"Salty Old Queen of the Sea!" Copenhagen by bpacker

Copenhagen Travel Guide: 3,848 reviews and 9,691 photos

2 bad China girls taking a boat tour in Copenhagen

2 Singaporeans on a Scandic Backpacking adventure

Months before I started on this adventure, I received a wedding invitation from an old high school pal whom I heard not heard from in eons. It took me a long time to decide whether or not to accept the invitation. It wasn't because I couldn't remember who the hell she was but rather it was the location of her wedding. It wasn't a run-out-of-the- mill celebration in Orchard Road, (down Singapore where I live) but in Frosunda, Sweden!

WHERE THE HELL WAS THAT ANYWAY??

Apart from the IKEA cabinet I have at home and the big red Volvo that takes me to work everyday ( it's a public bus for crying out loud, my car is much smaller ) I know nothing about Sweden. Much less Frosunda. Typical of my friend, no details were in her wedding card other than a blurry map of the town zapped from a book circa, 1965. So begun my 4-month research on Scandinavia. Well, I eventually found where Frosunda was ( thanks to my friend's Swede sis-in-law) and got so caught up in my research that I planned a month-long adventure in Viking land. My first stop was Copenhagen. Now is that Co-per-hae-gen or Core-per-har-gen? I prefer the nasal and somewhat Viking-Scandic-sounding latter pronunciation. As did Danny Kaye when he sang this song in 1952:

Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen!
Friendly old girl of a town
'Neath her tavern light
On this merry night
Let us clink and drink one down
To wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen
Salty old queen of the sea
Once I sailed away
But I'm home today
Singing Copenhagen, wonderful, wonderful
Copenhagen for me!

I like singing this song aloud too, whether I was on the open-topped tourist bus or drinking a pint of Carlsberg or two with Liz, my travelling companion.
This cheesy but addictive tune makes a good drinking or touring song and it sure made a lot of Danes think that all girls from China were incredibly bad singers or drunk all the time.Anyway, Liz and I spent about a couple of days in Copenhagen before proceeding to terrorise the rest of Denmark with our rendition of the song.
before moving on to Sweden. Of course, we couldn't sing our song elsewhere as this earthy catchy song epitomised how we felt about Copenhagen and Denmark......Yeah, Salty queen of the Sea. %c*

Keen to read the rest of the journey? Click on my Roskilde page to continue

Cranky Arrival in Denmark

Bleary eyed on arrival

After I arrived in Kastrup Airport from Singapore, I was feeling really cranky after spending more than 10 hours beside a blond Dane who was more keen to chat me up than sleep. I hopped on a train to Copenhagen and really wondered why I didn't tell him I was a fasting lesbian leader from a rare cult in China. Not that I like to tell a tall tale but sleep is imperative to one's beliefs or nationality . Now, that would have really stopped him from asking me continously why I didn't take my dinner or what I did for a living, etc. Dungs to the "Singapore Girl" advert for popularising the image of an exotic Asian nymph. I sure wasn't that.
In any case, after I got off the train, I started roaming about the the city square.

Amalienborg Palace and elsewhere

Soldier in purple shades

Liz and I roamed about the city and discovered small eccentricities here and there. Little things that make us laugh to ourselves, the drunk girls from China/Japan. Yes, that's what the Danes thought because everywhere we went, we got catcalls and everyone asked us if we were from there. We decided not to get irritated and just nod in agreement. In return, we enjoyed the mirth in everyday Danish life. Read more about it in my " off the beaten track" tales.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Warm, friendly people and efficient transportation system
Cons:Kitsch souveniers, places of interests, expensive lodgings
In a nutshell:More than just tivoli gardens

Last visit to Copenhagen: Sep 2002
Intro Updated Sep 21, 2005
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Reviews (36)

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Comments (16)

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dame2 Dec 7, 2009 at 8:12 AM

Your pictures are wonderful! I am going to Denmark this summer!
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grandmaR Jul 15, 2009 at 10:00 AM

I understand why you think the lights are beautiful - just not why there are two duplicates
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Wild_Orchid Oct 24, 2005 at 2:36 AM

you look so school girlish with those glasses! ~Aunty Agony~. :) wonderful Copenhagen!!
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sailor_p Sep 23, 2005 at 7:16 AM

Well done Glenda! Your guide is even better than Lonely Planet! You really tempt me to think about going to the Northern tip of the world! :)
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robertgaz Sep 21, 2005 at 10:03 PM

a pretty but shy girl from tassie stole the heart of denmark's next king at the sydney olympics... now she's about to give birth to a future monarch... ain't that the perfect fairie tale :-)
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hassan_abu Feb 28, 2005 at 3:50 AM

I enjoyed reading your Copenhage page, especially about the 50DEk buffet..yummy : p
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worldtrekker Feb 21, 2005 at 4:35 AM

Nyhavn is really cool! I loved it too! I'll have to take a look at the rest of your Scandinavian adventures another time...
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CliffClaven Feb 3, 2005 at 3:48 AM

Singapore Girls do Copenhagen
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horse7676 Oct 16, 2004 at 4:19 PM

Good funny page.
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bugalugs Oct 9, 2004 at 1:05 PM

The tivoli gardens look lovely on your night time picture, and I never travel anywhere without a bottle opener/cork screw.:-)