PHOTO CREDIT (ABOVE): Plamena Apostolova)
BBB (Bilingual Backpack Baby) experienced her own alternative event last week. A haircut. It took her 19 months to get there but finally she nailed it. Both the hair growing and the sitting still while having it cut.
If it's been a while since your last haircut then feel free to add that to your own list of alternative events. For everyone else here's our list of 5 alternative events in Copenhagen. We highly recommend you hunt them out.
If you have additional suggestions of alternative or interesting events in Copenhagen then please share below.
In the meantime here are our top 5 suggestions of events that are just a little bit different. Enjoy.
1. A 20km ‘roller coaster ride’ through Copenhagen
In the organisers own words, this is a 20km ‘roller coaster ride’ through the streets of Copenhagen. It attracts between 500-1500 skaters who roll through the streets with music, lights and smiles. It’s free. It’s noisy and it’s fun.
Traffic is stopped on a rolling basis as you move through the city enabling everyone to skate safely on the roads. ‘Flying Nurses’ (First Aid staff on skates) and a police car escort also follow the 'roller coaster' through the city.
So do whatever you need to do and find yourself some skates. Beg, borrow or hire.
What: Friday Night Skate Copenhagen
Where: Meet Solbjerg Plads, Frederiksberg
When: Every 2nd Friday from April to October
www.fns-cph.dk
2. Eating with strangers
When you find a latte for only 25kr in Copenhagen you know you’re on to a good thing. At the brilliantly unique venue, Absalon on Sønder Boulevard, the well priced coffee is just one of many great things. Here you’ll also find ‘Fællesspisning’ which roughly translates to eating shared food. It is your opportunity to eat with strangers. For 50kr you’ll be served a beautiful meal on shared plates to enjoy at long communal tables. It is a hugely successful event which sometimes ‘sells’ out. So to make sure you get a seat, don't be late.
What: Fællesspisning
Where: Absalon,
When: Sønder Blvd. 73, 1720, Copenhagen V
www.absaloncph.dk
3. Post a Letter Copenhagen
Did you ever have a penpal? Do you remember how exciting it was to eagerly await the next letter from them? Well here's an event you'll be able to recreate a little of that magic.
Post A Letter Copenhagen has been happening once a month for over five years. Supported by the national postal service, PostNord, it encourages the almost forgotten art (and thrill) of writing and receiving good old fashioned letters. Simply turn up and you’ll be provided with pens, paper and stamps (to anywhere in the world). All you need to do is write. Ink genuis.
What: Post-A-Letter Copenhagen
Where: Various
When: Once a month (and normally in the first week of the month). Check their Facebook page for upcoming dates.
www.facebook.com/postaletterDK
4. Dancing Cows
Unfortunately, this brilliant event only happens once a year. It's the day when the organic cows of Denmark are released out into the open air after spending a long winter indoors. The excitement of which makes them ‘dance’, skip and frolic. Much to the amusement of old and young alike.
It’s a big day. Paddocks turn into sprawling yet very orderly (it is Denmark after all) carparks with 250,000 Danes visiting one of the many designated farms throughout the country who open their gates to the public.
There are also many fun activities for the kids including a lot of free stuff. Really good free stuff. Icecream, cheese, yoghurt and my personal favourite novelty milk cups.
Animals will also be on display for the littlies (& biggies) to view. Think of it as a Moo-fest. A mass of people running amuk over a working farm who then hustle around the barn as the clock strikes noon to watch the cows run, skip and jump outside. It’s a superbly danish alternative event we highly recommend attending if you’re in Denmark in April.
What: Dancing Cow Day (or in Danish, økodag)
Where: Various (see website below)
When: April
https://økodag.dk/
5. Swim around Parliament
Photo Credit: Plamena Apostolova
Copenhagen is the only city in the world where you can swim around Parliament and for the past 10 years the city has played host to the world’s most hyggeligste swim - Copenhagen Swim. Or as it is known in Danish, 'Christiansborg Rundt'.
It is a 2km swim through the canals of Copenhagen weaving through the city and around the Danish Parliament (Christianborg). It attracts nearly 4000 swimmers every year and was started as a result of a project by the Copenhagen Municipality to clean up their harbour water. The results were dramatic with the harbour now being one of the cleanest in the world and is why the Danish Swimming Federation created this event.
What: Christiansborg Rundt (also known as 'Copenhagen Swim')
Where: Søren Kierkegaards Plads, Copenhagen
When: 26 August 2017
www.copenhagenswim.com
If you haven’t booked your trip to Copenhagen yet then grab your diary now and plan accordingly.
And let us also know what your alternative event suggestions are in Copenhagen and Denmark.
p.s if you missed it last month, make sure you also check out the '5 Alternative sights of Copenhagen' I shared a few weeks ago on The Doubtful Traveller.