Copenhagen on Water
By Terje Raa
 Climatic changes apparently cause the Danish weather to fluctuate from one
extreme to the other. At this point, a very early summer has stabilized itself,
creating ideal conditions for an ongoing renaissance of Copenhagen's old harbor
and canals.
After years of decline, the harbor area had its functions redefined - now
aiming at homes, leisure activities, cafe and restaurant scene, hotels and
education, often in renovated warehouses. The wet element is no hindrance,
because a waterborne Harbor Bus, the yellow and dark blue 901 or 902, takes you
easily to six stops distributed on both sides of the inner harbor, identical to
the strait between Zealand and Amager. Departure both ways every 20 minutes, the
trip itself takes 17 minutes. It's a new way of exploring Copenhagen; close to
walking on water.
 The Harbor Bus is part of the local public transport. Tickets, available at
ticket offices or on board the Harbor Bus, are also valid in busses, S-trains
and Metro. One hour's travel costs 19 Kroner plus 19 for a bike, even a free
City Bike. A better investment is a 10-clip card for 120 Kroner; that's 10 hours
travel, 5 if you bring a bicycle. With such prices, you need not plan your
visits ashore to the minute, only have in mind that time is money. Just scouting
the surroundings is a good start, picking things for tomorrow's must-see list.
Blessed Bike
 The Royal Library, in 1999 pretentiously launched as the Black Diamond, is a
practical place to start, near to everything, for example the vital Langebro,
Long Bridge. You have already located the terminal with its modest yellow sign.
Too bad - today's first Harbor Bus fails to come! Sporting a bike is suddenly
crucial. You head toward Long Bridge to enjoy an overall view. The adjacent
island, Amager, must wait although important as the home of Kastrup Airport,
Orestad City, the Oresund Bridge and extensive green areas, suggesting why
Amager is advancing from low status to modern living.
 Two different approaches to waterfront planning appear. The Amager shore, here
called Islands Brygge, is one long temptation comprising old well-kept
buildings, promenades, stretches of green, a harbor pool, cafes and bars slowly
opening for the day. Behind it all, former factories give way to spectacular
architecture. The opposite side is deserted in comparison, due to international
hotels and office buildings threatening to push the promenade into the water;
explaining why the Harbor Bus, actually on its way at last, skipped this
location.
On a tiny quarterdeck, in noise and fumes of diesel, you wave goodbye to Long
Bridge and the Brewhouse of Christian IV, whose prestigious buildings from the
1600s still characterize the capital of Denmark. He combined vision and
enterprise, further proof of which are the Round Tower and Rosenborg Castle.
With its reflection dancing on the Black Diamond's facade, the Harbor Bus
crosses diagonally toward the bridge called Knippelsbro. Black buildings,
imitating warehouse style, accentuate the restored tower of Our Saviour's
Church, its winding banisters momentarily mistaken for a garland of gold, a
suitable landmark during your next bike excursion.
Amsterdam may come to your mind when you see the lazy canal touching
Christianshavn Square, lined by small boats, houseboats and worn-out specimens
turned into cafes. It's like a different town, plain and well-preserved,
tailored for the working class by Christian IV. Never did he imagine that the
compact Christianshavn should become trendy, a haunt for creative and artistic
characters. Nor that an oasis of alternative living should be named after him:
the Freetown Christiania. However, the King's 24 children, half of them
illegitimate, do indicate a lifestyle out of the ordinary. The street of
Prinsessegade, right after the square, will take you to Christiania, but mind
you, "You are now leaving the EU!"
 The atmospheric Nyhavn harbor acts on warm days as a tourist trap. You decide to
pass it. And the best is yet to come, at least if you like to set foot on
previously forbidden land: Holmen opposite, a mix of islands and canals once
totally reserved for the Royal Danish Navy. Approaching the new Opera, you may
wonder how such mediocre architecture landed on Holmen's best location. The
protruding roof is a hit, though, creating ample shade without spoiling the
view. Looking back at Skuespilhuset, a new theater at Nyhavn, is not amusing
either, although it balances in the water on crooked legs.
Close to Royal
 The Opera is situated at the end of a royal axis, with the domed Marble Church
at the other end. The straight line proceeds between the palaces of Amalienborg,
through a garden of fountains, planted there by the same man who paid and
planted the Opera. His headquarters, nearly touching the royal axis, resemble a
block of ice with spectacular windows, blue as the eyes of their owner: the
94-year old shipping magnate Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller, who is also busy hauling
oil out of the North Sea. His discreet influence seems to overrule Denmark's
parliamentary system at times.
Canal tour boats, broad and flat, glide past like colorful carpets, their
guides boasting the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group's contribution to the Danish GNP
and the cost of the Opera, before rejoicing at the Little Mermaid and the
palatial cruise ships at Langelinie, backed by the North Harbor. A new Harbor
Bus, 903, keeps shuttling between Nyhavn and the Opera, today staging a midday
version of the Fledermaus by Johann Strauss. The 903 was on the local political
agenda until an impatient Mr. Moller intervened with a gift. Two paddling young
ladies would rather have been without it.
 Holmen North is the next stop. For centuries a separate town, skilfully ruled by
the Navy, Holmen is these days synonymous with expensive houses, both restored
and new, and military buildings transformed to academies of architecture, music,
film, theater and dance. Abundant greenery and water alternate most pleasantly,
making it possible for an old sailing ship to be towed into a canal to stage a
birthday reception. Christiania seems light years away, but is in fact nearby...
So are two royal pavilions, marking the last stop at Nordre Toldbod on the
Zealand side, exactly where Queen Margrethe started her summer cruise on the
royal yacht Dannebrog a few days ago.
 The harbor of Copenhagen really deserves a high-rise landmark, an architectural
masterpiece - hardly practicable under a City Council dominated by infighting.
The Chief Mayor, Ritt Bjerregaard, Social Democrat and former EU Commissioner,
makes decisions hard-handedly. She surely waits for Mr. Moller to lose his
patience and again demonstrate his generosity. Thus operates an ice queen.
Sharing the same frosty aura, the two of them might agree on some colossal
structure the shape of an iceberg - no doubt a refreshing element in an age of
rising temperatures.
Drawings by Lene Folkenberg
Photos by Terje Raa |
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