I recently made it back to one of my favorite cities in Europe. Copenhagen. I first went to Copenhagen two years ago, mostly because my cousin told me it was cool and it was the home of my favorite philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard. You can read about that trip here. I had so much fun, that I had to go back. A friend of mine is temporarily living there, and so it was the best way to visit her and such a great city at once.
The journey to Copenhagen was an adventure. It took me more than 13 hours to get there, when it should have taken 8, due to cancelled trains. However I found my inner strength after a tumultuous journey, and played cards with some Swedish guys and had a blast, even in my detour. I got to CPH at 3 am, and as soon as I arrived I tried to buy a bus ticket… but every single booth shut down for the hour due to a malfunction. I was too tired to deal with it, and hoped I could fake my Deutsche Bahn card as a ticket. It worked, and tbh after a 13 hour detour, I hold no regrets.
Copenhagen was as I remembered it, beautiful, charming and an odd mix of traditional and modern architecture. The weather was much better this time around, and my adventures different. I spent the day exploring the city on my own and eating dinners with my friend. It was a great mix of adventuring and connection, and I had a perfect balance of solo travel and social interaction; which is always refreshing to find without much effort.
I spent much time Copenhagen, and my highlight was meeting up with a couple of couch surfers and going swimming on the dock. Copenhagen is surrounded by the sea and as you walk the coast you will see that docks double as walk ways and swimming zones. You can look below to see one that is huge and functions as a free fall into the water. I was so scared to jump off it, but my couch surfing friends were sweet and I survived the experience.
We then went to a small part in town called Christiana. This place was so cool and so hilarious. All of Copenhagen is really hip and happening, then you cross the bridge from Nyhavn, walk 10 minutes until you hit a wooded area, go through a blanket of trees and you enter Christiana. The hippy and weed spot in CPH. It was just a completely other world from Copenhagen. I don’t smoke, but weed was sold their like candy (despite being illegal in CPH, which makes the open selling even more humorous), and all the small huts were yellow and red. I thought it was so other than what I would have expected in CPH, that I could not help but fall in love with it. I have no pictures of my own, because pictures are forbidden there and I was not gonna be THAT tourist, but you can find out more about it online.
I spent a lot of time in the Denmark Architecture center (free admission under 25!) and other parks in the city. I loved it. Danish people really know how to transform public space to be beautiful and also a “a place of play.” You can walk down the street and in one spot find trampolines built into the side walk. It was awesome, and also a design that I am sure would be banned in the US for being unsafe for children or a potential liability… but we need some of that wonder and play in our lives… at least that is what I think.
I also dipped into Malmö, Sweden, just to say I was in Sweden. The city was gorgeous, and super super clean. Apparently Malmö is the “lower” end of Swedish cities (not my statement, I thought it was awesome), but now I cannot imagine how clean the other cities are…
Some highlights in Malmö were watching the residents tanning at 20 degree weather. That was humorous to me, and also seeing the Twisting Torso building.
I feel like I want to rack my brain for one humorous story that I can make central to this post, but I do not have one. I all around just had a great trip, connected with good friends and made new ones. I have no complaints, no great dips or high highs, and I think we all need that some time.
Oh… except when I was riding the Danish trains, those things are so damn efficient you can’t help but feel like you are a public transport queen when you ride it.
I had a blast.
Pics below.
Copenhagen
My jumping block, where I not so gracefully took off from, only to scream my ass off… 
Long Live Kierkegaard 
Play place that would be banned in the US… 
Theater views… 
Another Play Place that would be banned…
Malmö:
