Day 7 – The First Day in Copenhagen
We woke up on a train, just pulling into station. Little did I know at the time, this was our intended stop to switch trains to get to Copenhagen. I was looking at the tickets, looking at the train destination, looking at the station name, checking to see if anyone else was disembarking, and in all that confusion the train rolled on. No going back now!
On our way through the rest of the Swedish countryside, we were able to spot some lovely fields studded with poppy flowers, absolutely huge hares, hawks, young deer with felted antlers and beautiful vistas. It really did look like Northern Minnesota, but just a tinge different.
We ended up at the trains final stop, Malmö. It seemed like a beautiful city, but unfortunately we wouldn’t have time to explore it. We had to figure out how to get to Copenhagen. I felt terrible. I was in charge of the train tickets and I had misunderstood them and put us all in this uncertain position. I built up this problem in my mind: “We’re screwed, we missed our train, it’s over, we’re gonna have to pay for tickets again, we’re somehow going to get in trouble for getting off late”, etc. I approached the customer service desk fearfully. Turns out, we could just hop on the next train to Copenhagen, easy as that.
Near heart-attack avoided, we boarded the next train to Copenhagen. This was the first kerfuffle of the trip, so I still consider the trip so far successful.
Hey Look! It’s us walking around!
We arrived in Copenhagen, walked our way to the hotel we’d eventually be able to be checked in to, and locked up our heavier bags. From there, we headed to breakfast. Nearby was Cafe Copenhagen, so we stopped in for coffee and breakfast. At the counter was a women with an accent we weren’t exactly expecting to here: Irish. There’s not really more to the story there, but we just arrived in Denmark, I don’t know, it was surprising. We all ordered brunch platters and coffee, took our numbers, and sat outside. There was a truck parked next to the curb, which was quite loud. I’m not sure if it was just the fact that it was running, or if there was some sort of refrigeration cranking, but it was constant and oppressive. Meanwhile, Madi and Derek were served their platters, and Shay and I got our lattes. There must have been some confusion in the kitchen, because this poor server came back and forth, more and more confused each time, asking if we ordered various items, to which we replied ‘no’. This happened several times. Eventually we received our brunch platter, which Shay and I split. It was delicious. This may sound strange, but we literally hadn’t had a regular old fried egg since arriving in Helsinki. Plenty of hard-boiled, but never a hot, fried egg. It was great! Everything on the platter, the toast, the bun, the fruit, the salad, and the egg and sausage hit the spot perfectly.
A fantastic and fresh breakfast at Cafe Copenhagen!
Eventually that loud truck turned off. A German woman behind us audibly signaled her relief. We did too and we had this moment of connection with a stranger. Before we left, she said in her German accent, “Have a wonderful trip!” A lovely little human moment.
From the cafe we had to figure out what to do until we could check in. So we did what we do best, wander around aimlessly until something jumps out at us. Eventually we found ourselves at the Museum of Copenhagen. This museum outlines the entire history of Copenhagen, beginning in prehistoric times, to the viking age, to medieval, to renaissance, all the way up to modern times.
My favorite exhibit was an audible retelling of the Battle of Copenhagen in 1659. It was such a dramatic recounting of the battle. I’m not Danish and I didn’t have a horse in this particular race, but the exhibit was so stirring I was elated to here they repelled the invading Swedes, with the help of the Dutch. The whole museum was full of such wonderful history and so many artifacts. Definitely check it out if you find yourself in Copenhagen.
Another bonus to visiting the museum is that it actually buys access to two other museums in Copenhagen. So after sitting for a time at the Museum of Copenhagen, we head out to the Bertel Thorvaldsen Sculpture Museum. Apart from being in a beautiful, awe-inspiring building, the content was unfathomable.
Here’s Shay and I outside the Thorvaldsen Sculpture Museum.
Inside were so many incredible works of sculpture, all by the same incredible artist: Bertel Thorvaldsen. This man lived and breathed sculpture. Hundreds of statues and plaster castings depicting Greek mythological figures, famous people of his time, and Christian saints and church figures, and much, much more. It was absolutely astonishing. There was also a special exhibit on Etruscan art works from ancient history, some of which I was familiar with from a university course I scraped by in. Definitely check this museum out.
After being left in awe of the beautiful sculptures, we began the long march back to the hotel. It’s unclear why we all collectively thought walking everywhere in Copenhagen was a good idea, but we did it nonetheless. On our way, we encountered another surreal moment. We spotted an old, presumably retired, military truck rapidly honking. In the bed of the truck were a host of young Danes, all wearing captain’s caps. There were some signs hanging from the sides, but we could make out the words. It was blasting club remixes of 20 year old songs. All at once, everyone in the truck started jumping at the same time, all while blowing whistles and singing. We didn’t know what to make of it. Was it political? Was it a protest? We couldn’t be sure. Then we saw another. And another. What the heck was going on?
Later research uncovered the mystery for us. It seems that when a class graduates high school in Denmark, they all load onto one of these trucks. The truck then proceeds to the house of each of the students in the class, where their parents provide everyone with some kind of gift, typically alcoholic in nature. There are usually 25 students in a class, so that’s 25 stops. In between they honk the horn, sing, and blow whistles. People on the streets laugh and smile, cars on the road honk in congratulation. The captain’s hats are the Danish equivalent to our graduation caps. After making all the stops, they all head to some location for a big party. What a way to graduate! Note: the legal drinking age is 18 here.
Beautiful canals like this can be found all over Copenhagen.
We ambled forth, swollen-kneed, to our hotel room. After retrieving our luggage we head up. At this point we were quite tired, so we all took a nap. Some longer than others (me). I awoke to Madi and Derek arriving back, with kebabs and beer. Not a bad way to wake up! The kebabs were delicious, and though warm, the beer was too. We also had a chili sauce with the kebabs, which was the spiciest thing we had so far. It also wasn’t spicy. From there, we all hung out and enjoying conversation until falling asleep. A great first day in Denmark!