The history of Copenhagen in Denmark rolls back all the way to the 11th century with its initial wealth and expansion being built around the harbour and the herring fishing trade. In 1801, the forever pesky British fleet fought a major battle there, the Battle of Copenhagen, against the Danish navy. It was at this particular skirmish that Lord Nelson famously ‘put the telescope to the blind eye’ to ‘definitely maybe’ miss Admiral Parker’s signal to cease fire!
In the summer of 2000, the cities of Copenhagen and Malmo in Sweden were connected up via a toll bridge/tunnel suitable for road and rail traffic. It is named Oresund Bridge and was famously used for the backdrop for ‘The Bridge’ Television series. The opening scene set its stall out in style by having a mysterious body positioned at the exact midpoint of the structure, thereby falling under the joint jurisdiction of both countries police forces.
Oresund Bridge. Image Credit livingnomads.com
I watch a lot of foreign dramas, always with subtitles as I personally believe they need to be viewed in their original format, and this remains my favourite. For the record the remainder of my Top 5 would be Gomorrah, Dark, The Killing and The Bureau.
In 2002 the city’s metro system opened for business and in 2015 they staged the worldwide COP15 climate convention with Barack Obama in attendance. Famous city residents include the actor Mads Mikkelsen, comedienne Sandi Toksvig, fairy tale author Hans Christian Andersen, model Helena Christiansen, footballer Kasper Schmeichel and film director Lars Von Trier. On the musical front there is Aqua of ‘Barbie Girl’ fame, Iceage and the fabulous Raveonettes.
Copenhagen was named in 2025 as the happiest city in the world with the criteria based on elements such as economy, environment, education, healthcare and work-life balance, or alternatively as I personally rebadge the slogan for myself under the banner ‘gig-life-work balance’! The highest British entry in that list was London languishing down in 31st place.
Aqua. Image Credit storage.googleapis.com
We made our debut visit to the city and in fact to Scandinavia as a whole in June 2023 and we were blessed with three days of wall-to-wall sunshine. It has got to be noted it is staggeringly expensive, and we literally could not swing a cat in our ‘compact’ hotel room! Aside from those grouses I found it to be a bonny and intriguing city with an abundance of rivers and waterways. Whilst we were there the locals were hunting any suitable spare spot by the water’s edge to bask in the sun.
On our first night we headed over to Vesterbro’s Kodbyen (known locally as the Meatpacking district). It is still a partially functioning meat packing area, but it has graduated away from its past life of butchers and porn shops into a now fashionable cornucopia of outdoor bars and restaurants.
On day 2 we grabbed some breakfast at one of the local coffee shops before having a culture hit to follow the caffeine hit. Slotsholmen is a compact island in the city centre, but it is the seat of political power as it is houses the home of the prime minister, supreme court and the monarchy. The Royal Stables were particularly impressive and the Christianborg Palace (known as the ‘Castle’) was the location that was utilised for the excellent political drama Borgen.
To achieve a graduation in Denmark is a huge life event and one of the key traditional ways to celebrate is for the students to hire and then travel round in a decorated truck dressed in white sailor hats, and on the way visit all their parents and take a dip in Storkespringvandet.
As you navigate the city streets, they are a noisy presence with their honking and hollering and the first time Gill and I encountered them we exchanged a ‘WTF’ look. The first two or three sightings had a cultural novelty attached but as the number of occurrences was then ever increasing the viewings soon lost its lustre!
Borgen cast. Image Credit digital.tv
To take full advantage of the balmy weather we headed over the three adjacent green spaces in the Parkmuseerne district which was initially built in 1874. Contained there is the Ostre Anlaeg Park, The Kings Garden and the Botanical Gardens.
The latter contains the largest collection of living plants in the city totalling around 1300 and around 27 glass houses. There are also various museums dotted around the park. Whilst we were lounging there, we watched a local drama group setting up a temporary outdoor stage for a Shakespeare performance taking place the next day.