Denmark Danishes and Tivoli

2022, Nov 21    

Denmark | Country 14 | 5 day |

First time in Scandinavia. Thank you, Vivek for the fantastic recommendations.

I am spending Thanksgiving 2022 in Denmark, specifically in Copenhagen and Aarhus.

Some aspects of the Denmark trip that I find really unique:

• The winters are dark and rainy (reminiscent of Seattle)
• It’s a bike-friendly city, similar to Amsterdam.
• Some famous Scandanavian prices for everyday things (I estimate around 30% more than SF)
• Vikings and the aloof demeanors
• Denmark has Greenland!?

I took the train from Copenhagen station, accidentally boarded the wrong one, but still managed to find my way.

I enjoyed some Danishes and the quality sweets that seem to be at every shop. I was a sucker for the chilli pepper hotdogs that seem to be at every 7 Eleven.

Copenhagen

Dealing with jetleg, I wandered the streets, and made my way to the Little Mermaid statue. Hats off to HC Anderson for the billions of children who went to sleep with his stories.

Copenhagen streets are lively. Bustling with the holiday spirits.

This is Europe, and I was not used to seeing such a high number of smokers, as well as all the Shwarma places everywhere (like taco places in California).

One popular dish in Denmark is Smørrebrød, an open-faced sandwich.

technically it’s spelt smorrebrod

I walked passed Copenhagen Business School, which is right beside the high end mall of Frederizberg mall.

Speaking of monarchs, Denmark’s royalty has predominantly been named Frederik and Christian for centuries.

But first, our walking tour guide shared that the Bluetooth in embedded devices is named after Harald Bluetooth, the Viking who loved blueberries.

Frederiksborg Castle

I took the train for an hour to see this big castle (I should try to sound more cultured :)).

I learned about the history of king Christian IV, his successes and how he is remembered for his contributions.

The castle is beautiful with such amazing veneers. The backyard garden is equally expansive.

Close to the castle, there is a big mall, and the people of Denmark (or to be more precise, the businesses of Denmark) love Black Friday sales as much as the US counterparts. The mall had a big underground portion and it was a jolly time.

Tivoli

Walt Disney was inspired by Tivoli Gardens, a century-old amusement park. He must have had some glogg and thought, let’s move this to Los Angeles.

It was quite an experience for me, seeing the kids on the rides and the parents watching and living vicariously through them.

Glögg booths are everywhere, offering a sweet and spiced wine that I found quite cheerful. Belgian waffles, balloons and crafts are close seconds.

Nyhavn

Some pictures that I took of Nyhavn, aka the new harbor.

Aarhus

I took the 3 hour train from CPH to Aarhus, the second biggest city on the northern part of Denmark.

I saw some much missing sunshine and saw the Danish country side. A lot of beautiful farms and people who are visiting family, a short train ride away.

I visited the Viking museum, with no employee working there and only an automatic ticketing machine.

I also learned about how Denmark doesn’t have military and its time during WWII.

I had a very uncomfortable and aggressive encounter with an individual that I won’t go into much details of, who pestered me aggressively and continuously.

This protest happened in November 2022, and I wouldn’t have guessed that less than a year later in September 2023, the world would change.

I had such a fantastic trip to Denmark, and hope to be back to Scandanavia soon!