København Archives ⋆ The Passenger

September 3, 2020April 14, 2022

Art, Smørrebrød and a mermaid

Yes, 2020 has been a tough year for travellers. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit us all very hard and travelling was nearly impossible – at least concerning the more interesting regions around the world. But even in Europe more and more countries became problematic as destinations: either because you would have to get into quarantine for 14 days when arriving there or because you would have to quarantine yourself after returning from there because of too many coronavirus infections. Business travel came to an end and for nine months I didn’t leave my one country which was quite unusual for me by that time.

September 2, 2020October 4, 2020

Danish minimalism

I’ve been disappointed by so many museums for contemporary art that my expectations are pretty low when visiting one of them – that protects me very well. The Copenhagen Contemporary or short CC is a nice one on the Refshaleøen peninsula in København. What you should know in advance is that they exhibit a very small number of artworks, but that those are often very large. The old industrial halls are perfect for giant items that can’t be shown in most museums.

September 2, 2020February 25, 2024

Glyptotek

A collection of sculptures doesn’t sound so inviting for you? Think twice! I would also visit the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in København if it would be completely empty – because already the fantastic staircases and the giant hall with palm trees in the centre of the building are simply amazing. Within you can find modern sculptures and antics from Greece and Rome and also some impressionist art – a wonderful combination.

September 2, 2020April 22, 2022

Kanal-Caféen

Do you remember The Muppet Show and its Swedish chef? In the German version, he is from Denmark and singing the song ‘Smørrebrød, Smørrebrød røm, pøm, pøm, pøm‘. Smørrebrød is just bread with butter and if you want to taste this Danish speciality – most often with fish – then you have plenty of options in the Danish capital city.

September 2, 2020October 4, 2020

Meet the Vikings

The national museum or Nationalmuseet of København is a wild mix of items and themes typical for Danish history. It starts in the very beginning, covers medieval times as well as modern developments. The museum is very modern, with a very open architecture and an inviting playground for all ages.

September 2, 2020October 4, 2020

Savannah

You don’t see panda bears that often in zoological gardens – but in København you can watch them relaxing in the sun. Another rather rare animal is the Tasmanian Devil, it was the first time in Denmark that I’ve seen this fantastic animal. The Zoologisk Have København is a wonderful middle-sized zoo that was founded in 1859. It is home to around 3,500 animals of 250 species and it groups the animals according to the places in the world where they are living.

September 1, 2020April 22, 2022

Getting around

København with its 600,000 inhabitants isn’t a small but also not a giant city. Most sights for tourists are located in the city centre but for some, you’ll have to travel a bit. Getting around in the capital city of Denmark is rather easy – even as there are so many different transport systems. A little bit surprising for me was how important bicycles are for the inhabitants: riding a bike is a real pleasure as there are separated bicycle lanes and sometimes also bicycle bridges – you can get from A to B very fast by bike.

September 1, 2020October 4, 2020

No photo!

The Fristad Christiania is a special place in København. You shouldn’t walk in, enjoy the lights in the evening hours and try to take a photo. I made this error and was directly approached by someone who wanted to make sure that the picture is deleted – and therefore wanted to check my smartphone. Why is that? Christiania is still a place where illegal drugs are sold and consumed and clearly, nobody wants to be pictured while doing illegal things.

September 1, 2020October 3, 2020

Street food zone

While being a solo traveller I really love street food markets. You don’t want to sit alone in a restaurant waiting for dinner (even though a good book can make such a situation pleasurable). Also, a street food market is a perfect place to taste local dishes, experimental creative food and the classic international dishes. Therefore it is no wonder that I visited the Reffen streetfood market more than once during my trip to København.

September 1, 2020October 4, 2020

Star-shaped fortification

When you look on a map of København, Denmark, you might be surprised by seeing a star-shaped structure in the north of the city – not far away from the little mermaid. It is a fortification protecting the harbour of the city and it was finished in 1667: the Kastellet. The military area is very well preserved and includes a system of moats. Today you can visit it freely through the gates and on wooden bridges.