06-14 June 2024

The transition from Palermo to Copenhagen disoriented us. If you are seeking Etruscan ruins, vestiges of Greek temples, or Roman roads two thousand years old, this is not the place. Completely different culture, food, length of day, architecture, history, economy, weather. This was our first time in Scandinavia and we would be delighted to go again, although prices for food and lodging are high.

As we got off the plane and headed through the airport, Bonnie was immediately startled. “These people look like me!” During covid lockdown she entertained herself with ancestry research and was surprised on the first day to discover she is one-eighth Danish and Norwegian. Not much, but apparently it shows. Although nearly all Danes speak excellent English, several times during our nine days in Copenhagen, people spoke to Bonnie in Danish. Not something that happened to Robert. So she can pass as a native here, which never happens in Italy.

Once in the city, we discovered that streets are pristine with almost no trash. They almost seem to be washed daily. There is some graffiti, but not much. Also, very few people are sleeping outside. The wide, curving streets in the center of the city are devoted to pedestrians and bicycles. Cars are remarkably rare.

In mid June it gets light around four am and dark around eleven. Light-blocking curtains are a must.

Bicycles are everywhere. The Danes use their bikes for transportation, especially noticeable at the end of day when they are commuting. The bikes are not fancy. Very utilitarian. Usually black, unless they are rentals. And given the quantity, they park them wherever they want.

Furniture stores abound. They have multiplied like rabbits. This was especially apparent during Copenhagen’s Dare to Dream—three days of design trade show. Pink balloons signaled the 250 shops open for the event. The main street of furniture stores was jammed with stylish visitors. Participants spilled over into the streets holding wine glasses and socializing with music. During our nine days in Copenhagen we visited only one art museum, but we looked at lots of chairs. Classics from the 1950s, especially by Hans Wegner, and new experiments. We happened to turn on the television in our hotel room and the first program we saw was a competition show: five contestants challenged each week to design a piece of furniture! CHUCK: Nearly all store signage is sans serif.

The weather is unpredictable. You look at a weather forecast in the morning but it changes in few hours. Rain? No. Rain? Yes. It rains here more than 150 days a year with a yearly rainfall of 26 inches. Not much per day. But enough to get some to reach for umbrellas. And for us, it was cold. Most days we were walking around in temperatures in the high fifties. A dinner outdoors might be in the high forties. Overhead heaters helped. You can easily tell a native from a tourist. Natives might be wearing shorts and a t-shirt. We dug out puffy jackets and fleece along with gortex jackets on most days.

We spent most of our time was walking, noticing fountains and towers, looking at shop windows, and sometimes venturing in. Georg Jensen silver. Royal Copenhagen china. Ole Mathiesen watches. There are cultural sites worth visiting and we hit a few. The churches in particular strike a strong contrast to those we visit in Italy. Begun in the early 1500s, the Reformation took over Catholic properties. The interior design aesthetic is spare and emphasizes light with tall, clear windows and white walls.

What is traditional Danish food and where do you find it? We had a few places to go to, one in particular that was great and recommended by Dinesh and Gabriella. For the most part, hamburgers abound. They seem to be a staple on all the menus. And if you want Italian, no problem. Don’t expect to find bargains for the cost of eating out. A hamburger, a salad, a beer, and Coca Cola Zero costs about $75. Add a dessert and coffee and you will top a $100. Dividing the amount of Krone by seven to estimate the dollar amount kept us challenged.

If you are studying landscape architecture, come to Copenhagen. Find a job here for year of so. You will learn a lot. The level of design, especially in hardscape, is incredible. A lot of thought and restraint. The many squares include simple yet exquisite paving and fountains. Trees are healthy and streets are lined with London plane, linden, and ash.

Copenhagen has set their goal to be carbon neutral by 2025. We saw a larger percentage (even for us) of Teslas. No doubt in part due their up to 150 percent tax on petroleum-fueled cars.

The economy seems to be booming here in part due to the great success of Ozempic manufactured by Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmaceutical company located near Copenhagen.

Lodging

Bonnie found a playfully stylish hotel, 25Hours, in the center of the city. Very convenient to shopping and metro.

Breakfast. Robert found a cafe near the hotel—Espresso House. A bit Berkeleyesk. They always stumbled over his order and the price. This was one of its five hundred locations throughout Scandinavia. ADELE & DAVID: The cost of a flat white is seven dollars. And for those of you old enough to remember a pastry called a Danish, don’t bother looking for one in Copenhagen. They don’t exist here.

Bonnie’s Eye on Fashion

Scandi style is simple. Very attractive, but different from what we see in San Francisco. In this cool climate, women wear a variety of nice jackets, from tailored blazers to task jackets in cotton, but all are simple, unadorned styles. Usually boxy with buttons rather than zippers. Neutral colors like black and tan dominate. Young women are not showing off their shape: a long loose top with wide-leg pants are common. Not much jewelry, and scarves are used to keep warm, not to add design interest. Conspicuous bags and designer logos are rare. Many women wear leather shoes rather than sneakers. A majority of Danes use bicycles, and spates of rain are common, so simple clothes probably work best. We saw many interesting, independent clothing stores, but the colorful, unusual styles in the windows didn’t seem to match what women were wearing in the street.

First Danish Meal

Tours by Bus and Boat

We normally avoid packaged tourist sightseeing, but in Copenhagen we signed up for three bus tours and one boat tour. This gave us a great overall introduction to the city including adjacent neighborhoods. So we have a new appreciation of those red double-decker buses we see going down Haight Street in San Francisco.

Carnival anyone?

We encountered this parade on our Saturday walk. Lively Brazilian and Cuban music.

Tivoli Gardens!

A trip to Copenhagen must include Tivoli. We were pleasantly surprised by how charming it is. Lots of gardens. Lots of shops and restaurants, and lots of rides. Probably more restaurants than rides. Even a marching band of kids eight to sixteen years old.

Bonnie’s roller coaster ride. For this sweet little roller coaster, Robert thought adults needed to be accompanied by a five-year old. Bonnie insisted they did not. But she was the only adult without a kid. She had a great time. The photos might appear to be duplicates. They are not. The roller coaster went by four times!

More Walking Around

Christiania

Christiania is a “hippie” compound founded in 1971 when some free spirits squatted on an old military base. Think Peoples Park on steroids. It operates independently of Copenhagen, but ongoing problems with drug sales keep it embroiled in controversy.

Church of Our Savior

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

We took the train to visit this unusual museum enthusiastically recommended by Meredith. We were impressed by the collection but even more dazzled by its park setting. The building complex, a series of small pavilions, weaves organically through the gardens, giving both interior and exterior views—views of lawns, woodland, and the Baltic Sea. Some views are intimate, some are sweeping. Some are from above, some from a slightly sunken walkway. We have never experienced an art museum like this before. Wonderful.

Lund—A Bit of Sweden

Because it is so close—just over an hour by train—we decided to visit Lund for the day to dip our toes into Sweden. Lund is a university town where more than half the population of 92,000 are students. It is quieter and less glamorous than Copenhagen, but easy to explore on foot.

Back in Copenhagen

Frederiks Church

Museum of Danish Resistance

This exceptional small museum chronicles the occupation of Denmark by the Nazis in WWII. It presents a well-balanced understanding of how the Danish people did not fully understand or accept the implications of Nazi occupation and how these attitudes changed. Using shadows cast on the wall over photographs from WWII, actors act out and narrate journals and letters from the period. We needed two hours to hear the majority of the scenes. Definitely worth a visit.

More Walking

Trinitas Church

Uneventful flights from Copenhagen to Frankfurt on Lufthansa and Frankfurt to San Francisco on United. The transfer in Frankfurt was tight after we arrived late and there were two passport checkpoints to go through. Security in Copenhagen was very time consuming. We heard it might be heavy because so many people were flying to the European soccer championships in Germany.

That’s All Folks—For this trip!

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