2nd August, Copenhagen
So much was happening since last 2 days that was
getting tired, by the time am reaching home in the night, all i can do is sleep
and snore.
The day started with an amazing breakfast of fried bacon, eggs, orange
juice and some great bread baked by Pritha. (Morten's formula).
It was a bright
and sunny day and we decided to move out around 10 AM, to catch a leisurely
walk along Strøget – Vimmelskafte, which is a walking street full of
fashion and street performers. Living just on top of it has its own perks. So a
nice walk amidst chirpy, happy tourists was good and we reached the town hall,
where we wanted to join the free walking tour. For people who don’t know what
is a free walking tour, it is a tour completely based on tips. So if you don’t
feel like giving any, that’s completely fine. I have been using these tours in
almost all European cities and I will say these are the best. The guides are
one of the most hilarious ones and they really make your day. For knowing more details
on the Copenhagen one go to http://www.copenhagenfreewalkingtours.dk
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| Breakfast |
We met up with the tour
organizers and signed up for the 11 AM tour, which was supposed to be a 3 hour
walking tour. Our guide Magnus, a.k.a Danish Jesus, was a very funny guy with a
very good sense of sarcasm. I was amazed to see a group of teenagers and some
chinese kids sitting on the town hall steps getting drunk on jagermeister at 11
AM in the morning. Before they could interrupt our tour we moved away. What
followed was a lot of banter, anecdotes and fun filled time with Magnus. We
covered the centers of activity
for Copenhageners, including the Lur Blowers, a look at Tivoli Gardens (from
the outside) and the start of Strøget, the walking street, cobble-stoned
streets of medieval Copenhagen, a lot of stories on Bishop Absalon, the
founding father of Copenhagen, Kongens Nytorv, one of the most spectacular
squares, with excellent examples of 17th Century Architecture, including Magasin Du Nord, the Old Royal
Theatre and historical Hotel d'Angleterre.
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| Marble church
At
this point we took a coffee break at this cosy café (Baresso) next door. 2 nice
coffees with cookies cost us 94 DKK. I took this time to discuss with Magnus,
why Danes are the happiest human beings. Danes are one of the highest taxpayers
in the world, which ranges from 50-65%. On top of it there is a 25% VAT that
you pay on almost everything. Cars are taxed at 180%. However this is what they
get out of this, free education till university. After you reach 18, you get
5500 DKK per month above free education to sustain yourself, if you are living
on your own.
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If
you are working and lose your job, you get 10,000 DKK till you get a job or 2
years. This goes up if you have kids or you are handicapped, etc etc. After
women go back to work post maternity leave, the father is entitled to a year of
paternity leave on 80% of your pay. Rest retirement benefits etc are there too.
Off
course Magnus agreed that this is possible due to the low population. Denmark
has been considered by world media to be the most livable city in the world. We
also discussed on the concept of Hygge, which is a thing every dane is very
concerned about. This translates to cosyness and family time. Having worked with
danes, I very well know what this means. Good Life!!!
We
also had a walk on Nyhavn, the wonderful colourful harbour front, which we
discovered the previous night, where Copenhageners and visitors alike gather to
sip cold beer and enjoy the sea air. This also hosts the house of the famous
writer Hans Christian Anderson, who once said “To Travel is to Live”.
Amalienborg
Palace, the home of the oldest Royal Family in the world and the Marble Church,
with its impressive dome, one of the features of Frederiksstaden, and examples
of Rococo architecture.
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| Nyhavn |
At
the end of the walk we saw the Maersk headquarters and a walk took us to the
little mermaid, a brass statue on a big rock, reminding of Hans Christian
Anderson’s famous character.
After tipping our guide for the tour, we decided
to do the Chirtianshavn and Christinia Free Town tour with them at 4 PM and
also bought tickets for the Pub-crawl in the evening. How can we stay home on a
Saturday night? It was 100 DKK and gets you free shots and beers in a few bars and
clubs. This also is a great platform to socialize and meet fellow travellers.
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| The little mermaid |
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| The canal tours |
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| Us with Magnus |
By
the time we reached home, it was raining and we just managed to get 20 minutes
rest before rushing for the Chritanshavn walking tour. Pritha decided to drop
the idea as see needed to rest for the pub crawl, so have to go alone. It was a
hell lot of walking around, but the history was amazing. What was more to my
interest was the Freetown of Christinia, which the bohemian, hippie
neighbourhood which runs this parallel town which also hold the Green Light
District, if you guys know what I mean. This board at the exit which say, from
here you will enter the EU, says it all. Free sale of soft drugs is allowed
inside and hence absolutely no use of cameras is tolerated. Had some good
swarmas there for 30 DKK.
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| Christinia |
I
spend a few hours there before taking a long walk home to meet Pritha. After
some delicious icecream at Nyhavn, we joined the Pub-crawl for a crazy crazy
night of partying. Jager bombs for 10DKK and beers for 25 DKK. We met a lot of
interesting people from Singapore, Hawaii, Australia and Germany. We finished
around 2 AM before walking back to our apartment and crash.
A
very very tiring but eventful day.
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