HOW WE'RE TRAVELLING...: November 2011

Sure the flight was cheap at 35 pounds but catching the 7am from Stansted to Copenhagen meant getting up at 4.30am and into a cab at 5am to drive a couple miles down the road. Easyjet likes you to check in two hours prior to flight time but seems no-one pays that rule any attention, except us. The early morning temperature was a great way to get ready for Denmark's chillier climate. An hour and half later and we were there in Princess Mary-land.

It was good to stay put for three days as changing hotels daily was becoming a pain.

I'd discovered a new website, Airbnb, where you can rent short term apartments direct from the owners who all mostly speak English. It's usually cheaper than going through an agency and much cheaper than booking a hotel, particularly in places like Copenhagen where accommodation are over the top.

You also get inside information from the host like where are the best places to eat, shop and which places to avoid at night etc. You can rent everything from a couch in someone's house to a self-contained apartment (which is what we opted for).

In Copenhagen our host was Fanny who was lovely. We stayed in her self-contained studio attached to her fifth floor apartment. You find out all about the apartment and the host before you book. They then decide whether you are their cup of tea and then accept your request once they clarify you aren't a serial killer. I think a quick namecheck on Google helps.

When you register you provide a photograph and spiel about yourself so they can see what sort of person you are and vice versa. Then you leave feedback so other people can see, bit like ebay. We also booked Paris this way and didn't had a problem.

Fanny's apartment was in central Copenhagen, about 50 metres from the station which also services the airport which was really convenient when lugging luggage but I knew there was one obstacle or more appropriately, five flights of them coming up. The apartment was on the top floor of a the standard five-storey apartment building with no elevator and let's just say Simon did the Mexican donkey thing for the umpteenth time and will be reminding me about such moments for months to come. 'Is your suitcase getting heavier?'

When we got our breath back, Fanny gave us the rundown of Copenhagen and some areas to visit, eat etc. It was great, like having a friend on-call but not in your face. We didn't muck around as we were only in Denmark for three nights so despite the early start we legged it straight to the Danish Design Museum to coo over Arne Jacobsen chairs and other brilliant bits of design the Danes are famous for.

Then time to stalk Princess Mary. Not sure if she was home but Simon asked one of the guards which palace she lived in and they obliged with a finger point. It was a grand address. Not a bad result for picking up a cute bloke at the Slip Inn at Darling Harbour in 2001.

Clever Simon had organised Copenhagen Cards before we left Oz which is a cost effective way to get into museums, palaces, and other touristy sights. You can also on a canal boat, catch buses and trains and it's all free, but it helps to have some stamina to get the best value out of them.

Over the three days we visited DDM, Dansk Design Centre, Christianborg Palace, 50s house display, Hans Christian Andersen Museum, had a canal cruise, Danish Architect Centre, found Noma (voted world's best restaurant -- but unfortunately booked out three months in advance with a waiting list), found Christiana - a free city in the truest sense, and went shopping, of course.

Denmark was also where my ignorance factor kicked in. Most Danes speak English so communication isn't a problem there but you do feel inept as all the chit chat you overhear is Danish but as soon as you have to interact with them they switch to English so obligingly that you feel a touch guilty for not making an effort (unlike the French).

Danish is an incredibly hard language to decipher at the best of times and after getting accustomed to the funny gutteral sounds and squeaky bits we still felt like they were all making it up as a big joke. Manga-tuk (thank you) was the best we could scrounge out of our vocal boxes and even then we'd get the delivery wrong which caused slight amusement but no resentment.

Danes learn English from birth and many can speak three or more languages. Fanny is also fluent in German. I was fluent in embarrassment.

While on the subject of differences, visting Europe for the first time does ram home how removed Australia is from most of the world's population and their various cultures. So you can't help feeling oblivious to what life is like on the other side of the planet. Being multi-lingualess is just one of those reminders. Population is another.

People fill every nook and cranny over here. Every street corner, laneway, pub, no matter what time or day, whether you are in the city or out in the sticks, there are always people around, doing stuff. Sometimes too many, like the on the tube or metro, or lining up for landmark or museum. But you get used to it. They don't know any different I suppose. They also smoke alot. All ages. Everywhere, except on the trains.

School kids on an excursion lit up on the canal cruise as we were sitting outside to get some fresh six-degree Danish air. Grannies on their pushbikes puffing away in both senses. Don't know why tobacco companies are so worried about Australia messing with their packaging, cancer sticks are alive and well (so to speak) all over UK/Europe it seems.

On the flip side people are a lot thinner over here and given the amount of walking, and bicycling they do it isn't any wonder. Seeing a woman in her 60s pedalling away in her boots, scarf, and trenchcoat (no helmuts here) in single digit temperatures isn't a rarity in Copenhagen.

Multi-culturalness is here on a grand scale in Denmark like much of Europe as you might expect when the countries are so small and so close. Australia isn't a breath on most of the places and faces I've seen in the small pockets we've visited in London, Copenhagen and Paris. We've seen the very rich and very poor along the way, it can go from entertaining and colourful, to sad and confronting in a few metres.

The news reminds you on a daily basis. Gypsies or travellers as they commonly referred to, were being evicted (forcibly by police) from some farmland in Britain on the breakfast program one morning. Live coverage from the site, police in full riot gear, protestors pushing a bit too hard, not what we are used to seeing over our Cornflakes at home.

Which makes a nice segway to Christiania. A free country that rejects Capitalism but ironically sits in the middle of Christianshavn a well-to-do waterfront area with lots of trendy cafe, shops and apartments, yachts and other signs of wealth. We didn't spend too much time in this 'free' town surrounded by concrete walls but we had to see it.

You can Google it if you want to know more about it but basically it was a former military area 'claimed' in the early 70s by journalist Jacob Ludvigsen and is now home to an estimated 850 people, some lost, some found, it isn't part of the European Union like Denmark but governed by it own law that is overseen by its Anarchist community. Bit like a cross between Nimbin and The Bronx I felt when I curiously strolled through. There seemed to be mostly men around when we visited during the day (night is not recommended -- Fanny).

Most fit the homeless stereotype, with even tourism literature stating upfront that there are people with drug and alcoholic additions among its many inhabitants. Its chaotic structures, surrounded by piles of 'useful' junk, graffiti and hand-painted signage make provocative and poignant statements.

Rusty bikes and weather-beaten toys suggest there are kids in here, but it's pretty cold today so not a lot of outdoor activity to confirm that.

Besides the rundown military buildings and DIY examples of Danish architecture, there are caravans, combis and big canvas army-style tents all providing accommodation. The temperatures were starting to get bitter so there were big barrel fires burning away nearby are attracting a few early midday risers.

There are businesses in Christiana, shops selling all sorts of 'weirdry' but feeling a bit intimidated I wasn't venturing into any sheds or humpies to score a bargain. There were other tourists around, one guy was giving a guided tour, so it has become an attraction as such but it's a bit like the advice I got in Malaysia when going to see those monkeys, 'they are generally friendly but remember they are still unpredictable so keep that in mind when interacting with the locals'.

I'm certainly not comparing the residents of Christiana to primates but you need to be aware you are in their 'country' and be respectful and use your brain. This includes no photographs inside the 'city' limits as per the signage, although I did see some dickheads trying it on. We wandered around the dirt streets saw some pretty heavy duty stuff and some great things but we didn't stay too long. It felt a bit awkard being the tourist walking around someone's backyard rubbernecking, smiling subtly, trying not to make eye contact too much.

By stark constrast, the Christianborg Palace was all about wealth and order. We visited the state rooms of the palace which are used for functions. They were incredibly lavish, over the top but in that less fussy Danish style. Unfortunately no photos here either and once you were overwhelmed by the gold embellishments, ornate decoration and painstakingly finely painted walls and ceilings you could understand why.

There was an dinner party set up to display some of the royal china and gold cutlery which must have been worth a fortune as there was a guard stationed in that room in case you thought you could pocket a souvenir gold spoon.

There were chandeliers so huge they would kill an elephant if there was one in the room. Rich brocade curtains that covered windows that were 10 metres high. This place would keep a village of Danes employed just keeping it all clean. The marble floors glistened and we understood why we had to wear boot covers before we set foot in there. It felt unsettling to see such extremes of living in such a short space of time.

Naturall, for me not Simon, there was some shopping to be done in Copenhagen before we left. It's fun seeing department stores that are geared up for very cold weather. Furs and fluffy ear muffs were on mannequins, puffy parka coats, boots, boots and more boots and a huge stuffed Steiff yak in the kids' section are things you'll never see in a Sydney DJs. Designer items commonplace in these stores. They all sell Alessi, Normann, and all those other household lines normally tucked in an exclusive corner in our fancy stores. They are in abundance here and much cheaper, so needless to say there was some pretty inventive packing in the suitcase so I could get an egg whisk, wooden bird, and miniature chairs, kettle, corkscrew and juicer, home safely.

Copenhagen is a great city to get a taste of a Scandinavian country for the uninitiated. It's area, attitude and population makes it manageable. It's easy to navigate and is full of interesting stuff to see but not so jam packed that you get too overwhelmed, and the language is no barrier. On the flipside there's Paris...

　