In March of that fateful year 2020, I was about to board a ferry from Bergen in Norway to Denmark but it was cancelled as the world came to a grinding halt. I was keen to complete what didn't happen in 2020, despite the relatively high cost of travel here, worsened by a very weak Australian dollar.

Arriving in Copenhagen I realised the peak tourism season hadn't quite ended, nor am I sure it ever does anymore in such places. I had opted for Odense as my base in Denmark over Copenhagen due to costs and because I prefer to seek out the busy places rather than be in them trying to seek out quiet places.

I stayed near the harbour in Odense, a great area for afternoon strolls with a bit of an alternative vibe. Odense itself also had plenty to offer, from old town atmosphere to cutting edge architecture and beautiful nature areas and Viking village sites just a short bike ride away.

I don't need to say much about Copenhagen, most people know it's a beautiful city with an amazing mix of old and ultra modern plus the seaside/ harbour vibes that I love. My only comment here would be the cycling infrastructure in the city, and Denmark generally, is very much overrated. It's often compared to The Netherlands with Copenhagen being labelled the cycling capital of the world. In my humble opinion, they are not remotely in the same league, I'd even rank Belgium as being better and more consistent with its infrastructure.

From Denmark, I took a very convoluted, expensive and extremely crowded (compressed like sardines, standing for 1.5hrs at one stage) train from Odense to Hamburg. This city surprised me, a lot. Simply put, I could live there. It has it all, long history, superb old and new architecture, amazing metro (U bahn) system, port vibes (apparently important for me), gritty areas, nice parks, and relatively quiet for such a city. Dynamic is the word.

While the Germans remain one of the globe's most challenging people to photograph, so very vigilant that they are and also backed by stringent laws around photographing people, I found Hamburg to be one of the best places I've ever been for (my style of) street photography.

Two photo galleries below, first Denmark then Hamburg.