Danish streets have an old-fashioned charm embracing the avowedly futuristic designs, says Tapsee Pannu
From the iconic statue of the little mermaid sitting on a rock by the waterside at the langelinie promenade in Copenhagen to the majestic Frederiksborg Palace in Hillerod — Denmark is a country which brings alive the meaning of the words ‘fairy tale’. The country has also given to the world a literary genius like Hans Christian Anderson and a nobel laureate like Henrik Pontoppidan. In a nutshell, Denmark gets it right — old-fashioned charm which embraces the most avowedly forward-looking design and social developments, therefore winning it a regular chart-topping place on lists of both the most-liveable and the happiest nations on earth.
A short vacation trip to Denmark for five days with friends was a heavenly experience. We stayed in a lavish apartment hired in the city centre because it’s really expensive to stay in a hotel if you are more than two people travelling. It is also convenient to use the train. The best thing to do is stay in city centre and go visit the Queen’s Palace and the vibrant city centre market. Since we chose to stay right in the heart of the city, walking around and exploring became quite easy and is highly recommended for travellers who love to walk their way round a place.
A memorable instance for me was to see the current crowned prince leave from the place when I was there for a regular day of sightseeing. How many of us really get to see royal people in abroad right up frontIJ Needless to say, but I would always recommend to try all the Danish pastries. Trust me, you will never have enough of them. With a more than hundred outlets around town, including several at the airport, and next door to the tourist office, there are many bakery chain selling all the buttery, carb-loading treats you could dream of. Rye bread is a must-try, if you’re there for the sweet pastries. Note that while they’re called ‘Danish pastries’ around the world, in Denmark they’re known as ‘Vienna bread.’
Denmark, in all, is not a place for adventure sports but one must visit the Tivoli amusement park for additional fun. It’s beautiful and less about coasters and more about an experience. I literally spent a day there since I love visiting amusement parks. It was one-of-its-kind, way different from the usual run-off-the-mill amusement centers. It forms an enchanting town within a city. This expansive park offers everything from flower gardens and boat rides to the fanciful architecture, fairground rides, street markets and firework displays.
Shopping in Denmark is very expensive, believe me. I would not suggest shopping there as a lot of things there are more expensive than other destinations including london or New York. The only thing worth spending money on are in the Michelin restaurants. Save up all your money and spend it on these culinary experiences which are rare to find in India. Go for those set menu restaurants which turn out to be more affordable as opposed to other open menu restaurants. Keep an eye out for when these Michelin-starred restaurants come up with special evening or luncheons with a set menu for a fixed price. That’s a must do and a steal. It’s literally a scene out from one of my favourite movies, The 100 Foot Journey — the restaurants give you every bit of an elite experience you desire.
Copenhagen also happens to have several good casinos and clubs but since I am not really a night person I didn’t experience any of those. Plus it was too cold for me during nights to go out in Denmark during my visit, so I avoided as I didn’t exactly fancy having the chills of the extreme weather. Since I visited in the winters, I would personally recommend the spring/summer time as the perfect season to visit this beautiful destination. If not the top priority, one must not miss out on this beautiful destination nestled north of Germany. Plan it in summers else it’s too cold to enjoy outdoors. You will be freezing in winters. Its an extremely cold and windy country.