Hej København!

København. Copenhagen.

There was only one reason why I wanted to go to Copenhagen: I wanted to meet my Faroese friend, Elin. We met at a summer camp (CISV) back in 1998… 14 years ago.  Months before, when I learned that Elin was in Copenhagen, I told myself that I will definitely visit her during my Europe trip. I hadn’t planned my last two weeks in Europe so I wasn’t able to set the exact schedule for my trip to Copenhagen until a day or two before (sorry Elin!). I originally planned on departing from Amsterdam (but I couldn’t book a hostel in Amsterdam) which led me to Berlin. So, after some online research using my tiny smart phone and consulting with the Eurail timetable, I finally found myself en route to meet my old friend in Copenhagen.

Eurailing from Berlin to Copenhagen

Day 17

Heilige Dreieinigkeits Kirche

From Berlin, I took the train to Hamburg. Given that a lot of transports interchange here, Hamburg is a gateway to several cities . I had about 1.5 hours to spare in Hamburg. So, after grabbing a snack at the bustling Hamburg Hauptbahnhof, I walked around the block near the station. Although an hour and half may seem a long time to wait at the station, it wasn’t enough to tour Hamburg. Nevertheless, I was able to see the Heilige Dreieinigkeits Kirche (Holy Trinity Church), a baroque church which is also known as St. Georgs Kirche (St. George’s Church).

Ferry-riding train

My train ride from Hamburg to Copenhagen was quite interesting. The train was fully packed but I was comfortably seated at the window, where I gradually fell asleep. When I woke up, I found myself in view of a body of water--perhaps the Baltic Sea (?) ...I wasn’t really sure where we were. At one point, I noticed that the rail tracks were actually on a bridge. Then, when we were in Puttgarden, the train entered a ferry. All passengers had to go to the upper decks of the ferry until we arrived at Rødby. While most of my fellow passengers look like they were already used to this, I was utterly delighted to see our train inside the ferry. Haha! 

When our train arrived at Hovedbanegården (Copenhagen’s Central Station) at 8PM, I was exhilarated to finally meet Elin. The last time I met Elin, we were still 11 years old. After fourteen years apart, I was anxious that we wouldn’t be able to recognize each other. But when I got off the train, I immediately recognized her and I couldn’t believe that we were actually talking face to face. It was exhilarating!

Day 18

Canal tour starting at Nyhavn

Vor Frelsers Kirke

Elin toured me around Copenhagen. We passed by Christiania, a hip neighborhood in the midst of Copenhagen with a unique status. I am not sure if it’s legal, but weed is tolerated in this area. Then, we went on a canal tour, an excellent way to explore this city. The canal tour started at Nyhavn and had a live commentary in 3 or 4 different languages. How the guide switches from several different languages throughout the tour was incredible.

Oparaen

We passed by several attractions, including the Oparaen (Copenhagen Opera House) and Vor Frelsers Kirke (Church of Our Saviour) at Christianshavn. There is an urban legend that the architect of the Vor Frelsers Kirke jumped off the church when he realized that the spirals on top of the church were going on the wrong direction. Is it real? I’ll leave that up to you to find out.

Of course, we also passed by Den Lille Havfrue… or in English, The Little Mermaid. I was already warned to expect a small statue... after all, it is called the little mermaid.  While this icon is a major tourist attraction, the locals see it as the statue that frequently loses its head. It had been vandalized several times.

The Little Mermaid

After the tour, I wanted to try something Danish, so Elin treated me with a hotdog from a Pølsevogn. These hotdog stands can be seen around the city and they serve sausages in a bun with a unique dressing. I was particularly fond of the fried onions that were topped on my sausage.

A private dock for the royal yacht

I spent the rest of the day (and night) chatting with my friend. I planned my next stop, which was in Helsinki (where I could visit my uncle) and since I did not make any train reservations, I had to leave early the next morning to catch a ferry in Stockholm. Elin and I talked until 6 in the morning, just right before I had to leave for the train station. I was really sad that I had to leave so soon but at the same time, I was happy to have met my friend again. I had such a great time in Copenhagen... Tak, Elin!