Text: Peter Johansson
Editing: Christer Lundstedt
Photos: Christer Lundstedt, Peter Johansson
Videos: Christer Lundstedt
Friday 15th of April
06.03 The sun shines over a Sundsvall waking up. It's Good Friday. Christer and I are getting ready to start this year's Easter journey. The third man in the travel group, Roberth, is already in place in Skåne. He has travelled by night train from Östersund to Malmö. This will be, due to Covid, the first Easter trip abroad since 2019. The trip we are doing this year was booked and planned already in 2020 but then it was not possible.
06.49 The morning music on the radio spreads out in Christer's apartment. Within half an hour we were out of the apartment. To join Roberth, we must first get to Sundsvall railway station as a first step. 07.45 We have arrived at Sundsvall railway station or more correctly Sundsvall's travel centre. Last year the station was under reconstruction but now it is finished with buses and trains departing from the same place. 08.00 I am on board SJ's train 567, car 3, and seat 17. In front of me is Christer. Soon, today's initial train journey will start. 08.42 Roberth has reported via Facebook from a rainy Malmö, a Malmö that during the Easter holidays last year was visited by Christer and me. At the moment we haven't even made it to Hudiksvall. 09.52 Our train is between Söderhamn and Gävle. I just had a cup of coffee. Some children on the train are wondering who to wish Happy Easter. 11.40 We stopped rolling. We arrived in Stockholm. It's time to find the next platform and hopefully a train. 12.13 At platform 14B is train 10533. It will take us further south. A Danish man asked me to change places with his daughter so they could sit together. I guess I wasn't too friendly when I accepted the exchange. What was there to whine about? I will arrive from this seat too. 12.18 Roberth has just announced that he has made his way to Copenhagen and Denmark. We have been told here on the train that we need to change trains in Malmö to get to the Danish capital. This train, which was used as a reserve train, is not built to cross the Öresund Bridge. 13.28 The train makes a short stop in Norrköping. Last summer we made a little longer stop here in the city.
14.17 We just learned that the next stop is Mjölby. Before that, we were informed that when we reach Malmö, it is easy to change to any Öresundståg train. The only requirement is that it is one that goes to Copenhagen.
15.32 We are just like last year's Easter trip in Alvesta. Then we were here earlier in date and time. Then, as now, it is Malmö that is the end goal. Today, as mentioned earlier, we will not stop there. Now as then, it is a touch of spring around us. 16.10 The train attendant has given brief information about the trip to Copenhagen. It was given in German, English and also Swedish. 16.57 We are back in Malmö and at Malmö Central. Right now we are underground and at track 2B. I firmly believe that we are on the same platform as on the Easter trip last year. 17.15 Now we roll towards Copenhagen aboard a train from Öresundståg (https://www.oresundstag.se). Soon we will cross for the second time on the trips, the Öresund Bridge. The last time we went over it was in August 2005 on our way home from Copenhagen. 17.21 Do I really dare to go to Copenhagen? Roberth announces via SMS that guards have just thrown out a dwarf from the Central Station. I'm short but not that short...DENMARK
17.50 Now the trio is united at Copenhagen Hovedbanegård, in English Copenhagen Central Station. It's time to leave the railway station. Our friend has during the hours here taken the opportunity to examine the surrounding area. That's why he has to act as a guide now. Copenhagen which is called København in Danish has 1,336,982 inhabitants. The name comes from the "Merchants Port" as the city was called in the medieval times.
18.11 Quickly and smoothly Roberth led us to the hotel Cabinn City (https://www.cabinn.com/hoteller). The ceiling is high but little space here in room 255. It's a room, and that's not bad. It is not cheap to stay in central Copenhagen. Then you have to accept lower comfort. 19.13 The three travellers are about to get acquainted with the surroundings here in Copenhagen. Roberth has already had time to see a bit of the city earlier today. We go out to dinner but also to buy breakfast. The one that the hotel serves is too expensive. 19.43 Now we have found the low price supermarket Netto, here we can buy what we need. In addition, we have seen the Tivoli Gardens and the city hall with its square, Rådhuspladsen (The City Hall Square). 19.57 We have seen various restaurants but now it is this with suitable prices, space to sit on and food we want to eat.
20.04 We have walked around the Vesterbro district in search of a restaurant. We decided to turn around when we reached Vesterbros Torv.
20.15 The first premiere dinner will be at the chain Grillen Burgerbar´s branch Restaurant Vesterbro (https://grillenburgerbar.dk/restaurant/vesterbro-burger). It might be burgers with various accessories. A common accessory is a glass of beer. 21.17 It was actually really great with burgers and beer. However, it was a challenge to keep up with the Danish language when the waiter told us about the offer. Now we will slowly walk home. 22.08 After breakfast shopping at Netto on Rådhuspladsen we are now at home in our small room. The supply at Netto was weak. We barely managed to buy anything for breakfast. 22.57 We have consumed evening drinks with accessories here in our small room. It was coffee for Christer and me and wine for Roberth. In addition, some old as well as newly purchased sweets. 23.24 Our first evening has passed here in Copenhagen. Tomorrow we have a full day here in the capital of Denmark.
Saturday 16th of April
08.16 I am sitting on the edge to my floor based thick mattress/bed. Roberth and Christer rest in their bunk beds. It's Saturday morning at Cabinn City in Copenhagen.
09.03 The travel comrades are also awake and showered. Normally we would now have gone to the breakfast room but since it is not included in the price of the room, it will instead be classic bedside breakfasts. 09.36 We have consumed our morgonmad (breakfast). Christer who thought of listening to the radio via the website Radio Garden (http://radio.garden) has found a transmitter in northern Halland that plays a seemingly perpetual music loop known as "the spinning seal. It's catchy, comical, and weird. 10.11 Soon we will go out to discover the Queen's village. It is a nickname of the capital of the Danes. 10.27 We experience freedom. The crowded room has been left. The first outdoor stop has been made at Dantes Plads. Here it is a strange art installation. An extended middle finger, human bodies with pig heads to name a few. Apparently it is a protest against an underground parking house. 10.40 Our walk through the capital continues. Outside Christiansborg Palace are three horses. Two are alive, white and grazing. One is green and carries a statue man. The man on the horse is Christian IX (1818-1906), King of Denmark (1863-1906). The creator of the equestrian statue is Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen. It is the first equestrian statue in the world made by a woman.
11.00 We have made a new stop and I make a new note. We are now at Copenhagen City Hall and Rådhuspladsen. It is sunny and nice and will certainly be even better if it stops blowing. Various tourist groups are guided on the square and next to us are some people who speak Polish. Now the bells are ringing in the city hall tower.
11.27 We have made a stop during our walk along the long pedestrian street Strøget. We are at Espresso House, a chain we visited a greater number of times during the last two years Sweden trips. This is my first time visiting it abroad. The address is Vimmelskaftet. I have just received information that the country's Queen, Margrethe II, turns 82 today. 12.01 A woman just went into the toilet here at Espresso House. That in itself is nothing unusual. The unusual thing was that she was carrying a large roll of toilet paper in one hand. 12.20 The woman came out without a roll and it's time for us to walk on. Much remains to be seen and experienced on this day. 12.41 We have just passed Kongens Nytorv. There are a lot of people on the streets this Saturday. Here in beautiful Nyhavn, an accordion player plays Memory from the musical Cats. Sometimes it sounds like a cat is trapped inside the accordion. 12.50 Nyhavn is just one of Copenhagen's many landmarks to discover. Tourist boats full of people depart from here and there are plenty of restaurants here. As a curiosity, the harbour here was created in 1671-1673 by Swedish prisoners of war from king Karl X Gustav's second Danish war. 13.08 At a stop at the Queen's winter residence, the castle Amalienborg, Roberth and I sat down on a staircase. It wasn't a good idea. We were asked to leave by a guard/soldier in red jacket and black fur cap. Now we've changed places. Should we buy a gift for the birthday child? No, we have a city to discover.
13.30 A statue in memory of the Danes who died in World War II has been passed. Now I'm taking a bench break near Kastellet to write this. A sign tells people to keep of the grass. Kastellet is a fortress from the 17th century. It is one of the best preserved fortresses in Northern Europe. It was built from 1624 as part of the Copenhagen ramparts.
13.38 After a regrouping, all three of us are now sitting on a bench. We have seen some of the star-shaped fortress. It's time to plan what else to see and do. It's a beautiful spring day today. The sun heats up against the winter pale skin. 14.15 I stand by what I think is a cherry tree in full bloom. No matter what kind of tree it is, it is beautifully bright pink. The place is called Kirsebærlunden so it should support my theory about which trees it is about. 14.22 Now Christer and I have returned to the statue of the Little Mermaid (Den Lille Havfrue), a symbol of Copenhagen and Denmark. As for Roberth, I don't know. The three of us are far from alone here. It was calm and empty as Christer and I were here on a rainy day in August 2005. 15.09 Now we are sitting in a small park outside the station Østerport. It was time for lunch for Christer and me. Roberth is off to buy takeaway coffee. 15.21 Roberth came back with coffee and a sandwich. The second of Christer's sandwiches had the interesting topping, spicy tuna. It was a mistake purchase. He had planned to buy two sandwiches with ham and cheese. I'm glad I didn't buy it. I'm allergic to fish. 15.45 Now that we have bought tickets to Christianshavn station, we will take the Metro again. If there is a metro in a city, we, or at least I, like to ride it. 16.02 A quick trip with a change at Kongens Nytorv took us to Christianshavn. It's time to discover more. Here at the station, some worn-out Inuit men sit and drink beer. The Inuit were formerly known as the Eskimos. They originate from Greenland or Kalaallit Nunaat which is a self-governing part of Denmark.
16.17 Now we are inside the famous free town Christiania. It is, to say the least, a slightly different neighbourhood. Christiania is part of the District of Christianshavn. The area is named after King Christian IV and is located on a 34 hectare area that previously belonged to the Danish navy. Christiania functions as a parallel society for people with certain alternative lifestyles. It all started in 1971 when activists took over the abandoned military area. Over the years, the Danish authorities have made several more or less serious attempts to close Christiania, without success. There is its own red-yellow flag symbolizing the area.
16.28 We have been to those parts of Christiania where drugs such as cannabis are sold completely openly. There is a photo ban. There is also a ban on hard drugs. It was banned here back in 1979. I wonder if they keep off the grass here. 16.40 We left Christiania under the sign that welcomed us to the EU and found the graffiti painting by the late musician Kim Larsen. Now I am sitting on a stone at the entrance to Christiania. Does that make me stoned? Christiania is interesting to visit but it is not particularly exciting. 16.47 Now we have fully left Christiania with its sweetish scent. Here in front of Vor Frelsers Kirke (Our Saviour's Church) we have been asked if we have something to smoke. It is unclear in what form. 17.27 On the way home we are again at Christiansborg Palace. Now we pass through it. We took a lot of steps today. Maybe it is time for a little rest? 17.55 We are at home in our small room again. It's time to sum up the day that has been and plan the one that will come tomorrow. Today we managed to see a lot of Copenhagen.
19.48 We start noticing that it was a day since we last had cooked food. It was a small breakfast, just coffee, juice and a few sandwiches. In other words, it's time for some kind of dinner. We'll go out and see what we can find.
20.19 We have not found an obvious option for our dinner but there are some candidates after all. We mainly want food easily and quickly and in greater quantity this evening. 20.38 Astor Deep Pan Pizza (https://astorpizza.dk) adjacent to the Hotel Astoria has a pizza buffet for 88 Danish kronor, around US$12,90. That's OK for tonight. Our waitress is from Sweden but has lived here in Copenhagen for many years. 21.42 There was plenty to eat and good beer to drink. Now we have again been away buying a little bit of everything at Netto. Tonight we chose the shop on Niels Brocks Gade near our hotel. 22.22 It's time for some evening beers. It's too cool outside for a balcony beer. In addition, the balcony is probably too small for such activities.
Sunday 17th of April
08.18 I have managed to sleep, wake up and just recently also took a shower, so far with a fairly decent result. I hope the day continues like this.
09.25 There is no big speed on this day, but why rush? Easter is a holiday time for teachers. We had another breakfast in our room. 10.13 After a quiet morning, we start getting ready to cope with the upcoming events of the day. The idea is that we will leave Copenhagen and look around Själland (Zealand) today. 11.03 We are at Copenhagen Central station. It's another eleven o'clock coffee at another Starbucks Coffee. The total number of eleven o'clock coffees and, for that matter, Starbucks visits on our trips is uninteresting for readers to know. Besides, I don't want to check it out either. 11.40 After some trouble with ticket machines, we have bought three single tickets to Roskilde. Now we wait at track 7. We will go with DSB, Danske Statsbaner. There have been a number of different railway companies over the years. 11.55 Now it's time for a premiere for me. I'm going to take a train between two Danish cities. It is true that I went between Helsingør and Copenhagen in 1997 but then I was never off the train in Helsingør. On the same trip I also went between Copenhagen and Rødbyhavn and vice versa on the way home. But even then without leaving the train. 12.30 It was a quick journey to Roskilde. Denmark is a country with short distances. Now we will soon examine another Danish city, a city known for, among other things, its music festival and its cathedral. Roskilde was since the 9th century the residence of kings and bishops and throughout the Middle Ages an important city with twelve churches and five monasteries. Today there are 51,793 inhabitants living here.
12.37 We walk along the pedestrian street Algade towards the cathedral, and then the harbour. It is Sunday, Easter Day and much is closed today.
12.46 It's a sunny and lovely spring day here in Roskilde. A bit away from us are some colourful cows. It is a tradition on the trips to meet cows in some statue form or the like. The cows stand in the most central square in the city, Stændertorvet. 13.05 On our further walk in the city we have come to the spring Maglekilde, a spring that comes to light in the middle of the city. A sign tells us not to drink the water. Roskilde is famous for springs. It is also noticeable in the name of the city, Ros kilde (Ro's spring). According to one legend, it was Ro who founded the city. 13.18 The sun shines further. We are now down at the harbour on Roskildefjorden and at the Viking Ship Museum (Vikingeskibsmuseet). There are exhibits about life at sea during the ancient times and Middle Ages with five Viking ships from an excavation at Skuldelev. Here we mostly will stroll around. I don't think we're going into the museum. Soon we will also have lunch. 13.59 Once again we are at something from the UNESCO World Heritage list. We are outside the city's Cathedral, Roskilde Domkirke. If we want to enter, we seem to have to pay 60 Danish kroner, around US$8,90. It's a shame that you have to pay to visit a church. The cathedral is home to a number of Danish royalties. There are 39 royal tombs inside the church. It was also inside it that the Treaty of Roskilde was signed in 1658. It is an important date in Swedish history. 14.31 It's buzzing inside the Piazza Navona II Restaurant. We're about to order some lunch. We first thought about eating grilled meat at Shawarma Grill House but we finally chose this simple little place along the Algade. 15.07 Now that we have had our lunches, we will say goodbye to Roskilde. 15.34 It is time to continue on today's Själland journey. Now we move on to a place we've only seen up ahead in the distance. I got there by train in 1997, but didn't stop there. 16.12 The train is back at Copenhagen Central station. Some want to get on board before they all got off. It is not appreciated by the people getting off.
16.37 There is a small group from Ukraine on board our train. They have items in bags from IKEA.
17.06 We are now in Helsingør. It is the Danish town closest to Sweden and it has a population of 47,483 inhabitants. Here we have sat down at a square, Axeltorvet. A bit away, some talkative men from southern Sweden are sitting on an outdoor terrace. Some waitresses walk around the tables dressed with green Carlsberg blankets. 17.18 We have stopped at the city's cathedral, Sankt Olai Kirke. It is a beautiful and powerful church. The church was completed in 1559 and is dedicated to the Holy King Olaf of Norway. 17.29 In Helsingør harbour there is a male version of the Little Mermaid that we saw in Copenhagen. He looks out on the sea. It is a silver shiny statue called "Han" and has been here for about ten years. 17.47 We are now at Kronborg Castle from the 16th century. In here, Hamlet sat in Shakespeare's drama. In here, with his beard stuck to the floor, Holger Danske is sleeping. He is the legendary warrior of Denmark. He rests until the day he is needed to protect the country. On the other side of the Öresund strait we see Helsingborg in Sweden. Earlier on two different trips we have stood there and looked towards Helsingør. 17.52 We have plans on the way back to the railway station to find a café. We'll see how it goes. 18.14 We are unable find any sensible café. It's Sunday afternoon and not much is open. Perhaps it would be best for us to head back to the station. 18.37 We didn´t find any café and are on board the train back to Copenhagen. Maybe we will find a café and a restaurant there?
18.57 In the first period of the fifth ice hockey Allsvenskan semi final between Modo and Björklöven, Modo, from my home region, leads 1-0. It's 2-2 in games.
20.02 We are at home in Cabinn City again. Now we will find a restaurant at a suitable distance with the range and prices to our liking. This will be our last dinner in Copenhagen. 20.37 We have on internet found a restaurant and also a reserve option. That's usually wise. Now we go to the food. 21.09 The first option, Iboo's, a cheap restaurant with pizza and Pakistani cuisine, was closed. Our second option, the hamburger restaurant Bronx (https://bronxburger.dk), on the other hand, is open. We ordered beer and hamburgers. We're sitting in a booth here in the restaurant. There is a lot of police activity in the city tonight. 21.44 The restaurant visit was a pleasant surprise, much better than expected. In other words, a good and worthy end to our time here in the city. 22.04 Now that we have returned home, we will start getting ready for tomorrow. Modo, by the way, won 2-1 and is now leading 3-2 in matches. 23.32 An eventful day ends with us crawling back into our beds in room 255. Tomorrow we fly on to the next stage of this journey.
You can see 41 photos from April 15 in this photoalbum.
You can see 172 photos from April 16 in this photoalbum.
You can see 131 photos from April 17 in this photoalbum.