It’s 21 months since the last time I was in Copenhagen, or even in Denmark at all. There’s a very obvious reason for that long delay, a reason that the whole world has had to deal with in some shape or form, for longer than any of us thought we’d have to. However, after getting the two shots and waiting the two weeks for them to take full effect I figured it was pretty safe for me to use one of my vacation days to experience the Danish capital again. World Pride 2021, however small it could be right now due to the pandemic, was going on in Copenhagen, so I figured I’d get a look at that and hopefully get some interesting pictures.
With my vaccination verification papers in my shoulder bag and camera at the ready I took the train across the Bridge. As a courtesy to my fellow passengers I figured I’d wear a face mask when inside the train, but it turned out I was more or less the only one…until we reached Copenhagen airport and a few more masked passengers stepped on (they’d probably not taken off their masks after their flights).
Once in Copenhagen Grand Central it seemed like people weren’t too aware that a good distance between each other is still a good idea, because everyone seemed to want to squeeze in together on the escalators up to the main hall. Kind of stupid if you ask me, but I guess the culture is different on that in Denmark.Anywho…once I was up to ground level and out of the doors I too could get my first dose of (polluted) Copenhagen air without my mask on. Felt pretty nice I must say!
Not bad to get a good leg stretch done while you wait for green light!
Pretty laidback eating area…and not too crowded, which is a good thing!
The Pride area at the Main Square in the city was pretty nice and not too crowded (a good thing) with lots of food stalls and places to hang out with a loved one, friends or just by yourself, enjoying the late summer warmth. There was a stage set up for speeches and performances but when I was there the stage was still empty so I can’t say anything about the entertainment.
Bikes of all kinds are everywhere! In Copenhagen they definitely have the right of way!
One of the best parts of Copenhagen is the fact that so much of downtown is accessible on foot, with limited access for cars to drive around. That makes it so enjoyable for a street photographer, because there’s bound to be other people around that either look interesting or do interesting things, or both! Not to mention you don’t risk getting run over by a car…unless it is an utterly silent Tesla car passing within inches of you, spooking the heck out of you! I guess the driver had forgotten where the button for the horn was…or counted on me not stumbling or taking a sudden step to the left….
Not a bad idea to wait until a green light here….
All in all I had a great time being back in Copenhagen…it’s so nice to be allowed to go there again! I am not sure I’ll be doing it “just because” that many times until the pandemic is over, but now that the immediate urge is satisfied I am happy. What did surprise me though was how few exposures I came home with; usually when I am out doing street photography I shoot A LOT and delete in Lightroom afterward. It’s not out of the ordinary to come home with well over 200 exposures for a few hours of walking. This time I only had 82 in total, that I could later cull down to an even smaller number. No harm done…I was just glad to be there for a while…and it gave me less work in post-production too, so it was a win-win-win in the end!
The nourishments were delicious and the beer was cold and refreshing!