Our first stop in Denmark was the small port town of Kolding, about an hour north of the German border. We had decided to overnight on the way to Copenhagen and I had read that Kolding was worth visiting for its 13th century castle and historic township. Despite relatively good weather for the journey from Hamburg, when we arrived in Kolding a terrific thunderstorm had us sheltering in our van for a couple of hours waiting for it to let up. When it did, we were on our bikes and heading to town. Unfortunately, the respite in the weather didn’t last and we were caught in another downpour so took shelter in a pub and tried a local Danish draught while drying off.
The next day we drove through to Copenhagen crossing the Storebælt Bridge, an 18km long bridge which links the eastern and western parts of Denmark. It’s one of two toll bridges in Denmark, the other being the Oresund Bridge which connects Denmark and Sweden. To cross Storebælt cost us $76 NZD, but it was worth it to experience this engineering marvel.
We got a bit of a shock arriving in Copenhagen to see our “camp ground” was a city parking lot with temporary fencing and port-a-loos, surrounded by construction sites and overlooked by an ominous power plant with three chimneys protruding and unusually named Dong Energy. Once we drove through the gates and met our enthusiastic host Finn Asved, who relayed the benefits of the location, our concerns were reduced. Finn is a retired businessman who operates Copenhagen City Camp for 12 weeks a year during the summer season, offering a secure parking area for campervans close to the central city. He lives permanently onsite for those 12 weeks and says he loves every minute – beats retiring!
Being in such close confines with other motorhome owners gave us the opportunity to share a few stories and ask advice about some of the things we’re still not sure on – how to get your gas bottle filled in Europe being the big one, and travelling into Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania being the other. We think we’re now a bit clearer on both.
Although not solving the problem, having our fellow campers available to assist, reassured us when we did the unthinkable and locked ourselves out of our van after the door slammed in the wind. Luckily, I had left the garage unlocked and was able to squeeze through an impossibly small gap between the bed and the wall to get inside. Andrew may not have made it. We will be carrying our keys with us to the shower from here on.
We loved Copenhagen! It’s a beautiful city that’s easy to get around and everyone seems very laidback and friendly. We spent an enjoyable two days exploring the city by bike, foot and water taxi. This city has amazing public spaces and makes great use of its waterways.
Freetown Christiania was an eye opener. This is a neighbourhood that declared independence from Denmark in 1971 and has never moved forward from the hippy era, with the residents living a non-conformist life quite contrary to the city that surrounds them. Pusher Street is where traders openly sell all types of hash with mind-bending names and no doubt similar characteristics. As marijuana is not legal in Denmark, when we went to take a photo we were politely but sternly told “no photo.” Apparently, the police have an understanding with the Christiania drug traders and tolerate them to some degree, however it was less than a year ago (August 2016) when a drug trader shot and wounded a policeman that resulted in Christiania to be closed to the public for a time and caused the delicate relationship between this alternative neighbourhood and the state to become very strained. It’s not all about drugs; this community grows and sells organic produce, creates art and crafts, puts on live music and performance, and is completely car-free. It really was like walking into a time warp.
A water taxi ride to the Little Mermaid, watching the changing of the guards at Amalienborg Palace, and lunch at Paper Island were all highlights. Paper Island was named because this was where the warehouses were that stored newspapers for the Danish Press. Now these grey industrial warehouses are teeming with vibrancy, containing contemporary art exhibitions and an amazing international food hall. We visited this twice. We stopped in while biking to the Opera House on our first day, and on seeing how cool it was decided that would be the destination for lunch the next day. It didn’t disappoint. The people watching was a good as the food.
Originally, we had planned to cross the Oresund Bridge to get to Sweden, but on talking to other campers we were told the ferry from Helsingor to Helsingborg was a more interesting way to cross. Helsingor is the home to Kronborg Castle, the setting for Shakespeare’s Hamlet, so I was more than happy to change our plans. It wasn’t cheap, the 20-minute trip cost $160 NZD, but the bridge cost the same as the government controls the pricing so you don’t have much choice. You can see where your money goes – the ferry is very modern and comfortable, far more than it needs to be for the quick crossing.
From Helsingborg, we drove through to the town of Jönköping situated at the southern end of Sweden’s second largest lake, Vattern. We spent a couple of hours in the township before heading to our campsite 10kms away in the small community of Habo, nestled in the forest next to Lake Vattern. It was lovely to get away from cities and traffic and walk along the beach and through the forest without anyone else being around. Hopefully this is a taste of things to come during the rest of our Scandinavian adventure.