Way back in 2006 I'd planned on making a trip to Scandinavia, a place I've always had an odd fascination with. Originally my room rent lasted until the 15th July, which would have give me two weeks after my courses ended to make such a trip and I'd mapped out where I'd have liked to have gone. However, I soon realised that (a) it was going to cost a huge amount of money and (b) that my new room's rent only lasted until the 30th June. So I toned down expectations and wasn't even going to go at all until I discovered the half-price train deal a few weeks ago. So I guess the whole trip started out as the smaller brother of another more idyllic one, but still, I was really disappointed by Copenhagen.
It's harsh to say that I was disappointed because it's exactly like Amsterdam, but it's true. That's not to say that Amsterdam is all bad, it has grown on me since I got here, but to spend 16 hours on an uncomfortable train to visit a mirror of a place 30 minutes up the road is a little irritating. Admittedly the weather was rotten while I was there, and the 'Hostel of the Damned' that I stayed in was populated with people who seemed to have forgotten how to smile or talk, neither of which conspired to produce a happy atmosphere, but then, neither did the place itself. I usually have a problem when I go to somewhere new in that I take way to many photos and spend hours sorting through them - not a problem in Copenhagen which really didn't present that many opportunities. Although the harbour area around Nyhaven was an exception, and that's probably why it was so packed out.
In fact, I thought that one of the prettiest and nicest places was the one that comes in for the most criticism. Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid sculpture is often compared to the Manneken Pis in Brussels as both are rather smaller than they're made out to be. However, while the Manneken Pis succeeds in being both located in a run down corner of a street intersection and a little vulgar, the Little Mermaid is located on the riverside and is actually quite elegant in being so diminutive and was worth the trek from the centre.
Aside from that the most stand out thing was Tivoli. There can't be many cities in the world that contain a theme park right opposite their main railway station, but Copenhagen is one. It's basically a traditional park with pavilions and restaurants, and a number of theme park rides ranging from peddle boats, to teacups, to roller coasters. I visited on the Monday night and was glad that I did as it had a really lovely atmosphere, but unfortunately after listening to several bands, it started to pour down, and with the final illuminations not being for another two hours I decided to call it a night so didn't get to see the crowning event.
Unfortunately the weather was a recurring theme in Copenhagen and it poured down on the Wednesday soaking me through, confining me to the indoors, and oddly even seemingly corroding both of my shoe laces meaning my shoes became glorified slippers on the way back.
As such, on the Tuesday I decided to leave Denmark and take a train to Lund and Malmö in Sweden across the Öresund strait. And I'm so glad that I did. To get to Sweden you cross Europe's largest bridge at 7.9km, and it's a truly impressive thing.
People say that Skåne (the area of Sweden containing Malmö and Lund) is very like Denmark, but I thought it a world apart. Lund is a famous University town of about 100,000 people, but most seemed to be away when I was there and it resembled a ghost town, but a pretty little ghost town nonetheless. I even wondered around and into the University buildings without anyone challenging me - I could have sauntered into a lecture on particle acceleration, but I resisted the urge.
After I'd spent a good few hours wandering around, I got on the train back to Malmö, which managed to be even nicer. Not only was in pretty, but it has an oddly appealing name, and it's also a city that I will remember as the place where everything was free. No sooner had I got off the train than a lady thrust a bottle of lemon water into my hand, and then another after I enquired as to what I'd done to warrant the gift. Then I was given a bag of sesame biscuits and a tube of (frankly disgusting) squeezey cheese to spread on them. Finally I was also given a bag containing lots of fliers and money off vouchers which would have been great could I read them to find out what I could have got money off. And people were smiling again - including me. Happy days indeed.
But the crowning glory of Malmö had to be something that I'd never associated with Scandinavia - it's beach front. Lonely Planet said it was a bus ride away, but a 20 minute walk later I'd arrived and spent the next four hours just strolling over the dunes to the harbour near the big bridge. There was hardly anyone there.
Apart from a bridge and unexpected stumble into a naturist area it was a lovely afternoon. Of course, as soon as I got back to Copenhagen, it was raining.
As trips go this has to be the most mixed bag that I've had this year. It was interesting noting how late it got dark, and how early it got light, and I'd like to go further north to see the midnight sun. Using different currencies again was novel, but oddly welcome as well, a nice bit of unhegemony never hurts. Perhaps I'm being overly harsh on Copenhagen, and having just come back from the familiarity of the UK couldn't have helped, but I'd heard some great things from people who'd been, and perhaps I'd set my sights too high, but the little bit of Sweden that I saw really impressed me and I'd certainly go back. But I wouldn't do it my train again as my train affinity only extends so far. My journey first took me to Duisburg in Germany, a unremarkable commercial city that became my home for three hours on the way there and back (first at 9pm in the evening, then at 6am in the morning - not great times). The journey up to Copenhagen wasn't too bad, but the compartmentalised coaches were a pain as your legs end up entangled in those of the person opposite you meaning neither gets that much sleep. The way back was both better and worse. I shared a coach with Alex, Larry and Charles (Canadian, Finnish and Finnish) and we chatted most of the way. This was great as it was probably the longest time I'd spent with fellow travellers this whole year, but it also meant that we got no sleep. The train was also delayed for two hours in Hanover, then cancelled, meaning we needed to transfer onto a little regional commuter train before getting on the train back to Utrecht to find someone sitting in our seats. Pah, although I am entitled to 20% off my next journey with Deutsche Bahn... It was really interesting talking to them for the evening and finding out what they were doing, where they were going and what Finland and Canada were like. I wish I'd done more of that this year. I'd been something of a lone traveller and I think it got to me a little in Copenhagen. Travelling alone has the great benefit that you're your own person, you can do what you want when you want. But that's quite a selfish benefit compared to the benefits that you can get from having a companion to share in the experience, and I imagine that as with anywhere, Copenhagen would have been just fine had I not been on my own.
I've been so lucky this year to have had the opportunity to travel to so many places for the first time, and I've had such a fantastic time doing so. Some places have been better than others, and others have been unintentional diversions, but I can't help but wonder whether Copenhagen was a case of travel fatigue in the sense that it's time to try something a little different. I don't know how people who travel around Europe for months on end manage it, I'd be shattered after the first week if I didn't have some sort of base like Utrecht to return to and recuperate. I wouldn't change anything that I've done this year, not even a little, but if anyone's looking for a travel partner in the near future then I'd be pretty eager to put myself forward as a candidate. Europe's not that far away after all.
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