copenhagen, denmark.
As a girl who will humbly admit she knew little (read: nothing) about Copenhagen and essentially booked her weekend trip to the city for the sole purpose of attending the Sensation White music festival, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I came to absolutely adore Copenhagen and its Danes.
View from top of bell tower downtown
After a tumultuous start to our mini-vacation (one of our comrades failed to bring her passport and almost had to forgo the trip altogether, but luckily had it brought to her with only five minutes left till boarding closed), we arrived in Copenhagen. And let me just say: this is a city after my mother’s own heart. Everything was absolutely spotless, and the airport seemed to resemble Neiman’s a little more than it probably should have. In fact, the entire city seemed to be the perfect hybrid between classical architecture and chic, modern decor, which made strolling through the small city extremely aesthetically pleasing.
Bucket list #42. Navigate through city using only compass and map
The first day, compass (!!) in hand, we walked aimlessly through Copenhagen, befriending two locals who gave us a personal tour around town. We stopped by the infamous living commune Christiania, which was, how shall I put it… interesting? Nothing I have ever seen before? Let’s just say Wikipedia Christiania, and we’ll keep it at that. Let’s also say I lived in Berger freshman year, and I still remained speechless.
At the gates of Christiania
I wish I could provide you with pictures, so you could begin to understand the anomaly that is Christiania, but one of Christiania’s three rules was no pictures (another being “Don’t run. It causes panic.”). Beyond the main “marketplace”, we went on an off-the-grid walk/hike through Christiania’s residential neighborhood. I couldn’t help but be baffled by the fact that actual kids grow up here—what a skewed sense of reality they must foster.
Now, as fun as Copenhagen is, there aren’t exactly many tourist sites to visit. As soon as we heard of one of their most famous, we ventured outwards to see…
The Little Mermaid
Although it was not as impressive as we hoped, the walk there was: despite the overcast weather, we strolled through the park, were greeted by smiling, friendly Danes, glanced over at the majestic swans casually wading in the lake, and stepped into one of the most bizarre stores I have ever experienced, Tiger.
That night was the Sensation White concert, and though I emerged shivering, whining, exhausted, and begging for a taxi (so sorry to my friend Emerson), the entire six hours I was there were absolute bliss. Surrounded by an international sea of white, we grooved the night away to a series of impeccable DJ’s and a flawless set-up.
As I finally stumbled into my hostel at 5 AM, washing the dirt and grime from my feet and mourning the loss of my blazer and belt (I guess we now know “dress in all white” really means dress in all white), I snuggled into my covers trying not to awaken my sleeping roommates knowing that the newly created dent in my bank account was well worth it, as this had easily become one of the best, if not the best, weekends this semester thus far.
And advice to my girl Maddie: study abroad here! Despite Copenhagen being one hell of an expensive city, it was without a doubt one of my favorites and I hope to return soon for a longer period of time…
… shortly after I win the lottery.
