Quick getaways: 5 nights in Copenhagen
Let me tell you about the time I was bored on a night shift and booked a flight to Copenhagen…
The green dome of Frederik's Church (also known as The Marble Church)
I don’t know about you but I get agitated when I’m in one place for too long. It had been a while (ok fine… a couple of months) since I last flew out and I just wanted a short break even if it was just for the weekend. Where to go? I wanted somewhere fairly local but also somewhere I hadn’t been before. Although I do like my completely solo trips, I wanted to meet some of my international friends and switch it up this time. As much as I like exploring alone, sometimes it’s nice to utilise friends abroad and have them introduce their city to you instead (besides, they know all the good spots).
Thankfully, I’m lucky to know a few friends who are down for random visits and can tolerate my nonsense; some who happen to be on the same nonsense wave as me (I’m talking about spontaneous decisions, going with the flow and making even the most boring activities fun). There was one friend in particular that I had been saying I would visit for ages but I never got around to it. She’s usually bopping around the world herself (and I’ve lost count on how many times she’s relocated to a new country) but I knew she was in Copenhagen and I decided it was time for our overdue link-up.
Ari & I - my partner in crime in Christiana, Copenhagen
One evening, bored and tired, I decided to hit up my girl Ari and told her that I was planning to book a flight and to expect me soon (yup, as blunt as that). I have a few friends who have been to Copenhagen before and heard it was a great place to go for a mini getaway so I seized the opportunity to visit it first-hand. If I’m being honest I didn’t have too many plans as it was so last minute but with so many things to see such as the world’s oldest amusement park, iconic buildings, Danish food and much more I knew I would find something to do even if Ari wasn’t available. In true friend style, she worked her days around my visit (which happened to be a quiet week for her) and I let her plan our days and make it a surprise. I think she was more excited than me but her efforts really made my trip amazing and she made sure that my itinerary was packkkedddd! So what did we get up to?
First thing’s first, where’s my lipgloss?
Like every trip I make, I used the first day to wander around the city (after dropping my bags off) and wrapped my head around the train links (honestly even the names were easy to mix up and I nearly missed my stop). Since Ari lives in Frederiksberg (the boujue part of town for a boujie girl), we jumped on the train to the centre and walked to the canal and harbour in Nyhavn… you know, the iconic face of Copenhagen that you see on every postcard??
The most peaceful walk! Denmark is the 2nd peaceful country in the world
I liked it, It had a certain peaceful feel about it which I had been craving. Multicoloured houses and buildings overlooking the harbour with street musicians and people enjoying daytime drinking at the many restaurants and bars along the strip, you could say this was the perfect place to escape from the busyness of London. I remember that was one of the first things I mentioned to Ari as it felt as if I had no worries in the world. The views, the water, the vibe, even the air! It was perfect. It’s funny I say this now. I’ve just done a quick google (literally) and found out that Copenhagen is one of the most peaceful places in the world. It currently ranks as the second most peaceful (and safe) place to go and live, but it’s always been in the top six… now that’s saying something!
Not far from Nyhavn there is more water and even cleaner air and the views are just so incredible. I can imagine my future husband and I enjoying walks by the water… ok fine, but I’m not playing, the views just compliment the peaceful atmosphere. A short walk from there is Amalienborg Palace where the Queen and royal family reside (I never knew they had a Queen but I also didn’t pay attention in History lessons so…) with her own set of mini guards. Obviously, Queen Liz of the UK has a far grander setup than the Danish but they had something something and I really liked the layout. I tried to see if the guards were as militant as the UK and attempted to make them crack a smile or something (as you do) but they were pretty solid. Just around the corner in the middle of Frederiksstaden sits Frederik's Church (also known as The Marble Church) with its copper green dome top and is a gorgeous piece of architecture if I do say so myself. If you’re into more fancy things, there is The Opera house close by. After a few hours of wandering around and taking in the scenery, we decided to grab some food which proved to be a harder decision than it sounds!
Copenhagen is fantastic for shopping and has every shop you can think of. If you ever want to go for a mini shopping spree abroad and you’re not feeling the trip to Paris, make sure you consider Copenhagen. Not only are the luxury shops ample, but there are loads of food places everywhere. Have you ever had too many choices that you start getting more confused? Did we want pizza, Steak, Burgers, Vapianos, fast food, date night food, hotdogs (very popular)? The options were too many. We came across a side strip with even more food options and loads had happy hours too (we love our cocktails). We finally decided on a place that I wouldn’t usually consider. You may already know this but although I’m not vegan, I like to eat vegan food (or “plant-based” for the oversensitive) from time to time. It was a gamble but this little restaurant looked like a cute place and we decided to give it a chance. I’m glad I did because WOW! The food was amazing (and seasoned… the key thing to note in all of this) and they had quite a varied menu for a vegan place and we would have missed it as it was tucked away near the end of the road.
I love discovering spots that even locals don’t know about… Ari had never seen it before and now I see her taking all her friends when they visit so you know it was good! They also had an all-you-can-eat buffet and everything was fresh, TASTY, aesthetically pleasing and there were so many different options for a very reasonable price. I had to pace myself from going up too many times and risking looking like a pig lmao. The staff were really friendly and Ari and I sat and chatted for ages with no real interruptions. As the people are also friendly in Copenhagen and the buffet sometimes had a queue (a small point to note but I see why it’s so popular- totally worth it!) it was easy to talk to others and hear about their experiences in the city when we weren’t drinking wine and having the most bizarre and hilarious conversations in public (Ari, they need to run us commission for the entertainment our conversation provided that night). If you’re ever in Copenhagen you really need to eat at RIZ RAZ whether you’re vegan or not (we love our meat just as much as you do) and you won’t be disappointed. It’s a cute spot in a great location and is great for either lunch or dinner!
Strike a Pose! - Glyptoteket Museum
Over the next few days, we visited Amager beach, Christiana, Superkilen, The botanical gardens, and Glyptoteket museum. Christiana is an interesting place. It’s the one area in Denmark which is pretty much lawless and has a good history behind it. Known as the “free town” it is often referred to as little Amsterdam. You could probably guess why if I tell you it has its own “green district”. The rules are as follows: “Dear friends, There are three rules in the green light district: have fun; don’t run—it causes panic; no photos—buying and selling hash is still illegal.” I’ve heard that you can take photos now but it’s still probably wise to ask beforehand. It’s the spot for youth and people come in masses to this mini hippy town with its funky artwork, live stage and Christiana bikes driving through.
Superkilen park
If you’re more into the cultural side when visiting countries there is a lot of that too. First off you have superkilen, a public park like no other you’ve ever seen. Here you’ll find a boxing ring, outdoor gym, skatepark, massive donut at the top of a pole, wonky lines and UK Public bins from Scotland. It’s truly the most random site with a random item brought over from pretty much every country all in one place. That’s pretty cool though and was designed to showcase the diversity within the area which is made up of 60 nationalities. I think this was a nice touch from the community.
In the Botanical Gardens
If parks aren’t your thing, there’s the Botanical gardens which I learned a lot from and has some of the most incredible plants I’ve ever heard of. One, in particular, stood out to me: The Amorphophallus Titanum. Sounds like a grand plant right? Well, it is! Not only does it look interesting but it is also known as the “penis flower”. It blooms once every 15 years and gives off a stench that resembles a human corpse, however, it has bloomed 3 times in 6 years with the last time being in 2014. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea and the smell is so bad it has been known to make people throw up but people flock from all parts of the world to experience it in bloom. You can read more about it here. I must also note that this is a great location for a photo shoot and I guarantee you’ll see at least one or two photographers and models around the building snapping and posing away.
Don’t mind the statue! - Glyptotket Museum
Lastly, I had time to squeeze in a visit to Glyptoteket Museum just before my flight which is located opposite the famous Tivoli gardens - The second ever theme park in the world after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampenborg, Denmark. This has been open since 15th August 1843 so we have the Danish to thank for our theme parks! I would have tried out the theme park and is a really popular place but sadly it was closed for the few days I was there in preparation for an event.
Glyptoteket museum is full of statues and is so beautiful. It’s also a great spot for pictures (although that is not the main focus here) and was founded by the brewer, Carl Jacobsen, featuring mainly his personal collection which he gave to the public to enjoy in 1988 and built Glyptotket to home it (can you imagine!?). This museum has great expeditions and has a free cloakroom with luggage space (a key thing to note). If you would like to read more about the museum you can read more here.
Some things to know before you go:
Denmark is just as expensive as in London. You can certainly find some cheaper prices but it won’t be a cheap getaway. Accommodation is expensive too so the earlier you plan, the cheaper. I’m lucky that I stayed with Ari (thank-you girl!) but AirBnB is your best bet!
If you have a spare day take a quick train to Sweden! It’s a very quick train ride and you can tick another country off the list! I managed to go and had a very interesting experience! I’ll tell you all about it in another post but if you have some time to spare… GO!
Trains don’t have barriers BUT there are inspectors all the time. I was told that they’re not forgiving if you haven’t got a ticket and you can get a serious fine. I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you how much I wanted to just bump the train every day. The London in me just wanted to find out how easy it was to bump train… I didn’t!
You can get fined A LOT if you cross the road when the lights are red. Now this one I found funny and I broke this rule way too many times. Ari and her friends would wait by the side like good citizens until the light changed whilst me, the impatient Londoner, saw an opportunity to cross and walked over thinking everyone else was by my side. Honestly, police could have stopped me and I still wouldn’t break out of it. I’m not even talking about crossing recklessly. I’m talking about DEAD roads with no cars in site. Danish people are really law-abiding (surprise!). I wish I could say the same about us from the UK!
This is something to note for my University students/ students to be: University tuition fees in Denmark for all Bachelor’s and Master’s students costs NOTHING. This includes Higher education for all students coming from the EU/EEA area and exchange students… I’m just putting it out there!
For my first experience in Copenhagen, I have nothing but positive things to say. I wasn’t sure how I’d enjoy it (especially as I’m not a fan of trips with others… well, it depends) but this trip ended up being one of my favourite getaways ever! You best believe that I considered relocating by the time I left and I was looking into the possibilities and all sorts! I think the company certainly boosted my impressions but I genuinely had so much fun over there.
It’s safe to say that I fell in love with the city and I would 100% go back again! If you want a quick getaway (even for a day or two) then get yourself over to Copenhagen! I promise you - you’ll have fun and the nightlife isn’t half bad either!
Til next time,
Liz x
