After ten days of waking up to these three little faces overlooking the head of the bed, it was time to pack up our room and head out for an early morning clatter across the cobbles to Christianshavn station, there to catch the M2 to Köbenhavns Lufthavn, and the flight home.
We'd had a hygge time, but I think we were all ready to explore the quirkiness of the new ArriveCAN app, and return to Canada, hoping our luggage would accompany us this time. (It did.)
Food played a community-building role: morning check-in over the breakfast buffet, snacking at a pølsevogn, lunch from the morning's grocery shopping, al fresco dining at POPL Burger, Reffen Street Food after visiting Copenhagen Contemporary, or the student-organized Pop-up Potluck Picnic (featuring baked goods from a pastry course some students signed up for!).
We always ate well, and among friends.
We spent the day at the Experimentarium and there was SO MUCH TO DO!
Highlights included
At closing time we were exhausted, but happy.
It's Liberation Day in Denmark, this year marking 80 years since the end of the German occupation.
In 2022, we visited the Frihedsmuseet, the Museum of Danish Resistance, in its new home. New interactive exhibits, along with those rescued from the fire that destroyed the old museum, provided an engaging, thoughtful experience.
We are fortunate in these Elbows Up times to be able to reflect on the effects of past conflicts and conquests.
What do you do if you have a massive, disused underground drinking-water cistern? Well, if you're Copenhagen, you create a gallery, and fill it with exhibits that engage the contrasts of dark and light and the qualities of cool and damp.The Cisternene does just that.
What does one do when visiting such a gallery? One takes in the immersive experience -- the ethereal lighting, and ambient dripping and inherent echoing -- and tries to capture others doing the same.
One of our out-of-town excursions was to Helsingør, site of Hamlet's Kronborg, which is a short walk from the rail station.
Close to hand is the Maritime Museum of Denmark, which is constructed in a former drydock.
There we took in an exhibition on container shipping, with one display in a space about the size of a typical KIX exhibit.
Discover one of Denmark's most important cultural and historical sights: the impressive Kronborg Castle, which from the outside appears as both as a charming but also brutal military fortress. Also discover Jim Lyngvild's magnificent images of kings and queens of the past, when Denmark's royal line
A favourite spot every Field Trip is the Rundetaarn or Round Tower, a 17th century tower with an astronomical observatory at its top.
There is a gallery/cafe about half-way up the spiral ramp that visitors ascend, Europe's oldest observatory in the dome, and striking 360° views of the city.
Each visit is capped with a treat from the Pølsevogn that is outside the Rundetaarn's entrance.
Walking along Strøget, we found another variation on the Copenhagen Bench. This one has its seat raised a meter to recognize rising sea levels under climate change.
Many waste cans have special shelves for recyclables. These "pant boxes" make it possible for people who don't want the deposit to pass the value along to someone who does. In 2022, Denmark had a 92% return rate for deposit/recyclables.
Nearby in Amagertorv: the Storkespringvandet, or Stork Fountain.
Copenhagen Harbour is more than a pretty place; it's also a part of the City's transit system. The Harbour Bus is a relaxing, scenic way to get from, for example, the DieselHouse to Frihedsmuseet.
The water is also clean enough for swimming; there are multiple harbour baths which residents, visitors, and -- it's rumoured -- students take advantage of. (There is a havnebade a short walk from the Danhostel.)
Our hostel, Danhostel Copenhagen City, sits right on the harbour. It had been the Hotel Europa in its prime, but King beds and wall-sized TVs made its room size unsuitable for "modern needs."
As a hostel, though, it's perfect, and so close to the Glyptotek, Tivoli, the City- and National-museums, as well as the central Rail Station, for out-of-town trips.
Paul McKone