10 things worth doing while visiting Copenhagen

1.Observe the city from the observatory on its Rundetaarn – The Round Tower. Thousands of flues, gulls, basketball playgrounds and even a small part of Sweden (if you stand on your tiptoes) are seen from the roof.

2. Step over the most transparent and pleasant EU border straight in the city centre and get into the Christiania hippie community, or the Freetown. This is where you will find yourself at the eternal festival of disobedience, surrounded with the atmosphere of the 60’s. Sex, drugs and rock’n’roll. Grandchildren of flowers sell aroma sticks, t-shirts and beads bracelets. A couple of years ago marijuana was also sold freely here, but the police has cut this business short. Still, drugs are sold under cover. Note that you are not allowed to take pictures of the Christiania – many signs will remind you of this. That is why the best way to see the community is to visit it. There is a sign saying “NOW U ENTER EU” at the exit.

3. Go to the youngest and most developed metro in the world (opened here in 2002), take the front seat and fulfill your childhood dream: imagine yourself a train engineer. All the trains are operated by computers, so there is only a windshield that separates you from the tunnel. Though taking your seat might be uneasy: there are lots of children eager to “operate” the vehicle. At the moment the map of Copenhagen metro is one of the most ergonomic in the world – there is only one line divided into 2 at the Christianshavn station.

4. Take a train and go to Elsinore, survey the Dutch province of Kronborg and the real Hamlet’s castle. You will get pleasure from surveying gingerbread houses with geranium growing on their window-sills, strange postindustrial castle approach and even Dutch graffiti. Descend to the castle’s cold cells illuminated by oil lamps only, listen to your own steps echoing, get easily lost (because there are no signs here) and found. Flip a coin into the international heap of money deep inside the courtyard well, join an excursion and listen to what a guide can say about Shakespeare.

5. Hang 63 meters above the ground, enjoy the landscape and then go down at an enormous speed. This is what the “Gold Tower”, one of the attractions at the Tivoli amusement park is.

6. Sit on a bench in front of the domed Marble Church and read a book or simply enjoy the atmosphere. On workdays the place is empty. It looks simple and stately. When one mentions true calmness, I think of loneliness of the Marble Church.

7. Drop into local cemetery which looks more like a city park. Almost all the people Denmark is proud of are buried here: Niels Bohr, Soren Kierkegaard and of course Hans Christian Andersen. Walk along the paths, stand by Andersen’s grave covered with children’s paintings and visit the flea market along its walls.

8. Cross the bridge that connects Denmark and Sweden and visit Malmo, the neighboring Swiss city. Fellow travelers will tell you that some ten years ago one could hardly imagine a trip to Malmo in a car. People used ferryboats to get here. The bridge is large and two-storied: there are cars and buses driving along the higher level and trains along the lower one.

9. Wrap yourself into plaid and enjoy coffee in one of the Nuhavn cafes. Nuhavn is a harbour, with paved roadway, channel and mansions. Observe masts, “rain” from the ship ropes, tiled roofs and red Dutch matchboxes swimming by. Then go for a walk to Kongens Nytorv, the city’s largest square with the old opera house, copper monuments and a huge shopping mall called Magasin.

10. Walk along the lakes that surround the city. The lakes bear royal names and are worth seeing. But before you go there you should step onto the bridge and decide what shore you like most – the left or the right one. There are twice as much seagulls and swans as people here.