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Copenhagen, Denmark
On certain sideways streets, where things that don't match meet
As you try and follow along with the rambling descriptions and familiar yet somehow still confusing pictures of this slideshow, chances are damn good that by now you're starting to wonder if there is any logic to any of this. Ok, starting in London makes some sense because of that whole Open House London thing and then going to Paris makes some sense because of that whole Chunnel thing, but then what could possibly explain this? Copenhagen? Really?
If Paris was a glorified layover then Copenhagen was a literal layover. I had originally planned to take a train out of Paris toward my next destination but soon found myself frustrated by the schedules and the length of the journey. As an alternate I looked into flights and found myself shocked that I could fly far cheaper and quicker than the train. Then (of course) I took things one step too far, booking a flight on SAS specifically because of a long (ten hour plus) layover in Copenhagen. A chance to spend some time quick, quality time in Denmark took hold of my imagination and soon I found myself here at City Hall Square on a cold, overcast Scandinavian morning, face to face with some sort of green, winged dragon looking thing. Who could ask for anything more?
The colorful wharf at Nyhavn (where Hans Christian Andersen once lived) is a fairytale dream come true- never mind that yellow building with its suggestive "Copenhagen Redlight" signage. It is also the place that feels like the most Denmarky (if Denmarky is even a word) place in the city. Great buildings and great history, all within sight of the harbor, all seemingly frozen in time.
I didn't have a tremendous amount of time in the city, although honestly I was lucky to have any time at all. Still it was more than enough time to hop on a canal boat and take a tour of a city that is designed around its harbor and canals and wharves. And while the last picture may be especially Denmarky (I'm still using Denmarky like it's an actual word), this gives you a better idea of what Copenhagen is like. Sure there are palaces and Hans Christian Andersen and Tivoli, but it is also a living, working city, albeit often an especially picturesque one.
From the canals and into the harbor, this is a head on view as the boat looks to collide into the Copenhagen Opera House by Henning Larsen (no reason to worry- we veered left just in time to avoid certain death). The lady in red was our disinterested (or possibly just Danish) tour guide who spoke in enough languages that sooner or later everyone had some idea of what was going on.
Sure, the hard and right thing to do would be to walk over to see the statue (it's really out of the way) and to get the picture that everyone always gets, the one where the solitary, wistful, dead eyed mermaid is framed by the water and distant buildings of the harbor. Or you could take the easy way out, sit in the last row of the tour boat and then wait for it to turn around and away from the statue, realizing full well that the background would be cluttered with tourists taking pictures back at you. I chose the easy way.
