Copenhagen

During a very long itinerary made mainly by train with an Inter Rail ticket that would take me around many European countries, I also passed through Denmark. I entered this country through the border between Germany (then West Germany) and the Jutland peninsula. Because of the narrow gauge of the Danish railway tracks it was necessary to change trains at Fredericia. From here I continued towards Fredrikshavn, where, having got off at the local station, I reached the port on foot. From here by ferry I reached Moss in Norway (see the relevant itinerary). I was in the company of a friend. On the way back from the Scandinavian Peninsula we returned to Denmark, crossing by ferry the narrow channel that separates Swedish Helsinore from Danish Helsingor, without however getting off the train taken in Stockholm.

From Helsingor the train, having come off the ferry, continued its journey, taking us to Copenhagen. Having got off in the capital we began our visit of the old town. The city is beautiful, with notable monuments among which stand out the Town Hall with its high tower, Christiansborg Castle, the Kastellet fortress, the strange spiral tower, Charlottenborg and the octagonal Amalienborg, seat of the Crown, whose perspective is closed by a domed building that makes the complex similar to St Peter's Square in Rome. Although the symbol of Copenhagen is the famous bronze statue of the Little Mermaid, who stretches her profile out to sea in memory of the tale of the same name by the Danish Andersen, the place that gives off the greatest charm is certainly the Nyhavn canal, lined with colourful half-timbered houses and where old sailing ships are moored.

We did not visit the Tivoli amusement park, of which we limited ourselves to seeing the entrance. From Copenhagen, which lies on the island of Sjaelland, we took the train to East Berlin. To reach East Germany the train crossed the bridge that links the island of Sjaelland with that of Falster and, having arrived at the port of Gedser, it was loaded onto the ship for Warnemunde (East Germany). In fact this trip was made in '90 when the Berlin Wall had already fallen, there were no effective borders between the two Germanies but formally the unification had not yet been ratified, so in effect two states existed. I have been to Denmark on two other occasions, so I refer you to the relevant itineraries.