PRESTIGE TRAVEL

THE
danish
girl
CHRIS BUCHANAN WENT BACK TO SEE AN OLD FRIEND AND,
DESPITE A FEW IMPROVEMENTS ON THE GO, SHE SEEMED NOT
TO HAVE AGED AT ALL AND IN FACT LOOKED YOUNGER AND
EVEN MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN HE REMEMBERED.

Y
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ou cannot choose the weather when you visit a foreign
city, neither can you choose whether they decide to
renovate the place when you’re there. So revisiting
Copenhagen, while laced with anticipation, was
dampened by weather most foul and the expansion of
the metro system with the City Circle Line (Cityringen)

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which will add 17 stations and eventually replace the

inner city bus services to reduce congestion. A lot of
the city will be a construction site for another three years but don’t let that deter
you because this is a magical place filled with fantastic people whose blood runs
thick with their Viking ancestry.

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There were a number of additions

to the architectural and urban design
landscape I wanted to see for the first
time, as well as visiting a favourite
district that had changed face since
the relocation of the Malmo ferry
terminal.
It’s fair to say that Denmark
is far more relaxed as far as the
purchase and consumption of liquor
than its Scandinavian neighbour
Sweden. Some years ago Swedish
liquor merchants required you to
stand behind a counter and have the
shop assistant serve you rather than
choose it yourself from the shelf. So,
many Swedes would catch ferries
to Copenhagen from Malmo and
recharge their crates of empties at
bottle shops that lined the wharf on
Havengade, without the humiliation
It was 12 years since I had last of being told by a shop keeper that
walked the streets of this ancient you’re buying too much. There were
fishing village that had become a also many basement pubs along
cultural flag bearer for design and the wharf that did a fair trade when
architecture and one of the finest the ferries docked and crates were
examples of how people interact with replenished and thirsty Swedes were
and use their city. Much had changed waiting for their boat to depart. They
and then so much stayed the same, were smokey and dark places filled
particularly the inner city precinct with conversation and Scandinavian
stretching from Nyhavn to the Tivoli drinking culture where the weathered
Garden. The green copper spires and faced locals looked as if they had
towers still dominate this skyline of spent their lives on the sea.
human scale devoid of any intrusion
by modern commercial interests to put
people in tall buildings. While medieval
in its origin, the 17th and 18th century
aesthetic dominates Copenhagen, from
the townhouses that line the restored
harbour at Nyhavn and along the
canals of Christianshavn to the stone
institutional structures, palaces and
churches that stand over generous open
squares.
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Sadly they’ve gone and the wharfside two restaurants and a jazz club. We
has been regenerated, as has this entire dined at restaurant Almanak on a rainy
stretch of Havengade from Hyhavn to autumn night, which seemed almost
the Frederiksholms Canal, to make fitting with its contemporary Danish
way for bistros and restaurants offering cuisine, buzzing atmosphere and the
contemporary Danish cuisine along a mottled view through the rain of the
generous promenade that used to be familiar apartments across the canal
the offload area for the ferries. The where the adaption of Peter Hoeg’s
old customs house building stands novel Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow
testament to this regeneration and its was filmed.
maritime inspired Art Deco façade now Copenhagen is a city that has
represents The Standard which houses prioritised pedestrians and cyclists

providing generous lanes for those canals of Christianshavn, the lifestyle neighbourhood which has always put a
on bicycles and creating the world’s of Copenhagen translates into the cloud of controversy over a remarkable
longest and oldest pedestrian street, The green copper gentle tap of boat sheets against the example of peaceful defiance and
Stroget, which forms the spine of the masts of the many occupied house creativity. It’s a must visit if you’re in the
inner city. Until recently, if residents of spires and towers boats, and the cafés that spill out city, if only to see some of the alternative
Christianshavn across the main canal onto the wharfs in front of the Dutch architecture and beautifully crafted
wished to cycle or walk into the city, still dominate this Renaissance houses that line them. bicycles of Christiania Cycles.
they would have to cross the busy Heading into autumn, the days were The city of Copenhagen is one which
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Knippelsbro bridge. Now a dedicated skyline of human not as extended as they are in summer will enchant you, at the same time it
low-level cycle and pedestrian bridge, but Copenhageners still revel in the will embrace you and draw you into
Inderhavnsbro, links its two islands scale devoid of twilight hours and spend as much time its warmth, offering itself on all levels
of Zealand and Amager in a typically outdoors as the darkness of winter slowly of interaction. It’s a multi-dimensional
Scandinavian design that is elegant any intrusion by puts them into hibernation. experience with a surprise around every
and undulating and boasts vistas This is also the home of Freetown corner and it combines its ancient history
across the water to the new Royal modern commercial Christiania, an autonomous enclave of with its contemporary culture seamlessly.
Danish Playhouse and the Copenhagen about 850 residents who have lived Don’t rush around her in a morning, give
interests to put

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Opera House, two fine examples of outside of the law since 1971, after yourself a few days to become absorbed
contemporary architecture that exist on squatting in an old military area and and eventually infatuated with this
a human scale and embrace the water people in tall living a hippie lifestyle of collectivism beautiful Danish lady.
in an integrated and open language. and anarchism. It began to attract
Across this bridge on the island of buildings. hard drug dealers who piggy backed on
www.visitcopenhagen.com
Amager and in the narrow streets and the relaxed cannabis trade within the

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