Of all of the cities I’ve traveled to so far, Copenhagen’s airport was the easiest and closest to the main city. I got off of my flight and was dealing with cell service issues and not able to navigate myself, but eventually got wifi and figured out how to meet up with my friends. A super quick, super easy little train takes you right from the terminal exit to the Copenhagen central station in pretty much the middle of the city, so it was easy to navigate from there even without cell service.
Being a foodie, I loved the Glass Market. Reminiscent of Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, they have everything from butcher counters to get fresh meat and seafood, to bars and restaurants. I wanted to try so many things, but was won over by a sandwich on a fresh baguette with shredded duck and arugula (and some mustard, which was actually really yummy considering I don’t really like mustard). The boy ringing us up was nice and let us try a beer before getting it and it ended up being delicious and even better paired with the duck.
Bellies full, we walked down the pedestrian street, filled with all sorts of stores and restaurants and entered the Copenhagen observatory. For about 3 American dollars we were able to enter and ascend the gradually inclined ramp that replaces the need for stairs. From the top we were able to see the whole city, including the wind farms in the distance. A great view and a must-do if you’re ever in Copenhagen.
Another must-see place in this very chilly city is the row of rainbow houses on the canal, called Nyhavn. In the warm weather it would be really cool to take a boat tour through the canals but it was in the 30s so we passed on that and just enjoyed the quaint row of homes.
The nightlife in Copenhagen is pretty cool and definitely more of a thing there than in Rome or Italy in general. There are tons of bars and a good selection of clubs, although many of the clubs create a queue to make them look popular, which leaves you standing out in the cold for a half an hour (bring a warm coat and leave it in the coat check). What’s also cool about Copenhagen: they have absinthe and it was really interesting to try but I’m warning you, if you don’t like the taste of black licorice it won’t be an enjoyable beverage.
We let ourselves sleep in the next morning and had a late start to the day, but we managed to still get a lot in. We walked over to Christiania, an anarchist-type colony where rules are kind of out the window and everyone is just chilling and selling marijuana to tourists. It’s funny to walk through and experience it, and luckily I was warned by my friend to keep my phone/camera away in certain areas as the drug dealers aren’t so keen on photographic evidence.
The University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden was only a few stops away on the metro and a pleasant little walk through a park. The tropical climate inside the botanical garden reminded me of my home in Miami and I could not have been happier to feel warm weather again after all this time spent in winter temps. And what’s better than free entry somewhere?
Nearby the gardens is Rosenborg Castle, and although we were too late to go in the museum or go inside, we viewed it from across the moat.
After the castle and a bit of a siesta, we bundled up in seventy layers each to explore the theme park, Tivoli, where it’s rumored Walt Disney got his idea for Disneyland. While I’m sure in the summer months Tivoli is awesome to see during the day and do all of the rides and activities, in the winter the only way to do it is to go at night and see the twinkly lights and cuddle up with some hot chocolate to watch people twirl around the ice rink. Some of the rides are running in the winter, but I did not ride any of them and instead chose to run around the playgrounds like a child.
On our third and final day the temperatures had plummeted even further, so we really had to bundle up (I’m talking two pairs of pants, multiple layers of sweaters, two pairs of socks, and a thick winter coat) and marched out into the cold. We took good ol’ public transportation to the Danish Design Museum, which was filled with really interesting exhibits, from fashion and couture to the history of the chair. With student ID it was free (honestly the best part about being a student in the EU), and we spent a good chunk of time just wandering through the exhibits.
A fifteen minute walk from the museum brought us along the water and to the Little Mermaid statue, which is one of those things that everyone over-hypes and takes pictures of but when you see it in person it’s really just a plain statue in a pretty remote location on the water. Not worth planning a whole day around, but we were in the area, it was sunny, and the walk was nice so we figured we might as well.
Our trip to Copenhagen was completed with a very easy, stress-free ride to the airport on one of the many bus lines that service the city, and before I knew it, I was back home in Rome. For anyone traveling Europe, Copenhagen is a great city to visit to get a feel of Denmark and the Danish people who call it home. I would absolutely recommend going in warmer months, but we had just as much fun in the bitter cold. A trip is only as fun as you make it out to be.
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