We arrived in Gothenburg shortly after noon. Our trusty Let's Go Europe travel guide recommended that we check out the iconic Feskekörka, colloquially known as the “Fish Church”. Built in 1874, this seafood market gets its name from its unique design. It features a steep, angled roof with pointed arched windows and construction without partitions or pillars – it simply looks like a church, or “kôrka”. Check out the image from its website below.
Our remaining time in Gothenburg was spent exploring its old town. We stumbled across the local city library and spent an hour or so reading its collection of English-language newspapers. These were the first news stories we’d seen in more than three months. Remember, we were travelling in the pre-Internet era.
It was at this point that our first rookie mistake was made. Unbeknownst to us, the train we boarded for Copenhagen included a section of carriages terminating at the port of Helsinger, while the remaining train drove onto a ferry to complete the journey. Of course, we made ourselves comfortable in a terminating carriage and didn’t discover our mistake until the rest of the train had driven off.
As a result, Dean and I had to catch a separate ferry across the strait, then board a second train bound for Copenhagen on the opposite side. We finally reached the campground late at night. The following morning, we discovered we’d made a second rookie mistake. We didn’t have enough local currency left to get to an ATM in town. However, good fortune was our friend. As we reluctantly set out on foot from the campground, we stumbled across a 50 Kroner banknote on the ground – enough money to buy us a couple of bus tickets.
Much like we did in Stockholm, we bought a three-day tourist pass that provided free public transportation as well as free admission to a range of local attractions. We chose the Hologram Museum as our first stop, before tackling the Louis Tussauds Wax Museum. That’s Dean above giving Leonardo da Vinci a few pointers for painting the Mona Lisa. We finished the day wandering the Tivoli Gardens as night fell.
The Tivoli Gardens deserve a special mention. Founded in 1843, it’s one of the world’s oldest amusement parks and a true icon of Copenhagen. However, this isn’t your Disneyland or Universal Studios experience. When you enter the gates, you’re met with twinkling festive lights, colourful flower beds, sideshow stalls, and the sound of laughter.
Yes, there are classic thrill rides scattered among the trees, including carousels, rollercoasters and the rest. However, you can also enjoy a peaceful stroll through the beautiful gardens, experience live performances such as concerts, ballet and theatre, eat great food, and so much more. I recall being slightly bemused and confused by the whole experience. Was Tivoli a theme park, a carnival, an open air market, a place for kids or designed for adults? The image I’ve pulled from the web above gives you a great sense of this unique attraction.
On Sunday, 2 August, Dean and I headed out of town to visit Frederiksborg Castle. This former royal residence is a genuinely spectacular venue. It’s located on an island in a lake on the outskirts of a town called Hillerød, roughly 30 km northwest of Copenhagen. My travel diary raves about its chapel, which visitors view from an elevated balcony, the grand ballroom and an extraordinary chandelier in the Audience Chamber. The chandelier features a deer leaping from its upper rim towards the ceiling. The images above were all sourced from the Internet. I recall my astonishment as I looked to the ceiling upon entering the room. I turned to Dean and urged him to "Look up! Do you see what I see?"
However, one of my strongest memories about the castle had nothing to do with the building. Dean ran into a couple of Australian tourists from his home state of Victoria while we were there. They told us that Joan Kirner had become the state’s first female premier a couple of weeks earlier. Looking back, I marvel at how easy it was to become disconnected from current affairs in the pre-Internet era.
We returned to the city that afternoon to leverage our tourist pass at the city’s Planetarium. We watched an IMAX film about the Space Shuttle, which, as a dedicated space buff, I totally loved. It was the sort of thing I’d never experience in New Zealand. Dean and I finished the day with a tour of the Calsberg Brewery. Yes, the free taster at the end was definitely a highlight. The image above shows the Elephant Gate, the brewery's iconic entrance flanked by four granite elephants.
Our third and final day in Copenhagen was spent visiting the local Aquarium. The building is situated in the city’s northern suburbs overlooking the sea. The piranhas were a highlight for me. Little did I know, 15 years later, I’d be fishing for them myself in the Amazon jungle. Afterwards, we walked along the waterfront, stopping to admire the city’s iconic Little Mermaid statue sitting alone on a rock. I was surprised to see how small she was. This iconic bronze sculpture, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, is only 1.25 metres high, including a tail that wraps around its podium rock.
Dean insisted we revisit the wax museum and check out the horror section we’d missed on our last visit. He made the right call as the special effects were suitably spine-chilling. Apparently, the wax museum closed several years ago. We spent our final hours back at Tivoli Gardens listening to a live orchestra and watching a ballroom dancing demonstration. Later that evening, we caught an overnight train to Munich, a journey that included a ferry back across the Ferner Strait. This transit also marked the end of our gruelling three-week circuit through Scandinavia.
Our Eurail pass offered unlimited travel on any day we nominated as one of our 15 ticketed travel days. Hence, on our way to Munich, we took advantage of this flexibility and made a brief stop in Hamburg. We spent several hours as the sun was setting exploring Germany's primary seafaring port, including a walk along the waterfront and a stroll through the city's old town, filled with old brick buildings crowned by elegant, olive-green patina copper roofs.
Our self-guided walking tour included a look at the ornate Rathaus (Town Hall) and the ruins of St. Nikolaikirche, a Gothic cathedral destroyed by Allied bombers during World War II. To be honest, Hamburg's old-world charm caught us by surprise. We'd expected to find a more austere post-war architecture, given how heavily the city had been bombed during the war. The image above, which I've sourced from the web, really says it all.
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