Tom`s travels: Copenhagen (30-31/03/2019)

For the last few days in Hamburg, I decided to do a weekend trip to Copenhagen to meet up with my Finnish friend Veera. I left Hamburg in the early morning by bus which drove northwards through Lubeck and then to Fehmarn island where it boarded a ferry directed towards Denmark. That was a pleasant alternative that traveling around by land and gave about an hour time to get off and relax on the deck of the ferry. Despite the wind, it was a pleasant sunny day and from the top of the deck, I could admire the dark blue sea. After reaching the shore we drove further and finally reached Copenhagen about 6 hours after departing. Having been here before in 2017, I did not have much in plan to see but rather wished to enjoy strolling around. So after meeting up with my friend Veera we directed ourselves to the Danhostel located between the train station and the old town where we checked in our room. We were in a six-bedroom, together with an Australian girl who was already there. After talking a bit about this and that we then left for the city center. We walked along one of the main streets, Vestergade through the old town and then down Strøget, one of the longest pedestrian streets in Europe. At the end of it, we reached the large square, Kongens Nytorv, which in turn opened out to the beautiful Nyhavn, the old port of the city of Copenhagen, filled with multicolored buildings. After walking along the harbor we passed through the nice Amalienhaven garden which overlooked the large Havn canal and reached the northern part of the old town where the famous statue of the Little Mermaid is located. Obviously packed with tourists I had no real interest to visit it but as we were there we did a quick stop to observe it. Much smaller than expected the statue is only 1.25 meters tall and laying on a rock right on the shore it is an interesting sight yet overly praised. After taking a pciture we then turned around and headed through the Kastellet, a well preserved 17th-century fortress once part of the huge bastions which used to fully encircle the city. We walked through the fortress and observed the typical red wooden buildings characteristic of that time period. Then back through the old town, we came upon the many attractions including Frederik's church and the Amalienborg Palace until we reached the pedestrian bridge which brought us over to the eastern part of town. Here we walked through the typical area called Christiania, a hippy-like zone which is popular among young and those looking to score some legal light drugs. Heading back we then stopped in a nice small square called Gråbrødretorv, where we found a cafe to have a beer before dinner. With the sun setting the weather had started to become quite chilly but luckily we were sitting right below one of those heating lamps and with a blanket to cover us. As we started to get hungry we then headed nearby to a place I had found which served good food for more affordable prices. We both had a burger with fries and a drink for about 100 Krones so about 14 euros. After dinner, we decided to head somewhere else and grab another beer, at a pub called Southern Cross Pub. My friend took a beer while I opted for a tastier cider. After that, we decided to head back to the hostel and go to sleep finding out that two more people had then joined our room and smelling incredibly strong of weed. The following morning, feeling a bit groggy from the night before, we decided to head into town for breakfast. We found an open place called Next Door Cafè which served delicious pancakes with maple syrup. After filling up with food we then walked further along the streets and passing through the nice botanical garden whose grass and plants had already started to become green. Not far ahead we then reached the Statens Museum for Kunst or National Gallery of Denmark. The entrance was a bit hefty but nonetheless provided for a great art exhibition. Masterpieces from famous artists from the 14th century to the modern period were showcased in a stylish building. Among the many paintings were examples of artists such as Cranch the Elder, Brueghel the Younger, Titian, El Greco, and Matisse. After the nice visit to the museum, we headed out and passed by the pretty Rosenborg Slot with its nice surrounding garden. Then starting to feel a little hungry we decided to try out an area which had recently become hip. So we headed to the former meatpacking district, located right behind the train station, where old meatpacking warehouses were being turned into hip restaurants and bars. Being it Sunday lunchtime many places were closed but we found a spot in an Italian restaurant called Mother. We ordered two pizzas, which took quite a bit to arrive, which meant I had to finish mine quickly before risking to miss my bus. In fact, I hastily said goodbye to my friend Veera and ran off to the bus station where I managed to take my bus headed back to Hamburg. Obviously, the bus left later and ended accruing a total of two hours of delay meaning I reached Hamburg late at night.