We left the heat and chaos of Athens and found ourselves in the cool, calm and organized capital of Denmark. It was easy to see why Copenhagen often makes the top spot for one of the happiest cities in the world to live.
It started with the efficient and easy journey from the baggage hall at the airport to the metro. A short ride away, we found ourselves at the Airbnb we had rented. The neighbourhood (Nørrebro) was a pleasant repeat of the other Scandic neighbourhoods we stayed in. The apartment had been described as vintage – which was true – but it was more “vintage because we haven’t bothered to update things” rather than “vintage because we like the style”. This was mixed with the quirky decor, including prevalent use of Mexican Day of the Day art and decorations. Plus, a massive collection of books and DVDs. The biggest plus was the ample number of toys that kept A. occupied and the graphics novels that kept T. reading.
We explored the city mostly by foot (and a little Metro) and while the kids complained about the amount of walking, they enjoyed the cooler temperatures and light rain while we were there. A marked difference from our time in Greece!
We enjoyed visiting Papirøen, a massive food hall written about in our Airbnb’s manual and guestbook. It was similar to the food hall in Amsterdam with dozens of independent vendors selling innovative street food, microbrews and cocktails. We thought we were clever by arriving “early” (around 6 pm) but clearly six weeks in Greece had warped our sense of time. Unlike the Greeks who eat dinner at 10 pm (or later), the Danes eat earlier and more in line with our Canadian habits.
The food hall was packed with thousands of people with long line ups for almost every stall. We luckily found spots to sit (part of a shared picnic table) and proceeded to look for food. D. and the kids were spoiled for choice and settled on ostrich burgers and yam fries for D. and T. and sushi for little A. Sadly, the only thing that big A. ended up being able to eat was a cocktail for $20. Which was good but meant she had to search for a can of tuna from a nearby supermarket once again.
On our way to the food hall, we walked along Nyhaven. It is famous for the picturesque, colourful homes along the canal. We also saw a sobering art installation by Ai Weiwei about the refugee crisis made from life jackets recovered from the beaches of Lesbos, Greece.
A highlight of our time in Copenhagen was a visit to Rosenborg Castle, right in the heart of the city. Originally it was built as a country retreat for King Christian IV but over the years the city has developed around the castle grounds and now it is practically inner city living! We went on a guided tour with an excellent guide who brought to life the history of the castle. In particular, we were all interested to see the crown jewels which were much more accessible than the British crown jewels we saw at the Tower of London.
We also enjoyed wandering along the main shopping street, Strøget. While touristy and busy, it was a treat to wander into stores we don’t have in Canada, especially the amazing emporium of modern design Illums Bolighus. We were seriously tempted to fill up a shipping container of things to send back home. It was also interesting to compare Nordic fashion and trends with what we were familiar with from our travels across Europe. While H&M, Zara and other stores make their appearance everywhere, there were also many unique Danish brands and smaller shops once you left the main street.
Then, it was time to head to the airport for our Icelandair flight back to Edmonton via Reykjavik. The metro took us right inside the airport and after some confusion as to where to check in (there were no Icelandair counters, just SAS everywhere), we made it through the very well-organized security checkpoint. If only all airports were as efficient! We grabbed some lunch and then hopped on the flight to Iceland.
With only a short layover, we made our way immediately to our gate as we knew we had to go through passport control as we were leaving the Schengen Area. We approached the passport check and handed over our Canadian passports to be checked. The stern looking (but friendly) guard first opened little A’s passport and had a quizzical look on his face. He inquired as to when we had arrived in Europe. After telling him, he became quite agitated and told us we had overstayed past our allowable time in Europe. As you can imagine, we were quite surprised and wondered what would happen next.
Apparently, Canadians are only allowed to travel in the Schengen Area for up to 90 days within a 180 day period. The guard explained that if we had left a few days later, we would have been fine, as we would have started our next 180 day period. Unfortunately, we hadn’t really thought about visas or stays over 90 days when planning our trip — pretty naive, we know. We told him we were leaving Europe to go home, figuring it would be more appealing to have us leave than to try and deport us! In the end, he told us that we were banned from entering Europe for the next 90 days.
It was a somewhat nerve-racking way to end our time in Europe but it also made us feel somewhat rebellious to know we were banned from reentering Europe for a while. Fortunately, the remainder of our flight home was uneventful and we made it to Edmonton safely where A’s parents were there to meet us and drive us home. It helped immensely that we didn’t need to worry about staying awake on the road and could doze as we arrived into Calgary.
It was wonderful to be back in Canada. Six months of travelling throughout Europe was an amazing experience, but it also showed us that we are very lucky to live where we do.