Denmark is flat (14/9/2024)

 

The Bridge.  Link between Copenhagen and Malmo, Sweden

We had a relatively early start as our train left Hamburg Hauptbahnhof at 9am.  We set off early walking to the metro station that was a few hundred metres away.  Our plan was that when we got to the Hauptbahnhof we would look for a litte café  l to sit and have a coffee and bite to eat.  We could not find anything like that but just as we were about to give up, we came across a place selling a bircher muesli which was just what we felt like.

Museum opposite the Hauptbahnhof  Hamburge


We located our platform and positioned ourselves close to the carriage that we thought we would be travelling in.  We wanted to get in early to place our baggage in one of the few places for larger bags.  


It then turned out that the train that arrived was not the one we would be travelling and fortunately we heard enough to know that we had to change platforms which meant climbing more stairs and then going down another set.  Then I lost Bev.  Like most of the other people we couldn't figure out where our carriage was.  Eventually I found it and Bev was fortunately nearby.  She had been calling on the phone but I had it on mute.  I moved a couple of small bags from the luggage area and placed them in the overhead rack and put our bags in.  Phew!  It was all quite a rush

 

There was a marked change in the landscape once we went through the German/Danish border.  Prior to the border there were lots of trees, interspersed throughout the farmland.  There were even a number of  solar farms.  On the Danish side of the border there were few trees.  We found out that King Christian IV had used the trees to build his navy (apparently it rivaled the British Navy of the time.  Thus the only trees remaining are forests planted for that purpose. Only 2% of the country is covered in forest and none of it indigenous.

 

None the less it was an interesting trip.  The nation is made up of many islands, some large and some tiny with a bit of mainland bordering the North Sea.  To get to Copenhagen we had to cross the water on a couple of bridges one of which was quite long. 

 

We had a nice chat to a Swedish couple who were our age and who had been travelling on an Interrail pass.  They were a lovely to talk with and even gave us some hints on food to eat. 

 

When we arrived at the Copenhagen Station, we took a bit of time to orient ourselves and then tried to work out what train we needed to take us to our accommodation.  It transpired that a line we needed to take was out of action for some reason and a helpful woman suggested that we get a taxi if we didn’t want to take the bus the long way to our destination.  We decided that it was the best option. 

 

Our accommodation was a bit of surprise.  It was a studio apartment and it was very much on the small side giving us a bit of a shock.  However, it was comfortable enough and it was very convenient.  We are in an area that is a new development with lots of apartments all of which are built to give people space and light. There are lots of young trees growing.  It looked a lovely environment in which to live.  We could learn something about urban design from the Danes!

 

What we saw of Copenhagen we really liked so we were looking forward to our three hour bike tour the next day. 


A couple of views of the residential area from our apartment

 

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