On a recent trip to Copenhagen, we went on a Refugee Voices Tour.
Apparently set up by an English woman who is married to a refugee, this operates in Copenhagen, Berlin and is expanding to other European cities. The tour is free and is run by a refugee/asylum seeker. In our case it was Eden, who is currently the only guide.
She took us around a less well known part of Copenhagen, not far from the centre, but not the chocolate box pretty parts in the guide books. The tour included some tourist sites (Hans Christian Anderson’s grave), but also showed us how and where immigrants and refugees live.
In case you’re worried, it’s all perfectly safe. The walk takes about 90 minutes and is gentle, with several stops, so suitable for anyone without walking difficulties. Suitable for wheelchairs too.
Eden was a great and sympathetic guide. Part of the tour is for her to recount her experience. She’s an asylum seeker from Eritrea with an amazing and awful story to tell, but without bitterness. A lesson to those of us who think we have problems!
I found the tour on Facebook. As I said, it’s free, but we gave a big tip. Strongly recomended and look out for it as it spreads across Europe.
