Copenhagen and Malmo

A European city is a tourist’s delight in the gorgeous summer. Most cities have a standard template which is a perfect mix of old and new, of history and modernization. With the sun breathing down your neck under the bright blue skies till the late evening hours, the tourist in you refuse to retire until your heels cannot take it anymore on those beautiful cobbled roads.
After having the pleasure of visiting a number of such cities in central and western Europe, it was going to be my first in Scandinavia. Not quite as I would just touch the Danish capital of Copenhagen with a day tour to the Swedish town of Malmo.
Its a family vacation and post Copenhagen my wife and her family would proceed to Bergen and Norway much to my envy as I would head back to my work place in Manchester. We were booked at the Copenhagen Strand Hotel which was at the most prime location of the city, at the harbour front close to Nyhavn. Nyhavn is the most iconic location in the city and THE place to be for tourists. One can probably spend the whole day there having a couple of beers and soaking the August sun. Our early morning flight went off smooth except for the fact that the security people confiscated by shampoo bottle.
We had breakfast at the hotel soon after checking in. The hotels generally have a late check-in time of 3 PM and hence were were initially provided only one room. It didn’t matter as we were all set to hit the town. Very soon we were at the Nyhavn, the beautiful waterfront lined with colourful buildings which contained bars, restaurants and other forms of entertainment. The canal was lined up with boats and a couple of ferry stations where you could book your ferry tour through the canals of the city. Overall an Amsterdam type feel to the location. Another aspect very similar to Amsterdam were the bicycles plying. One could hire a bicycle and ride through the whole city on the lane designated to do so. After a round of walk, I did exactly that. I hired a bicycle for a day from our hotel itself and let myself loose through the streets of Copenhagen. I didn’t care about the landmarks I crossed or viewed. I just enjoyed the gorgeous sun and the cool breeze hitting my face. After having a feel of the place on the bike I decided to park it and join the group. Parents were ready by this time and it was time for lunch. Needless to say, we would attack one of the outdoor cafes at Nyhavn. I am not so adventurous when it comes to trying new cuisine so I ordered whatever was known to me. Others chipped in with various types of fish. Nyhavn is traditionally a fisherman’s district and the harbourside was famous for its fishermen. I even noticed a few sketches of 18th century fisherman’s district adorning the walls of our hotel. As the evening set in, live music started pouring in from all corners and tourists of all nationalities were all set to rock the Saturday night in the party corner of the city. The evening was spent in and around Nyhavn rounding off with post dinner dessert.

Nyhavn

The next day would be a typical sight-seeing day. After breakfast and our customary walk to Nyhavn, we decided on taking on the ferry cruise through the harbour and the city. Almost all landmarks are covered by the ferry. The other option was the hop-on-hop-off bus. However, we noticed that it makes little sense to take that as the area covered was not much and most could be covered by foot if need be, The cruise would give us a feel of the sea which was at its blue-est, simmering under the sun. The cruise showed us the various landmarks like the Royal Danish Playhouse, The Opera House, The Little Mermaid, Our Saviors Church and The Black Diamond. Post the cruise, we had another outdoor lunch followed by souvenir shopping at the town square. We walked back to the hotel and in the process viewed some of the other points of interest like the Christiansborg Palace. After taking a bit of rest we rounded off the day with an Indian dinner.

Malmo Town Centre

Day 3 involved a trip to Malmo, Sweden. This was going to be a forty-five minute train ride across the sea on the 8 Km long Oresund Bridge which connects Sweden and Denmark. The bridge is over the Oresund strait. Sweden greeted us with even better weather and sunshine. Our activities in Malmo would be entirely on foot. The place was buzzing with tourists and we did the simple thing by following them to the city center where we were greeted by the Malmo Festival. We were overwhelmed by the carnival atmosphere and all you had to do was to just walk and soak in the great atmosphere. Cobbled roads, bright sunshine, hordes of tourists what else can one ask for. Who really cared about landmarks and sight seeing places here. We walked, did souvenir shopping, had some hot chocolate and then were ready to be back from the carnival that was Malmo. Back in Copenhagen, I rested in a bit at the hotel while the ladies wanted another close viewing of the Little Mermaid. The day was rounded off with a Thai dinner along with some white wine.

It was now time to wind up for me along with by brother-in-law while our wives and their parents would be on their way to the more exciting part of the trip up north to Bergen and Oslo. They left by the early morning flight. Our flight would be at 2 PM. Since I woke up to see them off, I decided to utilize the solo time by going for another tour of the city on the bicycle. Having spent some time in the city and having a good idea of it by now, it was a lot easier to navigate around. I cycled around the same landmarks like the Marble church and the Christiansborg Palace. A great sense of adventure and achievement filled up my heart. After all, a city is not about popular landmarks and sightseeing destinations printed on guidebooks. Its about living the place through the lanes and by-lanes. A bicycle ride through these lanes gives one the chance to live and breathe the city which I am happy that I somewhat managed to do.