It can hardly get more contrasting. Magnificent castles meet ultra-modern architecture. Green thinking meets a free lifestyle. Street food meets gourmet cuisine. Welcome to Copenhagen.
The coolest city in Europe. Provided it’s a high summer day with 22 degrees, and you have someone like Salomonsen. Salomonsen initially seemed a bit cumbersome, could become uncomfortable, was occasionally demanding, and never said a word. Nevertheless, he was a constant companion in this metropolis, better described as a village metropolis, proving to be indispensable.
Denmark’s capital was formerly called Kݸpmannæhafn. In the year 1043 … I digress. This is an ode, not a history lesson. Maybe a bit of politics, we’ll see. The Northern European port city comes with tremendous diversity and offers a lot. An autonomous hippie commune living (almost) without laws, a ski slope with a climbing wall on the roof of a waste incineration plant, a beautiful beach overlooking perennial top-performer Sweden, an amusement park adorned with flower beds and fountains, several clean water canals used for cooling off, a huge daily open-air organic street food market, magnificent royal palaces lined with clear Danish design, an art and cultural scene that stands up to international comparison, and incidentally, the world’s best restaurants.
© Astrid Maria Rasmussen
It’s no wonder that Copenhagen has been repeatedly crowned the most livable city on Earth. But this is mainly because its entire concept is designed to be functional. Think Danish design, think of wind-protected bathing spots or strategically placed harbor buses. Its local modern architecture primarily benefits its residents and has been precisely tailored to their everyday lives. The round-the-clock, punctual driverless metro and the hundreds of kilometers of cycle paths clearly separated from potentially dangerous motorized commuters complement the perfectionist symbiosis of utility and needs.
Nothing Works Without Salomonsen
In the world capital of cyclists, there have been more bicycles than cars in daily traffic since 2016. But not for the sake of the environment, no, simply because it’s much faster to reach your destination. Over 50 years ago, the government recognized the advantages of such urban planning: infrastructure development is much cheaper; environmental pollution is lower, ultimately reducing its combat costs; cyclists are generally healthier or, more accurately, less frequently ill, thus placing less burden on the state health insurance.
Opting for gentle mobility turns out to be an extremely clever move, with the very flat geology of the island of Zealand, on which Copenhagen was built, naturally favoring such a strategy.
Expensive, but Sexy
The liberal and sustainable city is not exactly cheap, especially if you want to enjoy upscale gastronomy. However, this hardly affects the charm of the prevailing Hygge — the Danish sense of life and recipe for happiness. Hygge means something like a cosy, sociable atmosphere.
If I were a city, I would wish to be Copenhagen. If pleasant temperatures prevailed throughout the year, I would move there, treat myself to an apartment with its own kayak dock, consume a well-topped Smݸrrebrݸd daily, and probably call my Salomonsen Svenson because I don’t know any better and it sounds Nordic. Salomonsen was the name of my bike. Bicycles have names here.
Pretty cool.
6 To-Dos in Copenhagen
In addition to the world-famous attractions like the Little Mermaid and the picturesque Nyhavn harbor district, these six places promise a worthwhile experience.
