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Published: March 11th 2008
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Three weeks ago, I talked to two good friends who are also abroad in Europe, one in England and one in Spain. We wanted to meet up somewhere, but where? Berlin, Amsterdam, Krakow, Italy, France--either flights were expensive, one of us had plans to go there, or one of us had already been there. Hey guys, what about Copenhagen? Cool, it's kind of in the middle for all of us, and although not the cheapest to fly to, not the most expensive either. And essentially, that was that. We were going to Copenhagen, Denmark from Thursday through Sunday.
What can I say about Copenhagen? Well, I loved it! It would have been great to go anywhere and meet two really close friends, but this city really did turn out to be swell. First off, every single person I talked to there understood me when I spoke English. And they responded in perfect English. No, this isn't a qualification for a great city, but after 1 month in countries where I don't understand people and they barely understand me, this was quite a nice vacation. Another plus: these people are just so happy. In researching, it said that Danes are closed-off
Entrance to Tivoli Gardens
But it doesn't open for the season until April people, but I disagree, at least about Copenhagen. Our canal tourguide smiled for an hour straight, and it seemed genuine. Asking two or three people for help, they were all extremely helpful and nice. This one guy dropped his expensive sunglasses when he was getting up from a seat in the cafe. Before he even picked them up, he just looked at us and laughed. I have no idea why they're so happy, but it was nice. So, yes, the people made it a nice city, but it was also nice to be somewhere that isn't inundated with tourists or people trying to rip tourists off.
With really only having two full days in Copenhagen, we ended up staying just within the city, although there is plenty in the surrounding area to visit. We basically did walking tours of areas, which was easy because the city is flat and a lot is within walking distance. The only place we paid to go in was a Photography Museum, which was in the new part of the National Library, and I would say it was worth it. We saw a lot of bikes, a lot of canals, a lot of statues,
Bikes for Sale
I've never seen so many bikes in a city, but then again I've never been to Western Europe or Scandinavia either. and a lot of pigeons. Our favorite area overall I think was the Latin Quarter, which is in the City Center. It's one of those European-looking areas with narrow, cobblestoned streets and cute houses painted a variety of colors. We went to a jazz bar the one night, which was cool. Another really interesting area was the 'Free Town of Christiania'. I hope to find out more about this area from a friend from Copenhagen, but in short, it's an area full of hippie-like people, and until last year, offered joints for sale on the street. We weren't allowed to take pics inside (perhaps in order not to catch anyone doing anything illicit) but it ended up being quite memorable nonetheless, including the first time someone has offered to sell me pot. Although it was depressing to see some people who obviously had drug problems, it was a really interesting place, full of art and stuff like that. It's important to go with a group of people and in daylight, for pretty obvious reasons, although I never felt like I was in danger for my life or anything like that.
And what about food? After booking our plane tickets,
we found out that Copenhagen is ranked as one of the most expensive cities in the world. So, luckily we got excellent breakfast at our hotel, which was included in the price (also, just for reference, our hotel room was $120 per night, with shared bathrooms and showers for the whole hallway, and it was the cheapest hotel/hostel in Copenhagen, but it (Saga Hotel) is recommended). Average price of cup of tea/beer on tap, $5; sandwich, between $6-10; and dinner, $15-20, so if you're traveling there, leave a large budget for food or bring lots of snacks. One night we went to a pizza/salad buffet near the main train station, which was about $12 and well worth it. There aren't too many 'typical' Danish foods, but one is smorebrod, literally butter bread, which are actually beautiful open-faced sandwiches most people eat for lunch. Another popular theme was mango salsa on sandwiches, which was tasty. Also, to our delight, Copenhagen seems to love bagels, so we got bagels and cream cheese one time.
So, I'll say more in the captions for the pictures. Soon I will write a blog about my real life here, not just about traveling. Hope everyone
Gefion Fountain
Pictured is Gefion, a goddess who created the island that Copenhagen is on, with the help of her four sons, who she turned into OXEN. is in peace.
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kathy oxenreiter
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great photos
Hi Laura, I think your photos are mighty fine. But where is the group shot of you and your friends...don't tell me that did not get done! Sounds like a really trip, glad you made it! Your madre