By Emily Holland
Out of all of the places I have been, Copenhagen has stayed one of my favorite destinations. It’s a beautiful, peaceful city with amazing food and people. If you are looking to take an amazing trip but don’t want to do a lot of planning, Copenhagen is the place! Most of our adventures in Copenhagen were on the fly; we hadn’t planned any of it out before we got there!
When we first stepped off the plane in Copenhagen, the weather was nice and cold, just the way I like it. After settling into our Airbnb, a quaint little apartment on the river’s edge, we took off to roam the city in search of a warm meal. Just strolling through the streets of Copenhagen is an adventure in itself. The townhouses are painted spectacular colors, with gorgeous little windows decorating the face of the building. We stumbled upon Grillen Christianshavn, a burger restaurant and bar. Now I don’t say this lightly: this was one of the best burgers I have had in my life. I know the exact burgers that place on my list of Top Three Burgers, and Grillen takes the number one spot. My mouth waters just thinking about it. I wish I had taken a moment to take a picture but after one bite, I couldn’t put it down.
The next day we ventured to the Denmark Design Museum, which has a large assortment of furniture designs from all over the world. Afterwards we meandered to Cafe Oscar for coffee and lunch. Even
the simple breads and jams at this cafe left me speechless; they were simply so delicious. Again, I wish I had stopped to take a picture but sometimes food is just
too yummy to pause for a photo. We spent a few hours walking around, taking in the city. Naturally, we had to make a pitstop in Nyhaven, the waterfront, entertainment district in Copenhagen. You’ve probably seen pictures of these brightly colored buildings lining the edge of the canal; it’s quite the sight to see! Later in the evening, we went to the Copenhagen Street Food market, where we ended up eating twice since we loved it so much. It’s a massive warehouse filled with small food vendor stands, tables to eat at, and even a little dance floor with a live band.
When you first enter, your eye catches the large cow disco ball hanging from the ceiling. Since all of the food looked so good, we decided to get an assortment from various stands. The atmosphere in this food market is fun and wild. It was my favorite stop of the entire trip. Outside of the market was a magical setup of dozens of saplings with little pieces of paper tied to all of their branches. On the paper people had written their wishes and dreams so that when it rained during the night the paper and ink would dissolve and your wish would become part of the earth. We stopped to write our own messages before walking back to the apartment.
On our third day, we spent the morning in Freetown Christiania hippie commune. We managed to snap a few pictures before we hit the part of the town where photos are banned...we later discovered the reason for this when we passed the lineup of marijuana vendors. The residents here don’t pay taxes and live by their own rules. It is like stepping into another country. They have little shops, craft stands with beautiful jewelry, houses, and more. They also have a very large number of pot gardens in front of almost every house. There’s creative graffiti covering almost every inch of Christiania. It’s a very scenic walk, and quite the cultural experience.
After Christiania, we explored two of Copenhagen’s coolest towers. The first one was the Church of Our Saviour. Now I should warn you, if heights terrify you this is NOT the experience for you. It’s a decent hike up many flights of stairs but the last flight of stairs is on the outside of the building, and it’s a very narrow path. The rail keeps you tucked in tight against the outside of the tower as you take in the spectacular view of Copenhagen.
The second tower is The Round Tower; this one is beautiful and easier for all crowds. The inside of the tower is just as interesting as the view. It’s very light inside, with white walls, and the floor wraps around the center of the tower as it angles upwards.
One of the great aspects of Copenhagen is that you can spend a day walking through the city and never find yourself feeling bored. There is so much to see in this city and it is all right in front of you. We needed a down day after all of our traveling so we decided to wander the
city. We happened upon a cluster of trampolines built into the ground next to the canal. Naturally, we could not resist getting a few jumps in! We continued walking along the canal and stopping for numerous photos. Our exploring took us all over, weaving in and out of shops, discovering a beautifully designed church, and watching the sun set across the water. It was the most peaceful day of the trip.
On our last day we didn’t have a lot planned so we decided to take the train to Malmo, which is about a 40 minute ride. Once in Sweden, we decided we could not leave without having true Swedish Meatballs. So our first Swedish adventure led us to a small, quiet tavern. The meatballs there put Ikea’s to shame, they were so amazing.
Following our meal we meandered through shops before walking through one of Malmo’s modern art museums. Back in Copenhagen, we ended our final day at Tivoli Gardens, the second-oldest operating amusement park in the world. I highly recommend going around sunset, it’s absolutely magical. Walt Disney was inspired by Tivoli Gardens to make Disneyland, and as you walk through Tivoli you can see which rides at Disneyland are based on Tivoli’s. It was an experience I will never forget and certainly recommend. We spent a few hours there going on rides and walking around. The park completely lights up at night, transporting you to another world.