For one night in October, more than 250 locations across the city open for Copenhagen’s biggest annual one-day event, Kulturnatten. The whole city comes to show off its many sides of cultural life.
The first Kulturnatten was in 1993 and this was our second (you can read about last year here). This year you could either buy the ‘physical’ Kulturpas which is a badge that you wear to show you’ve got a ticket or you could get a digital ticket to be shown on your smart phone.
Cisternerne (The Cisterns in South Field /Cisternerne i Søndermarken)
This year we headed to Frederiksberg to start at the Cisternerne (The Cisterns – You can read more here). However when we got there the queue was already getting very long (maybe next time C needs to join the queue on his way home from work and then we join the queue once I have the boys from school or something like that!). The exhibition here was by the artist Chiharu Shiota. She’s created “cobweb-like yarn structures” within the Cisternerne. The activity available this evening was to create a giant yarn installation using Shiota’s techniques while a DJ plays music in the background. (More info here)
It definitely sounds like it would have been right up my street but it wouldn’t have been fun for the boys to stand it the queue so we decided to head across the road to our next stop.
Frederiksberg Slot (Folkekirken på Frederiksberg og Hærens Officersskole)
So across the road from Cisternerne is Frederiksberg Slot (Frederiksberg Palace) and Hærebs Officersskole (Royal Danish Military Academy). With it being part of an active military base, normally this is closed off to members of the public but tonight it was open. Through the evening there was the military brass band playing and there were demonstrations of sword finding and role playing, these were all in the courtyard outside. Then inside you could take a look around the rooms of the palace.
There were other things including a performance/film called Tolkien’s Ring – this was another one that sounded really interesting but really wouldn’t have been something for the boys (having looked at further information it’s an hour long and aimed at adults).
So after taking a look at the Palace and a few of the rooms we moved on again.
(Quick side note – there are lots of things to see at Kulturnatten so although it was disappointing these things weren’t what we thought or weren’t ‘accessible’ for us all it was still fun to see things that would normally be closed to the public or we wouldn’t normally go to do)
Copenhagen Zoo
J is desperate to go for a proper trip to the zoo – he’s been a couple of times with school but of course wants to go with us. With the Zoo being open (and it being right next door!) we had to stop by). On our arrival in the park we were given a peg and a paper bag with a battery operated candle in it. The idea was that as you went around the Zoo, you attached your bag onto a tree or something like that as decoration. It’s possible there were “animal care” choices made about the lighting (which is fine, I totally get why it might be a thing) but the lower lighting did mean that it wasn’t so easy to see the animals in the zoo. We could see the lion and lionesses and a few lemurs in another enclosure but it was just proving a bit too hard. (I managed to snap this picture of the lions and it definitely makes it look a lot brighten than it was in person!).
To The Bus!
As we left the zoo, C checked the route we needed to go to get towards the centre to visit some more stops. We managed to dash across the road quickly and get on the next bus which would take us to Frederiksberg Allé Metro Station. We took the Metro to Gammel Strand where we were able to have a quick look at Christiansborg Palace (the building that the Danish Parliament meets in), in the courtyard outside there was a horse show with carriages and other bits. We briefly saw a little bit before moving onto our next stop.
Ministry of Transport
Now this whole bit was perfect for both boys (and both Grandpas would have loved it too if they’d been here). The Ministry of Transport had all sorts going on. There was Sikker Trafik showing a rotating car – I think this was to give you the idea of what it’s like to be in a car that’s rolled during an accident.
Then there were Naviair talking about tracking aircraft (there was this big screen with FlightRadar24 running to watch the planes coming in and out of Copenhagen).
Home Time for Two of Us…
So, at this point, I had to head home with R, it was past his bedtime and he wasn’t loving being strapped in the buggy. We’d hoped he might just snuggle down for a nap especially after the week he’d been having but nope, too much excitement to see and enjoy. R and I headed for the bus stop while C and J went on to further adventures including a ride on a vintage bus. (Movia, the bus operator in CPH, were running 8-9 vintage buses from 1961-1990 through out the city).
R made friends with a group of tourists on the bus and was high-fiving them and chatting away at them for a lot of the ride lol. He was being very cute and they were friendly – I think they were visiting a friend as one of their party sounded Danish. We got to the stop we normally get off at and the bus driver didn’t stop! We ended up having to get off at the next stop and walk back instead.
And then the rest…
Once R and I got home, I kept getting pictures and updates from C about what he’d been up to with J. It sounds like they had a great time again. Once again it was a lovely adventure to see so many different places in the city in one evening and well worth the effort even after the crazy week we’ve had!
You can find more information about Kulturnatten on their website and also follow them on Social Media: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
You can read about last year’s Kulturnatten here.
