29 May 2018, Tuesday

I got tired from all the walking yesterday so today I decided to do what the Danes do – cycle! Luckily for me, Danhostel rents out bicycles at 120 Kr (S$26.40) for a day so it was really convenient as I could pick up the bicycle right at my doorstep. Note that you’ll need to place a refundable deposit of 500 Kr (S$110) on your credit card, and the bicycle has to be returned by 10am the following day. That is to say, if you start renting it from 6pm today, you’ll still need to return it by 10am tomorrow. Therefore, the best is to rent it early in the morning (you can actually start your rental before 10am) in order to maximise the rental duration.

Before we go any further, it is useful to know some basic etiquettes while cycling in Copenhagen. This picture I got from a brochure sums it up:

The bicycle was a simple one with only three gears, but Copenhagen is almost completely flat so it wasn’t an issue. I was surprised to find that the bicycle only had one brake lever on the left, and it didn’t seem to work very well. I later realised that in order to brake, I should stop pedalling forward, but apply pressure to pedal backwards instead. Once I got that sorted out, it was a smooth ride all the way.

Cycling in Copenhagen is very safe as most of the roads have a dedicated cycling lane that is elevated from the vehicular road and separated from the pedestrian walkway. Road markings are very clear and there are dedicated bicycle traffic lights too. Most of all, the cycling culture is strong so drivers and cyclists know their roles well.

I decided to ride up north towards a beach at Klampenborg called Bellevue Beach. Along the way, I passed by Nyhavn and the Little Mermaid statue again. When I was there at about 10:30am, the Mermaid was surrounded by much more tourists compared to yesterday evening when I visited. Most of them were from tour groups.

The ride to Bellevue Beach took around 1 hour and 15 minutes. It was longer than expected because the bicycle wasn’t good enough for me to go faster. Along the way, I passed by huge cruise ships that had just docked and were about to discharge even more tourists.

Bellevue Beach was a hive of activity and there were numerous people sunbathing, swimming and playing beach volleyball. I was the only Asian person there and it felt nice to be surrounded by locals and to see them in their natural environment. I found a nice spot to settle down and work on my tan. After a while, I took a dip in the sea. Despite the hot weather (it was about 25 degrees Celsius), the water was still very cold so I didn’t stay in the water for long.

Like everything else in Copenhagen, food is expensive so I went to the nearby Circle K petrol station to buy some snacks from the store. My lunch consisted of four sausage pastries and a small can of Coke and it cost me 36 Kr (S$7.92).

After refuelling, I went to Bakken amusement park (click here), located just around the corner from Bellevue Beach. I wanted to check it out because unlike Tivoli, admission to Bakken is free. It’s an old-school amusement park with 32 rides and many more arcade games. Bakken opened in 1583 and it is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s oldest operating amusement park. I couldn’t help but compare Bakken to the Prater amusement park in Vienna because it exuded the same old-school vibes, but Bakken is much smaller. I was tempted to try out the Rutschebanen, a wooden rollercoaster that opened in 1932, but it cost 50 Kr (S$11) so I decided to skip it.

After the short visit to Bakken, I cycled back towards the city centre. However, it was a very warm day and I thought that a swim would be perfect to cool me down, so I headed over to the Bellahøj neighbourhood to use the swimming pool there. Another reason why I chose the Bellahøj Svømmestadion (swimming stadium) is because it offers saunagus. After experiencing saunagus for the first time in Dresden a few days ago, I was keen to try it again.

Before reaching Bellahøj Svømmestadion, I came across a Frisør (aka hairdresser) and I decided to pop in to have a haircut. It had been about a month since my last one and my hair was getting unruly. The lady who cut my hair was an Iranian and she was very friendly. When I told her that I wanted a short haircut, she said, “Ahh, summer hair”. It was my first time hearing such a term and I found it quite amusing. I guess for the Danes, it is normal to have a short haircut during summer because the weather is so warm.

The haircut cost me 110 Kr (S$24.20), which I felt was quite reasonable for Scandinavia, even though it was twice of what it cost back in Singapore. I later saw a few other hairdressers and they charged only 100 Kr (S$22). Nevertheless, I was happy with my “summer hair” cut and I felt much lighter and comfortable after that.

Bellahøj Svømmestadion is a huge and modern indoor swimming complex. I paid 40 Kr (S$8.80) for admission to the pool and another 40 Kr for the saunagus session. (Please note that at the time of writing this blog post on 10 January 2020, Bellahøj Svømmestadion is closed for renovations until September 2020.)

During my visit, there were a lot of pro swimmers training in the 50m pool so I swam in the 25m pool instead, which was filled with recreational swimmers. The water was cold and it tasted different, like spring water. I think it’s because they don’t add as much chlorine here compared to our Singapore pools. That’s why it’s very important to shower thoroughly (without swimwear) before entering the pool so as not to affect the quality of the water.

The saunagus session took place in a standalone cabin outside the pool building. If you’re still wondering what saunagus is all about, you can read about my first experience in Dresden by clicking here. Anyway, saunagus is basically aromatherapy in the sauna. A gus master will add water infused with essential oils onto the hot sauna oven, and then use a towel to swing and circulate the hot air around the sauna. You can read more about saunagus here.

The saunagus here differed from the one in Dresden in that participants had to be clothed in swimwear instead of being au naturel. You should also bring along a towel and a bottle of water to keep yourself hydrated. The whole saunagus experience took about an hour, with three sessions of increasing intensity lasting about 15 minutes each, and a 5-minute break in between.

The gus master who conducted our session was a very tall man and he seemed too tall for the cabin. He had to stoop down so that his head would not hit the ceiling. He used different essential oils for each session so the aroma was different every time. I asked him what oils he used and he said tea tree oil, rose, citrus and begonia.

During each session, I really sweated bucketloads but it was very soothing and relaxing. I realised that sitting on the lower level was not as hot because hot air rises, so I switched to the lower bench for the second and third sessions. During the breaks, it was so shiok to rinse off the sweat under the cold running water. Someone even brought grapes to share around and we munched on them between sessions. It was a very friendly atmosphere and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

After the rejuvenating swim and saunagus session, I cycled back towards the city centre. I was quite hungry but I didn’t want to splurge on an expensive dinner so I headed to a Føtex supermarket to buy some bread, peanut butter, milk and grapes for 58.50 Kr (S$12.87). This would be my dinner and breakfast for the next two days.

I arrived back at my hostel at about 9pm, had dinner and did some laundry. I paid 20 Kr (S$4.40) to use the washing machine and another 10 Kr (S$2.20) for the dryer, but the dryer was not working. I also met my new bunkmates – Aziz, an Italian guy who lives in Norway, and another two Spanish girls.

Today, I totally felt like a local and not a tourist. I explored the outskirts of the city on a bicycle, went for a swim at the beach and local pool, took part in a saunagus session with the locals and had a haircut at a neighbourhood hairdresser. So much fun!