The train arrived at the central train station exactly on time. I hop off the train and fire up my iPhone to find a wireless network; I find them everywhere but they all charge. Welcome to Denmark – where the service is world class – but so is the price.

I walk the two kilometres thru the city to the hostel I had booked. The walk took me thru the city and past the man-made lakes. The sun was shining low on the horizon casting everyone in a lovely golden light and the city residents where making the most of the sun. I dropped my bag at the hostel, grabbed my camera and spent the next couple of hours taking photos until the light had well and truly disappeared and a low fog blanketed the city.

The next morning I was up early (well early for a backpacker) to make the most of my one full day in Copenhagen. I started by walking along the lakes – which used to be the water storage for the city – towards the fortress I could see on my map.

I reached the harbour and walked around to the iconic LIttle Mermaid statue from the story by famous Dane – Hans Christian Andersen. Unfortunately the statue wasn’t there – it is on loan to the Denmark pavilion at World Expo in Shanghai this year… so lucky I saw it only a few months earlier. In its place is a huge LED screen displaying a ‘live’ image of the statue in Shanghai. The image wasn’t moving so I’m not exactly sure how live it actually is.

I finally found the entrance to the fortress and walked around the ramparts. The Kastellet is still owned by the Danish Defence Ministry and they still have buildings on site but it is primarily a park and public space now. The park was so colourful on this bright autumn day – the foliage was bright colours of green, yellow and red which contrasted against the deep blue of the sky.

I continued walking, stumbling across the Official Residence of the Danish Royal family. I caught the end of the changing of the guard which was happening in the square. Not far away was the waterfront, with old sailing boats offering cruises against the backdrop of the Opera House.

Nyhavn is one of the most picturesque and recognisable areas of Copenhagen. I walked past the various cafes and restaurants (and some of the remaining red light clubs too). I had myself a hotdog from one of the famous stands and exhausted my camera’s card taking photos of the colourful terrace buildings.

I headed in the direction of Christianshavn. I could see the tall Von Freisers church from a distance and headed in that direction – over a few bridges and having to avoid the cyclist traffic. I reached the church and decided I had enough energy and money to climb up to the spiral spire for the views over the city. The 400 stairs was taxing, but worth the view over the city.

The real reason I headed over to Christianshavn was Christiania – Freetown Christiania. It is another self-declared state – much like Uzupis in Vilnius. Walking into Christiania was interesting – even without knowing what the place was you would immediately associate it with hippies. The main street is known as ‘Pusher Street’ and it is obvious why once you see what the street stalls are selling. The place has an interesting vibe – it is a mix between very friendly people, and a bunch of locals who obviously despise the place being a tourist attraction. Amongst the ‘Free Tibet’ t-shirts and happy people there are huge ‘No Photo’ signs and a bunch of heavyset guys who look more like gangs. Like I said, and interesting mix.

As I left Christiania I noticed one of the free bike stations and decided to join the population of Copenhagen and take one. It didn’t take me too long to remember how to ride and I was happily riding along with everyone else. I quickly learnt to avoid cobblestones and then rode back towards the hostel. I was on the lookout for places to return the bikes, but even though they seemed plentiful while I was walking it was finding it impossible to find once I had the bike. I eventually found a bike rack near the metro station, but the bike refused to give my deposit back, so I left it for the next commuter or a poor homeless person.

As I enjoyed the last of the fading light, I walked past cool shops, clubs, bars, burger joints and heaps of artistic places that I could spend hours exploring. Copenhagen is friendly and extremely interesting place to visit and I’d love to come back and explore a bit more in the future.

This post is tagged Copenhagen, Denmark