Date
Copenhagen
CountryDenmark
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- 11 min
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I woke up in Copenhagen feeling good.
Day 42 had been one of the best days of the entire trip so far — reconnecting with Camilla, exploring the city, and ending the night at the movies with new friends. I was in no hurry to leave.
My second day in Copenhagen would take me in two very different directions.
In the afternoon, I took a tour of the Carlsberg Brewery. It was free, they gave you beer at the end, and I figured it was a perfect way to spend a few hours as a broke traveler. The tour was surprisingly interesting — learning about the history of one of Denmark’s most famous exports while walking through the old brewery grounds.
Then, in the evening, I made a very different choice.
I had seen signs for the Copenhagen Erotica Museum and decided to go check it out. I was 22, traveling alone, and curious. It felt like the kind of thing you do when you’re young, far from home, and trying to experience as much of the world as possible — even if some of it was awkward or uncomfortable.
It turned out to be one of the more memorable (and strangest) evenings of the trip.
Sampling the free beer at the end of the Carlsberg Brewery tour.
My Photographs from today in Copenhagen
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The Elephant Gate Get this as a printThis was the famous entrance to the Carlsberg Brewery grounds. Four large granite elephants supported the tower above, and the whole structure felt grand and impressive. I remember thinking right away that this tour was going to be cool.
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Interesting History Lesson Get this as a printI didn’t just learn about beer on this tour — I learned some fascinating history too. For example, I learned about the swastikas carved into the sides of these granite elephants.
The brewery was founded in 1847 by J.C. Jacobsen. His son, Carl Jacobsen, later built his own rival brewery called Ny Carlsberg right next door. Carl was a passionate art lover and philanthropist who believed beautiful surroundings could elevate people. He poured money into architecture and art throughout the complex.
The swastikas you see here were not political. At the time Carl was building, the swastika was an ancient symbol of good fortune and well-being used for thousands of years across many cultures — especially in India, where it appears in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The word “swastika” comes from Sanskrit and roughly means “that which is good.”
It wasn’t until the 1920s and 1930s that Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party took the ancient symbol, tilted it 45 degrees, and turned it into their official emblem. Carlsberg eventually stopped using the swastika around 1940 once its meaning had been completely corrupted.
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Bigger Than Life Get this as a printThis photo shows just how massive these granite elephants really are. A small car driving past gives a clear sense of scale. Standing next to them, I felt tiny.
Carl Jacobsen clearly wanted these elephants to make a statement. They weren’t just decorative — they were meant to impress, to symbolize strength and permanence, and to welcome visitors into his brewery with a sense of grandeur.
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We work for the fatherland Get this as a printAcross the top of the grand entrance is a Latin inscription that reads LABORIMUS PRO PATRIA — “We work for the fatherland.”
Carl Jacobsen chose this patriotic phrase because he believed in building something that would serve Denmark. Every day, employees, managers, office staff, visitors, and official guests would pass through this impressive gateway. It wasn’t just a practical entrance — it was meant to make a statement about pride, craftsmanship, and contribution to the nation.
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Where They Make the Beer Get this as a printThis is the heart of the brewery — the actual brewing hall. These massive copper vessels were used to boil and process the beer. Standing on the balcony looking down at the huge kettles, I was struck by the scale of everything.
The room felt both industrial and beautiful at the same time. The tall arched windows, the metal railings, and the sheer size of the equipment made it clear that Carlsberg wasn’t just making beer — they were doing it with real craftsmanship and pride.
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A Carlsberg Horse Get this as a printThis is one of the famous Carlsberg brewery horses. For decades, teams of these strong Jutland horses pulled the beer wagons through the streets of Copenhagen, delivering fresh beer to pubs and restaurants across the city.
Even after trucks took over the deliveries, Carlsberg kept some horses as part of their heritage and tradition. Standing this close to one felt special — they were beautiful, powerful animals with a long and proud connection to the brewery.
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A Wall of History Get this as a printThis large display showed the evolution of Carlsberg through the decades. Old posters, labels, advertisements, and packaging from the early 1900s lined the wall, giving a real sense of how long the brand has been part of Danish culture.
I spent quite a while looking at everything — the changing designs, the old slogans, and the familiar logos from different eras. It was fascinating to see how Carlsberg had grown and adapted over more than a hundred years while still staying true to its roots.
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The Beer Silos Get this as a printThese enormous silver tanks held thousands of liters of beer. When our guide told us they were all full, I couldn’t stop smiling.
I immediately thought how awesome it would be to have a Dome party here — with all this beer! The scale was almost hard to believe.
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The Tasting Room Get this as a printThis was the final stop on the Carlsberg tour — the tasting room. I couldn’t believe they let me have all six beers, one of each variety they made at the time. I scored a free six-pack!
I sat there with a big smile, going from one bottle to the next while chatting with a couple of girls who were also tasting. Portraits of the Jacobsen family watched over the room. It was a perfect way to end the tour — sitting in an old, wood-paneled space, surrounded by history, and tasting what I’d just learned about.
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One Last Look Get this as a printAs I walked away from the brewery, I turned around for one final view. The cobblestone street led straight toward the Elephant Gate in the distance — still impressive even from far away.
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Bus Number 10 Get this as a printAfter finishing at Carlsberg, I decided to hop on a city bus and just ride around for a while. This was the number 10 heading toward Avedøre Byvej.
It felt good to sit back and watch the city go by from the window — no real plan, just seeing whatever neighborhoods the bus passed through.
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A Giant Cat on the Wall Get this as a printWhile riding the bus around Copenhagen with no real plan, I looked out the window and spotted this enormous mural painted on the side of a building. It was a giant cat — or maybe a leopard — made up of smaller shapes and patterns.
I loved how bold and unexpected it was, just sitting there in the middle of the city like it belonged there.
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Wandering With No Destination Get this as a printAfter riding the bus for a while, I got off and just started walking. This street caught my eye, so I followed it.
There wasn’t anywhere I needed to be. I liked how the buildings lined up on both sides and how the street just kept going.
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Harbor Lights Get this as a printAs the day wound down, I found myself by the water again. The city lights reflected beautifully across the dark surface — reds, greens, and yellows shimmering and moving with the gentle ripples.
1994From my journal
Day 43 / 10-19-94Copenhagen Day 2
Today was awesome - beer and sex!
After sleeping in until 11:30 and eating lunch with Camilla, I set out for the Carlsberg brewery.
Carlsberg is the seventh-biggest beer company (Anheuser Busch is number one), but it is the largest brewery - over 94 acres – in the world.
I thought that the best part was going to be that it was free, but there was more. There was free beer at the end! We only had 15 minutes to sample, but I was able to get down four bottles. Two regular, one Carlsberg Ice and one Carlsberg Premium.
I also learned an interesting fact: the swastika is an Indian sign over 3,000 years old meaning good luck.
They had about a dozen storage containers there, and each one holds enough beer that if one man drank 10 beers a day, it would take him 430 years to finish. I was like, let the Dome have one, we could kill it in one semester!
They also have a mansion on the site, called, appropriately enough, the Carlsberg Honor Mansion. A very prominent Dane is invited to live there (now it is some astrophysicist or something like that), and among its other perks, the person residing there gets all the free beer they can drink. One other thing: when you move in there, you get to live there for life.
So with a slight buzz (made all the better because it was free) I walked to the Copenhagen Erotica Museum. Along the way I passed by one of the seedier streets of the city, Istedgade. Displayed in the shop windows were every kind of sex item available: porn videos, magazines, blow-up dolls, dildos, penis enlargers, cock rings, leather whips, etc.
It's not that all of this was so shocking to me — I'd been in adult shops before — but I'd never seen the merchandise displayed in the street windows!
Pornography was legalized here in 1969, and I think they're quite proud of it. I read it or heard it mentioned no fewer than a dozen times.
And with this fact in mind, I arrived at the Museum Erotica. It's on the street and contains art, drawings, paintings, photos, toys and more about sex and all things sex-related from the last 300 years.
I thought the most interesting “art exhibit” was a room with 12 big TVs all showing adult movies simultaneously.
Then I walked back to Camilla's dorm for dinner. I wrote a few letters and went to bed.
The Evening Shift
After leaving Carlsberg with a pleasant buzz and a couple of phone numbers in my pocket, I decided to keep walking instead of heading straight back to the hostel.
As I wandered deeper into the city, the neighborhoods began to change. I eventually found myself on Istedgade — Copenhagen’s main red light district.
A note to the reader: The rest of this page takes a different turn. What follows includes my observations walking through the red light district and visiting the Copenhagen Erotica Museum. I’ve kept things tasteful, but some of the photos and descriptions are more adult in nature.
If you’d prefer to skip this part of the story, you can jump ahead to the next day here:
Next Page >
Otherwise, keep scrolling.
MY PHOTOGRAPHS FROM MY EVENING IN COPENHAGEN
After walking a bit further, I decided I’d seen enough on the street — but I was still curious, so I went into the Copenhagen Erotica Museum.
It was mind-blowing. The exhibits were far more explicit and intense than I had expected.
JournalMy handwritten journal pages · 3 pages
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My beer coaster from the Carlsberg tasting room.
The Real Souvenir
I kept this Carlsberg Ice label from the tasting room. At first glance, it doesn’t look like much — just an old, slightly torn beer label.
But I didn’t save it for the beer…
I saved it because I wrote Kim and Kirsty’s names and phone numbers on the back. Two girls I met during the tour who made the tasting room a lot more interesting than the beer ever could.
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Men’s Shop Get this as a printAs I walked down Istedgade, this storefront caught my eye. The large sign proudly declared it “The Best Gay Place in Town,” with smaller signs advertising leather toys, magazines, and video tapes.
It was one of the first clear signs that I had entered a different kind of neighborhood. The shop sat right on the street like any other business, with its signs out in the open. I remember pausing for a moment, taking it in, and then continuing down the block.
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A Shop Window Display Get this as a printA little further down Istedgade, I passed this adult novelty shop. The large window was filled with magazines, sex toys, and various accessories arranged on a metal grid.
In the center of the display sat a large doll surrounded by the products, with round lights framing the entire window. It was quite a sight — bold, unapologetic, and very different from anything I was used to seeing back home.
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Sex Keyhole Get this as a printI couldn’t believe how bold the advertising was. This shop had “SEX KEYHOLE SEX” in huge white letters stretched across the entire front of the building.
It was all right there in plain view on a regular city street. I had never seen anything advertised so openly before.
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The More I Saw Get this as a printThe more I walked, and the more I saw, the more shocked I became. This building had four large black signs listing very specific services and fetishes right out in the open on a public street.
I was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed by how boldly everything was advertised.
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Non Stop Video Show Get this as a printBy this point, I was genuinely taken aback. This shop had a large poster of a muscular man in full bondage gear displayed right in the window, along with stacks of adult videos and a big sign advertising “Non Stop Video Show.”
Everything was just out in the open on the street. I kept walking, but I was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed by how openly all of this was being advertised.
ScansMuseum Erotica - · 6 pages
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2026Looking Back from 2026
That day in Copenhagen was one of the most emotionally varied days of the entire trip.
It started out wonderfully. The Carlsberg Brewery tour was fascinating and fun, and sitting in the tasting room afterward — drinking my way through all six varieties while chatting with two girls I’d just met — felt like a perfect moment. I left there in a great mood, with new phone numbers in my pocket and a pleasant buzz.
As the evening went on, I ended up walking through Istedgade, Copenhagen’s main red light district. I had never seen anything like it. The advertising was so bold and so out in the open — things I had only ever heard about in whispers back home in Nebraska. The more I walked, the more fascinated I became.
Eventually I went into the Copenhagen Erotica Museum. It was the culmination of everything I had seen advertised on the street that evening. I was mesmerized. I wished I could have stayed all night, and I wished I had more money to spend. It felt like stepping into a completely different world — one I had never been exposed to before.
Looking back now, I’m glad I experienced it. That evening showed me how different the world could be, and how sheltered my own upbringing had been. It also showed me something about myself at 22 years old: I was deeply curious, and once something caught my attention, I wanted to keep going.
It had been a fun, interesting, and ultimately eye-opening day.