My wife and I visited Denmark in September 2019. I was headed to an OSIsoft PI conference in Gothenburg (Göteborg) Sweden and we decided to wrap visits to Denmark and Norway around the conference.
Arrival
We landed in Copenhagen (CPH), and after collecting our baggage, we took the people mover to collect our baggage, then headed to the metro. I started railfanning before we even left the airport area!
We took the M2 metro line from the airport to downtown. Copenhagen has 4 metro lines:
- The M1 north from Vestamager into the city, then west to Vanløse
- The M2 from the airport northwest into the city then west to Vanløse
- The M3 “Circle Line” which encircles the old town, and
- The M4 from Kobenhaven H (the central train station) around part of the city then northeast to Orientkaj. This is being extended to Sydhavn.
Copenhagen’s metro is fully automated and runs 24 hours per day. It is designed to operate with variable headways (time between trains) at different times of the day, from 2 minutes during rush hour to 20 minutes in the wee hours of the morning. I wish more transit operations operated like this. No need to consult a timetable – just wait a few minutes and another train or bus will be along.
The Central Station
Copenhagen’s main station (Københavns Hovedbanegård, aka Hovedbanen) is located on the southeast edge of the old town, near the Tivoli Gardens. This station opened in 1911, designed by Heinrich Wenck, who was very prolific as chief architect for the Danish Railways for more than 25 years.
Over the next few days, I made a nuisance of myself photographing trains arriving and departing from the central station. I found it difficult to get an angle that included both the station and some trains.
Wenck designed all of the details of the station, right down to the chandeliers and door handles. I should have spent more time documenting those details. The ceiling in the hall below is supported by arched wooden beams.
Day Tripping
We took a day trip to Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød, then to Helsingør /Elsinore to see Kronborg aka “Hamlet’s Castle”. Naturally, we took trains.
We departed from the central Copenhagen station on one of these short regional trains. They are clean and smooth but don’t offer much in the way of amenities.
We took a train from Copenhagen to Hillerød’s relatively modest station.
We took a bus from the station to just outside the castle and had a great visit. The grounds are also impressive, featuring a large garden and a moat / pond around the castle. You can read all about the castle here.
Here’s our bus to take us back to the station!
We waited at the Hillerød station for the next train to Helsingør.
It was a relatively short trip – no more than an hour – and on the way we passed the charming station at Kvistgård.
I was impressed by Helsingør’s station.
Kronborg castle was very interesting, but Helsingør itself is a very charming city and well worth a visit. We thoroughly enjoyed our few hours there.
On our way back to the train station, I photographed a train, #940R, which runs a little over 20km along the coast to Gilleleje.
While I was in one of the towers in the castle, I spotted one of the ForSea electric ferries arriving in Helsingør from Helsingborg, Sweden. The strait between Denmark and Sweden, the Øresund, is only about 4 km wide here.
I would love to get back to Denmark – heck, anywhere in Scandinavia again.
We really enjoyed Norway, too. Another post!
