Debbie

Help!My 15 year old daughter and I were going to go to Copenhagen on the 17th of May but have found out that the european soccer cup finals are being held there. Several people have said that the game between the Turkish club and Britain got really violent last month and a person was killed.(That is who is playing that week!).Most hotels are booked-19 are filled and we can get a room at 3. Would you pass on Copenhagen and go to another destination or just go? <BR>(Living in Chicago-I still remember how the place went crazy when the Chicago Bulls won the first time!)We are "seasoned" travelers but can we really enjoy a "girls week" together with all the chaos? Any thoughts/opinions???? Thanks-Debbie

Sjoerd

Yes, you are right: the UEFA cup final will be played in Copenhagen on May 17 between Galatasaray SK from Turkey and Arsenal FC from the UK. see: http://www.uefa.com/UEFACUP/index_fr....asp?News=6366 <BR>It is true that there were some riots around the match in Istanbul between Leeds (not Arsenal!) and Galatasaray and two English fans got killed. <BR>Probably, many English and Turkish fans will travel to Copenhagen for this game. The Danish police will be at full strength. <BR>Normally, any riots will be in a very small area of town and unless you are actually looking for trouble, it will be easy to get around it. <BR>If I were you, I would go to Copenhagen, which indeed is a wonderful city. If you are going for a week, why not spend the 16/17/18th outside of the city (lots of things to see in Denmark), which still gives you 4 days in Copenhagen itself. <BR>Enjoy your stay!

Debbie

Thanks for the notes! Would anyone have any ideas where this stadium is that they play the soccer games at in relation to the main area of town? We are now up to 21 hotels being full so my question is: even if we go,would one of the 3 hotels that are available be obnoxious with drunks/rowdies,etc.? Our trip(unfortunately was only going to be 4 days/3nights) so we can't really go out of town for the soccer cup and them come back.PLEASE help with any other opinions/thoughts on what we should do! thanks so much-Debbie

Anja

The stadium is called "Parken" and is placed on "Østerbro" which is the east end of Copenhagen. A couple of ideas for the day in order to avoid "critical" areas would be: Go to the Zoo which is in the exact opposite end of town (and use the opportunity to take a walk in Frederiksberg Have, which is a big park just beside the Zoo), take one of the Copenhagen tours busses (they have longer distance tours as well, for instance to a beautyfull castle in the northern part of Sealand), visit Christiansborg (the parliament), visit the Nathional Museum next to Christiansborg. I do not know if Tivoli would be a good idea that day - that would be the typical place to go - also for hooligans! And STAY OUT OF NYHAVN which is a pub-street along the canals!!! - Otherwise enjoy your stay - for the moment we have blue sky and 28 degrees Celcius so if the weather stays like this your trip will be wonderfull! - One last idea would be to go to Malmö in Sweden that day - it takes about 45 minutes by ferry from Copenhagen.

Debbie

Anja and others-I have the following hotels available after "no vacancies" from 21 others(Park Hotel,Hotel City,Hotel Copenhagen and Hotel Ansgar). My question is-are these in bad areas(both for soccer,redlight,etc.) or are any possible to stay at and enjoy the city?Any suggestions? Thanks,Debbie

david west

I would think very carefully about this. <BR> <BR>There is a huge amount of animosity between English and Turkish clubs, Of which the Galatasary murders were just the latest (and worst) example. There will almost certainly be sporadic outbreaks of fighting (in bars etc), and you may feel under seige. <BR> <BR>My experience of travelling away with English football clubs is that the host city feel that they are being "invaded" and respond by going into a "seige" mentality. The police often force bars and restaurants to close, close off large areas of the centre of town etc.this is not always deserved, but unfortunately we do have this reputation... <BR> <BR>Also remember that large groups of drunken men (english and turkish) can be extraordinarily boorish and rude, particularly towards women. I can't imagine that you would have a great time. <BR> <BR>So to sum up, avoid the city and watch the match on the telly (and hope Arsenal lose!)

frank

No, I would not go(on 16/17th).It's not so much unsafe as decidedly unpleasant,especially between these two clubs & especially in the city centre,where you will want to be.Please don't compare this to the Chicago Bulls celebrations, its a whole different ball game(!) <BR>Many clubs have sections of their travelling support who attend only for the mayhem involved,are highly organised, often are affiliated to extreme right wing groups and are targetteted by special police squads who try to infiltrate them, tap their phones etc. <BR>(most fans are OK!) <BR>All this may sound a bit weird (it is)but it's true.Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, but you needed to know. <BR>Stay out of the city on these days & come back- it is a beautiful city.

Debbie

I really appreciate the honest answers to my questions and want to thank you all for taking the time to respond.After reading the last two responses and dealing with the full hotel situation (although some of the hotels have openings on the 18th ), my daughter and I are going to change our travel plans and go someplace else. HELP!!! We were planning on leaving on the 16th or 17th of May! Any suggestions-we are taking Sabena to Brussels and can take a flight out of there? Our possibilities are: Stockholm,Amsterdam,stay in Brussels or <BR>Helsinki. Just a reminder,its a mother/daughter trip just for 4-5 days and we just want to sightsee,shop and eat.Thanks-Debbie We will just have to do Copenhagen some other time?