen Part 1: The Labyrinth (Where is David Bowie?)

From Linköping I drove to Copenhagen to visit a friend I had met in the rafting/kayaking world.

Again Copenhagen is encouraging people to bike around the city by providing bike lanes everywhere (and by making parking in the city expensive). I was lucky to get free parking outside Casper’s house and even luckier he had a spare bike I could use for the week.

I don’t think I can remember the last time I’ve been on a bike…maybe 2007? People say you never forget how to ride a bike but I was told pretty quickly by Casper I had no balance and was slow like a grandma. The highlight for me was when we were joking around and Casper showed me ‘how not to’ ride into other cyclists on the path.

In Copenhagen in time for the Copenhagen Jazz Festival. Lots of free bands playing in lane ways and bars.

Fountain in the one of the squares of Størget

Størget, one of the largest shopping streets in Copenhagen

Størget

Just outside of Størget

Canal near Christiansborg Palace

Front of Christiansborg Palace

Christiansborg Palace

This time of year in the city centre you will probably hear more people speaking in English than Danish. Even though I have worked hard to learn some basic Swedish (which makes Norwegian fairly easy to understand), I could not understand even the most basic things in Danish such as ‘would you like a receipt’ or ‘would you like a bag’. It’s written almost the same way but the pronunciation is so foreign to my ears no matter how hard I try to pick up key words. I did speak in Swedish a couple of times and got ‘corrected’ in Danish or people did not understand me. It reminded me of this You Tube video once shown to me by a Norwegian (I have now downloaded Rosetta Stone Danish volume 1!):

Canal in Christianshavn

Christianshavn

Vor Frelsers Kirke

If only people were this into cycling in all major cities

Vor Frelsers Kirke

My second day in Copenhagen was probably the biggest day I’ve had by far! Christiana is the word. A few friends had suggested going to this hippy town and when you look at it on the map it seems very small. When you enter Christiana it’s not like entering any kind of normal town, you are essentially entering the Labyrinth! It’s easy to understand why there are so many restaurants and gardens inside once taking what some might call the full tour. I felt like I was in Nepal again for some of the part with the broken down shacks selling hamburgers and beer. There are also market stalls and wonderful murals to catch the eye. Unfortunately you can’t take any photos in Christiana, not only are you entering the Labyrinth, you are entering a what they call the Green Light District which is probably the reason why it’s hard to find your way out with so many wonderful things to look at!

I felt pretty creative after my mission to Christiana and I got a pretty large tour of Copenhagen seeing most of the sights afterwards and subsequently taking numerous photos that are below.