Your Amazing Race: Digging on Denmark
By Catlin Allen
Danish actress Connie Nielsen once said, “If Copenhagen were a person, that person would be generous, beautiful, elderly, but with a flair.” I think this description really rang true for the contestants of the Amazing Race season 25 on Leg 4. The detours and road blocks were interesting to say the least. Each blended tradition with the new world with a splash of eccentricity.
This article was a little tougher than the previous three because the experiences were not all that different from what a tourist could experience! No slideshow this week readers. Below is how you can recreate this leg on your next adventure to Copenhagen, Denmark.
Cruising into Copenhagen
Teams left the Shetland Islands as they came, via ferry. Docking in Aberdeen, they boarded a plane to Copenhagen. The Copenhagen airport, called Kastrup, is actually very close to the city center. If you are not planning on renting a car during your stay, it is recommended to hop on the train which will drop you at the main station, København H, in just three stops and fifteen minutes.
Kobenhavn H Train Station by JaanMatti via Wikimedia CommonsWhen the train isn’t available, you can also get to the city center via mass transportation. The Copenhagen mass transit system, the Metro, is among the best in the world. Plan ahead for your activities and check out Rejseplanen to view the schedules and see where you will need to connect. The site offers displays in Dutch, English and German!
A huge tip that I have uncovered to top make sure that your credit card is “chipped.” The US is really one of the last countries to jump on this security trend. American Express has just recently started to include this feature on its cards but other major companies do not automatically include this feature. A “chipped” card includes a microchip on the front of the card and provides you with more protection than its predecessor.
If you travel to a country where this type of card is common, presenting a typical American card will only earn you puzzled looks from the cashier. If you do not have a “chipped” card, call you card company well before your trip to ask if they can provide this feature. If they do not and you do not wish to get a new card, plan on always having cash on hand.
The teams however, left the airport in search of their Ford C-Max hybrid car. Many car rental companies offer hybrids and electric options in their larger cities. If this type of travel is important to you, call the company directly rather than booking online and ask for this option.
After a brief jaunt to Malmö, Sweden, the teams headed back to Copenhagen for their detour. The choices this leg were Wedding Cake or Parking Space. As usual, both seemed easy during Phil’s description, but as many Race fans know that’s rarely the case.
Wedding Cake with Norwegian Flags
by Jonathunder via
Getting a Street View of Scandinavia
Wedding Cake: For those of you who are familiar with the American wedding cake, the Danish version would seem quite different. To me they share a likeness with a favorite childhood toy where you stack rings of different sizes on a pillar. The cake is officially called a kransekage, but is more commonly known in the States as a “wreath cake.”
A traditional cake has 18 or more layers that are “glued” together with white icing. TripAdvisor notes that the Conditori La Glace is one of the best restaurants in Copenhagen to try this traditional dish! Wonderful Copenhagen, the official tourism site, also ranks it as one of the top 10 bakeries in the city. If you a race purist and would only try this dish if it was baked by the shop on the show, swing by Det Franske Conditori.
Assembling the delicacy was a “piece of cake” compared to the chosen delivery method. Racers had to mount a Danish Long John Freight Bike and delivery the assembled cake, complete with flags, to the Allegade 10 restaurant. I’m going to go ahead and recommend renting a regular bike in Copenhagen and not a freight bike. It is not recommended for tourists to operate any type of transportation that would hinder traffic.
Instead, check out Copenhagen Free Bike Rental on your visit. This non-profit organization repairs old bikes and lends to them to tourists while visiting their city. If you would like to dine at Allegade 10, I recommend reading the reviews on TripAdvisor. The comments are a little mixed so I will leave that interpretation up to you all.
Parking Space: The second detour option required the teams to set up a Parklet on Sankt Jørgens Allé. The idea of an outdoor leisure space in the city actually originated in San Francisco and the idea has spread all over the world. The opportunity to recreate a parklet design doesn’t really exist. I don’t think IKEA has branched out into parklets yet. There is no official rule for pop-up parklets that I can find. Ideally, the hope is that cities permanently transform parking spaces into resting areas for pedestrians. However, if you would really like to create your own parklet, all you need to do is:
Parklet in San Francisco by Mark Hogan via
Danish Open Faced Sandwich
by Nillerdk via
- Locate a metered parking space.
- Put coins in the meter to maximize your time.
- Unload all of the parklet accessories that you brought.
- Arrange in your desired layout.
- Sit and enjoy.
- Pack up once your time is expired.
The Danish Delicatessen
After the detour, racers headed for their Roadblock at Ida Davidsen. This restaurant and its owners has been a treasure in Copenhagen since 1888. They are famous for their 250 varieties of smørrebrød. In the US, we call these open-faced sandwiches. The list of sandwich options has grown so large over the years that it currently holds a title in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Racers had to take four orders from two guests who could only ask for a sandwich by its number on the List. The racer had to then look up the sandwich on the List and memorize the ingredients and repeat them to Ida, herself. Some of the options are very… adventurous.
…adventurous
This restaurant is definitely worth a visit while in Copenhagen. A reservation is a must. The hours are limited and they are not open on the weekend or during the month of July, so call ahead for seating. Reviewers also remark that this is a fairly expensive outing and seems to be geared toward tourists. However, the majority of reviews are overwhelmingly positive and say the experience is well worth the visit.
These sandwich creations are not something that you would find in your local deli here in America. The examples from the show only give their number from the list. Check out these tasty creations:
#128 – Bombay toast, macaroni, chicken giblets in curry-mayonnaise with egg and smoked salmon
#35 – Thinly-sliced anchovies, beetroot, raw egg yolk, capers, onion and horseradish
#159 – Tomato, scrambled egg, 2 boned anchovies in oyster sauce and chopped chives on toast
#82 – Liverpaste with truffles, 2 anchovies in oyster sauce and a fried egg
Some of the offerings are named and designed after famous patrons, including:
Ritt Bjerregaard – buttered rye bread, sliced smoked leg of lamb, scrambled eggs and herbs
Victor Borge – salmon, lumpfish caviar, crayfish tails, Greenland shrimp, lime and dill mayo
After clearing their orders with Ida, Racers headed to the Pit Stop for this leg – The VM Houses. You don’t really see to much of these buildings during this episode but tune in for Leg 5. Phil opens the show on one of the apartment’s balconies and you’ll see this complex is a dream.
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