In September 2023 I wrapped up a trip to three Nordic nations with a short stay in beautiful Copenhagen, Denmark. It was my last stop after 11 days in Finland a short day and a half whirlwind visit to Stockholm, Sweden, followed by the express train from the Swedish capital to was able to Malmö. From there it was ridiculously easy to get a local train to Kastrup Airport, in Copenhagen, crossing the famous Øresund Bridge. From there I took a short bus ride to my friend’s home in a cozy neighborhood of Sundbyvester.
My gracious host and I met in Greenland back in 1998, on a ferry Nuuk to Sisimiut, and we’ve stayed in touch ever since. To my delight, he gave me a thumb’s up for an unexpected two-day stopover in his home city. From there, I would fly home to Portland.
I could go on and on how much I love Copenhagen, its sustainable design, its bike and pedestrian infrastructure, its fabulous and healthy looking residents (people have great bike legs at all ages!). I first visited this people-friendly capital city in 1990 at the tail end of an around the world trip that was fizzling. I came back a few times in the early 2000s and had not visited since 2003, when I also visited my same friend.
He gave me a bike tour my first early evening there. It was fabulous seeing a rainbow lighting up the Baltic sky above Amager Strandpark, where I saw people walking, running, swimming, wind surfing, kayaking, playing volleyball, and otherwise savoring the great evening light.
The next day I did a running tour that gave me a complete dose of Copenhagen tourist sites, without trying, biking from friend’s home to some apartments by the canal and then setting out by foot.
I was first blockaded by a massive stream of cyclists pouring into work as I tried to cross a ped-bike bridge. Starting on the east side of the main harbor/canal dividing the city, I ran north to the old heart of the city. That took me through Slotsholmen, where the famous Christiansborg Slot palace is found. I ran north through a maze of old streets, where I stumbled on the most photographed of all tourist destinations in Denmark, Nyhavn, with its social-media famous and brightly painted town homes and boats parked in the canal. I ran as far north as the old fortress, Kastellet and saw a massive Maersk PR campaign underway with one of their cargo ships commandeered for branding. I then ran back south, getting nice views of water taxis and the waterway, past open water swimmers and morning exercisers, to the apartment blocks where I started my adventure.
In the afternoon I borrowed a bike that my friend’s brother generously loaned me, letting me revisit the city and be a proper tourist. I especially loved the National Museum of Denmark, which had a lovely Viking history and art display. I ended the afternoon back at Amager Strandpark, where I enoyed seeing the beautiful Baltic Sea and offshore windmills.
My friend and enjoyed a quiet evening at a tasty local restaurant near his home. It felt very, very hyggelig (a now much abused and corporatized term, but which means “cozy” or “comfortable”).
The next morning, before the sun was out, I was on the bus to the airport for my flight home via Frankfort. I could not have asked for a better way to end a fabulous Nordic holiday, reconnected with an old friend has always welcomed me in his beautiful country.
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