seekingmygreaterperhaps

Copenhagen is much like my older sister- it photographs well. I’m not using that as an excuse as to why this post mostly pictures, but I just want to share it with the world.

Copenhagen first came on my radar when my best friend Amyra studied abroad there. I know fully understand why this became her second home.

To get here was really cool. The train actually pulls right on to the ferry, and then you cross over.

My first night, I met two amazing women, Kelsi and Supreet, who I hung out with the rest of my time in Copenhagen. We went to Tivoli Gardens the first night, which is the world’s 2nd oldest amusement park!

You have to pay to get in, and then doing anything in the park costs extra, so we just walked around at night and looked at the park lit up. They do an awesome job with the lights, and we quite enjoyed ourselves.

The next day brought about a free walking tour. What I gathered from that is that Copenhagen has been the victim of 2 great big fires which destroyed a good part of the city, both times.

This is Nyhavn- which translates to new harbor- and THE picturesque view of Copenhagen. Across the street is where Hans Christian Anderson grew up (the originator of The Little Mermaid).

Danish people are known for being the happiest people in the world. They have to pay a ton in taxes, but in the end all of their needs are met. Our tour guide said she is not worried about anything. If she doesn’t have enough money, she will be taken care of. If her mom needs medical attention, it will be done. They actually get paid to go to school. Man that would be nice- hint hint wink wink AMERICA.

This is leading up to the Royal Palace. Queen Margaret is known for being a chain smoker, and a huge Lord of the Rings fan.

Our tour guide prompted us to try and take a picture with the guards- so obviously I did. I think this may be mid action of me being scared to death and running away. The guard stomped his gun at me and said “STAY 6 FEET AWAY.” I think he was just teasing me, but I still practically urinated myself.

A tribut to my boy Hans, and also an icon of Copenhagen- THE Little Mermaid. I may have covered her up, but it’s interesting because she has two separate leg/fins. My theory is this way she can still… reproduce.

Denmark is also where Legos come from! We found a Lego store on the main strip and there was a lion, along with a mural of Copenhagen done in Legos. I figured you’d obviously want to see me instead. So here you are.

These are my new besties! From L > R: Me, Supreet, Kelsi, Dave, and Fallon. This is us at lunch, getting a traditional smorrebrod meal. We were in for a real “treat.”

How exquisite! While they were really tasty- LOOK AT HOW SMALL THEY ARE. This was practically the first thing any of us ate all day after our tour, and we were all fuming. Our tour guide led us astray. Not only did we have to go for a second lunch, those three tiny pieces cost us about $30. Yay Scandanavia.

Supreet and I lived on the wild side and went to a “fish kiss” spa, and got all of the dead skin eaten off of our feet by some type of fish. It tickled at first, but then you get used to it, and it feels like a jacuzzi jet. I tried to stick my finger in to see if they would help out my cuticles… but it seemed they only wanted feet/ankle skin. This was a neat experience, and I’m glad my feet are now soft. All those hard earned calluses… are still there. Fish can’t break my backpacker medals.

The next day, we went to a place where Danish street food vendors come and set up in a huge warehouse- and it’s cheap and SO delicious. This was our “real” smorrebrod- and look at how much better that portion size is. I strongly suggest going here if you go to Copenhagen- it’s past Christiana, and there will be a chalkboard sign pointing you in.

The Copenhagen Crew rented biked that day, and we felt truly Danish. The bike lanes are impeccable and we saw so much of the city this way.

Next stop- the free community of Christiania. This is a hippie haven. You can freely buy some… herbs, and it smells fragrant when you go in. No photos allowed, except for this AWESOME set up. We all walked around, then threw up peace signs and were out.

Nearly across the street is the Church of Our Savior. You can climb to the top- on an exterior staircase!- and get an incredible view of Copenhagen.

See, I’m not a liar. However, to get to the top, you pretty much have to climb 395620564957251 stairs. I counted.

Buzzfeed then led us to the Coffee Connection- which was on BF’s list of 25 coffee shops you have to go to before you die. While we got kind of lost, when we eventually made it there, it was worth it. Supreet, Kelsi, and I sampled 3 different coffees- all from beans made around the world. They have a huge window so you can actually see them packaging the bags. The coffee was awesome too. I’m not a coffee drinker, and at first I was like- where’s the cream and sugar? But you don’t actually need it. There are fruit flavors and cocoa flavors, and it was unlike any coffee I’ve had. Boo Starbucks, go home.

That in mind- I lay awake until like 3 am because I was on a caffeine buzz. Michaella + caffeine = no sleep, hyper for dayz.

This is my Danish Danish… because I’m basic and I had to.

Kelsi, Supreet, and I ended our day walking through an awesome park. There were “mega ducks” aka- geese, and the nature was beautiful. It was also nice to walk around because I think my tailbone is permanently bruised from biking all day. All is well in Copenhagen.

Thanks for sticking around! As a special treat for making it to the end: I’ll explain my title.

Hygge is pronounced kind of like “googley” but with an h at the front and you have to swallow the last syllable. This is a Danish word for things that are cozy and/or make you feel warm inside. Danish people will use this word to describe just about anything they like.