Erik the Red..ish: A Viking, an explorer, an adventurer, a warrior…a Norseman shackled by antipodeans, blundering through simplistic technological bicycle hire they were confounded and conflicted with but Erik, composed and contained, conveyed the patience of Job.

It didn’t start well. Our timing was ill considered. Who would have thought hiring a city bike was going to require a Stasi type ID confirmation process:- Name, DOB, email, mobile number, (that is of course foreign!!) Credit Card information, a short biography (nah that bit is exaggerated!!!) but it took forever and so I had to call his sister in Australia to get a number to call Erik to tell him we were late and that we were actually only minutes away. Totally nonplused, he cycled up and reassured us it would all be OK.

I am filled with admiration for Erik! Patiently he spent almost an hour trying to help us retrieve bikes that were stuck in the docking station. Eventually John was able to retrieve another bike and we gave up on mine and Erik hired a bike on my behalf. We began our personal tour of this amazing city.

Erik took us on the most amazing tour. We got to see a little of the symbols of the constitutional monarchy,

……a bit of HC Anderson and an alternative view!

We took a ferry across the harbour saw student accommodation built of containers and positioned on the harbour with amazing views.

We lunched at Reffen- Copenhagen street food area.

We visited Christiania Free Town, located in the heart of the city with it’s own flag and a clear example of antidisestablishmentarianism.

Our guide was amazing. Erik knows his city so well and was so generous with his knowledge and his time. One of the highlights for me was CopenHill. This massive industrial site is a waste to energy plant and recreational facility. Copenhagen has no landfill. As much as possible is recycled and that which cannot be recycled is incinerated at this plant and turned into energy and the residual is steam. Copenhagen aims to be carbon neutral by 2025. There is a ‘grass’ ski slope and a rock climbing wall for recreation as well. It is remarkable.

Erik proved there is nothing better than local knowledge and we enjoyed every moment of our ride with him.