Slagelse, Denmark - 03/26/18

 The Great Belt Bridge

62 miles southwest of Copenhagen, we visited a small city called Slagelse, in Zealand, with about 32.333 inhabitants. contrary to our expectations, it is actually very small and not a common touristic attraction.

The city is still within our our European stantard cliche, with shopping centers, squares, elegant streets and lively cafes. (we are still to find an exception to that rule).

H.C Anderson Statue in Central Park-
NY

H.C Anderson's Statue in
Copenhagen

The most interesting thing we found that involves the city, were the life and stories by the world known author Hans Christian Andersen, who studied in a grammar school in here for a few years. He was a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels and poems, but he is most acclaimed by is his fairy tales.

 H.C Andersen wrote tales such as ; The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling and The Emperor's Clothes, among many others. In fact, he produced over 3481 works.

H.C Andersen Statue in
Odense, Denmark,
his Hometown

  Slagelse is a small city, still trying to create it's image. The city is developing as a center for education, and becoming known for it's educational institutions and student-friedly environment. It's also a cheap accommodation only 45 minutes from Copenhagen by car.

Slagelse is also a big hub for eastern Denmark.



The only place we visited was the Viking Museum and market Trelleborg, a Viking fortress from around the year 980. - There are many festivals and events here, specially during summer, when you can become 'viking for a day', shooting with bow and arrow, make your own butter, visit the blacksmith and make your own jewelry or your own knife.

Copenhagen, Denmark - 03/05/18

 

 And so we arrive in Copenhagen, after a mere two stops trip in Sweden (we shall come back one day and visit at least Stockholm) via the famous Oresund Bridge -(which has no walkway)
 Copenhagen is Denmark's capital and largest city with 775 thousand in the city and 1.3 million in the urban area. It's interesting that the cultural economic and governmental center of Denmark is closer to Mälmo than it's own country's, creating strong relations and the creation of Oresund region, where Malmo is located.

Interesting Facts:

• Copenhagen is one of the most bike friendly cities in the world, with solutions such as tilted garbage cans so that cyclists can toss while passing by.

• Copenhagen Airport, in Kastrup, is the busiest in the Nordic countries.

• The Chemical element Hafnium is named after Copenhagen, where it was discovered.

The name of the city derives from Danish "Kopmannshafn" meaning 'merchant's harbour' (lit. Chapman's haven)

History: 

The Battle of Copenhagen, considered the first terrorist attack against a major city in modern times

Denmark didn not participate in WW1, but was occupied by the Germans during WW2

After the war, the 'Finger Plan' was implemented to modernize and further develop the city.

Superkillen Park

Our impression of Copenhagen was marked by large walkways and it's extensive cycle lines, making us feel right at home, and a little jealous at the same time. The incentive to walking and active locomotion, as well as a healthy lifestyle, over the chaotic reality of motor vehicles makes the city enjoyable and alive. Some say the most "liveable city", as it was selected in 2013

Copenhagen is recognized as one of the most enviromental friendly cities in the world, taking cautious measures just like our previous stops in Scandinavia. Measures such as; Wind farms, sewage treatment, waste and biomass incineration and large investiments in carbon neutral transport, as well as incentivizing walking and cycling through architectural planning.

• IF: It's official municipal policy in Copenhagen that all citizens must by able to reach a park or beach on foot in less than 15 minutes (*about a mile or 1.5 km)

• Nordic Film, stablished in Copenhagen in 1906, is the oldest continuously operating film production company in the world.

• Local restaurand, Noma, was ranked the best in the world 4 times (2010,11,12 and 14) by the 'Restaurant' Magazine

Assistens Cemetery

• The city has one of the highest number of bars and restaurants per capita in the world, and obviously a very liberal beer culture, though binge drinkning is frowned upon, and also has the 2 oldest surviving amusement parks in the world!

The stops we made were at Assistens Cemetery; burial place for many notable Danish people, such as; Hans Christian Andersen, Søren Kierkegaard, Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, and Christen Købke and Niels Bohr.

And Tivoli Gardens : " Tivoli Gardens (or simply Tivoli) is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the second-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken (bakken park) in nearby Klampenborg, Denmark.
With 4.6 million visitors in 2016, it's the second-most popular seasonal amusement park in the world after Europa-Park. Tivoli is the most-visited theme park in Scandinavia, and the fifth most-visited theme park in Europe, only behind Disneyland Park (Disneyland Paris), Europa-Park, Walt Disney Studios Park and Efteling."

IF: The band Mercyful Fate comes from Copenhagen

NEXT STOP: SVENDBORG, 144 MILES