Sarah relaxes at Copenhagen's Viking Bar. Photo: Derek Van Gorder

We were very pleased to update our Copenhagen hotel reviews yesterday, adding several new budget hotel picks, and refreshing our existing listings. Sarah Silbert, our “listings guru” in the New York office, visited Copenhagen last month to tackle the job. We sat down with her this morning to learn more about her trip.

As a first-time visitor to Copenhagen, what did you find surprising about the city?

I didn’t think it would be so compact! All the main attractions are roughly in the same area, so it’s very easy to cover the city on foot.

Did you walk everywhere?

Nearly. I never needed to take public transportation, aside from getting into the city from the airport. I would have loved to rent a bike, but the weather was pretty miserable and rainy so I opted out.

Did you find Copenhagen easy to visit for budget travelers?

With a bit of effort, it can be. Hotel rates themselves are probably the biggest expense, though there are certainly deals to be had. Dining can be reasonably cheap if you forgo touristy restaurants (especially around Tivoli and Nyhavn) for meals at the pizza and kebab joints popular with the locals.

Mmmmm… Pizza and kebabs. Did you have any memorable meals?

In an effort to keep expenses down, I ate meal after meal of falafel schawarma sandwiches. With good reason, too—they’re delicious and cost around DKK 20 (about $4). After my last day of visiting hotels, however, I did splurge on some tasty Japanese fare at Kung Fu Izakaya Bar in Vesterbro.

You deserved it, after visiting dozens of hotels in the city. Which hotel was your favorite?

It’s a tough call, but the Avenue Hotel in Frederiksberg won me over with its lovely rooms and warm hospitality. Hotel Alexandra, which boasts guestrooms outfitted with the work of famed Danish designers, is a close second. However, these are just two of many hotels boasting sleek Danish design and central locations.

Where did you stay?

I stayed at the Absalon Hotel. I had booked a room at the Absalon Annex (which I reviewed), but upon arrival was upgraded to a room at the hotel’s three-star sister property.

Really? Did they know you were reviewing them?

No! Of course not. I told them during check out–and then asked to see a bunch of rooms!

—

Thanks for the great job, Sarah. To read her work, check out her Copenhagen hotel reviews and city guide articles.

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The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen. Photo by StePagna.

By Sarah Silbert–

Today, I take off for a 20 day-trip to Europe. Aside from visits to Berlin, Helsinki, and Stockholm, I’ll be updating EuroCheapo’s Copenhagen guide. I’m really thrilled to visit this Scandinavian capital.

There are many reasons I’m excited to visit Copenhagen: the smorrebrod, the bicycling, the Danish design! But I’m particularly looking forward to stopping by the Little Mermaid for a visit. The iconic statue is one of the city’s most popular tourist destinations, and, with a harbor-side location, it’s absolutely free.

The Little Mermaid: A brief history

It’s well known that the Little Mermaid is inspired by famous Dane Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale of the same name. It’s lesser known that the statue has a colorful history full of dynamite and decapitation. Here are some fun facts about the statue, or “den lille havfrue,” as she’s called in Danish.

The statue was commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen, son of the founder of the famous Carlsberg brewery. The sculptor Edvard Eriksen created the statue from bronze, using both his wife and the ballerina Ellen Price as models.

The statue was completed and presented to the public on August 23, 1913. Danes celebrate her birthday every year on this day.

The Little Mermaid is surprisingly small: she stands only 65 inches tall and weighs just 385 pounds.

Vandals and hoaxes!

As the first of many acts of vandalism witnessed by the Little Mermaid, a bra and underwear were painted onto her on April 28, 1963. Her hair was also painted red. (Prescient thinking—this was years before Disney’s red-headed ”The Little Mermaid” was released!)

The poor Mermaid’s head was sawed off on April 24, 1964 by artists affiliated with the revolutionary Situationist movement.

On September 11, 2003, the Little Mermaid was blasted off her rock, apparently with dynamite.

On March 3, 2007, the statue was yet again covered in paint—this time pink.

The statue was found draped in a Muslim dress and hijab on May 20, 2008.

The Little Mermaid has had company since September, 2006. A “genetically modified” version of the statue was created as part of the sculpture group Genetically Modified Paradise and sits just a few hundred meters away from the original.

The Little Mermaid seems to be sitting safe and pretty for now, but she will be making waves in China in 2010, when she travels to the World EXPO in Shanghai.

Getting there: How close can you get?

The statue is located in the Copenhagen harbor at Langelinie 1. Take Bus 26 to Langelinie.

I’m all set to sidle up to the statue for a snapshot. So Cheapos, how close do you think I can get to the Little Mermaid? Tom said I should pack a swimsuit if I really want to get a photo right next to her. I’m not sure I’m ready to brave the water with the cold Copenhagen temperatures, so perhaps I’ll have to settle for some tricky camera angles!

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The view from here...photo by Alex Robertson Textor

By Alex Robertson Textor—Two weeks in the Nordic countries visiting friends in familiar cities and discovering new territory required me to rely heavily on airplanes as well as trains to get around.

I took five flights during my trip: Stockholm to Helsinki; Helsinki to Copenhagen; Copenhagen to the Faroe Islands; Faroe Islands to Copenhagen; and Copenhagen to Stockholm. All but the final of these flights was unavoidable, scheduling-wise. During the last stretch I badly wanted to take the train, but logistics and pricing got in the way.

All in all, the packed itinerary yielded four airlines I’d never encountered before—one regional airline, two legacy airlines, and one low-cost airline. Here are my reviews.

Flight #1: Stockholm to Helsinki
Airline: Blue1

SAS subsidiary Blue1 is a regional airline with a dense route map covering Finland. The total experience is pretty humdrum. Notable dimensions of the experience included the offer of little candies from a basket at the close of the flight and a good in-flight magazine, which featured interesting articles on Helsinki allotment gardens and a  unique lighthouse accommodation along the Finnish coast. There was a free drink service but no snack is served on board.

Cost of one-way ticket: 739 SEK (about $95) purchased on the Swedish version of the SAS site.

On-time? No. 45-minute delay.

Flight rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Flight #2: Helsinki to Copenhagen
Airline: Finnair

This Finnish legacy carrier runs a seriously well-designed ship, which has earned kudos for its routes to Asia and its overall brand. Of note was the rack of free newspapers on offer to guests—I plumped for Helsinki’s Swedish-language Hufvudstadsbladet—and the plush blue seats. Snack service consisted of a cheese and cucumber sandwich, a small cup of concentrated orange juice, and a tiny Mars candy. The in-flight magazine contained thoughtful stories on the Finnish town of Rauma, the Japanese lust for vintage Finnish design, and Finland’s Valamo Monastery, the only Orthodox monastery in the Nordic countries.

Cost of one-way ticket: $111, purchased through Orbitz.com.

On-time? Yes.

Flight rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Flight #3: Copenhagen to the Faroe Islands (roundtrip)
Airline: Atlantic Airways

This air carrier faces no competition on its routes, which in high season connect the Faroe Islands’ Vagar international airport with Denmark, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and the UK. The airline, sadly, lacked personality. A snack was served in a big paper bag. It consisted of a bland ciabatta sandwich and a single wrapped Fazer mint. The in-flight magazine is very glossy. Perks of note: Danish and Faroese newspapers draped over seats and the drinks cart, which materializes with unexpected regularity and dispenses hard liquor free of charge. Bummer of note:  A stopped-up toilet on the Copenhagen-Faroes route.

Cost of roundtrip ticket: $404, purchased on the Atlantic Airways Web site.

On-time? Yes.

Flight rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Flight #4: Copenhagen to Stockholm
Airline: Norwegian Air

Norwegian Air Shuttle—these days more often referred to as “Norwegian”—is a quietly successful airline. Branded as a budget airline, Norwegian indeed offers some very reasonable advance fares. Norwegian doesn’t destroy passengers with arbitrary charges, either. With other European low-cost airlines charging for all sorts of things like checking in at the airport and checked baggage, Norwegian’s free 20 kg baggage allotment felt like a gift. Nothing on board is free, of course. The in-flight magazine is written in uneven English, though it contained a few items of note: a short article suggesting that passengers use their mobile telephones to check in for flights, DJ Rune Lindbaek’s tips for Oslo visits, and an overview of Swedish landscape architect Ulf Nordfjell’s oeuvre.

Cost of one-way ticket: €44 (about $62), purchased on wegolo.

On-time? Yes.

Flight rating: 3 out of 5 stars

About the author: Alex Robertson Textor is Editor-at-Large at EuroCheapo. He has written travel stories for the New York Post, New York Times, and Rough Guides, among other publications, and he also maintains Spendthrift Shoestring, a blog on budget travel and culture.

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Stylish coffee cups for about $20 from Illums Bolighus

The designers of Denmark are renowned for their sleek and refined ideas. Bringing home some Danish wares can help you spice up your interior decor, from dressing up the bedroom to simplifying the kitchen.

Although some pieces of Danish ingenuity can be very pricey, many smaller, easy-to-pack items won’t cost all of your kroners. Modest vases, picture frames, and jewelry boxes travel well, and are useful and stylish souvenirs.

Danish house wares: Tasteful and practical

Take a trip to the Danish Design Center and the fancy shops on Amagertorv for inspiration, then head over to Magasin du Nord, Scandanavia’s first department store, at Kongens Nytorv 13. There you will find similar kitchenware and home furnishings available for much less.

If you’re planning to enjoy low-priced meals from the grocery store or will be picnicking in the Ørsteds Parken, why not dress it up with some trendy utensils? Collapsible cups and bowls and two-in-one salt and pepper shakers are simply elegant, and will be a hit back home. These pieces can be found for DKK 100 (about US $20).

While you’re at it…

Keep some Danish kroner. Hearts, swirls, and depictions of lions and crowns surrounded by a curvy typeface make for creative coinage. Not only is the fancy money fun to hand out to friends, but you can save it for your next trip. Danes have repeatedly rejected the adoption of the euro, although the government is still committed to its eventual adoption.

Also see: Our list of recommended budget hotels in Copenhagen.

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Things can get pricy pretty quickly in Copenhagen, but you can still grab some wheels for free. The city’s free bike program, called “Bycyklen Kobenhavn,” was a pioneer in the urban bike program phenomenon. The city provides 1,300 free bicycles to anyone to zip around the city center.

The program is popular with visitors and residents alike, doubles as a rehabilitation program for locals, and is environmentally progressive. (The city even gave a city bike to Bill Clinton, when he visited in 1997.) In short, the program is just another example of why the Danes are so cool.

It’s a straight-forward system:

1) Find your way to one of the city’s 125 bike parking areas. They’re all located in the city center.

2) Leave a small deposit (a DKK 20 coin, worth about $3) and ride off with your bike.

3) Stay in the city center. The bikes are easy to identify, and you might get some looks if you’re outside the central zone. According to the official website, “If you ride on a city bike outside the zone, you might get fined by the police.” Also, remember not to ride on any of the city’s pedestrian-only streets (you can walk the bike, however).

4) When you’re finished, return the bike to one of the 125 bike parking areas, whereupon you’ll get back your deposit.

The free-bike zone.

For more information on the program, visit the city’s official website for the free bike program.

So simple.

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Denmark, home to Hans Christian Andersen and all those friendly, tall—and it must be said—great Danes, was recently proclaimed the happiest place on earth. In a number of population studies, pollsters asked residents to rate their level of happiness and other factors, and it seems the Danes have a real twist for felicity.

All this happiness, in spite of high taxes and hefty price tags? After all, according to the Big Mac Index, a Happy Meal must cost at least $5 in Copenhagen! Yet we agree: Denmark is a happy (and happening) place!

Here are five of our favorite and free ways to boost your serotonin in Copenhagen:

1) Get cultured

In 2006, the National Museum and the Statens Museum of Kunst became free to the public. And, every Wednesday, a number of other major museums and galleries open their doors without a charge. We suggest the Tøjhusmuseet, where the relics of the Royal Danish Arsenal are housed, and the Hirschsprungske and Ordrupgaard Collections, two museums with some of the best French and Danish art from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. For more info and to browse current exhibitions, go to the Copenhagen Tourism’s art museum page.

2) Park yourself

Copenhagen has some of the most expansive and pretty parks in Europe. Retreats like Orsteds Park, Frederiksberg Garden or Vondelpark are free to enter and stroll. Both have incredible sculptures and fountains and a host of traveling street performers. We also recommend the Botanical Gardens.

3) Get thee to church

Seriously, not only are Copenhagen’s many religious establishments architectural marvels, but they’re free to visit, and often host free concerts. Some charge a nominal fee for truly spectacular shows, like the Danish boys choir Christmas concert at the Church of Our Lady (Vor Frue Kirke), founded in 1209.

4) Grab a bike without paying

Yes, it’s that easy. You see a bike. You need a bike? You take the bike and ride it. A minimal deposit (about $3) gets returned when you bring the bike back to any number of designated spots. The promotion runs annually from May 1st to December 15th. More info can be found here.

5) See the statues

Go for a walk near the Copenhagen harbor, and spend some time gazing at the Little Mermaid. (She can’t charge you a krone to check out her scales.) Near City Hall, visit with Hans Christian Andersen. Later, walk the stone path at the Thorvaldsens museum in Slotsholmen.

Whatever you do, take lots of photos… or take brochures. After all, they’re free!

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