It’s all starting to make sense: this dark side that makes
the show, and this place, so alluring. Ten years ago a visit to
Copenhagenmeant taking inThe Little Mermaid, the pretty
multicoloured Nyhavn waterfront and jolly Tivoli gardens.
While these are still all absolute must-sees – as is the twisted
spire of Christiansborg palace – there's now a grittier edge to
the beautiful waterfront city of Hans Christian Andersen.
In the wake of
The Killing
,
a number of other TV shows
have tapped into this underbelly (this type of crime drama
even has a name: Nordic noir).
Borgen
,
which first aired in
2010 (
and is about to come back in a second series), features
another strong, female lead in the shape of fictional prime
minister Birgitte Nyborg Christensen, and puts corruption
in politics and the media under the spotlight. Then, last year,
there was
The Bridge
,
whichmade waves as a Danish/Swed-
ish co-production tracking a serial killer who murders to
highlight social injustice, featuring yet another hard-hitting
female character, kooky cop Saga Norén.
IT’S WHEN WE BEGIN TO
CYCLE THROUGH THIS AREA
THAT I FEEL SOMEONE’S
EYES ON MY BACK
In all of these, the city is the unlikely star, providing a
setting that’s unglamorous, yet charming. A typical example
is Kødbyen Meatpacking District, where junk shop-style art
collectives and pop-up bars sit in abandoned slaughterhouses
and warehouse spaces.
It’s when we begin to cycle through this area that I start
to feel someone’s eyes on my back. Thanks to my viewings
of
The Killing
season two and
Borgen
,
I am quickly able
to recognise my stalker. Dressed in the requisite Scandi
palette of black and neutrals, and sporting a crew cut, the
unmistakable silhouette of Mikael Birkkjær sidles up.
Without revealing too much for those who haven’t seen
his work, Birkkjær is a Danish screen heart-throb and one
of the stars of both
The Killing
and
Borgen
.
It’s not giving
too much away to say that he isn’t exactly an angel in either
show. Indeed, if fans were watching right now, they might
even fear for my safety. But, fortunately, this is not fiction
and Birkkjær has come at my invitation to help Frederiksen
05:
Copenhagen guide
Lise-Lotte Frederiksen
knows a thing or two
about the Danish
capital's Killing scene
06:
Trendy fish
restaurant Fiskebar:
a major hub of the
meatpacking district
07:
Jolene cocktail
bar is a kitsch and
happening hangout
08:
Central Station is
just one of the real-life
locations used for
'
Nordic noir' TV shows
05
and to give us his own insider guide to
the city.
But first he defends himself, telling us
nobody – not even the cast – knew who
the killer was until they filmed the last
episodes. “I was convinced it couldn’t be
me… I was trying to figure it out: ‘But if
I went there, then I definitely couldn’t
know this’. It was very intense.”
Birkkjær points out Copenhagen’s
coolest joint: a bar/restaurant called Karriere (
karrierebar.
com
). “
Sarah and I did a lot of running down here,” he says,
referring to
The Killing
.
Scenes in season two were filmed in
here at a time when the lamps were made from the helmets
of Afghan soldiers. Now, the stripped-back interior is filled
with mirrors entwined with strings of light bulbs that invade
the space between diners, so they see shards of their own
reflection along with their guest. It’s a stylish space, but
unpretentious, and Friday and Saturday have happy hours
between 10pm and midnight, where delicious cocktails are
just 65DKK (€8.70 . Having done my detective work, I can
recommend the rhubarb Collins.
After touring the cool, grimy back alleys of the district
and poking our heads into the cavernous V1 art gallery
(
v1gallery.com
),
Birkkjær gives us some steers for the rest of
our stay. “I recommend cycling to Sondermarken, the forest
park where the old king used to go hunting; Fiat [
f-i-a-t.dk
]
is my favourite restaurant if you like Italian, and Christiana
[
a kind of hippy commune neighbourhood;
visitcopenhagen.
com
]
is worth a visit, just to see a kind of social experiment.
But, really, anywhere that you can enjoy a cold beer is great!”
With that, the actor/bent cop hops on his bike and leaves
us to follow his advice. Murderer or not, I reflect that failing
to get the most out of this city would be criminal.
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