Copenhagen, Denmark
Three things I have learned this week: 1. Danish people are gorgeous. 2. Danish is a weird language that doesn't make any sense. 3. Denmark is truly "the happiest country on Earth". If you have never visited, I highly recommend it. This weekend I had the chance to visit the amazing city of Copenhagen, and it was worth every penny.
The travel to get there was crazy! My friend Ciara and I left Reggio after our morning Italian class. We literally ran to our apartment to do our last minute packing before boarding the first of many trains, planes, and busses. It took three trains, one airplane, and one bus, but we finally made it to Copenhagen.
The first thing we didn't think through or plan for, was the language barrier. By no means am I fluent in Italian or anything, but I can at least get by and kind of guess what people are saying. You can't do that with Danish. Danish is a mix of German and Swedish and has very few words that are similar to English. Some of the words we saw used every letter of the alphabet, and some new ones, that we didn't even try to pronounce. Most people spoke English, which was very helpful. But if you're ever looking for a challenge, consider reading a map or a sign in Danish.
We hopped on a train to get to KΓΈbenhavn (yep..) city center. By the time we reached downtown, Ciara and I were starving. We stopped at the first place we saw, which happened to be a Danish pub with a "wild west" theme. We walked in, and it felt like a scene from a movie; everyone in the restaurant stopped and turned to look at Ciara and I. If you haven't caught on yet, its pretty obvious when two American girls walk in any door. Everyone stops and looks; it gets old really fast. It also didn't help that we were the only girls in this pub. So there's that. Inside, there were pictures and random words on the wall reading "Wyoming", "Texas", and "Cowboy". It was a little piece of home.... kind of. We enjoyed burgers and beers like the true Americans we are!
We spent the night in a local hostel and were up early ready to explore Copenhagen. We stopped at Lagkagehuset (yes.. that is the correct spelling), for a danish and coffee. We visited Amalienborg Palace and watched the changing of the guards, saw Rosenborg Castle, and went to the famous Nyhan street. If you ever google "images of Copenhagen" you will no doubt get Nyhavn street. It is famous for its brightly colored buildings and waterfront location. When Ciara and I first turned the corner on to Nyhavn street, the sun peeked out and our jaws literally dropped. We couldn't believe that we had made it to one of the most amazing streets I have ever seen. Honestly, I think we were a little proud of ourselves just to say we made it to Copenhagen, but to be standing on Nyhavn street was something else. It was amazing! I'm pretty sure we walked down this street 5 or 6 times while we were there, and it was just as amazing as the first.
Other than danishes, Denmark is famous for their hotdogs and Carlsberg beer. So of course we had hotdogs and beer for dinner. We then stopped for a "bleeding heart" chocolate cake, which was so delicious, and then some drinks to end the long first day in Copenhagen.
The next morning we checked out of our hostel and headed straight to Christiansborg Palace. This is current parliament building, but it is also home to the tallest tower in Copenhagen. We climbed the tower and had an amazing 360 degree view of the city. We then visited Christiania, a community that was once a military base, but has been transformed into an anarchist district known for their wall murals and marijuana sales. It was an interesting place. A little spooky. We didn't spend much time there. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering and shopping the streets of Copenhagen.
Our flight back to Reggio was Sunday night. We had to take a train from the city back to the airport. Apparently there's a new law in Europe, that you can pass through European countries within the Schengen Region without going through customs and passport screenings even if you don't have a European passport. So in other words, I didn't get a stamp in my passport from Denmark, nor will I get any stamps in my passport while I'm in Europe. I was only a little mad about that. Anyway, we caught our flight with no problem, it was the bus back to Reggio that was stressing Ciara and I out. We didn't exactly plan our trip very well, in the sense that we had exactly 30 minutes from the time our plane landed, to the time our bus left. And of course it was the last bus to leave for the night. Luckily, we were both seated towards the front of the plane so we could get off and run... theoretically. But of course we had to get on a bus from the plane to get to the gate. After the bus stopped we started sprinting through the airport and a couple of Italian guys were laughing at us telling us to run faster. With just our luck, we found out we had to take another bus to a completely different terminal, and it took FOREVER to get there (less than 5 minutes). We were honestly expecting to spend the night in the airport and get on the first bus Monday morning, but our prayers were answered and we found our bus with a few minutes to spare. It was such a relief to finally sit on our bus and know that we were actually going home. We didn't make it back to Reggio until 1:45 am, but we were happy to be home.
By the end of our trip to Copenhagen, Ciara and I had taken 4 trains, 4 busses, and 2 flights. It was crazy! Denmark was a blast, and I highly recommend stopping by if you get the chance.
The travel to get there was crazy! My friend Ciara and I left Reggio after our morning Italian class. We literally ran to our apartment to do our last minute packing before boarding the first of many trains, planes, and busses. It took three trains, one airplane, and one bus, but we finally made it to Copenhagen.
The first thing we didn't think through or plan for, was the language barrier. By no means am I fluent in Italian or anything, but I can at least get by and kind of guess what people are saying. You can't do that with Danish. Danish is a mix of German and Swedish and has very few words that are similar to English. Some of the words we saw used every letter of the alphabet, and some new ones, that we didn't even try to pronounce. Most people spoke English, which was very helpful. But if you're ever looking for a challenge, consider reading a map or a sign in Danish.
We hopped on a train to get to KΓΈbenhavn (yep..) city center. By the time we reached downtown, Ciara and I were starving. We stopped at the first place we saw, which happened to be a Danish pub with a "wild west" theme. We walked in, and it felt like a scene from a movie; everyone in the restaurant stopped and turned to look at Ciara and I. If you haven't caught on yet, its pretty obvious when two American girls walk in any door. Everyone stops and looks; it gets old really fast. It also didn't help that we were the only girls in this pub. So there's that. Inside, there were pictures and random words on the wall reading "Wyoming", "Texas", and "Cowboy". It was a little piece of home.... kind of. We enjoyed burgers and beers like the true Americans we are!
We spent the night in a local hostel and were up early ready to explore Copenhagen. We stopped at Lagkagehuset (yes.. that is the correct spelling), for a danish and coffee. We visited Amalienborg Palace and watched the changing of the guards, saw Rosenborg Castle, and went to the famous Nyhan street. If you ever google "images of Copenhagen" you will no doubt get Nyhavn street. It is famous for its brightly colored buildings and waterfront location. When Ciara and I first turned the corner on to Nyhavn street, the sun peeked out and our jaws literally dropped. We couldn't believe that we had made it to one of the most amazing streets I have ever seen. Honestly, I think we were a little proud of ourselves just to say we made it to Copenhagen, but to be standing on Nyhavn street was something else. It was amazing! I'm pretty sure we walked down this street 5 or 6 times while we were there, and it was just as amazing as the first.
Other than danishes, Denmark is famous for their hotdogs and Carlsberg beer. So of course we had hotdogs and beer for dinner. We then stopped for a "bleeding heart" chocolate cake, which was so delicious, and then some drinks to end the long first day in Copenhagen.
The next morning we checked out of our hostel and headed straight to Christiansborg Palace. This is current parliament building, but it is also home to the tallest tower in Copenhagen. We climbed the tower and had an amazing 360 degree view of the city. We then visited Christiania, a community that was once a military base, but has been transformed into an anarchist district known for their wall murals and marijuana sales. It was an interesting place. A little spooky. We didn't spend much time there. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering and shopping the streets of Copenhagen.
Our flight back to Reggio was Sunday night. We had to take a train from the city back to the airport. Apparently there's a new law in Europe, that you can pass through European countries within the Schengen Region without going through customs and passport screenings even if you don't have a European passport. So in other words, I didn't get a stamp in my passport from Denmark, nor will I get any stamps in my passport while I'm in Europe. I was only a little mad about that. Anyway, we caught our flight with no problem, it was the bus back to Reggio that was stressing Ciara and I out. We didn't exactly plan our trip very well, in the sense that we had exactly 30 minutes from the time our plane landed, to the time our bus left. And of course it was the last bus to leave for the night. Luckily, we were both seated towards the front of the plane so we could get off and run... theoretically. But of course we had to get on a bus from the plane to get to the gate. After the bus stopped we started sprinting through the airport and a couple of Italian guys were laughing at us telling us to run faster. With just our luck, we found out we had to take another bus to a completely different terminal, and it took FOREVER to get there (less than 5 minutes). We were honestly expecting to spend the night in the airport and get on the first bus Monday morning, but our prayers were answered and we found our bus with a few minutes to spare. It was such a relief to finally sit on our bus and know that we were actually going home. We didn't make it back to Reggio until 1:45 am, but we were happy to be home.
By the end of our trip to Copenhagen, Ciara and I had taken 4 trains, 4 busses, and 2 flights. It was crazy! Denmark was a blast, and I highly recommend stopping by if you get the chance.
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