CRUISING COPENHAGEN

No other European metropolis is as easy to explore by boat as Copenhagen. Tie up in the centre of the city that has so much to offer, as Detlef Jens explains

- Detlef Jens

Sitting by the water on a hot summer's day with a cool white wine in your hand? Even this can get better - with said cool white wine in hand, sitting on the pontoon and letting your legs dangle in the harbour. Or put your glass down and take a quick dip. Then order the next wine, or an espresso or maybe a really tasty lunch.

There were times when we seriously considered simply spending the entire day here, at La Banchina on the mega-trendy island of Refshaleøen in Copenhagen. This is the only café at least that I know of with its own all-year bathing area, including a rustic wooden sauna, plus really good wines and Italian-inspired fresh cuisine. And it is right on our short walk from where our boat is berthed in Margretheholm yacht harbour to the stop of the electric water bus, which then takes us right into the heart of Copenhagen's bustling epicentre of life: Nyhavn.

Over the past decades, Copenhagen has advanced to become probably the trendiest, but also friendliest and most cosmopolitan of Europe's capital cities. The place is so international that more English than Danish seems to be spoken here. Which obviously adds to the pleasure of simply being there and enjoying life. And that is exactly what one should do after having sailed the long way from the UK.

However, once through the Kiel Canal and from there out into the Baltic, it is only about 140 nautical miles to Copenhagen on the most direct route, which is south of Lolland and around Gedser and Møn. The more leisurely route on the other hand would be up into the Great Belt and then through the Smålandsfarvandet south of Sjælland, which also is the more scenic alternative. Even this, however, can be sailed in a few days.

SHABBY BUT CHARMING