Copenhagen for Asian (1)

This post is a product of a request from someone who'll soon visit Copenhagen and I'm really excited about it.

The one thing that every visitor should keep in mind when visiting Europe is: English is not necessarily as universal as one thought. Danish public network / system are mostly only in Danish, most of the websites have English webpages but not all. Luckily, most of Danes speak good English so just ask when in doubt & they'll help you out. As for webpage, Google translate is always handy.

Copenhagen is not a big metropolies like London / Berlin but it compensates for this with its charming & relaxed atmosphere. Its public transport system works well (under normal condition) and gets you from A-Z. Castles, museums & sights are all easily accessible. It's a relatively safe city but with recent shooting cases, I'd advise to stay off Nørrebro (not all area but at least try to avoid getting off at Nørrebro train station, Nørreport is absolutely fine).

Tranport
S-train provides comprehensive train network within Copenhagen while Metro serves the inner-city intersections. Blue colour S-bus runs between train stations & red colour A-bus runs between metro stations. Travel planning can be done online & might be essential to prevent time wasted. Just key in departure location & desired destination, a detail trip plan will be calculated.

Ordinary basic tickets can be purchased from vending machine (English available but the machine accepts only coins) at stations or ticket offices. Tickets are stamped with time, data & departure zone. Discount tickets (clip cards) are available for 10 journeys within 2 to 9 (all) zones. Try not to board a bus/train without ticket, some might sell you ticket while most might just ask you to purchase ticket before boarding. If you're caught cheating, the price is hefty DKK700 fine. Oh...the ticket is universal for all public transports, one for all :)

Taxis are really expensive in Denmark so it might be worth while to wait a little longer for public transport. Another mode that can be consider, if you can ride, is to rent a city bike and it's FREE! City bikes are availble from special stands located round town. Slot in DKK20 coins and return it at your nearest stands (doesn't have to be where you rent it) and get back your DKK20. Do bear in mind you can only ride it in city centre. Tourist guide on Danish buses & trains can perhaps gives a better picture.

Food & Drink
Dining out in Copenhagen is expensive and if you can afford the high price, the city offers 13 Michelin starred restaurants that in total houses 14 stars with Noma having 2 stars for pure culinary experience. Noma serves a modern, reinvented form of Nordic cuisine (3 course for DKK795, without drinks); Italian food in Era Ora; exquisite French and Danish cuisine in the cellar of Kong Hans Kælder; The Paul, and a newcomer Herman in Tivoli offers starred gastronomy experience in the theme park; restaurant Ensemble not far from Kongens Nytorv and many more.

What if you don't want to spend a fortune on dining out? Honestly, that'd be almost impossible unless you don't dine at restaurant. Expect no less than DKK300 bill for 2 person (if you're really watching what you eat for dinner), lunch will usually be cheaper. Asian food is not exceptionally good in Copenhagen but some are better than others. One of my favourite includes the Korean BBQ restaurant - O mo nim. Tiny little restaurant but bulgogi is good, reservation recommended.

For other Asian restaurants, right behind central station, Magasasa offers cheap Szechuan food; Sakura 22 has one of the best sukiyaki I've tried. No visit to Copenhagen is complete without trying its Danish food. There are lots of places that offers traditional Danish food. For smørrebrod (Danish open sandwich on dark rye bread), try Aamann's wide selection or at one of the oldest Danish restaurant offerring smørrebrod - Café Sorgenfri. For Danish traditional hot food, try Frk. Barners Kælder (I have never tried it but it has pretty good reviews).

Oops, I've been writing too much, think I need an extension post for the rest. Just keep in mind that shops in Copenhagen closes at 5pm, normal grocery supermarkets close at 8pm on weekday. Saturday all shops close at 5pm (some at 4pm, smaller ones at 2pm) and Sunday is not open (except the first Sunday of the month). Restaurants typically operates until 10pm in city but further outskirt, they usually close earlier. I'll continue more next post.