Last night Fr Eldhose had asked
me what I would like to see in Copenhagen. Denmark, to me, was Hans Christian
Anderson and Hamlet. I shared this with Fr and he made out an itinerary to be
followed for the day. The idea was to use the one day available to cover as
many ‘City Delights’ as would be possible. For this, the day has to be planned
meticulously; exactly what Fr did; we had a great day stretching from
Christiana to Kronburg Castle.
It was breakfast first. The
Kallappam and Egg Roast transported us right back to Kerala. Liya gets all the
masalas from Kerala when she travels there or gets them couriered. Getting the
masalas is only one part of it – putting them together with the rest of the
ingredients the way she does requires exceptional talent. The tasty morning
fare did delay us a bit in getting off the block. The Vor Frelsers Church, the
Church of Our Saviour, was meant to be the first to be visited. When we got to
the church it was said at the gate that it would be open only from 10 am. To
fill the time we walked to Christiana, which is a self proclaimed commune
occupying 34 hectares in the heart of Copenhagen. It is an erstwhile military
area that was ‘taken over’ by the ‘hippie culture’ in 1971. It has about 1000
residents who are regulated by a special law that is not Danish. The commune
administration decides on that. Hence, when they say: “Have Fun, Don’t Run and No
Photos” they mean just that. There are ‘enforcers’ who ensure that the rules of
the commune are kept. The commune is an entirely different world – there is an
archway which on one side says, “Christiana”, and on the other says, “You are
now entering the EU”! Drugs are sold openly within the commune. There are small
enclosures where one can go in and sample the fares. We went into one and were
explained the difference between Indian hashish, Marijuana, extracts of the
plants and the use of some of them in medication! There were cookies too that
were laced with Marijuana. The creativity of those living within the commune
was on display everywhere – be it the graffiti, wall art or use of metal scrap.
A special cycle is produced in Christiana that carries the same name, which is
a travel cum transport tricycle. As we were strolling through Christiana stalls
were coming alive to showcase the products of the commune. From the large
number of them it was clear that Christiana is much visited by tourists.
The Church of Our Saviour is most
famous for its spiral spire. It is a landmark that can be seen from any part of
the city. When we got there after the visit to Christiana we still found it
closed till 11 am. Therefore, after photographing the spire and walking around
the premises a bit we embarked on a walking tour to Nyhavn so that we could do
a Canal Cruise. The walk took longer than planned, at times in heavy drizzle,
but gave us the opportunity to appreciate the buildings and their facades
better than it would have been otherwise. Nyhavn is a 17th century
waterfront that was created with Swedish war prisoners of the Danish-Swede war
between 1658 and 1660. The canal that was the gateway from the sea handled
merchant vessels and fishermen’s catch – hence, was popular amongst sailors for
wine and women. It was converted into a ship and museum harbour in 1977 with a
view to showcase the past glory of the waterfront. The canal that stretches to
the sea is lined by brightly coloured townhouses that have residences, bars,
cafes and restaurants that are nearly 400 years old. The guide on the Canal
tour pointed out to a couple of residences used by Hans Christian Anderson,
where he lived for over 18 years. The canal is also home to many ‘heritage’
wooden ships. At one end of Nyhavn is a Memorial Anchor commemorating the
Danish sailors and officers who sacrificed their lives in WWII. The wooden
anchor is from a frigate of 1872 vintage. It is a hot spot with tourists – one
may miss the Memorial Anchor if there are large groups visiting it. The Canal
Tour pointed out and described the importance of many of the city’s attractions
such as the Opera House donated to the city by the founder of Maersk, its large
office building, churches, castles, bridges, Little Mermaid (the icon of Denmark)
and popular eateries. We visited many to explore them in some more detail.
When we got to the Amalienborg Arun,
Sharon and Daison were waiting for us. Arun and Daison’s wife are Liya’s
colleagues in the hospital. We spend time with them in the complex and the
Church exchanging pleasantries, information and taking photographs. The
Amalienborg consists of four identical classic facades and is the winter home
of the Royal Family. The courtyard in the centre of the square has the huge
equestrian statue of the founder of Amalienburg, King Frederick V, which was
originally meant to house four noble families. When the Christiansborg Palace
suffered extensive damage in a fire in 1794 the Royal Family bought the four
palaces and have used them since as residence.
The Marble Church or Frederik’s
Church is located at the apex of the Amalienborg Palace. The stately structure
stands out with its huge green and golden dome, which is the largest in
Scandinavia. Though designed in 1740 it stood as ruins for more than 150 years
due mainly to paucity of funds. The front portico of the Church has “Herrens
Ord Bliver Evindelig” inscribed on it in gold lettering, which means “the word
of the Lord endures forever”. The interiors of the Church are not very
elaborate but the huge pillars and the marble structure are truly awe
inspiring.
Fr then took us to spend some
time with the icon of Denmark, Den Lille Havfrue, The Little Mermaid. Like the
Merlion for Singapore, The Little Mermaid stands for Copenhagen and Denmark.
The bronze statue which is displayed on a rock has been there since 1913. The
head of the statue was vandalised a few years back and was restored in China.
The statue possibly was inspired by the popular fairy tale by the same name
penned by Hans Christian Anderson in 1837.
There are Parliament buildings in many countries but the one in Copenhagen is most unique in that it houses the
Supreme Court, the Parliament and the Queen’s Office. Its architecture makes
the building stand out in the square. A short walk away from there is the old
stock exchange with its spire made up of the entwining tails of four ‘dragons’;
many have found a resemblance between the ‘dragons’ and the popular Walt Disney
character ‘Snoopy’!
We did not have enough time to
visit either the Tivoli Gardens or the Town Hall Square. But we drove around
it. The Tivoli Gardens is right in the heart of Copenhagen City with a roller
coaster that turned 100 this year. We spend quite a bit of time in
Hillarodegade, the Park of which is home to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi. The
statue was donated to Denmark by the Indian Government in 1985. We headed back
home after that to refresh and set out to fulfill the rest of the programme.
The Oresund Bridge spanning
Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmo in Sweden is a major attraction for it is the
longest road cum rail bridge in Europe. While 8 kms of it is an overground bridge
4 kms of it is actually a tunnel under the sea! The magnificent bridge also
carries data cables to facilitate Finland besides being the major road and rail
connectivity between Scandinavia and Europe. It costs a car with passengers DKK
360, the equivalent of Euro 50. The road to the bridge is a split from the one
leading to the airport. Hence, it is not uncommon for road users to miss the
airport road and land up on the bridge. Once on it, the exit is only on the
Swedish side. Therefore, the cheapest way to appreciate the bridge is lose
one’s way! Naturally, we did too. The toll was avoided by explaining to the
toll gate attendant that our intention was to visit the Blue Planet on the
Airport Road, but took the wrong split. They seemed to be used to the predicament
for the attendant immediately produced a leaflet explaining the return to
Denmark, which had to be done in 15 minutes, and helped reverse the toll
charge.
Returning from visiting the
Oresund Bridge we took a short detour to the Blue Planet, the National
Aquarium, which is located a short distance away from the airport. The take off
and landings at the airport are best viewed from here. The Blue Planet is
Northern Europe’s largest aquarium; the unique building has five arms from the
centre giving visitors a feel of being under water and with the animals. At the
time of our visit the aquarium was closed for the day.
Left over on the agenda for the
day was the Kronburg Castle, immortalised by Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. Located
in Helsingor, the boundary city of Denmark, Kronburg is one of the most
important castles in Europe and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The
fortification was important strategically as it commanded one of the outlets of
the Baltic Sea. The history of the castle and the fortification spans the
period from 1420, when its construction began, to 1923 when the army left the
fort. The castle and fort were opened to public after renovation. The daily
conducted tours include one where the history of the castle is told by Hamlet’s
friend, Horatio! We walked on the periphery of the fort, from where the huge
munitions dumps and cannons trained to defend the territory could be seen.
Scale models of the castle and its reaches have been displayed to appreciate
the stages in which the Castle reached its present form. On one side of the
Castle is the old shipyard. It used to have dry docking facilities for repair
too. They have all now been converted into a Cultural Centre where plays are
staged and with walkways to enjoy an evening communing with the Sea.
The day had drawn to a close and
so had our visit of Denmark. The plans for the day had been scientifically
choreographed by Fr Eldhose and brilliantly executed. More than what could have
been done in a day was done. When we got back home Liya got into the act once
again and produced another feast of Porotta, egg curry, fish and prawn fry,
prawn and green mango curry and thoran. I am sure to have missed a few items
for I was busy gorging on the ones I have mentioned. The juicy melon was the
right way to end the heavy meal. We had a long chat after the meal; it was
difficult to take leave of the couple, but we had to move on to Gothenburg,
Sweden, the 21st country in the journey.
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