The Big Day out in Copenhagen

The late night out listening to jazz at La Fontaine in Kompagnistræde with Jen meant for a delayed start to the day. I had felt sad it was my last proper night in Copenhagen and decided to walk home afterwards rather than catch a cab, so that I could soak in every last moment and detail. We had had a really fun time at the club but we were blown away when we realised that people were smoking in the bar. It has been so many years since smoking in venues was allowed in Australia that I had forgotten what it was like to come out of a bar smelling like an ashtray. The ‘smoking area’ was just a tiny room in the middle of the bar that didn’t even have a door, so all the smoke just wafted out into the main part of the bar.

Despite the fact I had spent six days in Copenhagen it wasn’t anywhere near long enough for me to tick off everything on my list, so I was forced to choose the ‘must see’ places for my last day. I plotted my day over breakfast at a cafe then made my way on foot to Frederiksberg Gardens. I spent an hour or so exploring the gardens then continued on to Rosenborg Palace.

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I had intended to take a tour of the interior but there was a massive line and a chaotic situation happening with the lockers, so I decided to skip the queue and just walk through the gardens instead.

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The Statens Museum for Kunst, better known as SMK was my next stop. It is the national gallery of Denmark and is the country’s largest art museum. The old section of the museum dates back to 1896 and some of its collections were originally part of private collections belonging to the Danish kings. The new section is only around twenty years old and includes an open atrium that is used to displays modern art exhibitions. This was a fabulous museum and in hindsight I really should have set aside a half day to visit, but unfortunately I only had a couple of hours to spare so I had to limit myself to seeing the Danish and Nordic exhibitions.

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I was completely mesmerised by this piece of artwork. The photo really doesn’t do this painting justice because in real life the colours were exquisite and it was incredibly lifelike.

On my way to visit the Marble Church afterwards I spotted a retro style silver alarm clock in an op shop that I snapped up for 7 euros. I then made my way to the church where I took some time to reflect and appreciate the peace and beauty of the architecture. I then walked through Amelienborg where I saw the changing of the guard but sadly didn’t spot Mary or Frederick.

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I passed through the famous tourist area ‘Nyhavn’ on my way to the water bus. It was incredibly colourful and pretty but was completely overrun with tourists so it was anything but pleasant to wade through the crowds. The bridge I crossed was one of the many European bridges where lovers add their locks to the railings.

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Several people I had met over the last couple of days had told me about a cool area on the waterfront called ‘Reffen’ so I decided at the last minute that I wanted to see it before I flew out that night. I caught the harbour bus from Nyhavn to Refshaleøen, passing Copenhagen’s stunning Opera House along the way. Refshaleøen originally operated as a shipyard for more than a hundred years until 1996 when it was declared bankrupt. It was later redeveloped by entrepreneurs into a vibrant, thriving and chic industrial area filled with food stalls, bars, restaurants and stores. A number of music festivals are also held there, particularly during the summer months.

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I caught the Harbour Bus to the Bibliotek stop so that I could walk back through Christiansborg Palace on my way to Copenhagen’s main shopping area. I headed straight for the beautiful Illums Bolighus department store where I was in Scandinavian design heaven. The prices were suitably astronomical so I had to restrict myself to buying some some candles, a gorgeous cornflower blue steel water bottle and some small vases. I asked the cashier if he could recommend a nice area where I could go for dinner and he directed me to a picturesque square called Gråbrødretorv. I had a glass of wine at Huks Fluks and then dinner at an Italian restaurant with outdoor seating in the square. It was a really lovely way to end my holiday, but I felt incredibly sad to leave because I knew I had only scratched the surface of things to see and do in Denmark.

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