Just another ordinary city post 

After cruising around the Arctic and laying eyes on one polar bear kilometers away from our small inflatable boat, I flew down to Copenhagen for a couple of days to shake my legs. I read Michael Booth’s “The Almost Nearly Perfect People” years ago. Were they really perfect? I wanted to find out observing life around Copenhagen and learn something about the Vikings. First of all, if I wanted to get into the weeds of the Vikings history, I was in the wrong Viking city. Meanwhile, my heart rate exploding because I was down with the notorious virus: the perils of Summer 2022.

As I didn’t get a chance to work out and elevate my heart rate (for the right reasons) on the “Ocean Adventurer”, I took full advantage of the Danish heat to get in at least two 10kms walk a day.

Day 1 

I arrived at 10am, room not ready. I checked out a bunch of cafes downtown where I stayed, restaurants teeming with people under 40. Open mic posters everywhere. Comedy is popular here; they’re sarcastic and witty but then I don’t speak Danish. Thorvaldsen’s museum across the river.

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Day 2 

Distance: 13kms from Christianshavn to the King’s Castle in the historic center, Indre By (Inner City)

Ordered by King Christian IV, Christianshavn was built in the 1600s on reclaimed land to protect the King’s Castle. Now it’s a hip neighborhood spread over a cluster of islands connected by small bridges. Towering buildings in bright colors counterbalanced the grey walls that lined the canals. The ghost of Bob Marley permeated the air in Freetown. Mary Jane blending in with graffiti painted on surrounding walls.

Turned off, I scuttled towards Dock Island over remains of military and industrial activities. A futuristic building clad with limestone and marble glittered from afar. It was the Copenhagen Royal Opera House, designed by Henning Larsen who also designed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia built in 1984.

I crossed the Inner Harbor Bridge to Nyhavn that was once a shipping route during King Christian IV’s reign. As ships grew in size and demand for goods increased, Nyhavn was not big enough. What remained were “harbor activities” sailors busied themselves with. From the looks of it, these activities continue over what is now a pedestrianized area lined with colorful townhouses that top the list of instagram posts.

Pushing my way through tiktokers and cyclists, I headed towards the historic district Indre By (Inner City) once a fortified city during the Reign of King Christian IV. I walked through the King’s Garden dotted with sculptures, tourists and children, Rosenborg Castle, the King’s summer house built in the 1600s at a distance. I was not interested in shiny jewels, wall carpets and what a king’s toilet looked like from 400 years ago, especially after sitting through lectures on the Ocean Adventurer about how our bizarre interests are destroying the planet. So, it got me thinking.

While I was thinking, I browsed a couple of permanent and temporary exhibitions related to European Art from various eras and movements at the National Gallery of Denmark close by. 260,000 pieces on display and not enough time.

I think I found my answer at the exclusive Neanderthal exhibition at the National Museum of History next door. Fossils, social artifacts and life size replicas of homo neanderthalensis and many other interesting discoveries from 40,000 years ago were on display. Oh the irony of evolution. What’s next for homo sapiens?

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Day 3 

Distance: 10.2km – Museums to Kastellet

Copenhagen transformed and grew from a small harbor to the colorful city it is today, and the best way to dig into its past is by digesting information at the Museum of Copenhagen and National Museum of Denmark. Neighborhoods I passed through have been developed as a consequence of a booming economy, wars, friendship, religion and opportunistic traders from “lands” near by. Most importantly King Christian IV who I know very little about was a huge fan of Dutch Renaissance. The architecture varied from baroque, roccoco and modern. Meanwhile, the upper class were going through revolutionary moments; they started reading in the 1700s and cycling in 1885.

The fortress, Kastellet which looks like a shape of a star on the map, faced the open sea and was built in 1662 by King Christian IV and completed during the reign of his son Frederik. KC wanted to protect Copenhagen while Denmark was going through a trading boom, cannons and military bases still in use today. I walked around the fortress, store houses and Churchill park named after Winston Churchill who liberated Denmark during World War II. Who leaves Copenhagen without eating at a restaurant that bagged a couple of Michelin stars? I found one close to my hotel and devoured a mishmash of flavourful ingredients that whirled up my gut. I ran back to the hotel, laughing at myself which didn’t make it any better. Thankfully my room was on the first floor so I flew up the stairs.

Day 4

Before my flight, I spent a couple of hours at Bertel Thorvaldsen’s museum built in the 1840s and left in awe. He spent most of his life in Rome and was the first Danish artist who was internationally recognized. He worked round the clock according to what I saw at the museum; sculptures, paintings, and his private collection of paintings and artefacts. Evidently, he was a workaholic and was buried in the courtyard of the museum as per his request. Work till I die. Are they happiest people? Well.. I do not know.