And so our time in Copenhagen (and therefore also Denmark) draws to an end.
We made our way down to Nyhavn today for a canal boat tour, but were disappointed to discover that they are only operated at the weekend when out of season. That’s a pisser, because, if we had known that, we would have gone on one last Sunday. Oh well; something to do next time.
Instead, we walked down to the harbour to see the statue of The Little Mermaid, or _Den Lille Havfrue_, as she’s known here.
One international study rates Danes as the happiest people in the world. It’s not hard to see why, really. It really is a very civilised place, with the inevitably high cost of living that accompanies such civilisation. VAT runs at 25% here, for example.
On the face of it, the place isn’t that much different to The Netherlands, although we score a disappointing 15th in the world happiness stakes. Still, that’s ahead of Norway in 19th place, which also enjoys a very high standard of living. What’s the explanation?
I don’t know the answer and it’s impossible to find out after just five days in the capital. In fact, one of my gripes about visiting Copenhagen is that it’s a hard place to get the most out of when you don’t have Danish friends to show you around, point things out and enlighten you about Danish customs and values. Nevertheless, we’ve been here long enough to see the hygge that is so important to the Danes.
One thing I’ve noticed is that you don’t see many Bugaboo prams here. Almost everyone opts for the traditional, yet gigantic Swedish Emmaljunga prams, which we first saw en masse in Iceland.
And, as in Iceland, parents are wont to leave their babies outside the cafés and shops, safely tucked up in their sturdy Swedish prams, secure in the knowledge that none of the happy people of Denmark would dream of hurting or making off with someone else’s baby. One has to wonder how long it will be before freedom of movement within the EU results in some foreign-bred person of lesser happiness coming here and doing some Danish child a mischief. Let’s hope it never happens.
Anyway, I love these Emmaljunga prams and I want one. Sarah, ever the bucket of icy water to my boyish excitement, says, however, that they’re too bulky for the streets of Amsterdam and the tiny shops there. Well, I want one regardless, because I think they’re so cosy. Although there are no Dutch retailers of the brand, we could always order one on-line.
I’m dreaming, of course. There’s still plenty of life in our Bugaboo Cameleon.
We have bought a couple of nice items of baby clothing at Hugin & Mugin, though. We developed a soft spot for this Danish brand during a past trip to Iceland.
Tomorrow, we’re off across the very expensive Øresundsbron (Oresund Bridge) to Malmö and then up through southern Sweden on the long drive to the capital, Stockholm. This will be the first time any of us has been to Sweden, so we’re very excited.