Copenhagen

7th – 9th April 2017

So, I guess this is all a little bit overdue. After all, it’s already been 14 days since I left Copenhagen, but, as they say, better late than never, right?

This is for me, so I can remember it better in one year, ten years, and fifty years. And this is for you, if you’re wondering what I’ve been up to for the last couple of weeks.

So, let’s start at the beginning, because that’s always a good place to start. I went to Copenhagen 7th April, with one over packed suitcase, and a backpack. I almost missed the connecting flight in Oslo, so I had to run for it, but I guess the most important thing is that I made it. And from there everything went pretty smoothly, and I checked in to Sleep in Heaven with no problems. Here I was staying at a female dorm with 8 beds.
I’ve got nothing to complain about with the hostel, honestly. The beds were comfy (I got the bottom bunk, jackpot), the toilets and showers were clean, I didn’t find it noisy etc. etc. It was also easy accessible by bus, and it was also within walking distance from the city centre.

I went out with no real plan of what I wanted to do. I found somewhere to eat and looked through the brouchers I’d picked up at the train station. I figured the design museum looked pretty interesting, so that’s where I headed, once I finished my meal, obviously.

I thought the design museum was pretty good. It was free (for people up to 26) which also helps. When I pay for a museum I always expect it to deliver according to the price, and it’s a shame when it doesn’t. Personally, I feel like it’s easier to consider a museum worth a visit if it’s free, because even if it’s just okay, at least you don’t feel like you wasted anything on it. Except for your time maybe.
Anyway, moving on, the design museum had a lot of different exhibitions. There was one that showed clothes from different eras and talked about the practice of making the garments, what it said about you socially, and how it had effected identity.

There was also one exhibition where multiple artists had made different artworks from wood that had a function. I wouldn’t say that maybe any of the functions would help improve your day to day life, but it was very interesting and creative. I always think it’s good when museums are spiced up a bit with fun and different pieces. Among many others there was one with half a disco ball, that when turned made magnificent patterns of light reflections around the whole room.

At the end of the museum, there was a display of lots and lots of chairs, as the Danes are apparently known for their chair design, something I should probably know. This was the only exhibition I personally didn’t find interesting, though it seemed many others did. All in all I thought this was quite a terrific museum, and definitely worth a visit.

When I was finished at the design museum, I headed to the one thing I knew I was going to do in Copenhagen. Tivoli! That’s the amusement park of Copenhagen, and I was there probably like 12 years ago, and remembered it as very good. It cost 350,- danish kroner ($50/£40), which I thought was a pretty good price. You can also buy tickets, but I think it pretty quickly works out cheaper to buy the wristband, as some of the rides cost up to 3 tickets.
After I’d had dinner at the Tivoli, it was time for the rides. Which I postponed a little bit, because I felt a little awkward being on my own, and also being a grown up on rides with children. But I went deep inside myself and picked up some courage, got over myself, and decided that I don’t care what people think. So I finally got on to the rides. I took some rollercoasters (obviously not the fastest and craziest ones because I’m weak), and also, the H. C. Andersen children’s fairytale ride. Obviously.

After many rides, a massive portion of cotton candy and quite a few moments of me pretending not to be Norwegian, so that it wouldn’t be so embarrassing to admit I don’t understand danish, I left Tivoli, and went back to the hostel. After all I had been awake since 3 A.M. It was a great day, and a fantastic beginning to the trip.

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I’ve been wanting to see the little mermaid for a while now, and that was the only plan I really had for my second day in Copenhagen. She was placed in a lovely little park by the coast. I spent some time there, and I would’ve stayed longer if it wasn’t so bloody cold.
I walked back into the city and strolled around a bit and explored. For example, I found a little swing. I always find it freeing with swings, you know, it kind of feels like you’re flying.

I bought lunch and decided to eat it in a park, but like I said, it was pretty cold, so after I was done eating I had to get inside. I found the museum David’s collection to be only a few minutes away, and it was also free, so why not?

It was quite okay, in my non art-educated opinion. They had one exhibiting about art from Muslim countries, or art that was inspired from the Muslim faith and so on, which was pretty interesting, I thought.
The second exhibition was a little bit boring, I found. It was just a bunch of rooms representing how rich people decorated their houses in the olden days. Maybe not that old, probably like a century or two ago. It was okay, but a bit too extensive.
The third exhibition was a photography collection, called the colours of Djibouti. It’s pretty much in the name. Loads of pictures of interesting and random colour combinations, taken at every day places in Djibouti. The pictures were magnificent and gorgeous.

Out of the museum, the evening was creeping up, so I headed back to the hostel. I decided to go out again, and I grabbed a couple of beers in this lovely little cafe/bar hybrid, and wrote some postcards and updated my diary. And that was pretty much the end to my stay in Copenhagen.

I must say, I was surprised by how much I liked Copenhagen. It was a very calm and relaxed city, I felt. Not too many people, and easy to get around. Quite a lot of greenery, which always helps in my opinion, and I just felt really at ease in this city. Nothing really worried me, and it all came together very easily. I’ll definitely be coming back to Copenhagen, now that I’ve discovered what a true gem it is.