Denmark/ Dansk – bicycles, environment, and engineering

My first impression of Copenhagen was the bikes. There are bikes everywhere! I did land at 7 am so was in the city and peak time, and was amazed to see all the bikes zooming around. There were business people on bikes, parents pushing kids in little trailers in front of bikes, kids on bikes etc.

So many bikes!!

Bike riding is easy in Copenhagen – our tour guide told us that:

(a) cars are exceedingly expensive here (100% tax rate), 

(b) car parking in Copenhagen is a nightmare, and

(c) Copenhagen is flat as a tack. 

The old Danish saying goes that if you lose a dog in Copenhagen, you’ll still see it running a few days later as there are no hills or valleys for it to be hidden by! The city also makes it easy by having three separate lanes (cars, bikes, pedestrians).  The city share bikes are high quality with both an electric motor (if required) and an inbuilt GPS/trip computer. I didn’t hire a bike, but if there’s a place to do it, this would have been it.

Share electric bicycle

A quick tip which I picked up from TripAdvisor was that showers were at the DGI Byens swimming centre opposite Central Station.  This was worthwhile to know, as after 20+ hours of flying, a nice hot shower really helps! Central Station was also useful in that I could store my luggage in a locker, meaning I was free to explore the city.

Danish pastry for breakfast

After my hot shower, and breakfast – a Danish pastry of course (!!) – I took a walking tour with Hans Christian Anderson tours.  The guide – a self confessed eccentric called Richard, guides you expertly around the older parts of Copenhagen in the character of Denmark’s most famous author, Hans Christian Anderson.  HC Anderson (the real one, not the tour guide) was a cobbler’s son who wanted to be an actor, but unfortunately failed. Instead he started writing fairy tales, ostentiously aimed at children, but also with deeper meanings for adults. His stories include The Ugly Duckling, The Emperor’s New Clothes, and of course, the most famous Little Mermaid. 

 

Richard surprised me by speaking in Hindi – turns out that in his youth he had lived with a Guru in Varanasi!  We also visited the Church in with “our Mary” wedded Prince Frederick. The Church was surpsingly Spartan and simple for being the main church of Copenhagen. There was one section for the royal family, but that too was understated and not flashy.

Copenhagen City Hall

Inside the City Hall. Tour guide pictured in top hat.

In addition to pointing out the wonderful buildings around the place, Richard also gives a good sociology lesson of what makes the Danish “Danish”. He presumably gets mainly American tourists (he’s supposedly featured in a famous American tour guide book by Rick Steves), and so does a lot of contrasts between Danish society and American society. He spoke about the social welfare state that Denmark is so proud of, but also added in the contemporary issues they face now with immigration and refugees. It was fascinating to hear that the homeless (sadly even Denmark does have homeless people) were all given mobile phones and taught to use apps which gave them info on where they could access cheap/subsidized food, shelter and health assistance.  Churches (including the aforemention Spartan church) allow homeless people to come in and charge their phones during the day (though, not sleep at night). 

 While the tour itself was only a couple of hours long, Richard gave me a good tips on how to spend the rest of the day. Note, Richard only runs these tours during spring and summer, in winter, he sensibly moves to the warmer climes of Buenos Aires in Argentina!

 I definitely recommend Richard as a tour guide, have a look at his website here.

Other sites I visited were:

• The Round tower – from where you get a fantastic view of the city (mainly ramps to go up, but stairs at the top)

Panoramic view from the Round Tower

• Christianborg Palace – Office of the Queen, plus site of the Parliament and High court.  This is, as expected, a grand palace with ornate furnishings, chandeliers, paintings and tapestries.  I could only see about three quarters of the public areas, as this is a working palace, and the Crown Prince required the other quarter that day. They were kind enough to give us a discounted rate because of this!!

Throne room

Thrones

Tapestry with various world leaders (inc. Gandhi)

• If you’re not amused by the display of inherited wealth, I suggest checking out the ruins beneath the palace instead. The palace itself has been built and destroyed several times, reflecting the waxing and waning of Copenhagen’s power, plus the ever too present threat of fire in an area with is perpetually cold and people have fires everywhere!  With the ruins and associated descriptions and models underground, you get an understanding of the fascinating history of the region.  I must admit I was getting claustrophobic after about 30 mins of walking around, and had to get out for some fresh air.  It scared me to imagine that people used to be imprisoned in dark, airless dungeons. Glad I’m not a political prisoner in the medieval ages!!

Model of old palace

Palace ruins

• I also checked out the Royal kitchens, which to me was ok. Maybe a masterchef would have appreciated more? I missed the royal stables due to the different opening times, and not sure if you see the horses too, or just the rooms they are kept.

• Boat cruise from Nyhavn – this is a MUST DO in Copenhagen as it gives you a beautiful view of the harbor, and the astonishing buildings. Talking about buildings, I realise that Danes really value architecture, both in the past, plus in the present.  Even the waste to energy site we visited was built with architecture in mind.

The beautiful Nyhavn ("New Harbour")

One of the many Church spires on the horizon, with dragons!

 

Even their new buildings are beautiful! Their Opera House.

•  Free town of Christiania – this wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea, and is a hippy commune of people who consider themselves in their own settlement, ie outside Denmark’s jurisdiction. The main “attraction” here is the open sale of marijuana, which while technically illegal in Denmark, has historically had a blind eye turned to it. However there are a lot of tourists, feels safe, but they request no photos are taken inside. Not being particularly knowledgeable in this area, I was surprised at the number of varieties available! Apart from that, there was the usual hippy fare of fire-twirlers, ethic crafts (predominantly Indian), and multicultural food.

• Little Mermaid Statue – the famous statute built for one of Denmark’s most famous fictional characters is a bit underwhelming. I didn’t get very close as there was a massive crowd of tourists taking photos with it. However, the walk along the harbor to see it is beautiful, and for the waste to energy nerd in me, it is directly opposite the famous Amager Bakker Waste to Energy plant that I was to visit later.

The Little Mermaid

Other thoughts:

• The Danish seriously care about the environment. The Amager Bakker plant we visited was the most efficient plant built, and had gone to extreme lengths to ensure that their air emissions were as clean as possible. This is a government owned plant built as a statement to how clean it could be, with the social and environmental benefits easily outweighing the financial costs. This plant is OVER 100% efficient (107% to be exact), and for those wondering how this can be the case – it’s because they use heat pumps with COP > 1.

• They also have minimum car use (atleast in Copenhagen). I’ve already mentioned the bicycles, and added to that is three train systems in Copenhagen. There’s the heavy rail, a smaller S-tag, and a driverless automated metro.  I was a bit confused by which to take where initially but people were helpful.

• Renewable energy – Denmark is a world leader in windmills (home of Vestas), and the sight of 50 or so offshore windmills from the Oresund bridge is incredible!

Amager Bakker (waste to energy plant) with wind turbines on horizon

• Danes speak excellent English. Honestly didn’t have any language issues at all, with every Dane speaking excellent English. This is truly a bilingual country.

• Danish architecture – I've already mentioned how impressed I was by the building designs, both old and contemporary.

• Danish engineering is also extremely impressive! I’ve already mentioned the extremely efficient waste to energy plant. However, there are incredible bridges (best known is the Oresund Bridge), but also the Great Fixed Belt link. Also the renewable energy mentioned earlier, and the knowledge that a lot of suppliers to my dad’s work are Danish. The first video (technically timelapse photos) shows us driving across the famous Oresund Tunnel, while the second shows us on the Oresund Bridge, from Copenhagen, Denmark to Malmo, Sweden.

•  Finally - Lego! Denmark is the home of the world famous Lego.

Nyhavn modelled in Lego. Denmark is, of course, the home of Lego!