Xmas lights
»I may be old-fashioned but I love Kgs. Nytorv. It really actually depends on when you are in Copenhagen – because it’s not particularly cosy in the summer with all the people and tourists from Nyhavn. But in the winter they decorate it up to Christmas. So with the Royal Theatre, Hotel D’Angleterre and Magasin with Christmas lighting it looks good. I’m a Santa Claus by nature and the Christmas atmosphere at Kgs. Nytorv is just fantastic. When they can afford to decorate it, that is. Last year it wasn’t all that good there, but normally it’s really pretty. And you can go into Hviids Vinstue, which has some of Denmark’s best mulled Christmas wine, and have a chat with the Danish boxing legend Tom Bogs who is barman there«.
Kongens Nytorv, København K. Hviids Vinstue, Kongens Nytorv 19, kld., Kbh. K. Open: Mon-Sun 10-01.
Watch and Learn
»People should go to Christiania and see what trouble the state can cause when it interferes in something that already works. It all feels very different than when I lived nearby at the end of the 90s. I used to go there every day to eat open sandwiches and go for a walk, but I don’t feel like going there anymore. Now there’s police all over the place and that creates an unpleasant, intense atmosphere. It’s a wretched situation and probably the worst thing that has happened in Danish history for many years. And it may be a lesson to others: Why go in and wreck something that functions well, just because you want to make money off it? A good example of what not to do in other countries«.
Christiania(eksternal link), Bådsmandsstræde 43, København K.
Classic Danish inn for smokers
»Bo-Bi Bar is probably one of the coolest bars in the world. It has kept something that is just core Danish. A typical pub/inn where things have been kept as they are and the loo isn’t quite up to date. You feel the presence of history when you go in. And I just love the red carpet. It’s a fascinating place to be in because there are so many different people and probably the closest you get to an English pub, where businessmen sit there reading the financial pages and there’s a punk next to an intellectual and an alcoholic. It’s a good melting pot of just about everything and good for Denmark because that’s something we don’t have that often. And then there’s the fact that as a social smoker Bo-Bi Bar is a great place as you can smoke there – one of the few places in Copenhagen where that’s possible«.
Bo-Bi Bar, Klareboderne 14, København K. Open: Mon-Sun 10-02.
Swimming and barby in the centre
»And it’s great that there’s finally a good environment around Islands Brygge. For years, no-one could be bothered to go there. In Psyched Up Janis (Sune Wagners first band) we used to have practice rooms in Sturlasgade and I’ve also been to the entertainer school at Kigkurren – but it really wasn’t a place one wanted to be. Then they threw some money at it and things began to happen. It’s really cool for Copenhagen to have got itself a place like this – not least because you’re still in the centre of town. In summertime it’s just a quick pop over the bridge to swim in the harbour pool, eat barbecued food, listen to outdoor live music and hang out with people along the quayside. In wintertime it’s a nice place to stroll«.
Islands Brygge, København S.
Read more about the COP-15 climate summit in Copenhagen
