It can be hard to explain the Danish word ‘hygge’ (sounds a bit like ‘hooga’). Roughly it translates to coziness, but that definition doesn’t quite cover it. Hygge is so much more and always involves creating a nice, warm atmosphere and enjoying the good things in life with good people around you.

The capital Copenhagen is packed with atmospheric restaurants and cafes, beautiful gardens, charming winding waterways, and countless places and ways to experiences Danish hygge. Here are the suggestions for travelers seeking a touch of hygge on their trip to Copenhagen!

Originally a Viking fishing village founded in the 10th century, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the early 15th century. Primary as a fishing settlement and later a market, the name of the city reflects its origin as a harbour and a place of commerce. Køpmannæhafn, means “merchants’ harbour.” Around the harbour Nyhavn with colourful houses the city has developed. Today, Nyhavn is a popular tourist place with lots of restaurants to eat.

Of course from there, it is possible to take a canal tour and do the hygge, enjoying beautiful skyscape of the city.

Around the harbour the market was soon created out of which the village Kongens Nytorv, nowadays a public square in Copenhagen with imposing neoclassical façade. It is a good place to eat the famous Smørrebrød and onion soup. I had one with herring (local fish) and rye bread. PS haring is a wild sardine and we do not eat it in Croatia, considering it inedible, though it seems to be delights in Denmark. Oh, cultures!

In 17th century Copenhagen consolidated its position as a regional centre of power with its institutions, defences and armed forces. After suffering from the effects of plague and fire in the 18th century, the city underwent a period of redevelopment. Mostly from these times, the fortresses were built. The oldest one is Kastellet initiated by the King Christian IV of Denmark in 17 century. It has a shape of a star and very close to it is a statue of a Little Mermaid – based on the fairy tale of the same name by danish author Hans Christian Andersen.

Once the power was consolidated, Denmark became the oldest monarchy in the world. It was the time of the renaissance of the north. Soon the mentioned king Christian IV started to build more castles. The most famous one is Rosenborg which houses a museum exhibiting the Royal Collections, artifacts spanning a breadth of royal Danish culture, from the late 16th century of the mentioned Christian IV to the 19th century. Some of these articles once belonged to the nobility and the aristocracy.

My special interest was Schatzkammer (dann. treasury chamber) displaying the Crown Jewels and the Danish Crown Regalia located in the castle. A Coronation Carpet is also stored there next to the Throne Chair of Denmark.

Christian IV is the most popular, ambitious, and proactive Danish king, having initiated many reforms and projects. He ruled in 17 century and obtained for his kingdom a level of stability and wealth that was virtually unmatched elsewhere in Europe.

One of the architectural examples of Christian IV is the Round Tower used as the astronomical observatory, university library and today as the view point for tourists.

Amalienborg castle is where the Danish royal family lives. It consists of four identical classical palaces with rococo interiors around an octagonal courtyard. In the centre of the square is a monumental equestrian statue of Amalienborg’s founder, King Frederick V. One of the streets leads to the royal cathedral.

Copenhagen is full of stunning churches from various period of architecture. My favourite is the Church of Our Savior. This beautiful baroque church is most famous for its helix spire with an external winding staircase that can be climbed to the top, offering extensive views over central Copenhagen. From the inner side, I have captured an elephant carrying the organs – a very rare appearance in Christianity.

National History Museum is a must see which will give you the idea of creation of Denmark from the prehistoric times, through Middle Ages and renaissance, wars with Sweden, Germany and Norway… It represents the lifes of Inuits, since the Greenland is part of danish territory too. I would definitely highlight The Sun Chariot – Holy Horse from the Bronze Age and The Rune Stones from the Vikings era.

Danish people are the first to market toys. The popular dollhouse and Lego store are easy to find in the city center Strøget, a walking area made for good shopping. 🙂

Walking down the streets, I noticed this building on which is placed the thermometer. Interestingly, the thermometer doesn’t show more than 20 degrees. 🙂 Btw, the inventor of the thermometer is a danish scholar Niels Bohr.

A part of the Copenhagen is the little free town called Christiania. Personally didn’t like it – maybe because I am a political scientist and I like the theory of the state where the order and laws exist. Unlike Christiania – a self-proclaimed autonomous neighborhood of about 850 residents, which is a source of controversy since its creation. Small drugs are allowed, however violence is not. The entire neighborhood is kinda protest against capitalism. No commercial is to be seen when walking the streets of Christiania filled with houses of weird shape. Anyhow, I did not feel safe and was looking for the escape. When I saw the inscription ”You are now leaving Christiania and entering the EU” – I couldn’t be more happy!

So, I needed a drink!

I went a bit outside of the city to Carlsberg brewery 🙂 to taste the sample of beers and get familiar with the J.C. Jacobsen, the founder of Carlsberg beer. This  visioner named the brewery after his son Carl and the hill (dan. berg) on which the factory was founded. He was a great collector of beer bottles too. His son continued and expanded the brewery to global business. Today the brewery is open for visitors for a ‘exbeerience’ 🙂 Ofcourse, I tried some of the samples you don’t get in store everyday, like 8.5% dark Carlsberg Porter beer.

Good fun in Copenhagen is also guaranteed by the amusement park Tivoli Gardens – the oldest of its kind in Europe. When I visited Copenhagen, the park was decorated seasonly for Halloween. Tivoli’s founder, Georg Carstensen (19 century), obtained a five-year charter to create this amusement park by telling King Christian VIII that “when the people are amusing themselves, they do not think about politics”. 🙂

Such a typical danish hygge.

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2023

Denmark is a Scandinavian country comprising the Jutland Peninsula and numerous islands. Driving from Hamburg, actually all the way from Brussels, we decided to stop here and there to explore. Actually, we went off the highway and just took some random road. The travellers’ luck was with us as we discovered rune.

More specifically, we found the Hærulf Runestone. One of the two remaining south Jutlandic runic stones – dating from the year 900. It is one of the oldest in Denmark. A German prince removed the stone to Potsdam, near Berlin, in 1864 and placed it in the park of Dreilinden royal hunting lodge. It was returned to Denmark in 1952. The stone is inscribed with a single runic word – (Haerulf), which is likely a man’s name. Or a warrior – according to some internet sources.

Travelling further through Jutland, the landscape was plain, flat and yellow from all that wheat. Then we reached the Great Belt Bridge (Danish: Storebæltsbroen) which connects the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen. This was truly amazing. The bridge consists actually of two bridges that meet in the small island in between, artificially built for support.

There is something about the Danish architecture. I am not much keen but the world recognises it quite a lot. The architecture of Denmark has its origins in the Viking period, richly revealed by archaeological finds. It became firmly established in the Middle Ages when first Romanesque, then Gothic churches and cathedrals sprang up throughout the country. Like this example in Copenhagen:

It is called the Dragon Spire atop the old Stock Exchange. According to one source the dragons intertwined tails represent the Kalmar Union, an agreement (1397 to 1523) where the independent entities of Denmark, Sweden and Norway were governed by a single monarch. Where this explanation leaves room for questioning is that there are four dragons on the spire.

Time to eat in Nyhavn. As you know, Scandinavian cuisine is not something. But the beer is. Tuborg and Carlsberg are their local beers, perfect lagers for summer in Scandinavia. Especially when you see the prices here.

Denmark emerged from its colonial experience with one of the highest standards of living in Europe, with a comparatively liberal attitude towards immigration. The country has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is participating in the political and economic integration of Europe. The kingdom has a well-developed social welfare system and as a nation is committed to development and to the protection of the environment. Hence the prices are up, more up than in the rest of Europe.

Danish loooove to eat Smørrebrød. The rye bread which is super sweet and herring. Which is awkwardly sweet too. In general, Scandinavians depend on lots of sugar which gives them a hype and makes them stay active and moving around. And staying positive, I would say?

Like other Scandinavian countries, Denmark‘s alcohol comes with unique blends and flavours with ingredients mostly sourced locally. I tried Mead. Considered one of the world’s oldest alcoholic beverages, namely fermented honey and water, with inclusions of spices, fruits, and other flavours.

Now back to exploration – or revisit. Depends on which angle you want to take.

The first one on the way was Christiansborg Palace in central Copenhagen, the Neo-baroque style building was formerly the principal residence of the Danish kings, today it is the seat of the Danish Parliament (Folketinget) and houses also the Royal Reception Rooms, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Supreme Court of Denmark.

Denmark’s political system is that of a constitutional monarchy. Chief of state is Queen Margrethe II of Denmark (since 1972), in theory the source of all executive and legislative power. But de facto the Danish constitutions of 1849, and the most recent of 1953, ended the absolute monarchy and introduced parliamentary democracy.

Kongens Nytorv or the King’s New Square is a public square centrally located at the end of the pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was laid out by Christian V in 1670 in connection with a major extension of the fortified city, and has an equestrian statue of him at its centre. The initiative moved the centre of the city from the medieval area around Gammeltorv the oldest square in Copenhagen, at that time a muddy medieval marketplace, to a cobbled new square with a garden complex, inspired by the Royal city planning seen in Paris from the early 17th century.

After her defeat in the Napoleonic wars, Denmark was deep in debt, so there was little money for building churches. This also meant abandoning the idea to reconstruct the church in its traditional style. However, the Cathedral had to be renowned, as the site has housed a church since 1209. The present building was consecrated in 1829, its predecessor having been destroyed in the bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807. Many great personalities of the Golden Age were associated with the church.

LEGO is a danish toy factory with many stores around the word. Naturally, when you walk down the Strøget, you enter to visit and perhaps buy. Original is always an original!

Talking about this crazy Scandinavian design that I obviously don’t get it… just look at these examples. I am not sure if it is childish or genius.

And since we are in childish moments, Europe’s oldest amusement park Tivoli sits in the centre of town. Opened in 1843, it featured beautiful gardens, a railway carousel (where visitors rode in little wagons) and even a roller coaster – a 7-second thrill ride. But Tivoli is so much more than rides. We were there for hours and didn’t ride a single one. The gardens are still stunning. A variety of concerts and music opportunities occurs. We participated some concert too. Don’t know what it was. Some two guys singing Scandinavian trap. Then abound is the historic (1874) Peacock Theatre which is the only theater in the world presenting pantomime as an independent art form.

Despite its northerly location, Denmark has been fostering a developing wine industry since the late 20th century that has benefited from global warming and the legalization of wine production in 1999. Today there are small vineyards in Jutland,  Lolland, Funen and Northern Zealand growing various grape varieties, mainly Cabernet Cortis and Cabernet Cantor. These are GMO created varieties from Germany that are disease-resistant and now spreading across Europe. I am super sceptical about it though. Viticulture means the more rain, the more diseases.

However, I had to try to taste the buzz. And it was not good.