Our 4.5hr direct and domestic flight from Kangerlussuaq Greenland to Copenhagen, was very comfortable as we crossed over Greenland then Iceland on Air Greenland aboard their only large bodied plane which currently only takes off from Kangerlussuaq.
We landed at night, then eventually found the car rental depot, collected the car and merged into the Saturday night traffic of Copenhagen. Whilst having driven on the right side of the road before, this city offered a few other challenges, mainly in the form of pushbike riders.
It was like being the main characters in the Exorcist movie for both of us as our heads turned in every direction trying to see any pushbike rider wanting to cross an intersection via their dedicated bike paths from next to us or coming up fast behind us or across in front of us.
Pushbikes have right of way!
Then of course, there was the other traffic trying to do their own thing whilst we were getting used to the ‘wrong’ side of the road at night. All we had to do was find the house we were staying in with other members of our family who had already arrived.
We were here for a few reasons, apart from being a nice place to visit, the reasons being family related. Our daughter Tenielle, and husband Jim (who was actually born on Greenland and therefore Danish by birth and had also lived in Copenhagen), had travelled there to baptise their 1 yr old daughter and for Tenielle to celebrate her 40th birthday.
Jim’s father also lives in Copenhagen and is unable to travel, so it was also his first meeting with his granddaughter and for Jim to see him again. Since we were in Greenland so close to these 2 events, we joined them as did our son, wife and 3 kids from London… a mini family gathering for about 10 days.
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| Our visit to Denmark was restricted to enjoying more of Copenhagen and Malmo, Sweden |
So in amongst the 2 celebrations we also played tourists around Copenhagen but this time with family and 5 active grandchildren keeping everyone on their toes, so please excuse the occasional picture with little people in them.
With others suffering from jet lag, the first day was quiet visiting supermarkets whilst still trying to get used to the ‘kamikaze’ abundant push bike riders as they maximise their right of way at high speed. When walking near the dedicated bicycle tracks, we had to make sure nobody stepped onto them.
After Greenland, Jim also lived in or near Copenhagen so he became our initial tour guide by taking us to a few very quaint seaside towns he had grown up near and especially to little shops selling ice creams which the littlies loved him for.
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| Lovely little harbours dot the costline |
The 2 small villages or towns were Sletten and Trekosten, both with nice little harbours, coastal views, some nice thatched houses, not something we expected in Denmark and pleasant looking beaches, all facing towards Sweden.
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| Didn't expect thatched roofs in Denmark |
As the baptism got closer, we started hunting for Trolls, yes you read right… Trolls.
Trolls are part of Nordic folklore and Norse mythology, they live in forests, amongst rocks, or caves and are rarely helpful to humans. Later in Scandinavian folklore they became beings in their own right, were large and essentially were ugly and slow of thought.
Before arriving, we learned that an artist had made trolls and located them throughout Copenhagen, so we thought it helped keep the littlies entertained.
To start this off, a group of us found our way to another seaside park with a walkway through the forest running parallel to the beach and we went looking for gnarly trees trolls might sleep in at night. “Is that one Mum or Nan” little voices would shout as they charged forward.
So the theme of Troll hunting was established!
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| Could trolls use this tree the littlies thought |
If any of you have watched ‘Scandi’ crime thrillers, there is one called ‘The Bridge’ which uses a bridge/tunnel going from the Copenhagen area via a manmade island, then the bridge before reaching Sweden and especially the town of Malmo.
Since we all had rental cars, we had researched driving across to Malmo and return BUT when we discovered if was going to be AUD$200 for tolls, we decided to go by train instead at a mere AUD$100 return for adults… the kids were free.
Good time to say that Denmark is expensive compared to say Sweden, Finland or even Norway, so if considering a trip there, do your research!
The grandkids loved the train especially when it descended into the tunnel and then rose up onto the bridge.
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| A train... bridge & tunnel, what could be better for them |
For us, Malmo was a delightful town to walk around and through with large squares, fountains, colourful houses, large windmills, a historic castle and good coffee. Two young ladies gave us directions to a very quaint old coffee and bakery place and it was good!
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| They loved the windmill |
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| The Malmo castle |
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| Lovely old section of Malmo |
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| Nice art structures in the parks around Malmo |
As we started finding our way back to the railway station we came past the port area where the littlies enjoyed climbing various works of street art or wanting to go too close to the wharf edge to look at fountains spraying into the water, increasing the anxiety level of the rest of us. It was a fun semi relaxed day.
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| Fountains and the ocean... captivating |
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| The new lighthouse - Malmo harbour |
Now back to the troll hunting which increased in earnest and they are not easy to find, the first involving searching throughout a heavily wooded park and at one stage involved having to hand haul ourselves across a lake on a small punt.
Our first troll called 'Little Tilde' was where we embarked the punt but the second called 'Thomas on the Mountain' was hiding amongst trees at the top of a small hill, where he was sitting down with very long legs and the littlies enjoyed climbing all over him.
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| Little Tilde |
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| Thomas on the Mountain |
The day for the baptism had arrived in a nice little church in the country and there were a lot of people attending, including others who had flown in from the USA to attend. It was a very successful day and a great relief for both Tenielle and Jim and for my ‘sins’ I became the photographer for a group shot and thankfully it seemed to be okay.
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| The broad family group(s) who attended the baptism |
When in Copenhagen, there are a few ‘must do’s’ which includes first off, walking through town using a long street called Strøget is Copenhagen's main shopping street and one of Europe's longest pedestrian streets affording interesting views, shops, churches and various towers.
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| The circular tower provided some good city views |
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| Nice tower in Copenhagen |
Next is to visit Nyhavn Harbour, one of the most photographed locations in this city. Nyhavn Harbour is 17th century waterfront, canal and entertainment area in Copenhagen, famous for its many colourful old buildings with boats moored in front of them.
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| Its colourful and vibrant... Nyhavn is a must |
Our next must do was to take a boat tour amongst the myriad of canals providing us views of the palace, modern new major buildings, towers and old homes joined to the canals. The boats are low in the water to get under all the low bridges.
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| Taking one of these boat tours provides a better perspective of Copenhagen |
The Scandinavians are famous for their Viking heritage so we visited Roskilde, famous for its massive cathedral and near 1,000 year old Viking ships recovered from below the mud and sea there. Five ships were built in Dublin in 1042 by the Vikings, but lost here and had been found, stabilised and re-located in a large new museum building dedicated to them and Viking history.
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| Two of the almost 1,000 year old viking ships found at Roskilde |
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| Visitors can pay to try sailing in a new but original style viking ship |
There is also an area where they continue to make new Viking style ships using the original methods which we found very interesting plus many displays on how the Vikings lived, navigated and other elements of their lifestyle.
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| They build new viking ships with original style tools and methods |
But we weren’t done with the trolls with more of these to find.
We knew of one somewhere in the port area so off we went with the English family by train and starting walking and walking. It was quite a warm day but on we went, Rachel very determined to find it. Wasn’t long before 3 sets of little legs started to tire but on we went. After climbing through a mesh fence into a large derelict paddock and following a rubbish strewn dirt track, we found Captain Nalle pulling a boat behind him.
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| Captain Nalle |
Whilst enjoying this troll, Rachel was talking to some locals who told her about a unique little community, not far away, called Fiskerihavn, contains houses made by fisherman out of containers and other bits and pieces. Naturally we had to have a look and indeed it was interesting but it involved more walking.
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| Interesting variety of styles of homes using whatever is available |
By now we were hot, tired and sick of walking and were keen to catch a bus back to the rail station and luckily we found a bus stop, waited and a bus approached. It stopped and I asked the driver, “do you speak English?”, a shrug of his shoulders. “Railway?” we asked and this time he shook his head and pointed up the road. “Bus there” he said!
Hmmm… guess we had to walk on to the end of the road where we would find another bus stop. Off we walked getting a little slower, “I’m tired Mom” coming from the grandkids. Found the bus stop… waited and another bus approached and stopped. Same bus driver! We tried to pay using our phones but couldn’t, he shrugged his shoulders again and waved all of us aboard for a free trip to the railway station. What a nice person and soon we were back at the house.
But the troll hunt motivation wasn’t yet satisfied and with our time in Copenhagen nearing its end, it was off again the same afternoon, this time in cars for a relatively short drive, now looking for Hanna Gillerod which was soon located within a forest of tall trees.
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| Hanna Gillerod standing guard in the forest with her long tail surrounding her |
But there was still one final event to achieve together and that was to visit and enjoy a Copenhagen institution, first because it has been there since 1843, and second was the venue of choice for Tenielle to celebrate her 40th birthday… The Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest fun parks in the world.
It is huge all 20 acres or 8 hectares of it!
We learnt a lot about our grandkids that day with some revealing they were fearless when it came to certain rides whilst some we thought were adventurous were more cautious. Rob and I ended up looking after Maja and belongings whilst everyone else set about making best use of this wonderful, colourful park.
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| These photos simply do not do the Tivoli Gardens justice |
It was a great day to finish off our time with everyone in the city of Copenhagen, a city we had visited before but this time we saw it through the eyes of the family, especially the grandchildren, so it took on a fun filled perspective and a happy one at that.
There was still one place we wanted to see which is part of the cities power grid, where they burn off suitable waste to generate electricity whilst capturing all CO2 and other pollutants, the Copenhill. It is a large building with a cafe on top of it and on one side of it slopes and is used as a summer time ski slope, hiking trail and climbing wall.
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| Credit to ArchDaily (not my photo) and provides aerial perspective |
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| The way into this impressive building |
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| View from Copenhill and in the background is 'The Bridge' to Malmo, Sweden |
CLICK HERE for more pics of Copenhagen & Malmo 2023... and more trolls
So as they say in Danish, nyd og gå godt or enjoy and go well!
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