Our last day in Scandinavia. 😢 Lars and Nancy had an early flight, but ours didn't leave until later in the afternoon and there were still things I wanted to see, especially the Freetown Christiania. So I hustled Kathi out the door early and we grabbed a train into downtown Copenhagen. We passed some familiar sights.
The Stork Fountain...
... and the richly decorated walking surface of the Amagertorv district.... and the Copenhagen canal...We crossed over into Christianshavn and stopped for some breakfast - more waffles!Continuing on, we passed Our Savior's (Lutheran-Evangelical) church with it's famous bell tower, offering great views of Copenhagen. Kathi indulged me as I paid the small fee to climb its corkcscrew tower.
The bells in the tower are part of a carillon, a system where a keyboard is connected to the bells and able to plays tunes.Completed in 1928, the carillon at Our Savior's church was the first one installed in the Nordic countries. At the first lookout, the views were incredible.
Looking west...
Looking north...Looking north-east towards the sea...Camera put away and holding on for dear life, I climbed the narrow circular tower.
The wind was howling (before you start the climb, you're warned to check hats and leave backpacks behind) and there was barely enough room for ascenders and descenders to pass without getting very familiar. You tend to ask yourself, "Is that railing really secure?" After satisfying my curiosity, I carefully descended and rejoined Kathi in the courtyard.
At this point, we split up. Kathi wanted to revisit the Studio Arhoj to see "just released" signature items, so she headed west and I picked up my pace to make my way through the Freetown Christiania and then rendezvous with her there. Freetown Christiania (aka Christiania or simply Staden) is an international community and anarchist commune in the Christianshavn neighborhood.
It began in 1971 as people squatted in the derelict military barracks of Bådsmandsstræde and part of the historic city ramparts and has grown to about 850 to 1,000 residents, covering 19 acres of land. It's worth a visit just to view the murals, graffiti and other artwork found just about on every surface.There are supposedly "rules" that say that pictures should not be taken, but that seemed kind of silly. I think that was meant to just not be intrusive or to prevent the documentation of illicit hashish and marijuana sale and drug use. I followed those "rules".After all, Christiania is considered to be the fourth largest tourist attraction in Copenhagen, with half a million visitors annually. Some of it is quite lovely.
Some is a little in your face, like these public urinals.The recycle artist, Thomas Dambo, created the wooden sculpture "Green George" as apart of the Great Troll Festival. See: https://youtu.be/J2n8FxhunV8 Because his plans to build trolls worldwide were put on hold due to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, he instead developed a 10-piece troll treasure hunt in Denmark. Green George, made from recycled wood, is one of them.
Skate park inspiration???
Christiania, as you might image in a commune, has a recycling station.Here, residents can comb through castaways to repurpose all kinds of items, from books to bicycle parts, you name it. Here is one of the resident's artistically decorated homes. Walking down Sydmorådet street...Graffiti alluding to Christiania's past and culture...
Thought-provoking murals...Anti-police murals - the area was known to be raided daily to clamp down on the illegal drug trade, but spotters often warned sellers who would close up their impromptu booths to avoid detection.Hmmm - science + cocktails, sounds like my kind of event.Christianias Sundhedshus, a local health food store, occupies one of the old military buildings.Other repurposed buildings...A mural dedicated to the sale of cannibis...One of the main streets in Christiania, "Pusher Street", was famous for its open illegal trade of cannabis until 2024... ... when a large portion of the trade was shut down in a collaborative effort between Danish police and the majority of the inhabitants.
Nearing the northern end of Christiania, hanging a left on Refshalevej street, one last monumental mural before transitioning back into more conventional neighborhoods...
Now moving west to rendezvous with Kathi, admiring the canal-facing communities.The Trangravsbroen bridge-raising, slowing down my hustle...Continuing west along the famous Nyhavn canal...I did veer north to check out the imposing Amalienborg Palace, the winter residence of the Danish royal family.
Pressed for time, I did not venture in, that will have to wait for another visit. The circular plaza was pretty impressive!
In the center was the Rytterstatuen, equestrian statue of King Frederick V of Denmark. There were also a number of guards patrolling the entrance to the palace...
... as well as the entrances to the plaza.They were all business. I saw one scold some children who were horsing around and not showing proper respect for their surroundings. Don't mess with the man in the furry hat!Heading west again, I had to stop and snap a picture of Frederiks Kirke, King Frederick's Church, and it's beautiful dome.For the full effect...Stepping double time towards Studio Arhoj, I still couldn't pass up a picture of another lovely storm drain cover... I headed south, before turning west again and intersected Kongens Nytorv plaza (the King's New Square), with an equestrian statue of King Christian V at its center.
In the beginning of the 17th century, this area was located outside the gate and fortifications of Copenhagen. As part of King Christian IV's ambitious plans to strengthen Copenhagen as a regional centre, he wanted to double the area of the fortified city and acquired 200 hectares of land outside Østerport in 1606. The New King's square, Kongens Nytorv, was established in 1647 by Christian V and, according to a masterplan created by the fortification engineer, Kongens Nytorv was to be connected to the sea by a canal. Today, it's surrounded by a "sea" of flowers.
The lovely city seal of Copenhagen!At the NW quadrant of the Kongens Nytorv plaza is this cute little restaurant with outdoor seating, however, no time to waste, so I stepped lively on.Nowhere near the Rosenburg Castle or the Amalienborg Palace, but here comes the Royal Guard, just marching down the Kristen Bernikows Gade street - much to the delight of us tourists!I successfully rendezvoused with Kathi at the Studio Arhoj, we purchased a few more ghostly items, including a chic canvas bag, and headed to the train station for a ride back to our airport hotel. After all that tramping around the city, I begged Kathi to stop for some sustenance so I got one last bite of the famous Scandinavian hot dog. This one less authentic than at Tivoli, but still yum!
We hustled through the Vestergade pedestrian thoroughfare stopping only to check out a Swedish design houseware store that we were told about.
It was cool, but nothing caught our eye enough to make a quick purchase.
In Copenhagen, it seems like all roads lead to Tivoli...
It probably doesn't hurt that it's practically across from the train station, but it's also fitting that a place that brought so much joy to our trip (even in the rain) was one of the last things we saw as we were departing Copenhagen.
The finale of our trip went according to plan. We retrieved our stored baggage at the Clarion Hotel and hung out in their opulent lobby until it was time for our flight. We easily walked through the breezeway connecting the hotel to the airport, checked in, boarded our SAS flight and made it back to DC (non-stop). We hopped on the shuttle to take us back to our car in the economy parking area and drove back to our home in VA.
While we only got a small taste of Scandinavia on this trip, it was an exquisite taste, filled with friends, excitement, laughter, beauty, adventure, and a deep longing to return one day. You can't ask for more than that!
Peace.
... and manicured streetscapes as we made our way back to the Citybox Bergen.
We made it to Copenhagen around 4:30 and conveniently checked into the Clarion Hotel next to the airport. The hotel was a step up from our usual accommodations, but its location (connected by a breezeway) would allow us to store our bags to the last minute before making the 5 minute walk to check in for our flight home. 
Unfortunately, we did not get to see them :(
Even in threatening weather, the lake is a popular attraction. 
At the beer garden we got some food, and of course Carlsburg beer ("probably the best beer in the world"), but Lars was holding out for hotdogs and waffles. 
You notice new things each time.
... and bellowing out the lyrics to his songs (not us, ha!)
We found a traditional hotdog vendor, which made Lars very happy. 
