WWWalks Copenhagen

Last year Copenhagen received around 5.59 million tourists, all of them desperate to get a glimpse of this fascinating ancient city in what is regularly touted as the “happiest country on the planet”.

Once Winter arrived, and the wave of tourism naturally slowed, many in the industry went home, gave themselves a decent rest through the long dark Scandinavian Winter, and awaited the reopening of the city – which is usually down to nature and when she decides to ease up with the weather. I can tell you from experience this typically happens around early April time once the cold slides away, and the chairs and tables of the cafes dotted about the city are dragged back out to the city squares again, and the citizens can start to rebuild their Vitamin D levels. The big “reopening” obviously didn’t happen this year. With the gradual creep of Covid 19 across the globe, Copenhagen’s tourist season didn’t really ever start up again properly, so for now at least the Copenhagen tourism industry has taken a bit of an extended break.

Not everyone in tourism has been sitting at home twiddling their thumbs however, my friend Heather (who has written a couple of posts for me previously – here and here) is one of those people still working hard in her field. A published author, journalist and all-round history freak, she’s called Denmark home for the past 19 years and has given tours of Copenhagen for the past eight of them.

In my experience, those that have relocated elsewhere tend to be expert shapeshifters as they try to define their identity in another’s country, and this is very much the case when it comes to Heather. If I could describe her to those that don’t yet know her, I would say she is extravagant, slightly eccentric in the best possible way, generous with her time, and immensely fun to be around. She’s also one of the best storytellers you could ever wish to meet (a boring life she has not had!). Given the expert storytelling aspect it will come as no surprise to learn she has two books (and a third on the way) firmly under her belt, and countless journalistic achievements on top of that. She can also add photographer, interior designer, public speaker and teacher to her repertoire, thus proving my shapeshifters theory completely…

Her various creative talents have come in handy with the advent of the pandemic and the dwindle of tourists to physically show around. These past few months Heather has been busy working on an app to give sustainable virtual tours of Copenhagen instead, so you can visit alone (or with friends) any time of the day or night from the comfort of your own home. Heather describes her virtual tours as “bringing a fresh take on the past 900 years of Danish History, whilst bringing present-day innovations, society and values into focus. Presented through entertaining video footage, easy to list to soundtracks, musical interludes and rich storytelling all giving an accurate picture of Copenhagen”… This really is a tour of the senses, and Heather promises even more tours will be added including slightly more unusual places in Copenhagen and its surrounds.

I have had a sneaky peak at the WWWalks Copenhagen App, and can tell you that it encapsulates every brilliant quirky aspect of a real-life tour with Heather, close your eyes and you could almost be there. As I have mentioned above she really does knows how to tell a story and this historical walking tour is soon brought to life with descriptions full of imagery. Recounting a tour of Copenhagen in her own words, Heather says “one of my favourite tricks is to gently give the doors to old hidden courtyards a nudge, then take slightly confused guests into amazing places that with a little sawdust, foliage and rags could easily pass as a great location for a historical film – the shriek of the children in upstairs rooms, the chatter of magpies, and the same bell tolling in the church tower as in the 17th century, and we all travel back in time“…

I personally travel to learn more about a destination (and typically also the food!), and have done countless private tours in places such as Sarajevo, Cesky Krumlov and Rome. Exploring thoroughly behind the scenes with a local is the only way you really get to know about a place, it’s people, its history as well as the good and bad aspects about it. Of course in these slightly confusing times where our freedoms wax and wane depending on Covid rates, we might find ourselves hankering after the good old days when we would think nothing of jumping on a plane to hunt down one of these insightful tours. We might not be able to head to the airport just yet, but there’s absolutely nothing stopping you from visiting somewhere virtually. I really love the idea of an app such as WWWalks Copenhagen that allows you to do exactly that from the comfort of your own home (or back garden if you fancy topping up your own vitamin D levels English Summer Weather Allowing.

And that’s where you’ll find me the first child-free moment I get this Summer – reliving walking through the streets of a city that I also called home once upon a time, and learning a great deal more about it…

Thanks Heather! I can’t wait to go on more virtual tours until we can pop back to Copenhagen and go on a real-life one with you too!…

Ps. If you are free on Saturday and fancy a quick “trip” to Denmark, then do join Heather for this special tour…