Wednesday, 15.01, Copenhagen – Malmö – Gothenburg

The next morning, I went on a discovery tour of Copenhagen with my new acquaintance Hugo. Following the logical formula [speed * coolness = maximum discovery], we grabbed rental bikes and headed to Christiania, Copenhagen's hip, autonomous artists' quarter (whose history is highly interesting. For those interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freetown_Christiania).

The large bodies of water with generous, modern architecture on the opposite shore were a very pleasant change from Freiburg (and to a lesser extent Berlin) and give the city room to breathe and to have an effect. The canals, which run through the city from there, are strongly reminiscent of Amsterdam with a Nordic touch. Experiencing the city again in the summer with more life and greenery would certainly be worthwhile (although this can be said about pretty much every stage).

Christiana itself has existed since 1971, so the "secret tip" has probably already been included in the last travel guide. Nevertheless, it has retained a certain charm, with many stalls that still appear very non-commercial and offer beautiful things from food to handmade items, as well as unconventional art everywhere. The assortment of many mini-stands also included grass and hashish, which are openly and officially tolerated there. It's also a concept.

After a hip, very good meal there and a beer in Nyhavn (Hugo suddenly wanted to hop into a pub, I don't know what's wrong with Australians), we were somewhat underwhelmed by the Royal Palace, but the old town is all the more beautiful. Hugo and I ended our time together with a panoramic view of the city from the - who would have guessed it? - Round Tower.

I, being the busy businessman that I am, immediately got into my steam-powered transportation machine, which spit me out in Malmö a short time later. Standing out there are the Turning Torso (Scandinavia's tallest skyscraper) and a pretty old town with architecturally sophisticated modern buildings around it. Slowly but surely, I'm getting the feeling that this is the basic recipe for Scandinavian cities... For those interested, here's a little excursion into the historical background of the white bus placed in front of the fort: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Buses

On the same evening, I continued to Gothenburg, where I didn't arrive until around 12:30 am. This made finding accommodation considerably more difficult, as I just desperately wanted a bed. In addition, the prices were outrageous: one of the cheapest accommodations turned out to be a hotel room, for which the receptionist kindly came a long way in terms of price. At least I had my own little refuge for one night, without disturbing other roommates (or, above all, being disturbed...).

In general, a rant paragraph about the prices in Scandinavia: they really hit hard. You may have heard before that everything here is so expensive. But when you actually have to pay for everything yourself, you really become aware of what that means. A cable car ride? €25. Pizza? €18. Kebab roll? €13. Beer? €7. Packaged sandwich? €6. And I'm not living the life of a Croesus here. Well, I don't want to pity myself, just as a warning for future Scandinavia travelers among you. And through the Interrail ticket, I have already saved several hundred euros. But the trip is still not exactly cheap.