(Copenhagen, Denmark)
After a very long journey (and a very short night) I have arrived in the Danish capital. The lights were out in the plane for only about one hour and forty-five minutes, so I really didn’t get any sleep. Sadly, my hotel room was not ready when I arrived…so I also had to wander around the city on my own in a somewhat punchy and jet-lagged state for a couple of hours. Not ideal, but also falling squarely into what people now call “first world problems”. I cannot complain.
My hotel is right downtown, so I was immediately able to visit the famous Nyhavn (“new harbour”) area with its colourful buildings. This is the place where every “typical” picture of Copenhagen is taken (and also appears at the top of this post). Reflecting the time of year, it is filled with wooden stalls selling mulled wine, hot chocolate, woolen sweaters and various Christmas-related items. All very cosy (reflecting the Danish ideal of hygge) and quite useful too, given the very cool and damp winds that were whipping in from the sea. Despite the challenging late November weather, this is clearly a prosperous and beautiful city.
Another “trademark” of Copenhagen is the statue of the Little Mermaid. I’ve seen pictures and videos of this on a number of occasions and each time I thought that it was somewhat…underwhelming. I was therefore keeping my expectations low.
Having now seen it myself, it is even more underwhelming than expected! All of those dramatic pictures, showing a wistful mermaid gazing out to sea, are clearly works of gifted professional photographers. Somehow, the industrial harbour background and the smallness of the statue (it *might* be life-sized, but seems smaller) are never front and centre. I actually preferred to take pictures of people taking pictures around the statue. There were some very interesting contortions as people tried to take selfies (some with rather self-indulgent ‘selfie sticks’) in front of the statue.
An unavoidable first impression of Copenhagen is the cost. It is expensive here, at least if you compare it to Canada. I’m not here for long and the quality of goods and services appears to be high, but it still looks like the next few days are going to be marked by a prolonged case of sticker shock.
Lest those first impressions sound, er, underwhelming…I did know that it would be expensive here and that the Little Mermaid statue often disappointed people. I deliberately visited it today when I wasn’t feeling 100%…and with the knowledge that the highlights of the trip were still to come. After a good night’s sleep and a proper breakfast, I will be ready to go!
Stay tuned for the real treasures of Denmark!