Week 3
Copenhagen
Hi friends! Thank you to everyone who gave me advice and recommendations for Copenhagen, I owe a lot of the following experiences to you. This is lengthy as usual, mainly with photos this time.
I spent eight beautiful days in Copenhagen, and my time there has had a real impact on me. I didn’t want to leave. I felt incredibly at peace, my nervous system could relax, and something lit up my soul in a big way. It was easy to feel calm in such a clean, safe and organised small city. Bike traffic replaces the buzz of car traffic. The general feeling of happiness was palpable and infectious. It’s opened me to new ideas about how to live, and has made me reflect on what I value and how I want my life to look. I spent some time with some locals and this gave me a solid basis to explore for the week, and gain an understanding of the way of life. Nowhere is perfect, and winter would be hard for me despite how the Danish master the art of cosiness. But it’s given me a lot to think about. I’m a huge fan of lit candles in coffee shops.
I spent a beautiful day (or eight) wandering the different neighbourhoods, museums, parks, bakeries and vintage clothes shops, following the tags on my map until I found another excuse to eat again. After the first few days, I gave in and just bought whatever I craved, exorbitant cost be damned. I loved watching people go about their day. The soundtrack in shops was also a real vibe.
I was so nervous to rent a bike, but I wish I had done this sooner than my second last day, as it was truly liberating. I haven’t been on a bike for an embarrassing amount of time, and I forgot what that kind of freedom felt like. I used to love riding!
It was also the most practical way to explore and integrate into the Copenhagen way of life. Like the true nerd I am, I found videos online from an early 2000s website about how to navigate the road riding rules. To my surprise, riding on the other side of the road and the customary hand signals weren’t so difficult, in a small city designed to effortlessly accomodate bikes more so than cars. I felt inspired to let go of my car in Melbourne — Rhonda the Honda — though I still bought her a second hand Joni Mitchell CD from a very cool shop.
It rained a lot, but I’d heard that people dress for the season and not the weather, so I started wearing bolder colours despite the gloomy backdrop. It gave me a lift. Style and poise just felt effortless and universal there. People dress amazingly, either understated and classic, or strikingly bold.
I sat amongst the tourists at Nyhavn and really enjoyed this, with a beer and chips. The evening sun was golden and so were the buildings. The super friendly waitress told me to check out the cemetery where people hang out on graves in the Nørrebro neighbourhood, and how to avoid getting shot when visiting Christiania (she was an ex cop). I was alarmed, but after visiting I think she was exaggerating.
Mid week, it was raining consistently so I took comfort and shelter in food and stores. Plus I had a cold and was losing my voice! After multiple recommendations, I tried the traditional open sandwich, smørrebrød, at the market. Well worth the queue for the fish cake with traditional mayonnaise and roast beef. The rye bread is to die for. Every store was beautifully presented, every cuisine you could ask for.
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
Sitting in the sculpture park of the Louisiana, it was hard to believe this place is real. It’s like a fairytale, a utopia, where people are at peace, enjoying nature, art, food, views, conversation, family time. Giant ladybirds were landing on me. I saw a squirrel. The peace was reflected back to me and I felt so at ease. It’s a short train ride north of Copenhagen, housing an impressive collection of art and sculptures, and I spent the whole day there. It was a rare day of hardly any rain, so it was ideal for taking in the people watching as much as the art. I sat on top of the hill, ate a sandwich, and watched people go for a swim from the pier, roll down the rolling green fields with their kids, and explore the sculptures by very famous artists.
I ended up in Copenhagen for an extra night, after my flight to Berlin was cancelled whilst on my way to the airport. Mildly lost, I resorted to a cheap hostel room back in the city, which was filthy with sticky floors, sweet fumes of vape wafting in the air and empty beer cans everywhere. After five hours of sleep, I ended up on my flight, but this was the start of a less-than-ideal leg of the trip. But all in all, I was pleased for the chance to spend an extra night in Copenhagen, and wondered if this was some kind of sign that I wasn’t meant to leave.
Thanks for reading and perusing this far! It really means so much to hear when this resonates with you. I really enjoy putting this out there.
Keep scrolling for the rest of the photos.
Sending love x
Mad
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Throughout the process of taking these and making small edits, I’m noticing a lot of patterns. The images that most move me include people, both when I take the photo, and when I first look at the shots. I want to be braver in taking someone’s photo, with their face in view, and not caring if they get upset or disapprove. I want to be bold enough to have a conversation and ask someone for their photo. The times that people have noticed my camera haven’t resulted in any crazy consequences so far. I have so many images in my head of photos I should’ve taken, moments when I was drawn to people, or a frame, and have regretted not taking action. Maybe these moments just become memories.
Beautifully written Mad, reading about Copenhagen makes my heart sing – I feel our experiences of it are so alike, glad you loved it! And I say go for it with the photos!
Anya, thanks so much. I knew you felt similar, a special place for you! And I see where you get your style influence from. Haha, will try and be bolder with photos then!