Wayback Wednesday: July 4, 2018 ~ Copenhagen, Denmark

Six years ago today I was in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. In the original planning for my 2012 Europe trip I hadn’t really thought much about going to Copenhagen, but as I got closer to the end of the journey I realized that my schedule had a gap of about a week between my departure from Berlin and when I was scheduled to fly from Amsterdam back to London. So, on one night while I was in Prague I stayed up until 2:00am thinking over what to do with this extra time and I decided that a visit to Copenhagen would fill some of the gap. I actually very nearly missed my train from Berlin to Copenhagen—I had a genuine Hollywood moment where I was running through the station towards the train and the doors closed a moment after I leaped onto it—and it’s a good thing I didn’t miss that ride since that would have resulted in me never meeting the Sage.

Copenhagen is one of the few cities that I visited in 2012 that I hadn’t researched much prior to arrival. With most other locales I already had notes on what to see and do, but with Copenhagen I only had a few scattered ideas. Thankfully the staff at my hostel gave me a few tips and I also took advantage of one of the “free” tours that you can find in some cities (note: these tours are technically free, but you’re expected to tip your group’s tour guide at the end). I also had the benefit of being in Copenhagen in the summer, so even though I had only a single full day before leaving, it was a long, bright day. Copenhagen was the farthest north I had ever been at that point in my life and the light stuck around until about 10:00pm.

One of the places I visited in Copenhagen was Nyhavn, which is a section of the city along a canal with a lot of colorful buildings and today is a popular tourist destination. Originally built in the 17th Century, Nyhavn was something like the Red Light District of Copenhagen back when the city was a more important seaport, but in the second half of the 20th Century the area was redeveloped and revitalized into what we see today with small boats docked all along the canal and cafes serving both locals and tourists alike. At the end of the canal you can find the great Memorial Anchor (pictured above) that commemorates Danish sailors who died during World War 2. I wish I had spent one more night in Copenhagen to see more of the city, but from the short time I was there I have to say that it was very pleasant.