Denmark, one of the countries I wanted to visit, attracted my attention. A country tops the list of happy people like other Scandinavian countries. We preferred to start our Interrail train trip from there. I flew from Miami to Copenhagen Airport. Since hotels in Copenhagen were very expensive, we chose to stay in Malmö, Sweden. Thanks to our İnterrail pass tickets, the trains did not cost us anything extra and it was always a pleasure to cross the beautiful Öresund Bridge on our way from Denmark to Sweden. Öresund is the world’s largest cross-border bridge connecting the two countries and both land vehicles and trains can cross.
After getting off the plane on the first day, I walked to the train station under the airport and took the train to Sweden. I spent the first night in a hotel in Malmö. The next day, we took the train to Copenhagen. We walked around Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, and one of the most expensive cities in the world. The first place we saw after getting off the train station was the famous Tivoli gardens. There was a long line to enter. Famous for its amusement park and concert areas, the Tivoli gardens were one of the oldest and largest theme parks in Europe. In Radhusplasten square, we joined the tourists taking photos and walking around. Since Denmark is a country of freedom, you can often come across protests. We saw Bangladeshi students protesting in front of Helligands. Our next stop was Copenhagen University, one of the best universities in Europe, where we walked and sat in the garden. After seeing the oldest university in Denmark, we continued our walk and reached the round tower. Christian IV built the building, called Rundetarn tower in Danish, in the 17th century for astronomical observations. It was expensive and a bit crowded, so instead of going up, we went to the bookstore opposite and visited the Trinitatis church. Then we walked along the canal and watched the sightseeing boats. Since the museum entrances were expensive and crowded, we preferred to walk around the squares and see the buildings from the outside. Our time was also limited. We visited the Slotskirken church from the inside. While visiting the famous Christiansborg palace, we witnessed how the Danish kings lived a magnificent life and we visited the museum under the palace where interesting historical events were exhibited. It was a very interesting experience to see the ruins of Copenhagen castle. We watched a movie about the 20 years of captivity of Leonara Christina, daughter of King Christian IV, in the Blue Tower and read the life stories of the kings and their relatives.
Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen “In the footsteps of a glorious past, Feeling freedom in a historical courtyard.
On the way out, we saw beautiful sculptures in the square. There were double-decker buses. Christiansborg palace hosts the parliament in Denmark, which is ruled by a monarchy. It also has halls where the royal family is invited. Palace Chapel is a church where religious services and weddings of royal family members are held. The Christiansborg palace, which is open to the public, houses the parliament, the Constitutional Court and the Prime Minister’s office. Amelienborg palace, where the Danish royal family lives, consists of four parts. Christian 9th and Frederick 8th are closed to the public and only Christian 7th and Christian 8th are open to the public.
After seeing the palace and its surroundings, we preferred to walk along the riverside on the route of the boats. We saw very beautiful sculptures in the square. There were double-decker buses.
During the walk, we saw many pregnant young women and we joked: “There are a lot of babies here”. “It seems that Sweden, Norway and Denmark have an incentive for population growth,” we said. We also saw many families with small children and not only the mothers but also the fathers taking care of the children. We have witnessed that Denmark is a very developed country, especially in terms of child education. We already knew that Denmark supports population growth due to its low population. In Denmark, parents are entitled to 52 weeks of leave in total. The first 14 weeks of this leave is allocated to the mother after the birth and the following 2 weeks to the father. The remaining 32 weeks can be divided between the parents.
When we saw many brides and grooms taking photos in front of Christianborg Palace, we talked about the fact that Europe is realizing the importance of starting a family again and that there is an increase in this issue. On the way, there was a big building under construction, part of which was burnt down. This was the famous Borsen building. Built in 1619 by King Christian IV, it is an important building in which the Stock Exchange is located. What we read on the pyramid-shaped monument Sommen ar Borsem, there was a big fire here on April 16, 2024 and the building was largely destroyed. The Borsem building was being rebuilt after the famous Dragon tower collapsed. The riverside restaurants were full of tourists. Since it was July, the weather was nice and people were always outside. Then we walked again to the most famous neighborhood of Copenhagen, Christianshav, which was especially protected, where hippies lived and made art. The Tarnet tower here was also accessible for a fee. Christiania was an autonomous region, like a state itself.
Visitors come to Christiana for its unique atmosphere, art-filled streets, and vibrant cultural events. This area offers an unforgettable experience for visitors to Copenhagen.
In 1971, a journalist named Jacob Ludvigsen wrote an article called “The Forbidden City of the Army” and in 1989, it was legalized by the parliament. We liked the graffitied walls, special shops and exhibitions, houses and gardens. There is a nice tradition in Denmark. Especially at the restaurant entrances, they put free glasses and water. This was a tourist area open to tourists, but the locals also lived in their houses. Therefore, it was forbidden to take pictures of children and women to protect their private lives. Therefore, we took many pictures of the buildings. They had put up notices where they did not want to be photographed. They were trying to prevent security problems in the area, which was under special protection. It was such a colorful and different place that we took many photos where it was written “photo ok.”
Nyhavn is one of the popular tourist areas of Copenhagen and offers a historical and cultural experience.
Being in Nyhavn means feeling the beating heart of Copenhagen.
Then we reached Nyhavn, the first place that comes to mind when we think of Copenhagen. Nyhavn, which means new harbor in Danish, was built in the 17th century as a harbor where commercial ships docked.
Famous for its colorful houses, restaurants and souvenir shops, the view from both sides of the river was beautiful. In Nyhavn, built in the time of Christian V, you can also see house number 67, where the world famous Danish fairy tale writer Hans Cristian Andersen lived for 18 years. You can easily find. Thanks to the plaque in front of the building where there is now a shop, selling souvenirs related to Andersen. On May 5, every year there is a memorial ceremony next to the giant Anchor monument, which was erected in 1951 to commemorate the sailors who died in World War 2.
We sat on the beach for a while, listened to the street musicians, and then continued our walk. The restaurants were packed. People were lining up for boat tours. The smell of cooked fish whetted our appetite. Then we reached Kongens Have on foot. We found peace in this lush green place, which means the king’s garden. Rosenberg Castle was closed to visitors as it was getting late, but we took plenty of photos from the outside. There were giant fish in the stream in front of the castle, which was built in the Renaissance style, where the royal family lived when it was first built and is now used as a museum. The garden was very beautiful. I recommend you to see it if you go. We were tired from walking all day. Since we did not have a lunch break, we were hungry. We could not find the little market to buy food and we were late for the Torvehallerne food market.
The food shops were closed. Unfortunately, in Scandinavian countries, shops close early and we were going to have problems in the future. Whatever you are going to buy, you have to buy it before six in the evening and even though it gets dark later, the shops close early. Fortunately a baker who was about to close took pity on us and gave us free bread. We ate that bread with nothing else but I can say it was the most delicious bread of my life. This was a nice memory of Denmark for us. It was after 10 o’clock but it was not dark yet. This is how we witnessed the white nights in Scandinavia in summer. On the way to the station, we saw musicians playing music on the bridge. We took the train to Sweden. The next day we visited Malmö in the morning and in the afternoon; we took the train again and reached Helsingør, a Danish town.
Kronborg Palace in Helsingør, Denmark, inspired William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet.
This cozy seaside town, also called Elsinore, is home to the famous Kronborg castle where Shakespeare’s Hamlet takes place. As we walked from the station to the castle, to our right was the marina and the harbor where the boats to Sweden depart. In 2000, Kronborg castle, which was accepted to the UNESCO World Heritage List, was located at the north-easternmost tip of the island of Zealand. In the castle, which we entered by crossing a bridge, we came across posters of the play Hamlet. Although Shakespeare’s famous play Hamlet has been performed hundreds of times and movies have been made, watching the play here had a special meaning. Because the tragedy of Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, takes place here, in Kronborg castle. Therefore, seeing this castle was a nice memory for us. When you come to Helsingør, I would recommend you to visit the Danish maritime museum and Kulturhavn where cultural events are held. After the Marina and the Bazaar, we started to wander among the cute houses with gardens. One of these houses caught our attention. There was a picture of a boy and a girl on the outside wall. While we were looking at the wall with interest, a young man came out and said in English (you can see inside if you want). In the garden, adults were drinking and talking and children were playing. Curious, we went in. He welcomed us in a small room right next to the garden and brought us drinks. The young man, who said his name was David, originally from Lithuania, showed us around the house with his little daughter and son. It was one of the most interesting houses I have ever seen. When David saw the news about this house on Danish TV, he thought, “I have to buy this place” and immediately took the initiative. Built in 1861, the person who turned this house into a fairy tale house with interesting designs passed away and his heirs sold the house. This half-genius, half-mad man, who had spent his whole life in this house, had built secret closets and strangely designed furniture. David told us about his former landlord and showed us all the interesting designs, he was very proud of his house and loved living in it. We also asked him questions about Denmark. He told us that taxes were high and that he did not plan to have more children because there was no special help for childcare, but the education was good. Therefore, we have another friend in a corner of the world. We took photos in the garden with the other adults and children who came to visit them and we were very touched when they played Turkish songs and danced with us after we said goodbye.
David and his family have been a wonderful host to us. David’s home in Helsingor is not just a place; it is a place of memories and shared stories.
I was very impressed by how friendly and hospitable they were. There was music coming from a tea garden up ahead. We sat there and listened to the music. The musicians were the band Monotouch, whose poster I had seen in the Tivoli gardens. We admired the Gothic architecture of the Sankt Olai (St. Olaf’s) church. It was not too late but the shops and restaurants were starting to close. We found a Turkish döner restaurant and chatted with Bora, a young student from Antalya who had come to work temporarily. He told us that there were other Turkish restaurants. We were intrigued that there were so many Turkish restaurants in such a small town. Then we returned to Malmo by train and completed our two-day trip in Denmark.
Denmark deserves the title “the Pearl of the North” not only for its natural beauties but also for its high standard of living and the importance given to human beings. Although Denmark is such a modern and developed country, it is ruled by a constitutional monarchy. Queen Margrethe II, who ruled the country for 52 years, left her place to her son Frederick X on January 14, 2024. The king, who is married to Queen Mary, has four children, including Crown Prince Christian. His wife Mary, who is of Australian descent, rules the country as the king’s deputy when he is abroad. In the country, officially called the Kingdom of Denmark, general elections are held every 4 years. There is a prime minister, government and Senate elected by the people. In addition to Danish, the official language, English is also widely spoken. Although it is in the Schengen zone, the Euro is not used. The currency is the Danish Kroner and 1 dollar is around DKK 6.5.
It takes longer to become a citizen in Denmark, a founding member of NATO and the United Nations, than in other countries. You have to wait eight years after a temporary residence permit.
Comprising 1,400 islands, large and small, including the Faroe Islands and Greenland, Denmark is a maritime powerhouse. Percentage40 of the 6 million inhabitants live in Zealand. Having remained neutral in the First World War, Denmark was occupied by Germany in the Second World War. This was more of a peaceful occupation and Denmark was guaranteed political independence from Germany.
The famous Lego game was first invented in Denmark and spread around the world. There is a theme park called Legoland Billund, which was established for Lego, which is derived from the words Leg Godt (play well) in Danish.
Denmark is also a cycling paradise. You will find plenty of bicycle paths everywhere.
Hans Cristian Andersen, the statue of the little mermaid, museums and architectural designs inherited from Viking culture and history have a very special place in the Hygge culture.
Hygee, which describes the warm, peaceful and sincere lifestyle of the Danes, is perhaps one of the reasons why they are always in the top three in the world in the ranking of happy people. According to the Hygge manifesto, the ten essentials of happiness are atmosphere, presence, pleasure, equality, gratitude, comfort, togetherness, harmony, truce and shelter. These ten ideals, which the Vikings also believed in, are the basic qualities for living a happy life. According to this philosophy, doing things together makes you happier than buying new things.
If you want to visit Denmark, I recommend the summer months. It gets cold in winter. Even though we went in summer, it was cool in the evenings.
You should also try Smørrebrød, Denmark’s most famous dish. Smørrebrød, an open sandwich usually made with fish, meat, cheese, vegetables and spices on black bread, is a traditional snack. For souvenirs, I can recommend electronic gadgets, amber, royal Copenhagen porcelain, Danish cakes and of course various kinds of Legos.
When you see Denmark, the pearl of the north, a country of safe and happy people, you are struck by the respect and love for human beings and all living things. This alone should be reason enough to want to travel to Denmark.
Your fellow traveler,
Canan
