The Denmark Copenhagen Experience (July 2014)
The main agenda of this trip to Denmark Copenhagen is to attend the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2014, which is held from 13 to 17 July 2014. We also take the opportunity to tour around Copenhagen, especially since this is my first time in Denmark. I don’t think it is possible to give a day-by-day account like what I usually do, so I guess I will give an overview of what I did, what the attractions are, what I feel about the whole journey and a brief guide on touring Copenhagen in future.We took SQ352 from T3 at 2350h on 11 July, and the journey took about 12 hours, and Denmark is 6 hours behind Singapore. So I slept most of the times on the plane, watched a Korean movie, and reached Copenhagen airport at 0630h 12 July 2014. It is summer in Copenhagen, which means that the daytime is long (Sunrise at 0445h and sunset at 2145h). We took cab to our hotel The square which is in the city square (relatively convenient for us to tour around), beside the Tivoli Garden but the room is rather small with not much facilities. There is no iron/slippers/water kettle in the room… Anyway, the room wasn’t ready so we deposited our luggage and walked around. Check-in time is 1500h and we reached the hotel at 0730h. The cab was really expensive ~300 KR (exchange rate S$1 = 4.2 Danish Kroner). They don’t use Euro dollars btw.
We walked to Stroget, which is just one street across our hotel. It is the largest pedestrian mall in Denmark, but at the time we went, it was like a deadtown as most of the shops are not open yet, but on our way back at around 11 am, it was very vibrant and crowded! It is 1100 metres long so we walked quite a fair bit, till we reached Nyhavn, which is the iconic landmark of Copenhagen you see on all the brochures and website. The harbour/canal with all the ferries by the side of the canal, and rows of colourful building on the sides of pavement. Walking down further you can see the Opera House across the large canal. Within Stroget, there are also some tourist attraction: the round tower (which you have to pay to go up the tower), and the Danish Royal Theater.
We had lunch at one of the nearby Italian restaurant and I had mussels which were very nice – not too strong and the soup/sauce was good. I had a nap at the hotel lobby before we checked in at 3pm. Dinner at A Hereford Beefstouw, a restaurant beside the Tivoli Gardens. While its specialty is beef, I had the lamb which is also very nice.
The conference starts at 8.30am and ends at 5.30pm on most days except half day on 17 July (the final day). It has a concurrent morning session from 8.30am to 10.15am, a combined plenary session from 10.45am to 11.45am, lunch cum poster viewing session from 11.45am to 2.15pm, concurrent oral sessions x2 from 2.15pm to 3.45pm and 4pm to 5.30pm. We have to settle lunch ourselves sadly. Food in Denmark is extremely expensive! Even a typical fast food can cost 15 sing dollars.
Dinners
Saturday 12/7 – Lambsteak @ Hereford Beefstouw
Sunday 13/7 – Fish assortment @ Le Vecchia with Tivoli Garden
Monday 14/7 – Dinner symposium by Novartis at Crowne Hotel
Tuesday 15/7 – Dinner symposium by Eisai at D’Angleterre Hotel
Wednesday 16/7 – Dinner with old friends ZW/HJ, Fried pork (Stegt flæsk med persillesovs 168 KR), hot pot of pork @ Restaurant Fridas
Thursday 17/7 – Yangchow fried rice at the Chinese restaurant which cost me 101 KR!
Food there is generally expensive but the servings are big. The Danish pastries are quite famous and nice and sweet. The sandwich is huge and cost 57 KR. They like to cook smoked salmon and got this raw fish Herrings which is very fishy. But the lamb and the fried pork are delicious.
Transport Systems
The conference gave us a free unlimited pass which we are allowed to use for all types of vehicles and within all zones on the 5 days of conference.
The city is well-connected by buses and trains, and you can travel easily after you get the hand out of it. On the first day we were quite lost to find out which bus to take, but now it is a breeze.
There are public buses – bus 250A and 30 go to Bella Centre. The “A” buses are express and have few stops; the “S” buses are more frequent; the normal buses are just normal. The strangest thing is that the same number can have different destinations, so you have to look carefully or ask the bus driver. (Which I thought they might as well call it a different number..).
There are different types of trains. No one really checks on whether you purchase a ticket or not, it runs based on honesty system, although once in a while, the conductors will check.
S-trains: this is like the usual MRT with different lines/colours
Metro: this is like LRT and links up the city centre to the airport. There is a Bella Centre Metro Station. There are 2 metro lines M1 and M2. Some stations are metro interchanges eg Chirstianhavn, Kongens and Norreport. The same tracks can carry different lines, so be careful and look at the screens before boarding
DSB trains/regional trains: these are fast trains and link up the north and south Copenhagen. It goes to major stations like the central station, the airport, etc. It goes to Malmo too, a city in Sweden. But unfortunately, our ticket can’t bring us there. Initially we were still planning to go there…
Some of the stations have all metro, DSB and S-train like Norreport and Osterport.
Some have only DSB and S-train like Kobenhavn H (Central) station.
Some have only S-trains like Vesterport, which is the nearest station to the square hotel.
Some S-train stations have many colours (interchange), some only one colour.
So for example, to go to Bella Centre from The Square, you can either:
1) Take bus 30 or 250A (around 25 mins)
2) Walk to Central station to take DSB train to Orestad and transfer either bus 4 or metro (1 stop) (need to see the schedule of trains)
3) Take S-train at Vestaport to Norreport and change to Metro to Bella centre
The last resort is taxi. But as mentioned, these are real expensive. The boarding fee is like sing 10 dollars already!
Cycling. 52% of the residents cycle; there are designated cycling path, so you can join them.
Walk. You can walk for 2-3 hours and finish touring the city square and the attractions around it.
Tourist Attractions
These are places which I have gone, or at least walk past to take photos.
Tivoli Gardens: It is an amusement park, something like universal studio kind. Just next to our hotel, but unfortunately you need to pay to enter. Just to enter cost you 99 KR; to take the ride is 199 KR. Actually cheaper than the usual universal studio price. The good part is the conference has a gathering dinner there on the first day, so we get to enter for free and take the selected rides. I only took the fast train which is a bit scary already. Too old for those roller coaster ride or top gun type of rides.
Town Hall Square: Before entering Stroget, you will pass through the square with the town hall building on your right.
Kobenhavn Hovedbanegard Station: This is the main railway train station.
Christiansborg Palace: On the third day during lunch time, I took the metro down to Christianhaven and walked around. This is one I went, and can take the lift to go up the tower to have a picturesque view of Copenhagen.
Christians Church: Along the way to the Christiansborg Palace, I past by this church, the royal libray, etc. They do have quite a number of churches.
Church of our Saviour: On the fourth day lunch time, I once again took metro to Christianhaven and went to this place, which also has a spiral to go up, but have to pay and the queue is quite long so I didn’t go up.
Noma restaurant: World’s number one restaurant. However, it was closed for summer holiday. Cost 500 singapore dollars per head. Doesn’t look very special on the outside. Within walking distance from Chirstianhaven harbour. Need to make reservation 3 months in advance.
Little Mermaid: The iconic attraction which is a must-go If you are in Copenhagen. I met up with Zhenwei and Huijing on Wednesday (Zhenwei is working here under SQ for 2 years already) and they drove me around, including the Little Mermaid. A bit disappointing at the statues, but well, worth a photo shot. Near it, there is St Albans Church and The Citadel.
Christiania: There is a “green-light distinct” in this area, where people are allowed to sell drugs liberally. No photos are allowed here.
Amalienborg Palace: This is where the current royal family lives in.
The Marble Church: Opposite the Palace is the marble church. Looks grand on the outside.
Botanic Gardens: It has a greenhouse and pond. During summer, quite a lot of people will lie around on the grass patch. The pond has some ducks.
Rosenborg Castle: This is beside the Botanic garden. You have to pay to enter to view the crown jewel, otherwise walking outside is quite scenic as well.
National Museum: There are quite a number of museums around, but I am not the museum hopper kind of person, so it’s a quick go-in-look-take-some-pics action.
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek: This is also a museum originated for the guy who first brewed the Carlsberg beer (yup, so Carlsberg is cheap here). I didn’t enter, just took photo from outside.
Helgoland/Amager Strandpark: Beach within the city. 5 minutes walk from Metro station Oresund.
Klampenborg/Bellevue Strandpark: Beach 13 km north from the city centre. It is near the Klampenborg Station (S-train). Along the stretch, the northmost part is nude beach.
Bakken: This is the oldest amusement park in Denmark ~150years old. It is near the Klampenborg Station (S-train) as well, the other direction away from the beach. Supposed to have a lot of deers but we didn’t see any. Got horse wagons though.
Istedgade: Their red-light distinct
Studiestraede: Their gay distinct
Shopping
I won’t recommend shopping here in Copenhagen because of the cost. The largest shopping centre in Copenhagen is Fields, which is at Orestad metro station, one stop away from Bella Centre. I went there on my second day of lunch break.
Strogen, as mentioned, is a pedestrian mall, within it houses Royal Copenhagen and Illums shopping mall, which is like Robinsons.
There is a big Copenhagen mall along the bus journey to Bella Centre, but looks ex too.
The return flight is on 18 July 2014 1230h SQ351. We will reach Singapore on 19 July 2014, 0625h.
So on the whole, I won’t regret coming. Other than building up knowledge on Dementia, meeting like-minded people, seeing the renowned dementia guru, the best part is also being able to tour around. This is my first time in an European country (other than Britain), so I am glad I enjoyed it.
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