Relax... in the capital of cosiness
Laid-back, peaceful and very, very happy – it’s no wonder Denmark is a hit with stressed-out Brits, says Caitlin Davies
WHEN you think of Denmark, what comes to mind? Danish pastries, bacon, Nordic noir TV, and lots of bikes. But what about the 4,500 miles of coastline with clean water, and a riviera that stretches north from Copenhagen up to fairytale castles?
No wonder Denmark is rated the world’s happiest country. Even the dogs are happy: they have their own beaches.
For a tourist, there’s not much rotten here. And in a five-day trip, there is a lot to pack in.
For Londoners like my partner Nigel and me, the first thing to hit us was the peace and quiet, even in Copenhagen airport at the height of the school holidays. We then caught a train to Snekkersten, an hour’s trip north along the coast of Zealand, the country’s largest island. We bought a 72-hour Copenhagen card (£80), which can be used on trains and buses right along the coast, as well as on the city’s metro. It also gives free entry to 73 museums and attractions. So card in hand, it was easy to get around.
At the station we were met by Erik Steen in his dinky Fiat 500, and driven a few miles south to Villa Brinkly in Skotterup. A blue clapperboard hotel built in Victorian times and once a rest home for sailors, it’s now owned by Erik and Anette Petersen.
‘People are looking for a private place, not the mainstream,’ said Anette, explaining the rise in British tourists in the past five years.
Many come on bike trips, enjoying the relatively flat landscape. Others are searching for the Danish art of ‘hygge’, or ‘cosiness’. This seems to involve every bar offering customers blankets and placing candles everywhere, even in daylight.
For dinner that evening, we took the bus to Restaurant Sletten, in a small settlement overlooking a harbour. There’s only one bus an hour and, aside from an elderly passenger, we were the only ones on it.
The restaurant customers were affluent, yet the atmosphere was welcoming and low-key. We could see the chefs hard at work in the kitchen but they never raised their voices; they didn’t even break into a sweat. A dish of turbot – known locally as the pheasant of the sea – melted in the mouth.
THE next morning I took a bracing swim in the Baltic Sea, just 200 yards from the hotel, then headed up the coast to Elsinore. The Marienlyst Hotel, once the favourite haunt of royalty, is the largest seaside hotel in Denmark, where guests enjoy a lifeguarded beach, excellent food and a distant view of Sweden. It’s just a ten-minute coastal stroll to the national Maritime Museum, a stunning underground design housed in a former dock. Visitors can read tales of Danish sea prowess and ‘ink’ their own sailor tattoo. Next we headed to the nearby 16th Century Kronborg Castle, immortalised as the setting for Hamlet and the site of an annual summer Shakespeare festival. Shakespeare has been performed at Kronborg for 200 years. It was here that Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh began an affair while playing Hamlet and Ophelia, and it has attracted many of the greatest names in theatre, from Judi Dench to John Gielgud.
During our visit, a group of seven professional actors from Hamlet-Scenen enacted ten-minute scenes around the castle. Depending on which one you come across first, it’s like watching Hamlet back to front.
We entered the queen’s bedchamber where Hamlet was furiously confronting his mother, as Polonius lurked behind a tapestry. Then we caught the end of the prince’s famous soliloquy in the great hall, before going underground to see his father’s ghost. And in the gift shop we found hoodies bearing the slogan ‘To be or not to be’.
There was also a 30-minute puppet show for children, where an actor wearing an ‘animotion’ costume controlled the movements of an animated Hamlet on the screen. It was a bizarre experience that made me feel as if I was in a video game. The prince mimed a question, asking which door he should go through
to avenge his father’s death. I couldn’t help shouting: ‘Door number three!’ Shortly afterwards, there was a technical glitch and I worried that Hamlet would blame me.
Next year, HamletScenen will present a brand new production of Hamlet, staging its world premiere at the castle.
ON OUR third day, we returned to Copenhagen to spend a night at the stylish, familyrun Absalon Hotel. It’s a short walk from the Tivoli Gardens, an amusement park founded in 1843, with rides, live entertainment and Saturday fireworks.
If you’re travelling with children and want to be pestered until all your spending money has gone, this is the place to go.
For a quieter, more luxurious stay, Hotel Kong Arthur lies at the end of a cobbled road overlooking Copenhagen’s inner lakes in the Nansensgade area. Despite the grand boutique surroundings the atmosphere is informal, with a daily ‘cosy hour’ from 5pm to 6pm, and a complimentary drink. During the annual Copenhagen Jazz Festival, there’s music in the foyer.
If you don’t fancy joining the throng on bikes, take a canal trip to get a sense of the size of the city. ‘Ha!’ shouted a man on the pavement as we glided past on an open-top boat. ‘You’re all going to get wet.’ Sure enough, ten minutes later it started to rain.
The harbour waters are now clean enough to swim in. Copenhagen leads the way when it comes to urban bathing, and has three official outdoor spots, all of which are free. I swam at Fisketorvet Harbour bath, with a glittering view of the capital’s skyline.
There are beach options nearby too. Amager Beach is four stops on the metro from the centre of the city. It’s long and sandy, and dotted with dunes, and if you ignore planes landing in the distance, it’s hard to believe you’re in a city at all.
It’s no surprise the people of Denmark say they feel safe, secure and satisfied with life.
Forget bacon and bikes – think cosiness, culture, high-class cuisine and lots of swimming.