Last weekend, I went to visit my friend Abby in Copenhagen, Denmark. Copenhagen is the trendy place to study abroad this semester; there are a ton of Duke students there, so I knew it had to be on my list of places to visit.
Abby, the best host EVER, picked me up from the airport and whisked me back to her dorm room. Copenhagen feels like a much smaller city than Barcelona; it only has two metro lines! But no one actually rides the metro – everyone in Copenhagen rides a bike. Abby claims that Copenhagen is more of a bike capital of the world than Amsterdam is (debatable); bikes are extremely popular. And cars are extremely heavily taxed.
Then we headed into the city center. Copenhagen LOVES Christmas, just like Budapest; there is a Christmas market every other block. Christmas lights hang off every building, Santas can be found around every corner. We went to one of Abby’s favorite Christmas markets and then walked down Nyhavn. This is the street that everyone pictures when the picture Copenhagen, colorful houses on the water. Despite the fact that this is the block that everyone instagrams, this is not what the rest of Copenhagen looks like. Copenhagen reminds me of Boston; it’s smaller but snugglier. In fact, the Danish are obsessed with the concept of “hygge,” a word that does not directly translate into English but the closest you can come is “cozy.” OH also on Nyhavn we tried the most delicious cinnamon flavored honey.
It was getting very dark, very quickly, so we went over to Abby’s friend Caroline’s apartment for a potluck dinner with Abby, Caroline (who also goes to Duke!), and a few of their friends. Caroline had also made delicious sangria and the night became a very fun night filled with Taylor Swift and the Spice Girls throwbacks.
Saturday morning, Abby and I took advantage of the lack of rain and climbed to the top of the belltower of the Church of our Savior for some wonderful views of the city. Then we met Caroline for a delicious lunch at The Union Kitchen. I went for the chicken meatballs with spaghetti in a gorgonzola sauce, while Abby and Caroline chose the hangover burger. Their burgers came with a shot.
Then we went to see Copenhagen’s pride and glory, The Little Mermaid statue. She’s a tribute to one of their most famous natives, Hans Christian Andersen, and she’s only about 2 feet tall. However, it was a beautiful day in Copenhagen, the sun had finally come out, and I thought that she was lovely.
After taking some photos with the little mermaid, we headed to Tivoli, one of the oldest amusement parks in the world. Tivoli is only open during the summer, Halloween, and the Christmas season. During Christmas, it turns into a winter wonderland and one of the biggest Christmas markets I’ve ever seen. In Tivoli, we ate aebelskivers aka the yummiest things that are like little round pancake balls but even fluffier and yummier. They come with powdered sugar and jelly and we used to make them at Marci’s house all the time in high school so this was a delicious blast from the past.
Continuing on in the Christmas spirit, we headed to The Nutcracker, performed by the Royal Danish Ballet. This performance was really interesting; I’ve seen the Lincoln Center production almost every year that I’ve been alive, so I was comparing the two interpretations in my head. The second act was set in Tivoli, which was an interesting Danish twist. Clara was en pointe, which was an interesting change, and the “Coffee” dance was turned into a pas de deux, so that part didn’t compare at all. But the sugar plum fairy was beautiful and the candy canes were an adorable pas de deux between the butler and the maid from the first act. I left feeling quite Christmasy!
Abby and I then walked a few laps around Tivoli, soaking in the Christmas magic. For dinner that night, we chose Wagamama, one of my favorite restaurants in London, and it was totally worth the 45 minutes that we waited in line.
The next morning, we went bakery hopping and I had the most delicious chocolate croissant I have ever eaten, straight from the oven. The Danish are famous for their pastries for a reason. Then Abby and I did some souvenir shopping at the parliament building and walked past the old stock exchange one more time. This is my favorite building in Copenhagen because it has three dragons on the roof, whose tails all twist together.
After that, we headed to Christiania, a hippie commune in the middle of the city. Christiania used to be an old army barrack before it was taken over by squatters in the early 1970s. Christiania is famous for its green light district, an area where marijuana is sold, despite the fact that its sale is not legal in Copenhagen. For this reason, the only rules in Christiania are that photos should not be taken in the central areas, to protect those involved in the trade, and running is not allowed, because that creates panic. Christiania is covered in amazing graffiti and it is way bigger than I’d imagined; it’s about 84 acres.
Sadly, it was nearing time for me to go home. I really liked Copenhagen, but I didn’t fall in love with it the way that I have with some of the other cities I’ve visitied. However, I had an amazing time with Abby, who was the best tour guide I could have possible asked for, filled with Christmas and delicious food.
half the world away 