So much to love about Denmark.
Stunningly beautiful, Louisiana Modern Museum of Art, terrific food, but one of the most expensive places on the planet to visit. Norway and Iceland are as expensive, I hear. Breakfast sandwiches for two, plus lattes, cardamom rolls came to a whopping $93. There is a 30% VAT tax on all things hospitality. It gives Manhattan a run for its money. If you visit, plan a short trip, pack everything into a day or two, don’t itemize (meaning don’t freak out about the price of every sandwich you buy) and leave. I have a friend who stays in Malmo, (Sweden) less than one hour from Copenhagen, and commutes for business into Copenhagen and returns to eat and sleep in Sweden.
But Go! Treat Yourself. You will thank yourself and have many laughs bonding with others on how expensive Denmark is.
Essential Must-See & Do:
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, (take a slightly less than one-hour commuter train to Humelbaek from Copenhagen’s central station). Follow the crowd to the museum. The cafe at the train station is surprising good with terrific coffee, pastries and sandwiches. There is a cafe at Louisiana that is lovely but they charge five euros for a glass of tap water. While we were there we saw a wonderful Lucian Freud show and were lucky to enjoy our delicious lunch while listening to an Elizabeth Stroud interview at The Louisiana Literature Festival interview.
Rent a bike for a day and bike around Copenhagen. Visit the Assistens Cemetery where Hans Christian Anderson, Kierkegaard and physicist Niels Bohr are buried.
On your bike adventure be sure to visit the vibrant neighborhoods of Christianshavn, Refshaleoer, and of course the famous Mermaid. Also fun is to see the off-the-grid counter-culture Freetown Christiania. I visited in 1981 and glad to see it’s still thriving after all these decades, but was happy to leave. Seeing tourists mill around groups of addicts, young and old, held little allure. Fortunately, the bike provides instant mobility. You see a neighborhood that doesn’t speak to you, explore others. There is plenty to see, people watch, and get a feel for this dynamic innovative city.
Our favorite eatery is Riviera, in the center of Copenhagen, about three blocks from the famous food hall, Torvehallerne. We had our morning coffee at Torvehallerne but moved to Riviera for breakfast. The always long line intrigued us. It did not disappoint. The swiss chard, olive oil eggs on multigrain toast were the best eggs we ever had.
Finally, my favorite thing about Denmark, and why people say it’s a far superior place to live than anywhere else, except Finland, and other Nordic nations, are the bike lanes. They are a win-win for the city (congestion-reduction), the people (healthy exercise) and the environment, (less fossil fuels).
When I saw how everyone was so orderly and gave hand/arm signals while turning and obeyed the rules, I thought, “that would never happen in America.” People would be swearing at each other, going the wrong way, “I’m late for my appointment, don’t you know who I think I am?!?”
It gave me hope for humanity and reinforced my love for Europe. At least some countries get basic things right like infrastructure, community, healthcare, education. Yes, they pay high taxes but the general quality of life is lovely. Our Uber driver, who took us from our hotel to the central train station, moved to Copenhagen in 1989 from Iraq. He said it was the best thing he ever did. His grandchildren are thriving in local public schools. His family are settled, all live in housing they are grateful for, have jobs, friends, community. What about food, I ask? They shop at supermarkets and cook at home. He said prices are very reasonable.