Danish weekend

I had a very short stay in Copenhagen this spring, on maybe one of the best weather days in the year. I had to visit the city for a 2 day work conference, and even though I did not stay the weekend, I was able to take the earliest flight in and the last flight out to at least get some time to explore the city. It felt like a fun place with a couple of museums and the usual old buildings to explore. And the presence of the sea next door also provides many options for water sports which makes it a good weekend getaway from London.

Copenhagen along the canal

The first day, I with two other colleagues spent a couple of hours in downtown walking around the city. I must say I don't know why I just loved it. I had heard before that Copenhagen does not have much to offer and hence had not made an effort to go there. How wrong that was - it has a lot to offer especially when the sun is shining:).

Entrance to Tivoli Gardens

We first went to Tivoli Gardens which turned out were not open till 11 am! (That's quite late for something touristy to open, isn't it?).

Along the canal

So we walked around to a couple of nearby areas, along the canal and towards the Christiansborg palace. I think we entered it from the backside, and saw some gardens, fountains and the library around. We did not have time to explore it much further but loved walking around in the sun given how cold it still was in London.

Inside Tivoli Gardens

Then we walked back to the Tivoli Gardens which basically felt like a fun fair and garden right in the middle of the City. There were rides, open spaces for people to sit and enjoy, cafes (but with no icecream:( ), a couple of buildings in Chinese and Japanese style, and thats about it. There was an Asian looking building (the picture above) which my colleague insisted on calling the Taj Mahal:). But overall, it was a place to just come and relax. And no wonder, there were loads of people around that day, enjoying the rare and hot summer day.

The Little Mermaid

After Tivoli Gardens, we went back to our conference location, and on the way, the cab driver (all of which again were from South Asia surprisingly) showed us the Little Mermaid statue which was honestly as small and (insignificant) as you read about everywhere and the Queen's Palace which was also nearby.




Overall there were lots of pretty old buildings and architecture all around, with the usual European cobbled streets. The roads were very wide and open, lot of people were cycling and of course all were blonde:). Copenhagen has all the usual grandness of Europe but the summer and the relaxedness made the city feel better than it would be in the rains:). And it looked like everyone was out in the streets wearing shorts and enjoying the rare sunny day.

Dinner location

The rest of the day was spent in the professional program which was in a location near the sea, Nordhavnen. It was in an old warehouse which had been converted into a conference location. The best part of course was outside the venue, which was just next to the sea. We had lunch outside which was just perfect given the sunny weather. It was even better when we had our dinner, with live music playing and the sun setting across the sea. Ah, European summer...

Start of Sailing

In the evening we went sailing for a couple of hours, where we crossed two of the islands in the sea. It was a race and we had to go round the two islands and come back. One of those islands also had some old structures on it which had some history I was too busy to listen to given the sailing:).

Sailing in a 20 foot boat

It was the first time I had gone sailing and I realised it is not as easy as it may appear. The first part of our trip was against the wind, and the boat was almost vertical on its side the whole time. It was a bit of a struggle just to stay aboard:). There was one point where I hadn't paid attention and found myself hanging barely with a hook and had to be pulled up the boat! Coming back in the direction of the wind was a lot easier though and smooth sailing (just like I always assumed sailing to be like:)). We came first in the race which was great but apparently did not mean anything. We also saw swans swimming in the middle of the sea during the sailing which I found very mesmerising.

At the end of our ride, we were greeted with a bit of a shock - we saw an old couple take off their clothes and jump into the cold water. But I guess, in Copenhagen, it is not unusual.

Ceiling in Neil Bohr's house

The next day I had half a day to explore around after the professional program. First, I went to the McKinsey office which in itself is a tourist spot. It is the house of Neil Bohr, the famous Danish physicist and hence a protected building. Even though the house has been converted into an office, it still retained some features of a house. For example, it did not have a main lift! There was a lift at the back of the building which no one used. And the setup of the rooms was also like a house, like the conference room ceiling covered in old brightly painted roofs. Must be a different feeling to work in such a place.

After finishing work, I did not get much time to explore the city. But before heading for the airport, I walked upto the area of Freetown Christiania, a concept not heard of anywhere else in the world. I am not 100% clear about how it works though. It is a settlement of people who are autonomous and not governed by the usual Danish laws. They have their own rules and function separately than the rest of the city.

I walked there for about 5-10 mins trying to figure out what was different, when I realised I had entered their market where photography was prohibited. It took me a couple of minutes to figure out that they were openly selling weed (and thats why photos were prohibited). I still need to figure out how this works, as I had to run then but I did find it interesting that there can be such an area within the city!

The airport was 10 mins from the city and very convenient to fly out from (something I can't even imagine in London). But all in all, a very comfortable and nice little trip, giving me an insight into a city I would definitely like to come back to.