Copenhagen (with a dash of Sweden for good measure)
Quote: “At rejse er at leve” – “To travel is to live” – Hans Christian Anderson
Denmark’s National Association for Gays and Lesbians (LBL), founded in 1948 was the first of its kind and in 1989 Denmark became the first country in the world to recognise full marriage (not just civil partnership) between two persons of the same sex. Copenhagen also has one of the most relaxed, inclusive and pleasant gay scenes I have ever visited.
I flew direct from Manchester Airport in just under two hours, and met up with colleagues from other UK airports in Copenhagen. The airport is just 13 minutes by train from the City centre so in less than half an hour we were settling into our hotel and were soon ready to explore the sights of this vibrant city.
Copenhagen is popular most of the year, although it is quiet and extremely cold between Christmas and Easter, in the summer however, the daylight seemed to last forever and though temperatures soared, just like here, the air stayed fresh and crisp.
The hotels are all stylish, even the budget hotels have a touch of Scandinavian design flare, but stay 3* or above and you are almost guaranteed to be overwhelmed by eclectic modern glamour.
By day we visited, Rosenborg Castle, built as a summer pleasure palace, Christian IV relaxed and partied here. Showing off the royal family’s enormous wealth the castle is bursting with extravagant décor, Baroque tapestries, silverware, and ornate ceramics not to mention the crown jewels and a historic collection of intricately carved ivory. (The Danes don’t hunt elephants any more.) It is situated in one of the city’s most beautiful parks; an ideal place for a picnic or a lazy afternoon in the sun.
We had classic Danish smørrebrød; open sandwiches in Oscar’s, one of the most popular gay café-bars in Copenhagen. Just off the main city square, Oscars offers a friendly service and is a popular lunchtime, and after-work meeting place for local gays and lesbians. In summer, with the windows removed, the tables and atmosphere spilled out onto the street.
We window-shopped on 'Strøget', Europe’s longest pedestrian shopping street, and weaved our way through the medieval side streets with their charming, quirky, and unique boutiques and the wonderful design shops where you can track down the furniture and gadgets of Danish design icons and upcoming stars.
We walked through picturesque Nyhavn, where Hans Christian Andersen once lived, which is now full of bustling restaurants with outdoor dining, to the modern port area. The new architectural designer Opera House and the massive cruise liners now dwarf the statue of The Little Mermaid, the most popular tourist attraction in Denmark, commemorating Hans Christian Anderson’s fairytale which the famous ballet and the Disney movie was based on.
Copenhagen is not a huge sprawling metropolis, everything is pretty much within walking distance, and this is particularly true for Copenhagen's gay life. Centred in the 'Village-like' area of the old town, the city's gay scene can provide an entire evening's spectrum of entertainment within a square kilometre. The city’s first gay bar, Centralhjørnet, opened over 80 years ago, and is still going strong - along with a wealth of other newer cafés & bars. I was particularly struck by the mixed gay and lesbian atmosphere, many venues are also hetero-friendly; gay and straight friends party together. This takes a little getting used to but you can be assured of a calm no-attitude atmosphere.
Our evening began with an excellent meal in Jailhouse, a concept restaurant with basement bar in which the staff are dressed in jailer’s uniforms and have sturdy metal handcuffs on their ‘utility’ belts. In the UK this kind of venue would be just for men but that is not the way the Danes operate, there were quite a few women and nothing even slightly seedy about the Jailhouse Bar downstairs.
We moved on to catch the end of ‘heavenly hour’ (drinks promotions) in Heaven, a mixed gay & lesbian bar/café. I really enjoyed Ziraf café bar, the lesbian venue, with its pink bicycle outside. It is oriented towards women but there are no barriers in Copenhagen’s gay scene so male friends are made welcome. The convivial atmosphere and great music (without being drown-out loud) make this a great place for good conversation and meeting and making friends.
A pink triangle sign on the street welcomed us into Pan's rainbow flagged yard. This popular gay warehouse turned nightclub offers everything from the Marlene Dietrich lounge on the second floor, through hard house and banging techno on the ground floor, Lesbian go-go dancers performed on the bar top (very sexy) on the second floor and happy camp classic pop is served up on the third. The party literally went on all night.
Since opening of the Øresund Bridge in 2000, a bridge and tunnel link between Denmark and Sweden allows convenient travel between Copenhagen and Malmo, Sweden's third largest city.
The 35-minute rail journey is well worth taking. We visited the rejuvenated port district, with its stunning Swedish designer apartments with views of Øresund Bridge. The newly inaugurated architectural masterpiece, the Turning Torso, a 50 story residential and commercial structure towers over 190 metres above the fashionable West Harbour area.
The no-smoking legislation in Sweden results in refreshing clean-air bars, restaurants and nightclubs. The entertainment is not so gay-focused as Denmark but the inclusive attitude and delightfully camp Europop really negates any need for segregation.
On our return to Copenhagen we just had time to visit the magnificent Tivoli Gardens, home to a small theme park, petting farm, countless restaurants, a couple of outdoor concert stages where a variety of performances are held and some pretty little tourist shops. In December this is where the Christmas market is held which I believe is one of the best in Europe and a great excuse for a winter break.
I’ve heard people rule out Copenhagen as ‘too expensive when you get there’ but this was not my experience, I found the cost of living very similar to that in Manchester, I certainly wasn’t struck dumb by prices as I was on a recent trip to London.
For further information please try: www.visitdenmark.com
