København introduction

“Hygge”

“Hygge” is a Danish word not easily translated into English. It resembles the German “Gemütlichkeit” and means a relaxed, feeling comfortable and secure. It describes a personality trait that is more common in easy-going Denmark and positive attitude, feeling comfortable and secure. It describes a personality trait that is more common in easy-going Danes.

History

Warrior bishop Absalon founded Copenhagen in 1167 by building a castle on the island of Slotsholmen. The fishing village around the castle soon grew into a merchant town, giving it the present name, which means: “Merchants harbor”. For centuries the royal palace was on the island and the merchant town was on the banks round the island. Now the parliament is on Slotsholmen.

It became an official capital of Denmark in the early 15th C. Many churches and palaces in the center date from a building boom in the 17th C. during the reign of Christian IV. Devastating city fires in 1728 and 1795 destroyed most of the ordinary houses inside the city walls, so that the present-day architecture of the old center is mainly from the beginning of the 19th C.

Life

There is no better place for guests. This merry city is one of the friendliest in the world, open-minded and international, without having lost Danish customs and culture. The Danes have acquired the style of the relaxed cosmopolitan, the witty prankster and the adventurous artist. They have opened up their windows to the world and are nevertheless unlike anyone else.

They have few natural resources other than their wits, which are best evident in their world-famous works of art. Everything becomes beautiful in their hands, glass, clay and wood, silver, hides and steel. And nowhere is this better seen than in Copenhagen.

Life is both rough and soft, all the way from the drug addicts despair to the connoisseurs delight. Here beer and wine flow freely with good and abundant food. Here is companionship and solitude in cafés and pubs, in pedestrian streets and gardens. Here is coziness and charm as guests from abroad are quick to find the Danish beat of life.

Taste

The Danes are justly famous for applied arts. Copenhagen shops are a fairy-tale land of refined taste and traditional handicraft. No shopping street in the world equals the pedestrian Strøget for its concentration of beautiful and useful things. During 15 minutes of walking one sees there rows of shops, all full of wonders to admire and enjoy.

We see unique things, furniture and home appliances, furs and porcelain, gold and glass, pottery and linen, much of it so exquisite that we look at in awe. It is simplest to window-shop on Strøget and its pedestrian side-streets. It has the densest concentration of exactly those shops offering goods that travelers want to inspect.

Accident

Phone: 112.

Indicate fire, policed or ambulance as required, sea or air accident. Speak slowly and distinctly. State phone number and address. Emergency calls from public booths are free, coins not needed.

Ambulance

Phone: 112.

Indicate fire, policed or ambulance as required, sea or air accident. Speak slowly and distinctly. State phone number and address. Emergency calls from public booths are free, coins not needed.

Complaints

The police in Copenhagen are generally nice, just as the population on the whole. Most people understand English.

Dentist

Oslo Plads 14. Phone: 3138 0251. Hours: Open 8-21:30 Monday-Friday, 10-12 Saturday-Sunday.

Tandlægevagten. Personal callers only. Emergencies only.

Fire

Phone: 112.

Indicate fire, policed or ambulance as required, sea or air accident. Speak slowly and distinctly. State phone number and address. Emergency calls from public booths are free, coins not needed.

Hospital

Blegdamsvej 9. Phone: 112.

Casualty wards. Day & night treatment, emergencies only.

All foreigners staying temporarily in Denmark are entitled to free treatment in hospitals and casualty wards in the event of sudden illness or aggravation of chronic disease, provide the patient has not come to Denmark with the intention of obtaining treatment or is not strong enough to return to home country. Transport home is paid by patient or his insurance.

Medical care

Phone: 3393 6300. Hours: Monday-Friday 9-16.

Doctors on Call. Outside work hours dial 3312 0041. In emergency dial 112.

Pharmacy

Vesterbrogade 6c. Phone: 3314 8266. Hours: Open day & night. (A3).

Steno Apotek.

Police

Phone: 112.

Indicate fire, policed or ambulance as required, sea or air accident. Speak slowly and distinctly. State phone number and address. Emergency calls from public booths are free, coins not needed.

Precautions

There is little petty crime and almost no violent crime in Copenhagen.

Banks

(A3).

Den Danske Bank at the central railway station is open all days 7-21. Banking hours are Monday-Friday 9:30-16, Thursday -18.

Credit cards

Credit cards are accepted in hotels, restaurants and shops. Visa and Eurocard (Access, MasterCard) have the largest circulation.

Missing cards: For Eurocheque, Eurocard, MasterCard, Access, Visa and JCB dial Eurocard Danmark 4489 2500 day & night. For American Express dial 8001 0021, for Diners dial 3672 3672.

Electricity

Danish voltage is 220V, same as in Europe. Plugs are continental.

Hotels

Copenhagen hotels are generally clean and well maintained, including plumbing. Small hotels can be good, even if they do not have TV sets in guest rooms. A bathroom is taken for granted nowadays. Some hotels have been artistically designed out of old warehouse buildings and have a personal appearance.

We only include hotels with private bathrooms, and in most cases we also demand a direct telephone line, working air-condition, and peace and silence during the night. Only hotels in the city center are included as we want to avoid long journeys between sightseeing and our afternoon naps.

The price ranges from DKr. 500 to DKr. 2050, including a substantial breakfast.

We checked all the hotels in this database during the winter of 1995-1996 as everything is fickle in this world. We have also tested some other hotels that are not included as they were not on par with the best in each price category. Some expensive hotels in Copenhagen are in fact no better than our selection of smaller hotels.

Money

The currency in Denmark is the Danish Krone, DKr, divided into 100 ører.

Prices

Prices have lately become stable in Denmark.

Shopping

Normal shopping hours are Monday-Friday 9:30/10:00-5:30/7:00 and Saturday 9-14. Some shops may open at 6:00 and some may close at 20:00. Some may be open weekends. The Seven-Eleven supermarket at Rådhuspladsen square is open day and night. Shop-owners are allowed to keep open at any hours Monday-Saturday and large shops are also allowed to keep open on Sunday also.

Non-residents of the European Union and Norway are entitled to buy tax-free in Denmark. Buying tax-free is easy. You save from 15% up to 19% on purchases in shops with the Europe Tax-Free Shopping sign on doors or windows. Each time you buy, ask for your tax-refund cheque. You can cash that cheque at Copenhagen Airport or one of the major European airports when you leave.

Tipping

Service is included in hotel and restaurant bills and on taximeters.

Toilets

Toilets are free of charge in restaurants, cafés and pubs. They are generally good.

Tourist office

Bernstorffsgade 1 / Vesterbrogade. Phone: 3312 2880. Fax: 3393 4969. Hours: Open 9-24 in summer, in winter Monday-Friday 9-17, Saturday 9-14. (A3).

Copenhagen Tourist Information, opposite the central railway station.

Water

Tap water is quite drinkable.

Accommodation

Bernstorffsgade 1 / Vesterbrogade. Phone: 3312 2880. Fax: 3393 4969. Hours: Open 9-24 in summer, in winter Monday-Friday 9-17, Saturday 9-14. (A3).

Copenhagen Tourist Information Hotel Bookings, opposite the central railway station.

Airport

Hovedbanegården, Bernstorffsgade. Phone: 3154 1701. (A3).

The SAS airport bus from the bus terminal at main entrance of Hovedbanegården, the central railway station, opposite Tivoli Gardens, leaves 5:42 & 6:10, from 6:15-6:45 every 15 minutes, 7:00-7:50 every 10 minutes, 8:00-21:45 every 15 minutes.

The phone number gives information on bus departures and on flight arrivals and departures.

News

International newspapers are readily available in Copenhagen. Some English channels are usually on TV sets in hotels. Information on what is on in the city is in the weekly Copenhagen This Week.

Phone

The Danish country code is 45. There are no local codes. The foreign code from Denmark is 00.

Post

Hovedbanegården, Bernstorffsgade. Hours: Monday-Friday 8-22, Saturday 9-16, Sunday 10-17. (A3).

The main post office is at Tietgensgade 37, behind Tivoli Gardens, open Monday-Friday 9-19, Saturday 9-13.

Railways

The Danish railway is reliable.

Taxis

You wave cabs down in the street. Otherwise: Københavns Taxa 3135 3535; Amager/Øbro Taxi 3151 5151; Hovedstadens Taxi 3122 5555; Radio/Codan Bilen 3131 7777.

Traffic

The Copenhagen Card is available at railway stations, hotels and travel agents. It is valid for buses and trains, many museums and Tivoli. It also gives a rebate on boat trips to Malmø in Sweden. 24 hours card costs DKr. 140, 48 hours card costs DKr. 230 and 72 hours card costs DKr. 295. Children under 12 pay half price.

Each trip in the center costs DKr. 10. Ten tickets together cost DKr. 70. Month tickets cost DKr. 235. A ticket for a city train is also valid for the connecting bus and vice versa. Some buses go all night.

1000 cycles are available for free at 120 special stands. You pay DKr. 20 to release one. If you return it to another stand, you get back your DKr. 20. This is a Danish innovation. Otherwise cycles are for rent in the center at: Rent-a-bike, Colbjørnsensgade 3; Københavns Cykelbørs, Gothersgade 157; Københavns Cykler, Reventlowsgade 11; and Østerport Cykler, Oslo Plads 9.

Cheese

Danablue and Mycella are blue mould cheeses, Havarti and Esrom are half-firm ones, Samsö, Danbo, Fynbo and Maribo are firm and Hingino and Svenbo are hard cheeses.

Cuisine

Danish cuisine has always been related to the mother cuisine in France, adapted to Danish countryside cooking. Open sandwiches for lunch are often an artwork of beauty. Many varieties of marinated herring are another popular lunch item. Beer is the national drink and Danish aquavit is well-known.

- Øllebrød = bread and beer soup, really thick and hot.

- Leverpostej = pork liver paté.

- Plukfisk = chopped fish and eggs in cream sauce.

- Frikadeller = meatballs.

- Oksebryst = lightly smoked beef.

- Rødkål = sweet and sour red cabbage.

- Risengrød = rice dessert with almond.

- Rødgrød med fløde = stewed redcurrants, blackcurrants and raspberries with cream.

- Æblekage = apple pie.

- Wienerbrød = Danish pastry.

Drinks

Beer is the national drink. Tuborg and Carlsberg are well-known breweries. The best beer is the light one, sometimes called “grøn” (Tuborg) or “hof” (Carlsberg). Stronger beers are called “guld” or “luxus” and one of the strongest is “elefant” (Carlsberg) and “fine festival” (Tuborg).

Akvavit is the hard drink of the country, mainly the Ålborg brand, either Taffel or Jubilæum. It is a clear spirit with a taste of caraway seeds, taken ice cold from the freezer. Many use it as a chaser with beer.

The morning hangover drink is Gammel Dansk, widely seen at breakfast tables. The cherry liqueur Cherry Herring, the coffee liqueur Kahlua and the Solbærrom blackcurrant rum are well known.

Lunch

All over central Copenhagen there are small restaurants that are only open for lunch. They serve light snacks, such as beautiful open sandwiches of many types and several varieties of marinated herring.

Restaurants

The Danish take their meals early. Normal lunch hours are 12:15-13:30, dinner hours 19-21. Most waiters speak excellent English and Danish restaurants are generally spotless.

The Danish have more or less accepted French cuisine as their own. They still keep to aspects of their old-fashioned heavy cooking and like to dine in snug and cozy rooms with traditional Danish antiques and traditional Copenhagen atmosphere.

A Danish specialty are the lunch restaurants, specializing in open sandwiches, called “smørrebrød”, and marinated herring.

Smørrebrød

Open sandwiches are a Danish specialty. They come in endless variations. Some special shops in Copenhagen have 200 different types. They are usually based on meat, fish or vegetables with lots of mayonnaise and other sauces plus garnishes. The presentation, decoration and colors are considered important.

1996

© Jónas Kristjánsson