Journeys in Scandinavia - Part 1: Copenhagen
Earlier this year, I had a chance to visit two of the cities I’ve always wanted to see: Copenhagen and Stockholm. Ever since visiting Oslo a few years ago, I’ve really wanted to see the rest of the region and Copenhagen and Stockholm were on the bucket list. So, when I got the chance to see both of these cities, I jumped at the chance. This wasn’t going to be a strictly photographic trip - I was there with my wife on a business trip, but it was still an opportunity to get to visit these wonderful cities.
The first stop on our journey was Copenhagen. The capital of Denmark is one of those places that is a combination of modern and old, and it’s also somewhere with a reputation for being one of the most liveable cities in Europe. I was there for a week, but I only really had a couple of days to explore, and even at that I was limited in my ability to walk around due to my ongoing knee problems. We were staying outside the city centre on the outskirts of the central quarter, but it was easily accessible due to the frequent commuter trains, which just so happened to stop right outside the hotel.
On our first night there we got the train into the central station and walked over to the square next to the city hall. On the way, we passed the statue of Hans Christian Andersen, who was probably one of the defining authors of almost everyone’s early childhood, having written many of the nursery rhymes we took for granted as kids. I think I did know he was danish, but never connected the two.
The square itself was interesting as was the city hall. I don’t know the correct terminology for the architecture, but for me it has a unique quality that you don’t really see elsewhere. The combination of red brick and imposing, fortified appearance with the inlaid gold statues and motifs was quite striking, and all around this area the buildings were of a similar design. Interestingly enough, when we explored a bit later on, there was a range of different architectures that were of a totally different style, yet you knew they were from the same city. One of the really interesting things that I noticed while I was there, was that the sky was a deep blue. While I didn’t think we were much further north that Ireland, it turns out we were a bit, and I guess this is enough to give a deeper colour hue in the sky. I thought maybe I was imagining it, but I looked it up - apparently it is a thing. I’m sure the cool clear weather played a part too, but it was really noticeable.
On future days of exploration, we took in more of the sights. It was surprisingly quiet in the city for the most part. We visited the Christiansborg palace and watched as they trained the royal horses. We explored by the canals and down onto the main waterfront. I was fascinated by the details, and the colours of the buildings and the boats. I have a weird obsession with lamp posts, and I love in these cities where the street lights are suspended by cables between the buildings. It’s the same in Venice, and I have a ton of photos of the lights there too!
I was really surprised at how peaceful Copenhagen was. This was back in May so it was not peak tourist season or anything like that, and it was still fairly cold, but the streets were very quiet. Copenhagen has a reputation for being expensive and that’s definitely not an exaggeration. Before we arrived, I was thinking that it can’t be that bad, as Dublin is so expensive now too, but it is. Things like food and coffee are very expensive. However the public transport was surprisingly cheap.
On the last night of our stay, we went to visit the Tivoli Gardens. This was another of those things that I’d heard about but never realised what exactly it was. It’s one of the world’s oldest amusement parks, and it’s like stepping into a Jules Verne novel. It’s part amusement park, part gardens and is full of restaurants and shops as well as the rides themselves. It has a real steampunk vibe and it’s really a unique place. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it and while I’m not an amusement ride person, it was cool just to walk around and enjoy the scenery and the bizarreness of it all. It’s really not something you expect to find right in the middle of the city. I didn’t really take many photos as it was getting dark and I was tired and in pain with my knee, but it was very enjoyable. Nice food too.
If I had one regret on my time there, it was that I never took photos of the central station. It too was an interesting sight from an architectural point of view, but it was very busy a lot of the time, and so I didn’t want to be one of those people getting in the way of commuters and tourists. The central station was also our departure point for our onward journey to Sweden, as we took the train which leaves Stockholm across the famous bridge over the Baltic Sea and on to the Swedish capital after a 5 hour train ride. But I’ll save that for another post.
For those curious of about the technical details, the majority of these were taken on a Fujifilm X-E4 with 16-80mm lens. I had also brought my little Canon GX2 but I had problems with the charger so only a few shots were taken on that camera (and I think one of these). These certainly aren’t my greatest work by any means, but it was still an enjoyable trip and so I wanted to share it.
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