In September 2016 I went to Copenhagen with a few of my friends to take part in the Copenhagen Half Marathon. Copenhagen is about a 90 minute flight from London.
Flights to the city were cheap when I booked in June 2016; I paid about £42 return with Ryanair from Luton Aiport. We booked an Air BnB for the duration, staying near Nørreport Station which was within the inner city of Copenhagen and mere minutes from Torvehallerne Market.
Even with all the running involved, I and the guys spent most of our time walking to see the sights. Prior to the half marathon I saw the Little Mermaid, visited Nyhavn and Christiania. We also went to a Mario Testino exhibition which I found more interesting that I expected; I didn’t realise he was a world famous photographer!
I also used public transport as all running participants were given discounted travel for the weekend; and for race purposes Uber was used. However I do think that I walked more than I had intended to; rested legs are crucial for long distance running (at least for me).
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| Torvehallerne Market |
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| Cinnamon Bun, Torvehallerne Market (because you wouldn't ask for a Danish Bun in Denmark!!) |
If you are a runner, I would recommend the Copenhagen Half Marathon. The route was flat and passed through the 5 main districts of the City, so I really got a running tour of the city. Despite getting a stitch about 2km into the race (a half marathon is 21km/13.1 miles), I actually enjoyed the race overall. The vibe was good and the public were encouraging.
After the half marathon, we spent the evening at Tivoli Gardens, which is one of the oldest operating amusement parks in the world – it was opened in 1843. This was one of my highlights of the city; I felt like a big kid and the ice-cream parlour had pineapple ice-cream which was amazing!
On our final day in Copenhagen, we indulged in Smörgåsbord (smørrebrød) at Aamans. This eatery featured in Channel 4’s show Travel Man which is hosted by Richard Ayoade, so the guys were adamant that we were going to eat there. It did not disappoint! They make their own schnapps from the vegetables in the kitchen; the smorgasbord was delicious while the schnapps was potent!
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| View from the top of Rundetaarn (the Round Tower) |
Copenhagen is chic and uber cool, but it pricey in comparison to London (when we ate out my lasagne cost £18). Even my half marathon registration fee was high, though I suppose that this was in part due to a small event going on at the time called the Brexit Referendum and the pound dropping in value. That said, the City was extremely clean; I could feel that the quality of life was better. The tap water was actually drinkable from the tap…in London I filter my tap water before drinking it!
I would love to visit Copenhagen again, whether to run another race or have group weekend away. I reckon that that I would explore the city by bike (more bikes than cars in that city) and I would also take a trip to Malmo, Sweden which is only 30 minutes away by train. It seems that there is always an incentive to re-visit a city!
You sound like you had SUCH a lovely time in Copenhagen and it really looks like a friendly city!
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame it's SO expensive but at least the flights were cheap! I can't believe how close Malmo is either?!
Char xo || www.memoirsmusings.com
Absolutely LOVE Copenhagen - definitely a city i could live in! Looks like you had a great time here, lucky you managed to get into Tivoli, it was closed up when I was there.. :(
ReplyDeleteKim
http://thecaramelchronicles.com
I went to Copenhagen last year, and I loved it. Unfortunately, Tivoli Garden was closed for repairs, so I couldn't go in. Your photos are beautiful.
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