Day 1 - 4 : Denmark (Wrap Up)

Copenhagen was my 1st stop of my 3rd big trip. Being the 1st stop and uncertain about all the covid rules and jet lag concerns, I set aside 4 full days in the city.

It was a good thing too, as I was struggling to stay up past 8.30pm on most nights and was up mostly by 6am, which worked to my advantage, since it gets dark really quickly this time of the year.

I got really lucky with travelling into Copenhagen too, especially when on the day I depart Copenhagen for Germany, Denmark has announced it now requires travellers from Singapore to quarantine on arrival for at least 4 days. Phew!

Weather wise, I must say I had it pretty well. The 1st day there were sunny blue skies, and I managed to cover most of what I had wanted to originally see, leaving time to even go to Sweden (Malmo & Lund) and even Helsingør, up North from Copenhagen.

The following days of my stay, it got cloudy with slight drizzle, but that didn't last too long - much better than what was predicted from the weather forecast, as I was expecting showers for most of the time I would be in Denmark.

Essentially one could see key sights of Copenhagen within 2 to 3 full days, using the route I used on Day 1, and adding on other key sights as below. More time needed if planning on visiting any museums. 

Free Christiania

Located in the area of Christianshavn - it's said to be somewhat like Amsterdam, not exactly sure what it meant, but shortly after crossing the bridge into Christianshavn, I came upon a water canal lined with low blocks of buildings which reminded me very much of Amsterdam.

However, I later found out what made Free Christiania like Amsterdam was the prevalence of weed being sold specifically in this neighbourhood - from what I understood, weed is illegal in Denmark, but only in this area, the laws and jurisdiction of Copenhagen does not apply.
Photos are not supposed to be taken here, which I found out shortly after this pic was snapped

Immediately a big guy walked up towards me and said no pics are allowed here as everyone's criminal. I was made to delete the above photo before I could keep my phone, but later realised I had another copy of the pic somewhere else, thus person's face had been blocked to protect identity.

It was also a very interesting neighbourhood, with lots of graffiti art on numerous walls.

Even outside the Free Christiansen area, but still within the Christianshavn neighbourhood, you can find a lot of eccentric things, such as this "art" piece.

There was also the iconic Church of Our Saviour with the spiral staircase tower design, extremely unique unlike any other churches I ever seen.

Christiansborg Palace

Apparently the tower is free to visit, allowing great views of the city. It's not the tallest view point in the city, but hey, it's free. Note that it closes on Mondays, along with most museums in Copenhagen. Wanted to go visit but didn't have the time to do so. 

Rosenborg Castle 

Statens Naturhistoriske Museum

Børsen

The Round Tower

Tivoli

I am a thrill seeker and was contemplating to visit, but upon seeing the prices, I decided against it. Besides a very costly admission fee, rides will need to be individually purchased. 

The architecture in Copenhagen had been really interesting, and especially nice walking down the pedestrian streets of Copenhagen.

Further south, starting from around Tivoli and past the Central Train Station, it gets grittier.

There is also a meat packing district south of Central Train Station, which seems to be where hip restaurants could be found.

You can get by without almost using any cash in Denmark, though there are places which charge a commission of about 3% for credit cards. 

In general, almost everything is expensive in Denmark. Dining out at restaurants are on average at least DKK 150 (S$30). They even charge for tap water - I've heard a ridiculous price of DKK50 (S$10) for per person cover of tap water at a restaurant in Copenhagen! There's even a 3% uplift in some places for using credit card.

Even sending a postcard overseas is crazily expensive - the damage.. DKK33 (S$7) just for the stamp!

What amazed me was the lack of any signs of covid - no mask wearing, no restrictions on dining or gathering etc. 

At times as I leave the hostel room, I even find myself thinking about putting a mask out of habit.

I am so glad to finally be able to breathe properly without the mask on. I had a nice time overall, though not sure I would come back here again, mostly because of cost. 

Day 3 : Day Trip to Sweden - Malmö & Lund

I decided to do a day trip into Sweden, since it is just seperated by a bridge and takes about 30 mins by train to get to the nearest biggest town, Malmö, or another 12 mins to Lund. 

The trip by train across the bridge was really nice, and you could see numerous wind turbines out in sea. Once past the bridge, I was officially in Sweden. I brought my passport just in case there were border checks but there were none. 

I decided to make Lund my first stop - It's apparently the oldest town in Sweden and it's also famously known as the University town.

The town is really compact and I managed to cover most of it within a couple hours. 

Interesting architecture in the town, even the university campus alone has different styles of buildings. 

University Building 

King's House

The highlight in my opinion is the Lund Cathedral. 

There's so much intricate detail in the interiors. 

Just look at the carvings on the wood work! 

And then the crypt! Wow! 

I don't know who were buried here though 😛. 

However being here gave me the Da Vinci Code feelz... You know the scene where Tom Hanks started hammering the ground? 😂🤣😂

And the most impressive - Lund Astronomical Clock. 

It dates back to 1425 and was restored in 1923. The astronomical clock chimes twice daily (12noon and 3pm). 

Don't know how it is when it chimes, but it just turned 10am when I was there and I caught the 2 soldier statues on the top moving. Pretty cute!

I don't quite know how to read the clock though. Anyone knows? 

I also happened to randomly walk through a cemetery that was located next to the Botanical Gardens. A rather pleasant setting for a cemetery, and worth a walk through if there's time. 

Next stop, Malmö. It's a lot bigger town than Lund (Malmö is the third largest city in Sweden), and the architecture style is also very different from Lund (combination of both the old and the new, with fascinating historical buildings and modern architecture). Malmö was once owned by Denmark, eventually becoming Swedish in 1658. 

Stortorget - the main town square. 

Malmö Cathedral 

Of course every town needs its own cathedral. It was a little too modern for my liking, and I much prefer Lund. 

 

With the exception of this small section - just look at those paintings on the ceiling. There was unfortunately serious signs of fading, especially those on the wall.  

Malmö Castle 

Not quite what I expected of a castle as I expected more grandeur. This looked rather industrial. It is now converted as a museum.

Turning Torso

This is supposed to be an iconic building in Malmö, and the 1st twisted skyscraper in the world. 

As per Wikipedia, "it is a neo-futurist residential skyscraper in Sweden and the tallest building in Scandinavia". I wasn't impressed but with all the walking done during the day, I was absolutely exhausted by the time I got to here and didn't walk closer to get a better look. 

The main highlight for me in Malmö was not the sights, but actually lunch! Before coming, I had a look at dining options, but when I went by then, some were either closed or were extremely packed (and seemed to be serving IKEA style food) or had menus only in Swedish.

I walked past a hotel which looked really simple on the outside, and featured an English menu - Tuesday offering of Fish stew was actually the most appealing from the week's menu, so I decided to walked in.

And OMG, what a lovely surprise. I walked through the entrance and the hotel staff pointed me to a section which was the restaurant. As I got to the entrance of the restaurant, it opened up into a beautiful bright and sunny courtyard with beautiful glass dome covered with creepers. Absolutely stunning.

Lunch came with a salad (definitely good quality olive oil used here) and bread and butter (even the butter was really good, creamiest I ever tasted), and the fish stew (see how pretty it is) and tea/coffee (self service). 

Even the tea was premium, from Damman Freres.

I definitely lucked out and enjoyed the venue and lunch so much, I stayed for almost 2 hours. I think it may had been better than any of the other places I had originally looked at. I certainly raved heaps of the place to friends after the meal! 

And there's this very cute chair at the hotel. Would you sit on it? 

Some other ramdom images from Malmö, and then me calling it a day!