On the Road: Riding Copenhagen's big yellow "Harbor Bus" ferry

Hello and welcome to the How to Live in Denmark podcast. I'm Kay Xander Mellish. Today on the podcast, we're going to take a trip. We're going to go on one of Denmark's cheapest and most colorful vacations: a few hours riding back and forth on Copenhagen's big yellow harbor bus, or havnebussen, a commuter ferry designed to transport ordinary citizens between downtown and the urban islands of Christianshavn The harbor bus can take you from tourist trap to high culture to party culture, from shabby little wood shacks to neighborhoods of chic glass apartment houses with their own private beach, all for as little as 14 crowns, or $2 or €2, if you pay with Denmark's popular Rejsekort, or nothing if you're a tourist with a Copenhagen Card. I'm going to the harbor. Beware, you cannot buy a ticket on board the harbor bus, although you can pay with the DOT Tickets app on your phone. If you like, you can take this podcast along with you and play it at each of the stops. You can start at any one of the currently operational seven Haunebussen stops, but today let's start at Neuhaun. In part because it's the easiest stop to find if you don't know Copenhagen well. Nyhavn is the long street of colorful old townhouses that's usually shown in the background when an inexperienced news correspondent is reporting from Copenhagen. It's one of the best-known views of the city. This was once a kind of dangerous area full of sailors, prostitutes, and thieves. But these days, the only thieves are the touristy restaurants here, when they get their hands on visitors' wallets. Today I saw one of them advertising the open-faced smørrebrød sandwiches for the low, low price of 95 crowns apiece. My neighborhood restaurant sells them for 12 crowns apiece. Anyway, to get to the harbor bus, walk straight past all the overpriced curried herring and fried eel and the many variations on Carlsberg beer, Walk right past them to the water, where you will see a circular pier. That's the harbor bus stop. One thing you should know about the harbor bus is that, unlike most Copenhagen mass transit, it isn't always especially timely. It comes when it feels like coming, and it doesn't feel like it until 10:30 AM or so on the weekends. The men running it— and I've only seen men— All seem to be about 60 years old. They're salty old sailors, and they're not in a hurry. And you should also not be in a hurry if you're going to enjoy your trip. So bring some water and spend your time waiting on the circular pier, looking out at the sparkling harbor. Depending on the day, you'll see swimmers, kayakers, rich kids waving from speedboats. And occasionally, the Queen of Denmark's yacht go by. Get on Harbour Bus Route 992 towards Ræfshaldøen, the one that starts with an R, and together we'll head for the next stop, Nordre Tolbøl. Now, on your way to the next stop on the Haunebussen, you will pass a harbour bus stop that is temporarily closed: Copenhagen's Opera House. Copenhagen is a beautiful city, but every pretty city has at least one ugly building, and in Copenhagen's case, it's the opera house. Even its own architect wrote a book about how much he hated it. The problem is that Denmark's richest man at the time it was built, Mærsk McKinney Møller, was paying for the building and insisted on getting involved in the design. For example, he visited opera houses all over Europe to test out the seats. So the seats in his opera house would be the most cushy and most comfortable possible. He also insisted on having metal bars across the glass facade, making the whole thing look like some kind of giant bread toaster. In fact, the locals call it the toaster because it looks like it has a piece of bread coming out the top. It's a mess, at least on the outside. The inside is nice, though. Anyway, today we will just cruise by. Next stop: Nordre Tolbøl. Nordre Tolbøl is an old customs area that is now a mix of great tourist stops and expensive partying opportunities. Don't worry, we'll have cheaper partying opportunities at the next stop. The tourist stuff includes the Little Mermaid statue. Which, as I've written about elsewhere, is very, very small. Plus the beautiful English church, the lovely Gefion Fountain, and the beautiful park surrounding the fort at Kastelet, which has a big windmill and a working outpost of the Danish army. You'll see men in uniform here. But for me, the most interesting thing to see at Nordre Tolbøl is the new Museum of Danish Resistance. That would be resistance to the Nazi occupation in World War II. The museum just opened last year— the old one burned down— and it is just the kind of museum I like. Small, so you can see it in an hour and then have cake in the café. It tells the story of the Danish experience during World War II. And using multimedia and moving images, it introduces you to different actual Danes and lets you follow their experiences as the Nazi occupation develops. For example, there's a young engineering student. You meet him at the beginning when the Nazis visit his school and they make him pretty angry. And then you meet him later when he joins the resistance. And then later when he becomes a saboteur, a Attacking Nazi installations. And then you see the actual shirt he was wearing when the Nazis shot him. There's a bullet hole at the back of the neck. One of the things I like best about this museum is that it doesn't hide the fact that at least 7,000 Danes not only sympathized with the Nazis but joined them. In fact, one of the real Danes you meet is a Nazi. He goes to fight with the Germans on the Eastern Front and then comes back to Copenhagen to become an assassin. So I can recommend this museum, which is entirely underground. Get it? It's about the Danish Underground and the museum is underground. And I love the pricing structure: 95 crowns for an adult, but only 85 crowns if the adult is accompanied by a child. There are several little cafés and restaurants around Nordre Tolbøl, but things tend to be expensive here because this is the headquarters of Maersk, Denmark's largest company, and everything is priced for their well-paid employees. If you don't mind spending money, the Tolbøl restaurant here has a great party scene right by the water. For a better selection of cheap but tasty food, let's get back on the havnebussen and proceed to the next stop. Reefshalön. When the harbour bus pulls up to Reefshalön, you might not be too impressed. This looks like a meadow, you may say, and you would be right. The bus stop is in an empty area of this former industrial district. But you should get off the boat anyway because there's a lot of fun stuff to do here. Back in the day, Refsøøen was a boatyard. For more than 100 years, ships and ship propellers and ship motors were built here by thousands of workers. The shipyard closed in the 1990s, and when I first moved to Copenhagen, I used to ride out here in the summer and look in all the broken windows of the abandoned buildings. It was very quiet, and the grass and the flowers grew wild. Then slowly, Rijksaal Oen started to become a recreational area with indoor golf, climbing walls, an art museum, and fancy restaurants like Noma, once ranked as the world's best restaurant. Rijksaal Oen still has a really fun, funky, post-industrial vibe. My favorite part of Rijksaal Oen is Reifen, the street food market. With dozens of booths with food from all over the world. Indian food, African food, hamburgers and hot dogs, Belgian food, ice cream, pizza, Moroccan food— whatever you want. Plus alcohol: beer, wine, sangria. You can get whatever you like and relax on the sand listening to the DJ, or sit on beach chairs or at picnic tables overlooking the water. This is a fabulous summer experience, and it's suitable for everyone. Officially, it opens at noon, but I find a lot of the booths aren't entirely open before one or two. During the day, you'll see a lot of families and older tourists. Later, it becomes more of a party spot for young adults. Anyway, to find the fun part of Reifshallöwen, just follow the crowds and the music when you get off the Haunebussen. Or if there are no crowds, just go along the water. You'll cross a canal on a specially made iron bridge, and all the good stuff is right on the other side. Back on the boat, the next stop is Knippelsbro, or Knippels Bridge, named after Mr. Knipp, who once sat in the control tower that opens and closes the bridge. The current control towers. Green copper towers in a cool Art Deco style were built on Refshavn, the last stop, back in its industrial heyday. Knibblesbro is the place you can get off the harbor bus and explore Christianshavn. Christianshavn is one of the loveliest parts of Copenhagen, with lots of 17th-century houses and pretty canals. If you can't fill up your Instagram here, you can't fill it anywhere. Alternatively, you can go for a more authentic local approach and visit the Eiffel Bar, one of Denmark's working-class brown bars. The Eiffel has been serving drinks since 1736, and I don't think they've updated their decor the whole time. Very authentic. Another good thing to visit on Christianshavn is the original home of Laukehuset. the most popular bakery chain in Denmark, which has now expanded to London and New York City under the name Ole Stine. Back in the day, when I lived on Christianshavn, there was only this one original Laukehuset. It was packed every day and beyond packed on weekends. People would come from all around to get their bread there, and you'd sometimes wait an hour or so holding a little paper number in your hand. It's interesting to note the word Laugkehuset translates to layer cake house, which you would assume refers to the bakery's product— some, some cakes, right? But it doesn't. It refers to the building in which the first bakery is located, which supposedly looks like a layer cake. Personally, I don't see it, but whatever. The building is the layer cake house, not the bakery. A personal note: Knipplesborough was one of my favorite stops when I was doing the harbor boat trip because we met a bride and groom celebrating their wedding on the harbor bus. Now that's a way to save money for the honeymoon. The next stop is the Royal Library, or the Black Diamond, one of the city's least friendly buildings. Not just because it has a dark glass facade that reminds me of Darth Vader's helmet, but because children are not permitted in the library. Now, I do understand the logic— this is a research library with unique and irreplaceable materials— but it does make it less friendly. That said, if you're doing the full Harbour Bus tour and need to stop and use a bathroom, the Royal Library has an extensive ground-floor toilet option. 10 toilets times 2. And these are open to all. This Royal Library was inaugurated in 1999, but the previous red-brick Royal Library still exists right across the street. I recommend that you go there and enjoy the old Royal Library Garden, which is one of the prettiest enclosed gardens in Denmark. It's carefully tended, with old trees, bubbling fountains, and huge banks of flowers. It's very quiet and a very nice place to eat your lunch. On the other side of the garden is Christiansborg, where the Danish Parliament is located. Christiansborg is a whole day tour in itself, but if you have limited time, I recommend checking out the Royal Stables. This is where the Queen of Denmark keeps her horses. And they are very beautiful horses— strong and healthy and well-maintained. Entrance to the stables is 60 crowns, but check in advance to make sure the horses are there. During the summer, the horses go on a long vacation, just like all Danes. Sometimes you can see the horses for free outside getting some exercise or being harnessed to one of the queen's carriages for a trip around town. Back to the Royal Library harbor bus stop. In the summer, you can see a lot of Danes sunbathing half-dressed by the water outside the Royal Library. Very interesting contrast between the life of the mind versus the life of the body. And a little bit further south across the water, you'll see the official swimming area at Islandsbrugge. It's one of Copenhagen's great prides that this urban harbor is clean enough to swim in. Okay, time for the last 2 stops on our harbor boat trip: Bryggebroen and Tejlholmen. These 2 stops are studies in modern architecture. Here, thousands of people live in neighborhoods that simply didn't exist a decade ago. The buildings look a bit like architectural drawings, with little model figures posed around to make the place look lively. For people who live in the established Copenhagen neighborhoods, coming to this area can be shocking. It's like visiting an entirely unknown city. Sluseholmen is the older of these neighborhoods. The idea was to make an updated version of Venice, with canals instead of streets. Apartment owners who live here have, have the option of docking their boat outside their living room. It's a pretty neighborhood, although probably very chilly in the winter. The real Venice is more than 1,000 kilometers to the south. Nearby is Tejlholmen, which is a newer neighborhood and rather upmarket. The ground floors of the buildings here are occupied by wine bars, balloon shops, and fancy flower vendors. Nothing so boring as a dry cleaner or hardware store. Tejlholmen will also be getting a new church, the first new church built in Copenhagen in 30 years. Danes are a lot less religious than they used to be, but confirmations and weddings are still big business. These are not the most interesting stops for urban explorers, but they are useful harbor bus stops because the bus's purpose is largely to bring people from residential areas like this one to other parts of the city where they can shop or go to work. So we're done with the trip. Where should we go next? To the south of Bruggebroen, and across the water from Tejlholmen, is Ammer Meadow. This is 23 hectares, about 300 football pitches, of mostly unspoiled marshland within Copenhagen city limits. It's not a park, although there are plenty of walking trails. As we say goodbye to the harbor bus, may I suggest that you walk across the pedestrian bridge at Tejlholmen to the old Customs House. There's sometimes a, a little coffee vendor open here. And beyond there to the many wonders of Amager Meadow. Thanks for traveling with me. And that's the How to Live in Denmark podcast for this week. Remember, you can see all our books at books.howtoliveindenmark.com, or you can book Kay Xander Mellish— that's me— for a live or virtual event at events.howtoliveindenmark.com. Bye. See you next time.