Matt Tuckey is a writer from Oldham, England. He covers celebrities, night life, Manchester, fitness, creative writing, social media, psychology and events. Some of this may, in some way, help others. Or maybe it'll just entertain you for a while.
We hired bikes on the Wednesday, which is one of the best ways of getting around. Copenhagen is a very cycle-friendly city, with bike lanes on nearly every road. Heading for the colourful tourist-trap Nyhavn, we stopped off for hot drinks in Palmares, a cycle-themed coffee shop.
Polar Bear with Cubs sculpture
The Little Mermaid (statue predates movie by 75 years. Disappointingly, no accompanying rastafarian lobster)
From here we cycled to St Alban’s, had focaccia, a blood orange juice and a Danish pastry in Apotek 57
Nyhavn: very scenic. Very busy. Doubtlessly, very expensive. We didn’t buy anything there. But if you’re in Copenhagen, you’ve got to go.
Another opportunity you shouldn’t let you pass by if you’re in Copenhagen: bring swimwear. It’s a coastal city, so if you want (and you’re brave enough), have a dip in the Baltic in the cordoned-off area in front of the United Nations building. I dunked my head under the 7.2ºC seawater and swam about for a few seconds.
There was more to this, obviously, but some people weren’t brought up around digital technology, were they? But yeah, the Baltic sea flows into this decked area and swimming is free and safe. Then I dried off and did some press-ups.
The other extreme of temperature followed: we found Muban Thai nearby, and I had the Chilli Beef and Holy Basil. Very spicy.
Gefion Fountain
Danish Armed Forces sadly do not have barcodes on the side as I was led to believe. How are they supposed to scan-da-Navy-in?
Woke up to sad local news on the Tuesday: a fire had broken out at the Borsen Old Stock Exchange, and firefighters were battling to contain the flames. Meanwhile, curators were racing to save valuable exhibits.
Then, the highlight and purpose of the holiday: The Roskilde Viking Ship Museum. is a city 30 km (19 mi) west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand, so a short train journey out.
Around a thousand years ago, the Vikings – originally from Denmark themselves – sank 5 boats in the harbour to create a barrier for the city against raiders.
Then, in 1962, the pumps were turned on to drain the water to access the boat’s remains. These boats – called ‘The Skuldelev Ships’ after the man who found them - were carefully excavated and housed in the purpose-built centre, above sea level for protection from the elements in future.
The tour takes place regularly throughout the day, and the guide described plenty of this history before leading us to a projection room where archive footage showed the excavation taking place. There’s lots of detail on how the archaeologists could date the boats using the rings on the woodwork to pinpoint exactly when each tree was felled, how the boats were put together, what (remarkably advanced) craft technology they had at the time and whether the boats were build for particular purposes (raiding boats tended to be slim and long, aerodynamic and hard to hit with arrows if they’re being quickly rowed into foreign lands, for example).
Along with the genuine artefacts, there’s a mock-up of a Viking ship that you can sit on with rear projection seascape.
Fascinating venue.
In their restaurant I of course had to pick the ‘Eat Like a Viking’ platter: meatballs, fish, ham, peas, cheese, cabbage, bread and I think cranberry sauce.
Back at the apartment later, we ventured out locally and found Hija De Sanchez, a local Mexican place. I had the Chicken Gringa and Churros. Love Mexican food.
