3 Days in Copenhagen, Denmark, My New Favorite City
After 36 hours in Oslo, Olivia and I boarded a DFDS Seaways ferry to Copenhagen. The 17 hours ride was not one I will ever repeat, though none of it was the fault of DFDS, just my paranoia.
The ferry was a full-blown cruise ship with duty free mall, rooftop bar, spa and pool, and even a cafe where Olivia and I met the first of a long line of hilarious Danish people. The barista was a barrel of laughs, the journey through the Norwegian fjords was amazing, and it looked to be a great experience, that is, until we got into more open water.
There was a storm the day before that apparently had the seas still churning so our crossing was much rockier than either of us expected. I honestly didn’t sleep at all because I thought I would be dashing for the lifeboats at any moment. But of course, nothing happened and we arrived to Copenhagen right on time :)
We arrived around 9:30am and had a few hours to kill before checking into our AirBnb, s, after leaving our bags in a locker. we grabbed a bagel outside of Copenhagen’s Central Station. Recharged, we headed to the Glyptotek, a gorgeous museum with an enclosed garden and cafe right in the heart of it. We explored the rooms for about an hour (lots of Roman and Egyptian sculpture work!) and headed back into the gorgeous October sunshine.
Near Central Station, we had walked past the entrance to Tivoli, one of Europe’s oldest theme parks. We knew we wanted to go later in the day so we purchased our tickets while we were there. Lucky thing that we did because right near the Glyptotek is another entrance to Tivoli where we could cut through the park to Central Station rather than walk its perimeter.
While I would normally avoid theme parks and write them off as a tourist trap, in this cafe, Tivoli was an exception. The gardens were gorgeous and especially with the weather, everyone was lounging on deck chairs on the lawns taking in the sun. It was such a cheerful and affordable experience that I highly suggest giving it a go. You can also get a re-entry stamp good for the entire day which is exactly what we did.
After picking up our bags at the station, we hopped on a quick bus to our AirBnb. I personally bought a 72 hour transportation pass while Olivia decided to just pay as she went using the local app - we did the math on our way to the airport and we basically paid exactly the same amount :)
After decompressing at our gorgeous apartment, we decided to stroll back to Tivoli, since we wanted to see it lit up at night.
We walked through the shopping district Strøget which was just next to our home, and then wandered around the older part of the city, winding our way towards the park.
We arrived just as the sun set, and we had a delicious meal at an American diner of all places. I had the best veggie burger I’ve had in years and again, our waiter was absolutely hilarious. We wandered the park taking in all the sights and sounds, and ended our day with a creme brulee and a bowl of fresh strawberries.
We woke up to a rainy morning, so we headed to a cozy little cafe near our apartment called Atelier September. I had a soft boiled egg with a slice of amazing bread, and Olivia had probably the best avocado toast I’ve ever had. It was a bit crowded but we got a seat without any problems and everyone in there, once again, was so kind.
With bellies full of coffee and bread, we made our way through the rain to the Rundetaarn, Round Tower, which is an old observatory that is, you guessed it, round! There is a winding ramp the entire way up and a gorgeous observatory looking over the entire city.
We continued wandering and ended up in the Nørreport area to hit up a store I had my eye on for a long time, Rude. I ended up buying the cutest polka dot shirt and I am so glad I have a bit of Copenhagen to wear whenever I want :)
From here we took a bus over to Freetown Christiana, where we were discouraged from taking photos. To be honest, this was the only time I felt uncomfortable the entire trip. Freetown Christiana is an anarchist community (you even pass signs telling you you are leaving the European Union when you enter the neighborhood) but what I didn’t like was that other than Olivia and I, I think we saw 3 other women. It was a very obviously male dominated community and while I didn’t feel unwelcome or unsafe, I certainly didn’t feel welcome or safe - if that makes any sense. We mainly walked straight through without stopping and then found lunch elsewhere.
Like I said, I didn’t feel unsafe, just uncomfortable and I don’t think I’d suggest a solo female traveler to wander there alone if you’re also uncomfortable with male dominated spaces, especially in a new environment.
Cut to 10 minutes later and I’m chowing down on cauliflower curry near the Opera House and all is well.
Would it even be a trip to Copenhagen if we didn’t stop at Nyhavn? This strip of colorful buildings is the most popular spot in town for tourists, and honestly, it is ridiculous pretty. We walked down the street back to our AirBnb and took a quick rest before heading back out to Strøget.
There is a lifestyle store called Hay House that has an incredible view of the shopping district below, so be sure to pop in to take in the street from a new angle :)
Our last morning was spent packing up our things, eating our last few Danish (the breads, not the people) and visiting the curiosity shop below our apartment. It is called Tage Andersen and the man working there was so charming that we didn’t want to leave! Tage, the artist, was his husband and he talked about all of their work together with such care that we both wanted to stay and hear him go on forever :) A great final memory of our trip to Copenhagen.
We then took the bus to the airport and were on our way to Amsterdam!
